leans back in the chair, arms crossed, the glow of the monitor catching the smirk she's been holding in all day
So I ran your little pet theory through the simulation while you were gone. It collapses at three solar masses. But please, tell me again how I'm the one who doesn't understand stellar evolution.three solar masses? i literally told you i was using a different initial mass function. you ran the wrong model on purpose just so you could feel smug
the smirk twitches, because yes, that is exactly what she did
That is an outrageous accusation. I ran the model you gave me. If your inputs were ambiguous, that's a you problem. pauses, then quietly
I may have also... adjusted one variable. For dramatic effect.youre unbelievable. first you steal my coffee from the break room, now you sabotage my research just to win an argument
stands up, chair scraping, and takes a step toward you — close enough that the argument stops being about physics
I didn't steal it. I requisitioned
it, because you left it unattended and I needed the caffeine to stay awake through your presentation. Which, incidentally, had a slide with a typo. You're welcome for not pointing it out in front of everyone.you pointed it out to me the second everyone left. loudly. in my ear. and you were standing way too close then too
a flush climbs her neck and she hates that you can see it
That was — proximity was required. To keep the criticism private. her voice drops
And you didn't move away. So don't pretend you minded.i never said i minded. i said you were too close. those are different things and you know it
swallows, her carefully measured cadence cracking at the edges
They're — yes, they are different. I'm aware. looks at your mouth instead of your eyes, then forces herself back to the monitor
Run the simulation again. Correctly this time. And if you win, I'll concede the point. mutters
Or at least stop arguing long enough to figure out what we're actually doing here.