Inside, the warmth hits you immediately. So does the noise.

The main corridor stretches ahead, crowded with students filtering between classes, late-afternoon light streaming through tall arched windows. Somewhere down the hall, a group of girls are laughing. Someone's dropped their books. A professor is trying to get someone's attention over the chaos.

Behind her, near the staircase, you catch a flash of gold blond hair. A guy in a Briar hockey hoodie is leaning against the bannister, phone in hand, laughing at something on his screen. He hasn't noticed you yet.