Chapter 103 The "Special Treatment" Just for Her
Bella had a game plan, but she had to lay low for a bit longer. She understood she needed to wait for the contract to finish before making her move.
On a typical day, Camilla headed out as usual, intending to go to the library. Just as she stepped out of her apartment building, she bumped into Sebastian. He'd been swamped with a new project, pulling all-nighters, and had just gotten back from the lab.
"Morning, Professor Russell," Camilla greeted him with a grin.
"Hey, outside of class, just call me Sebastian," he said, looking a bit exasperated. "Oh, by the way, I need your take on something. Remember that project I told you about, the one I didn't finish?"
Camilla nodded. She definitely remembered. That project was perfect for her. It was such an amazing project that it was disappointing to leave it unfinished.
Sebastian asked, "Have you thought it over? Wanna keep working on it?"
Camilla nodded without missing a beat. "Yeah! But I don't have a lab right now, so I can't do the data part. Maybe I should just drop it."
All conclusions needed data, and data came from tons of experiments.
She had no materials, no tools, so she couldn't do any experiments.
Sebastian said, "You can use my lab."
After a pause, he added, "For free."
Even though Sebastian's lab was pretty new, it had the latest and greatest gear.
"Seriously?" Camilla's eyes went wide in disbelief.
It was hard to believe something this awesome was happening to her.
Sebastian replied, "Do I look like I'm joking?"
Camilla hesitated for like two seconds before nodding eagerly. "Awesome! Thanks a ton!"
Sebastian smiled, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
The lab was on the eighth floor of Diligence Hall.
Harmony College didn't have a ton of labs, so getting a spot was tough.
But Sebastian's lab was special; it worked directly with companies, so the funding didn't need college approval but came from the companies.
Basically, Harmony College just provided the space, and in return, all of Sebastian's academic work was credited to the college.
The college reported this as academic achievement to the Department of Education, which directly affected the school's ranking the next year.
Because of the financial independence and holding the college's academic lifeline, Sebastian's lab took up an entire floor. Whether it was the cleanliness, air conditioning, or heating, it was top-notch.
Lots of research groups wanted to borrow his lab, but Sebastian never agreed.
Some professors even offered big bucks to share the lab, but Sebastian always said no.
Now, he was straight-up inviting Camilla to join and offering it for free!
Camilla had no clue how special this "deal" was; she just thought Sebastian was a really cool guy!
On her first day at the lab, at eight sharp, Camilla showed up at the entrance on time.
Sebastian came out to greet her personally. "Morning, you're early."
Camilla smiled slightly. "Looks like you beat me to it."
Sebastian had been crashing in the lab for the past few days.
There was a dedicated rest room there, even with a shower.
So, at this moment, Sebastian's shirt was clean, and although he looked a bit tired, his eyes were bright, not the scruffy look of someone who'd pulled several all-nighters.
"I brought you breakfast," Camilla offered.
There were waffles and sandwiches that Sebastian liked.
Sebastian was letting her use the lab for free and even took the time to meet her. Just bringing breakfast felt like too small a gesture to Camilla.
But it was the thought that counted.
Sebastian wasn't one to sweat the small stuff.
Sure enough, he accepted it with a smile. "Thanks."
At eight twenty, Sebastian helped Camilla put on a lab coat and registered her fingerprint and iris info.
From then on, Camilla could just waltz into the lab whenever she wanted.
The metal doors slid open, and Camilla followed Sebastian, her eyes darting around curiously.
Sebastian said, "You can use the lab whenever you feel like it; no need to punch in every day. Just drop by when you have time."
Besides diving into the mountain of research papers Aurora had given her, Camilla was also keeping up with the latest in the field. Now she had an official research project to tackle, so she was super busy.
Sebastian knew this, but with Camilla's skills, she could totally juggle her time and get things done. Next, he gave her the lowdown on the lab.
Each lab had its own quirks and rules. Camilla listened closely and jotted down the key points.
"Right now, the lab's just for my research group. Besides me, there are four other members. I'll introduce you to them when I get the chance..."
Before he could finish, a guy in his forties with glasses strolled out of the break room.
He was tall and built like a tank, but he was holding a thermos cup with steam rising from it.
"Hey, Sebastian, do we have a new member?" The guy's eyes landed on Camilla, but it didn't make her feel weird.
Even though he was eager to know more, he maintained a composed and respectful demeanor.
Sebastian replied, "This is Hector Gordon, my colleague and one of the group members. He teaches basic physics at Harmony College."
"Hey there." Hector smiled and extended his hand. His face was so honest-looking, it was like he had "I'm a good guy" written all over it.
Camilla was caught off guard for a second, then smiled and shook his hand. "Hi, Professor Gordon. I'm Camilla, nice to meet you. I'm a friend of Professor Russell."
Hector raised an eyebrow, glancing at Sebastian before looking back at Camilla. He'd never seen Sebastian bring a friend to the lab before.
He said with a smile, "Don't be so formal, just call me Hector. We're not at school, so no need for titles. We're all friends here."
At nine o'clock, the other three group members started showing up.
First in was Betty Butler, rocking a simple hoodie and jeans with sneakers, looking super chill.
Camilla thought Betty was around her age, but during their chat, she found out Betty was 38 and had a kid in elementary school.
After getting her Ph.D., Betty stayed at Harmony College. She'd been doing applied physics research as a postdoc before Sebastian invited her to join his group.
She usually split her time between home, school, and the lab, with no other social life.
If she had any hobby, it was probably binge-watching TV shows on her tablet while waiting for data in the lab.
Two days ago, Betty's son had a fever, and with no one else at home, she went back to take care of him for two days before rushing back.
Darren Norris showed up a bit later, yawning as he walked in.
Darren had been busy tweaking data, needing help from the lab downstairs for some calculations. He'd been visiting them for two days and, having just gotten the results, couldn't wait to come back.
It was no surprise that he considered their lab the best.The environment downstairs was awful. Forget about dedicated restrooms and showers; even the toilets were shared by several research groups, and the smell was unbearable.
As soon as he walked in, he paused and asked the same question as Hector. "Hey, do we have a new member?"
Darren looked to be in his early thirties, tall and handsome. When he saw Camilla, a look of surprise flashed in his eyes, and he extended his hand first. "Hi, I'm Darren Norris. Welcome to our research group. Everyone here is super chill, so feel free to ask if you have any questions."
Camilla shook his hand warmly. "Thanks."
Accompanied by the sound of high heels clicking on the floor, the last group member arrived.
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