Chapter 1073

Felton: [Right away, Ms. Payne.]

Before locking her screen, Juniper suddenly remembered Flint and sent one last text: [How long is Flint stationed in Africa?]

Felton: [Half a month, Ms. Payne.]

Juniper: [Got it.]

If it had been longer, she might have actually asked Shanley to go easy on him. But two weeks? A little hardship builds character. That's what he got for not knowing how to keep his mouth shut.

After class, Juniper was practically dragged to Tucker's office, where she ended up doing two solid hours of free labor for her professor. Just as she was packing up to leave, a knock sounded at the door.

An older gentleman with a full head of white hair and a surprisingly spry step walked in.

"Mr. Dawson! What brings you to my neck of the woods?" Tucker immediately abandoned his paperwork, greeting the man with a wide smile.

"Haha..." Professor Dawson chuckled, extending a hand as he walked forward. Then, without missing a beat, he breezed right past Tucker and made a beeline straight for Juniper.

Tucker blinked.

"You must be Juniper," Professor Dawson said, stopping in front of the girl who was currently munching on a spicy jerky stick. He offered a warm, grandfatherly smile. "Hello there! I'm from the School of Medicine next door."

"Hi," Juniper said, swallowing the last bite of her snack. She wiped her fingers clean and politely stood up. "Can I help you with something?"

"Oh, absolutely." Professor Dawson nodded vigorously, explaining that he'd seen the video of her saving the girl on campus. "I heard you have some medical training. Who was your mentor?"

"Just an independent healer," Juniper said after a moment's thought. "No one famous."

"I see." Professor Dawson nodded, clearly connecting some dots in his

own head. "Well, your netterest

was incredibly precise

Any

in coming over to the med school to play around a bit?"

Juniper blinked, slightly caught off guard. Before she could answer, Tucker lunged forward and yanked the professor back by the collar.

"Now hold on a minute, Mr. Dawson! That's crossing a line. You don't just waltz into my department and poach my best student," Tucker scolded, looking deeply offended. "Juniper is the crown jewel of the computer science department Donreven think about getting your claws into her."

"Oh, shove off." Professor Dawson batted Tucker's hands away, turning his beaming smile back to Juniper. "Our university allows double majors! How about picking up a medical degree on the side?"

"Young lady, can tell you're bright and incredibly gifted. You have the makings of a legendary physician, Professor Dawson promised,

thumping his chest confidente, ne

you transfer to the School of Medicine, will personally mentor you. You'd be an unstoppable force in the medical field."

"Wow, really?" Juniper fluttered her eyelashes, doing an excellent impression of someone genuinely astonished.

"Absolutely!" Seeing a glimmer of hope, Professor Dawson's excitement spiked. "So? What do you say? Come on over!"

"Mr. Dawson!" Tucker panicked, his voice pitching higher. "Computer science is incredibly demanding! She doesn't have time to juggle a second degree!"

He turned to Juniper. "Don't listen to him! Med school is exhausting. You'll have zero free time. Don't let this old coot trick you."

Juniper was notoriously lazy when it came to extra work; that warning would definitely strike a chord.

"Stop feeding her lies!" Professor Dawson jumped up, trying to slap a hand over Tucker's mouth. "You're supposed to share top-tier talent, you stingy old bat!" "Mmph―!" Tucker wrestled with him, swinging wildly at Professor Dawson's head. "Alright, boys, break it up."

Juniper slumped back into her chair, propped her feet up, and casually ripped open a bag of chips. "Look, about the medical degree..."