COLEEN

The library café buzzed with the usual late-afternoon chaos. Students hunched over laptops, the espresso machine hissing like it was on its last leg, and the faint sound of someone tapping their pen in a steady, irritating rhythm.

Alicia dropped her bag onto the chair across from me with her usual flair. “If I don’t get caffeine in the next thirty seconds, I’m suing this university for emotional damages.”

I snorted, taking a sip of my iced latte. “I’m pretty sure ...