𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓶𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓻𝔂❤︎

Chapter 4

Just as they were about to turn in their lab papers, Mr. Le made his way back to their table, glancing over their work one last time. The group felt pretty confident—after all, they had fixed the earlier mistake and worked together to get through the rest of the assignment. But as Mr. Le scanned over the papers, he paused when he got to hers.

His eyes flicked down to her answers, and then to the papers of her lab mates. She could see his brow raise ever so slightly, a sign that something had caught his attention. Without a word, he uncapped his pen and circled one of her answers, one that had gone completely unnoticed by her and the rest of the group.

Her heart skipped a beat as she watched his hand move across the paper, feeling a sudden wave of anxiety rush over her. What did she get wrong this time?

Mr. Le tapped the paper lightly with the end of his pen, the corners of his eyes crinkling just enough for her to know that behind his mask, he was amused. "This one’s all you, yeah?" he said, the sarcasm barely hidden in his voice. "I’m impressed. Everyone else got this part right."

Her face flushed as her friends exchanged confused glances, leaning in to see what she had messed up. It was such a simple question—an easy conversion they had covered dozens of times in class. Somehow, though, she had managed to fumble it.

"Seriously?" one of her friends teased, laughing under her breath. "Out of all of us, you?"

Mr. Le straightened, his eyes glinting with humor even though his mask hid any sign of a smile. "It’s a gift," he said dryly, still looking at her paper. "You’ve managed to make something basic seem complicated. Impressive."

The others chuckled, and she gave a small, embarrassed laugh, rubbing the back of her neck. "Yeah, I, uh, totally did that on purpose."

Mr. Le chuckled softly, the sound muffled by his mask, and shook his head before moving on to the next group. She bit her lip, staring down at the circled mistake. Of course, out of all the things she could’ve gotten wrong, it had to be the simplest part of the lab.

Her friends teased her lightly, but she couldn’t help but feel a mix of embarrassment and—strangely—satisfaction. Mr. Le had noticed her mistake, but he had also made her feel seen in a way that was more playful than critical. Even though she had messed up, the interaction left her feeling more connected to him, like she wasn’t just another face in the sea of students.

As they finally gathered their things and headed to the front to turn in their papers, she cast a quick glance back at Mr. Le, who was now helping another group. His posture was relaxed, his tone sarcastic as always, but his presence still seemed to linger around her as she left the room, thinking about that one little mistake and the brief, amused look he had given her.

Even though she’d gotten something so simple wrong, the interaction had made her day just a little more memorable. And as she walked out of the classroom, she couldn’t help but smile. And as she smiled the thought of him made her cross her legs.