Mirabe was making her way to the study hall when she casually pulled out her phone to check her messages. As she skimmed through the texts, her eyes narrowed just a bit, a mix of surprise and a cool, detached look crossing her face. She hadn''t nned on reaching out yet, but it seemed the other side was already making a move.


    Just as she was about to tuck her phone away, it started buzzing with an iing call. It was ze. "Hey Mira, you at school today?"


    Mirabe gave a soft, affirmative hum.


    ze, already well-versed with Mira''s ss schedule, asked, "Where are you? Patrick and I areing to find you."


    Mirabe blinked, a bit surprised they were together. "How about we meet at the library in a bit?"


    "Sounds good."


    ze ended the call and turned to Patrick, who was still busy typing away at hisputer. "Mira said to meet at the library."


    Patrick nodded, quickly saving his work. "Alright, I''m ready. Let''s head out."


    He unplugged his USB drive and slipped it into his pocket. It didn''t take long for them to arrive at the library.


    Mirabe was already inside, having secured a spot. Upon seeing them, she raised her hand in a casual wave. "Hey, ze, Patrick." She nodded, her hand resting on a journal that Zane had insistently handed her as a keepsake when she left his office.


    As ze settled into a seat, his eyes caught the journal, and he was a bit taken aback. "Mira, you read academic journals?"


    "Only once in a while," Mirabe replied, keeping it vague.


    Patrick, ever the journal enthusiast, chimed in, "Thetest issue of the top-tier journals just came out. It''ll take a few months to get here, but I''ll let you know when I snag a copy."


    Was that him offering to lend her a book?


    Mirabe felt a headache brewing. Lately, any kind of reading made her feel a bit paranoid! Without skipping a beat, she slid the journal she had over to Patrick. "Why don''t you check out this one? It''s thetest issue, right?"


    Patrick was momentarily stunned. He nced at the cover, then picked up the journal to check the date. Sure enough, it was the newest edition.


    Patrick''s excitement was palpable; these journals were hard toe by, not something you could easily borrow. He quickly looked back at Mirabe. "Mira..."


    Mirabe coughed, interrupting him. "I''ve already gone through it, Patrick. You''re wee to take it."


    Patrick was curious about how she got thetest issue, but he held back. Cradling the journal like a prized possession, he said, "I''ll return it to you once I''m done."


    "No rush," Mirabe nodded, steering the conversation away from the journal. She didn''t mention having a paper published in it. Instead, she asked, "So, was there a reason you guys wanted to see me?"


    Noticing Mira''s question, ze gave Patrick a nudge under the table, indicating for him to speak up.


    Patrick snapped out of his


    excitement, reluctantly setting the journal aside, and pulled a USB drive from his pocket, cing it in front of a


    Mirabe. "Mira, could you take


    look at this data when you get a chance? See if there are any mistakes."


    "The same one asst time?" Mirabe didn''t reach for the USB.


    "Yeah." Patrick adjusted his sses. "Honestly, this variable conversion algorithm is the theme of the


    uing conference. We want to


    make sure it''s polished so the


    professor doesn''t get embarrassed."


    Mirabe wasn''t too concerned about any embarrassment, but the mention of the


    conference put her on alert.