After sending her message, Mirabe stood by the elevator, waiting for about five minutes without any reply.


    Weird.


    Matthew nced at her. "Hasn''t Dr. Elliot replied?"


    Mirabe shook her head.


    "He might be busy. Let''s give it a few more minutes," Matthew said patiently.


    "Okay."


    They stood there for another five or six minutes, still no response on Messenger. But then, a department professor walked by.


    Seeing him, Matthew quickly nodded respectfully, "Good afternoon, Mr. Robert."


    Robert, holding a stack of papers, acknowledged them with a slight nod. His gaze briefly skimmed over Matthew and Mirabe before he swiped his card and stepped into the elevator.


    Just as the doors were about to close, Matthew remembered that Mr. Robert could ess the fifth floor. He quickly blocked the doors with his hand. "Hold on a second."


    Robert looked up, a bit surprised. Matthew quickly exined, "Mr. Robert, could you take her to Dr. Elliot''s office?"


    He pointed to Mirabe, standing just outside the elevator. "She''s a new student this year. Dr. Elliot asked her toe by, but she doesn''t have ess to the fifth floor."


    Robert''s gaze shifted to Mirabe. "Are you Mirabe, this year''s top humanities student?"


    Dr. Elliot had mentioned Mirabe''s name a couple of days ago. After checking, Robert realized she was indeed this year''s valedictorian in humanities.


    Mirabe nodded, polite andposed.


    Remembering Dr. Elliot''s instructions, Robert''s tone softened. "Come with me."


    Matthew hadn''t expected Mr. Robert to agree so easily. He quickly shot Mirabe a look, signaling her to hurry in.


    Once Mirabe stepped into the elevator, Matthew stepped back, knowing the fifth floor was off-limits to regr students.


    The elevator ascended smoothly, reaching the fifth floor in seconds.


    Mirabe paused for a moment, letting Mr. Robert exit first before following him.


    Robert didn''t say much, but he kept an eye on Mirabe out of the corner of his eye.


    Dr. Elliot''s office was at the end of the hallway, locked with a keypad. Robert punched in the code, and the door opened with a beep.


    As he walked in, Robert said, "Dr. Elliot is at a meeting with the school


    administration. He should be back soon. You can wait in his office."


    Mirabe nodded, realizing why there had been no reply on Messenger-Dr. Elliot was probably in a meeting.


    Robert gestured to a sofa for Mirabe to sit and wait, pouring her a ss of water before getting back to his paperwork on a nearby bookshelf. The start of the term was always hectic, leaving little time for chit-chat.


    Mirabe didn''t feel awkward. Her eyesnded on a Physical Review Letters magazine on the ss coffee table. The cover featured a paper on condensed matter physics and maism by Elliot himself.


    Raising an eyebrow, she picked up the magazine to read.


    PRL, short for Physical Review Letters, is one of the most prestigious journals in physics, known for its high impact factor. Publishing a paper there is a big deal.


    The journal is published by the American Physical Society, so it''s entirely in English.