Four days passed in a blur at the orphanage. Ethan stayed to help Mrs. Grant manage things while Dean Campbell rested in the hospital. He ran errands, helped the kids with their homework, and spent long evenings reflecting on the man who had shaped so much of his life.
When Mrs. Grant reassured him that things were under control, Ethan reluctantly packed his bag and boarded the bus back to the city.
The first thing Ethan noticed upon returning to the university was how fast everything moved. The streets were bustling with students, the sound of hurried footsteps, laughter, and conversations filling the air.
As he walked across campus, his phone buzzed. It was Raj.
"Hey, man," Ethan answered.
"Look who's back!" Raj's voice boomed. "Where've you been?"
"Long story," Ethan said, trying to dodge the question.
"Well, you're just in time. We've got a project deadline, and Mike's already panicking. You better come straight to the library."
When Ethan arrived at the library, he found his roommates huddled around a table littered with books, papers, and laptops.
"Ethan!" Mike exclaimed, looking up with relief. "Where have you been? We thought you vanished into thin air!"
"I had to take care of some things back home," Ethan said, setting his bag down.
"Hope everything's okay," Liam said, offering a nod of understanding.
"Yeah," Ethan replied. "How's the project going?"
"Terrible," Mike groaned. "We're stuck on the programming logic for the simulation."
"Show me what you've got," Ethan said, pulling up a chair.
Over the next few days, Ethan fell back into his routine, balancing his university work and internship. The hours were long, and the pressure mounted as deadlines loomed, but Ethan found solace in the rhythm of productivity.
At the robotics lab, Marcus greeted him with a raised eyebrow. "Took a little vacation, huh?"
"Something like that," Ethan said, avoiding eye contact.
"Well, you're back just in time. The new AI module's acting up, and I need you to run some tests."
"On it," Ethan said, slipping into his work mindset.
Despite his efforts, Ethan couldn't shake the feeling that he was falling behind. At the university, he found himself struggling to keep pace with his classmates.
One afternoon, after a particularly grueling lecture on advanced robotics, Ethan met up with his roommates in the cafeteria.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," Raj said, sliding a plate of fries toward Ethan.
"Just tired," Ethan muttered.
"Man, you're doing too much," Mike said. "You've got the internship, the classes, and now this project. You need to breathe."
"Can't afford to," Ethan replied. "If I slack off now, it'll all fall apart."
"You're not superhuman, Ethan," Liam said. "Give yourself a break."
Most nights, Ethan stayed late at the lab, poring over code and debugging the new AI module. The hum of the machines and the glow of the monitors became his constant companions.
One night, Marcus stopped by his workstation. "You've been putting in a lot of hours lately."
"Just trying to keep up," Ethan said.
"You're doing more than that," Marcus said, leaning against the desk. "But don't burn yourself out. Trust me, I've been there."
Ethan nodded but didn't respond.
One evening, as Ethan sat alone in his apartment, his phone buzzed. It was a message from Felicity: "Hey, haven't seen you around campus. Are you okay?"
He stared at the screen, debating whether to reply. After a long moment, he set the phone aside and returned to his work.
Ethan was determined to keep moving forward, even if it meant leaving parts of his life behind.