Chapter 13 - Deadline

Monday mornings always felt louder in the architecture building.

Printers hummed nonstop.

Students hurried through the hallways carrying model boards, sketch tubes, laptops, and cups of coffee that had long since gone cold.

Emma adjusted the drawing tube on her shoulder before squeezing through the crowded corridor.

"Emma!"

She turned just in time to see one of her classmates waving a stack of presentation boards.

"Did you print yours yet?"

"Not yet."

"The queue downstairs is insane."

Emma sighed.

"I was afraid you'd say that."

"You'd better hurry."

She thanked him before making her way toward the printing room.

Just as he had warned, a line of students stretched into the hallway.

Everyone looked equally exhausted.

Someone sat on the floor correcting drawings with a ruler.

Another student stared blankly at a laptop screen, muttering about missing files.

Emma glanced at the clock.

8:17 a.m.

Her presentation was after lunch.

She still had time.

At least...

She hoped she did.

-

By ten o'clock, Emma had already climbed four flights of stairs more times than she could count.

She had revised a floor plan.

Reprinted an elevation after discovering a typo.

Borrowed glue from one classmate and masking tape from another.

Somewhere between all of that, she had forgotten breakfast.

Again.

Lily finally found her in the studio, kneeling beside a presentation board.

"I've been looking everywhere."

Emma didn't even look up.

"I've been everywhere."

Lily held out a small sandwich.

"Eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"Emma."

"I'll eat later."

Lily crossed her arms.

"You said that two hours ago."

Emma paused.

"...Did I?"

"Yes."

Without another word, Lily placed the sandwich on top of Emma's sketchbook.

"I'm leaving it here."

Emma smiled faintly.

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me."

"What should I do instead?"

"Finish it."

Lily pointed at the sandwich before walking away.

Emma laughed quietly.

Five minutes later...

She finished every bite.

-

Around noon, Emma finally remembered her phone.

Three missed notifications.

All from different class group chats.

One message from her mother.

And one from Daniel.

She opened his first.

Daniel: Good luck today.

That was all.

No questions.

No follow-up messages.

Just one simple sentence.

Emma smiled before quickly typing a reply.

Sorry... today's been chaos.

She slipped her phone back into her bag before she could wait for his response.

Her lecturer had just walked into the studio.

"Presentations will begin in ten minutes."

Every conversation stopped.

The room suddenly felt much quieter.

-

Emma stood beside her presentation board, trying not to fidget with the sleeves of her cardigan.

She had rehearsed her explanation at least twenty times.

The words still felt stuck somewhere in her throat.

"Whenever you're ready," her lecturer said.

Emma nodded.

Taking a slow breath, she began.

As she spoke, the nervousness slowly faded.

She explained her design concept, the flow between public and private spaces, and why she had changed parts of the original layout after receiving feedback.

Her lecturer asked several questions.

So did two guest reviewers.

Emma answered each one as calmly as she could.

By the time she stepped away from the board, she hadn't realized how tightly she had been holding her breath.

"Good revision," her lecturer said while making a few notes.

"There are still things you can improve."

Emma smiled.

"I understand."

"But..."

He looked up.

"You're moving in the right direction."

Those six words erased almost an entire week's worth of worry.

-

When the presentations finally ended, the studio erupted into relieved laughter.

Someone suggested celebrating with coffee.

Another immediately declined, saying they planned to sleep for twelve hours instead.

Emma packed away her drawings with a tired smile.

Lily appeared beside her.

"So?"

"So what?"

"How do you think it went?"

Emma thought for a moment.

"I think..."

She smiled.

"I survived."

Lily laughed.

"I'll take that as a success."

"I will too."

As they walked toward the hallway, Lily noticed Emma checking her phone.

Then again.

And once more while waiting for the elevator.

"You've looked at your phone three times."

Emma frowned.

"Have I?"

"Mhm."

"I'm checking the time."

"The time has Daniel's name on it?"

Emma nearly stumbled.

"What?"

Lily grinned.

"I saw the notification."

Emma felt warmth creep into her cheeks.

"You're impossible."

"I know."

The elevator doors opened.

Emma quickly stepped inside, hoping the conversation would end there.

It didn't.

"So..."

Emma groaned.

"Don't."

"When are you seeing him again?"

"This Saturday."

Lily's smile widened.

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"So this is becoming a regular thing."

Emma looked down at her shoes, unable to hide the small smile that appeared anyway.

"...Maybe."

-

By the time Emma left campus, the sun had already begun to sink behind the buildings.

She finally sat down on a bench outside the station and took out her phone.

A new message was waiting.

Daniel: No need to apologize.*

I figured you were busy.

She smiled.

Then another message appeared.

How did your presentation go?

Emma looked up at the evening sky before answering.

Better than I expected.

Less than a minute later, her phone vibrated again.

Congratulations.

Emma couldn't help smiling.

That's all?

What were you expecting?

She laughed softly and typed back.

I don't know.

A longer speech, maybe.

His reply came almost immediately.

You've probably heard enough speeches for one day.

Emma stared at the message.

Then she laughed.

Several people walking past glanced in her direction.

She didn't even notice.

-

The train ride home was quieter than usual.

Emma rested her head against the window as the city drifted by outside.

Her body felt completely exhausted.

Her shoulders ached from carrying drawings all day.

Her eyes wanted nothing more than sleep.

Yet somehow...

She couldn't stop thinking about one simple question.

How did your presentation go?

It wasn't a grand gesture.

Daniel hadn't shown up on campus with flowers.

He hadn't called in the middle of her presentation.

He hadn't interrupted her busy day.

He had simply waited until she had time to answer.

For some reason...

That meant even more.

Emma smiled to herself.

The day had been filled with deadlines, revisions, and more stress than she cared to remember.

But as the train carried her home, she realized the part she would remember most wasn't the presentation.

It was knowing someone had remembered it, too.