She invites me in

We reach Maya’s dorm, and she unlocks the door before turning back toward me.

“Do you want to come in for a minute? I just need to grab my notebook.”

I hesitate. It would be easy to just wait outside, but the invitation feels completely innocent. “Yeah, sure.”

I step inside, trying not to overthink it. Maya walks over to her desk and starts looking through a stack of papers. I stay near the doorway, hands in my pockets, telling myself there’s nothing unusual about this. She’s grabbing a notebook, I’m waiting, and then I’ll head back to my own dorm.

Still, somewhere in the back of my mind, I hear that familiar voice reminding me how quickly a harmless situation can become something more complicated.