All Chapters of The Stranger I Choose: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The rain began just as Emma's afternoon studio class ended.Within minutes, the courtyard outside the architecture building disappeared behind a curtain of silver. Students hurried in every direction, opening umbrellas as they rushed toward the station or the parking lot. Those who had forgotten theirs, like Emma, gathered beneath the entrance canopy and watched the weather with quiet resignation.Emma hugged her sketch tube against her chest and sighed."I forgot my umbrella again."Beside her, Lily opened a bright yellow umbrella with a practiced flick of her wrist."Again?" she asked, laughing. "You really need to stop trusting the weather forecast.""I know.""You coming?"Emma glanced at the rain. It was falling far too heavily to make a run for it."I'll wait until it eases."Lily nodded. "Text me when you get home.""I will."With that, Lily disappeared into the rain, leaving Emma alone with dozens of other stranded students.She leaned against one of the pillars and slipped he

Monday mornings always felt louder in the architecture building.Printers hummed nonstop.Students hurried through the hallways carrying model boards, sketch tubes, laptops, and cups of coffee that had long since gone cold.Emma adjusted the drawing tube on her shoulder before squeezing through the crowded corridor."Emma!"She turned just in time to see one of her classmates waving a stack of presentation boards."Did you print yours yet?""Not yet.""The queue downstairs is insane."Emma sighed."I was afraid you'd say that.""You'd better hurry."She thanked him before making her way toward the printing room.Just as he had warned, a line of students stretched into the hallway.Everyone looked equally exhausted.Someone sat on the floor correcting drawings with a ruler.Another student stared blankly at a laptop screen, muttering about missing files.Emma glanced at the clock.8:17 a.m.Her presentation was after lunch.She still had time.At least...She hoped she did.-By ten o'

Emma arrived at the station ten minutes early.She told herself it was because weekend trains were unpredictable.It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Daniel had asked her out almost a week ago.Nothing at all.She adjusted the strap of her canvas tote and glanced around the station entrance. Saturday mornings felt different from weekdays. Instead of hurried office workers, there were families carrying shopping bags, children tugging their parents toward the mall, and friends lingering over iced coffee with nowhere particular to be."Am I late?"Emma turned.Daniel stood a few steps behind her, smiling as though he'd been watching her pretend not to look for him."No," she said. "You're early.""So are you."A smile tugged at the corners of her lips."I guess we both had the same idea.""I guess we did."For a moment, they simply stood there, neither seeming in a rush to start.Then Daniel gestured toward the shopping district."I thought we could just walk around."Emma

Emma stared at the assignment sheet on her desk and sighed.Lily looked up from across the library table."Another project?""Worse."Emma slid the paper toward her."Our lecturer wants us to interview someone from a completely different profession and analyze how their workplace influences the way they work."Lily skimmed the assignment."That doesn't sound impossible.""It is when everyone I know is either an architecture student or works at a bakery."Lily raised an eyebrow."You know one office worker."Emma blinked."...Daniel.""There you go."-That evening, Emma was reviewing lecture notes when her phone vibrated.Daniel: How was your day?She smiled.Emma: Busy.Daniel: Architecture busy or bakery busy?Emma: Both.Another message appeared.Daniel: Sounds exhausting.Emma: I also have another assignment.Daniel: Can I help?Emma hesitated before typing.Emma: I have to interview someone from a different profession about their workplace.Almost immediately—Daniel: Interview m

The lecture hall had never felt this warm before.Emma shifted in her seat, blinking hard at the presentation slides projected across the front wall. The words blurred together for a moment before slowly coming back into focus.She rubbed her eyes.Maybe staying up until nearly two in the morning to finish her architecture model hadn't been her smartest decision.The lecturer dismissed the class, and the room immediately filled with the familiar scrape of chairs and overlapping conversations. Emma packed her notebook into her backpack, slipped her sketch tube over one shoulder, and stood.For a brief second, the room tilted.She caught the edge of the desk before anyone noticed."...Definitely need more sleep."She laughed quietly to herself and walked out of the building.A cool breeze greeted her outside campus.Normally, she loved weather like this.Today, it made her shiver.-By the time Emma arrived at the bakery, the afternoon preparations were already underway.The comforting