Character Profiles
Liam Vance (Senior, Architecture): Methodical, quiet, and slightly perfectionistic. He carries a sketchbook everywhere and hides a dry wit behind a stoic exterior. He's struggling with the pressure of a prestigious post-grad internship.
Chloe Simms (Junior, Journalism): Chaos in human form. She's a fast-talking, coffee-addicted aspiring investigative reporter who wears oversized sweaters and has a knack for finding trouble—or at least a good story.
Julian: Liam's competitive rival in the studio.
Maya: Chloe's blunt, track-star roommate who provides the reality checks.
Chapter 1: The Coffee House Collision
The scent of burnt espresso and old paper was the official fragrance of the "Midnight Oil," the only cafe on campus open 24/7.
Liam Vance didn't see people; he saw structures. He saw the way the light hit the vaulted ceiling of the cafe and how the weight of the patrons was distributed across the uneven floorboards. He was currently obsessing over a balsa wood model of a library that was due in six hours. His hands were stained with wood glue, and his eyes were bloodshot.
"Move, move, move! Coming through!"
The voice was the only warning Liam got before a whirlwind of mustard-yellow knit hit his shoulder.
Splash.
The lukewarm remains of a double-shot latte cascaded across Liam's blueprints. The blue ink bled instantly, turning his precise lines into a Rorschach test.
"Oh my god! I am so, so sorry. I didn't see the—well, I saw the table, but I didn't see the tiny house, and then my shoe caught the rug—" Chloe Simms was already dabbing at the mess with a handful of cheap napkins, which only made things worse by leaving white lint behind.
Liam stared at his ruined weeks of work. He looked up at the girl. She had a smudge of ink on her cheek and eyes that looked like they hadn't seen sleep since the semester began.
"It's not a tiny house," Liam said, his voice surprisingly calm despite the internal screaming. "It's a cantilevered library wing."
Chloe stopped scrubbing. She looked at him, truly looked at him, and winced. "And now it's an underwater library. I'm Chloe. Please don't sue me. I have exactly twelve dollars in my bank account."
"I'm Liam. And twelve dollars won't cover the drafting paper."