Among the many things Michael had anticipated finding on the other side of Director Lin's door, Teacher Brian had not appeared on any version of that list.
The moment recognition landed, Michael felt two things in quick succession. The first was something close to excitement. The second was an awkwardness that settled almost immediately behind it, because Michael was not entirely sure how to calibrate his reaction.
Teacher Brian had known him when he was a newly awakened student barely finding his footing. The distance between that version of him and the current one was not a small gap, and he had not had time to think about how to bridge it naturally.
Across the room, Teacher Brian's expression told a similar story.
"It seems the two of you know each other."
Director Lin's voice pulled both of their attentions back to the room.
