Pharai
Lecture Hall B smelled like recycled air, coffee, and eighty students running on 3 hours of sleep and caffeine.
Floor to ceiling glass. Smartboard behind me. AC set to a perfect 21°C. Every student had a tablet. The projector connected to my laptop with one tap. This building was 4 years old. It wasn't supposed to glitch.
I stood at the podium and tried not to shake.
In the front row: Heather. Color-coded pens, tablet open, already taking notes in gold ink.
In the back row: Russ. Arms crossed. Scowling at the WiFi router like it personally offended him. Masters students in the middle. Bachelors crammed behind them. And through the glass wall next door, I could feel Suetekh. 'Runihura, Professor of Ancient Myth'.
'You good?'His voice slid into my head, warm and infuriating.
'No,' I shot back. 'I'm about to teach 80 people how I died on a 4K screen.'
'Don't shift,' he said. 'Facial recognition will catch it.'
'Thanks for the support.'
