They stood up. Kyle grabbed both their trays and dumped them in the trash can near the door. Jordan held the door open and they walked out into the morning sun.

The drive to campus took six minutes. Jordan parked in the same structure as before. Third level. Spot near the stairwell.

Kyle’s car was two rows over. A silver Toyota that looked like it had been through three different owners before landing with him.

"Meet you at the lecture hall?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah. I’ll be there."

Jordan walked to his Civic and popped the trunk. His backpack sat in the corner next to a gym bag he’d forgotten about. He grabbed the backpack and checked inside. Notebook. Pens. Laptop. His Econ textbook that still had the shrink wrap on it.

He slung the backpack over his shoulder and locked the car.

The walk to the Econ building took ten minutes. Students filled the pathways between buildings. Some rushing. Some strolling. Groups clustered on benches talking and laughing.

Jordan kept his head down and followed the signs.

The lecture hall was massive. Three hundred seats arranged in steep rows facing a projector screen and a whiteboard that stretched the length of the room. Students were already filtering in. Taking seats near their friends. Setting up laptops and tablets.

Jordan found Kyle sitting halfway up on the left side. He climbed the stairs and dropped into the seat next to him.

"Saved you a spot," Kyle said.

"Thanks."

More students filed in. The professor hadn’t arrived yet but the clock above the door said 8:57.

Jordan pulled out his laptop and opened a blank document. His fingers hovered over the keyboard.

A girl walked past their row. Tall. Long brown hair. She wore ripped jeans and a Pacific Crest hoodie.

Jordan’s phone buzzed.

He pulled it out under the desk.

Beauty Detected: Proximity Alert

The notification blinked. A small heart icon pulsed in the corner.

Jordan looked up. The girl had taken a seat three rows ahead. She was talking to another girl next to her. Laughing about something.

Beauty Detected: Register to Slot 2?

Jordan’s thumb hovered over the screen.

Slot 2 was still empty. He’d locked Chloe into Slot 1 yesterday at The Ivy. But Slot 2 was open. Available. Waiting.

The System wanted him to register this girl. Track her attraction in real time. Start building that second connection.

But registering someone meant commitment. Permanent. No take-backs.

Jordan locked his phone and shoved it back in his pocket.

Not yet.

The professor walked in. A middle-aged woman with graying hair and glasses. She set her bag on the desk and pulled up the first slide of the lecture.

"Good morning. Let’s talk about GDP and aggregate demand."

Jordan opened his notebook and started taking notes. His handwriting was messy but readable. The lecture moved fast. Graphs. Equations. Real-world examples about inflation and unemployment.

Kyle typed everything on his laptop. His fingers flew across the keyboard without looking down.

The professor’s voice faded into background noise after twenty minutes. Jordan’s mind wandered.

Chloe lived next door. Twenty feet away through a shared wall. She’d pulled him into her apartment yesterday and asked him not to tell anyone about her identity.

Twenty percent chemistry.

That meant she didn’t hate him. Didn’t think he was a creep. Just a guy she’d had lunch with who happened to live in the same building.

But she’d also slammed the door in his face. Twice.

The System said he needed to talk to three different beauties today. Two minutes each. Maintain eye contact. Don’t apologize for existing. Don’t offer to buy them things.

He’d talked to Ashley at FitFuel for forty-seven seconds. Not enough.

He needed two more.

Jordan glanced around the lecture hall. Girls everywhere. Sitting in clusters. Taking notes. Staring at their phones under the desk.

His phone buzzed again.

Jordan checked it.

💝 DAILY QUEST REMINDER 💝

You have 14 hours remaining to complete your social objectives.

Current progress: 0/3

Don’t let the day end without trying.

Jordan locked his phone. The screen went dark.

The professor dismissed class at 9:47. Students packed up their bags and filed toward the exits.

"Math next?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah."

They walked across campus to the math building. Another lecture hall. Another three hundred seats. Another professor who spoke too fast and expected everyone to keep up.

Jordan sat through the entire fifty minutes without absorbing a single word. His notebook stayed blank. His laptop remained closed.

The girl from Econ was in this class too. Same seat. Three rows ahead.

His phone didn’t buzz.

Class ended. Kyle stretched and yawned.

"You wanna grab lunch after this?"

Jordan checked the time. 10:52.

"I got some stuff to do. Rain check?"

"Sure. Text me later."

They split up outside the math building. Kyle headed toward the library. Jordan walked back to the parking structure.

His phone buzzed the second he was alone.

💝 ATTENTION 💝

Chloe Kim detected within 500 feet of your location.

Current chemistry: 20%

Jordan stopped walking. He looked around.

Students everywhere. Walking to class. Sitting on benches. Standing in groups.

No blue hair streaks. No white baseball cap.

Jordan pulled up the System interface. A small map appeared showing his location as a blue dot. Another dot blinked red about three hundred feet northeast of him.

The red dot was moving. Slowly. Toward the student union building.

Jordan’s feet started moving before his brain caught up.

===

[A/N:]

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