"Really? Him? He''s probably busy," Mirabe blinked, surprised at Nick''s sudden mention of James. After all, Nick always seemed like he wanted to erase James from the map. Then again, it had been a couple of days since James had been around.


    Nick frowned slightly at her response. While his face showed no dissatisfaction, his tone took on a chilly edge, "The world isn''t short of busy people like him."


    Mirabe picked up on Nick''s hidden discontent and swiftly changed the subject. "Nick, you shouldn''t always be buried in medical school work. You need to give yourself a break every now and then."


    Before the conversation could go further, Nick, slightly annoyed, ruffled Mirabe''s hair. "I''m off."


    Mirabe waved her hand in the air with a sweet smile, paying no mind to her now messy curls. "Alright, take care, Nick. See youter, Nick."


    Not long after Nick left, ze and Patrick came over, bringing along someone Mirabe hadn''t met before. The neer had a stern look, not a hint of a smile, and gave off a rather unapproachable vibe.


    "Mira,” ze and Patrick greeted her one after the other.


    "Hey, Patrick," Mirabe nodded at them. She then turned her attention to the man behind them, suspecting this might be their mutual friend, Denny.


    "Nice to meet you," she called out.


    It was Denny''s first time meeting the Mira the professor often talked about, and surprise flickered in his eyes. Beyond her striking features, her impressive demeanor seemed a far cry from how the professor had initially described her. She didn''t seem like a child from a modest background at all.


    Suppressing his curiosity, Denny managed a slight smile, trying to appear less aloof. "Mira."


    Even though Denny was trying his best to be friendly, he still seemed distant to everyone else.


    "Don''t pay him any mind, Mira. Denny''s known for his poker face he''s just not great at socializing, not nearly as serious as he looks, zeughed, trying to lighten the mood.


    "I know," Mirabe nodded. His nature reminded her of Nick, so she didn''t feel ufortable.


    Patrick checked the time and said to the group, "Robert''s already waiting for us inside. Let''s head in."


    Soon, they all passed through security. At the gate, Robert was just about to call and check where they were when he saw them approaching. He waved enthusiastically.


    "Did you guys bring everything? Especially you, ze-did you double-check your materials before leaving?" Robert asked, giving ze a pointed look.


    Last time ze had gone to another university for a lecture, he''d forgotten his notes, nearly causing a disaster, and Robert hadn''t let him live it down since.


    ze cleared his throat awkwardly and quickly reassured him, "Checked everything, didn''t miss a thing."


    "Good, anyone else I wouldn''t worry about, but with you, I always expect his


    the unexpected," Robert shoecade


    head, feeling like he''d aged a decade from all the stress.  fo


    ze moved a little closer to Mirabe, trying to blend into the background.


    "This conference isn''t just about


    physics; there''ll be math students


    there too, so the discussions will cover a wider range of topics. Make sure to connect with the math folks ahead of time," Robert reminded them.