"Thanks," she said, taking it.


    "I didn''t know you had a boyfriend," I remarked.


    "Well, now you know," she replied with a slight smirk.


    I closed the door behind me to give Charlotte some privacy.


    "Is it the same girl asst time? Girlfriend?" Jinny asked.


    "Not girlfriend," I rified. "Anyway, thanks for the lighter again. Now, could you go?" I pointed out to the corridor.


    She said bye and left right after.


    When I got back to my room, Charlotte was already changing in the bathroom.


    She didn''t want to stay the night, and I wasn''t about to ask someone who isn''t my girlfriend to stay the night with me, so I drove her to her dorm.


    As she got out of my car, she flipped her fingers in a casual wave. "Till next time."


    I sighed. "Did I want to spend my time chasing women? No. After all, time is a limited resource... But I did have a lot of fun tonight."


    ...


    On Sunday, Jinny got a party going with maybe around 15 students somehow fitting into the small dorm room and some spilling into the hallway.


    By Monday, I was nursing a bit of a hangover.


    ''Ehh... I promised myself never again...'' I thought.


    In the morning, I dragged myself to the National Economics ss. The professor handed out the weekly test with a single question:


    "Briefly exin the main factors that contribute to long-term economic growth in a country."


    I wrote down the expected answer: Investment in education and health, umtion of physical capital, technological innovation, open markets and trade, stable legal systems and property rights, as well as sustainable fiscal policies.


    But I decided to add something that wouldn''t be expected from an undergraduate student, the country''s ability to understand investment behaviors and the impact of automation on thebor market. This topic wasn''t as pressing in 2002, so I knew it woulde across as a more astute observation and maybe grant me a few extra points.


    A few minutes before the lecture ended, Mia, Alex, Raheem, Sam, and I quietly left the hall.


    Mia was wearing a sharp ck-and-white outfit, like she was going to church,  "I already got a ss with a projector reserved; we just need aputer." She said.


    Alex turned to me, "So your notebook doesn''t have the right port?"


    "No," I answered.


    "Tsktsk," Raheem added, "The projector they have is like the first projector that has ever existed. It has EGA instead of VGA. What kind of joke is that?"


    Mia interjected, "I already asked for theputer in the front office. We just need to pick it up."


    "Mia''s doing everything. I don''t think we are needed anymore." Sam added quietly.


    Mia shot him a look, "If not for Jack, we''d be thest to present, not the first."


    We collected theputer and then went to the ss to present.


    The deal was like this: either make a presentation or write all the numbers on paper and present by heart.


    It was 2002 not 1990, so we made a presentation.


    As the ss filled out, Professor Oliver Bacri sat down at the back of the ss with, suprisingly, a coffee thermos.


    I guess a cup of coffee wouldn''t be enough for him today with how boring he thought the presentation would be.


    We started it up and Mia exined how, in a perfectlypetitive market, there are tons of buyers and sellers, andpanies can join or leave easily.


    Firms cannot influence the market price and must ept it as given.


    On the presentation there were clear visuals and diagrams. And this was the reason for why Mia prised me so much.


    The presentation making technology was quite new and most of the students had no idea how to use it.


    On the other hand I had many years of experience working in data visualisation trying to convince the old farts at the Johnson Family to put their money where MY mouth was.


    Alex discussed how, in an oligopolistic market, a fewrge firms dominate the market. How they manipte the market, including price-setting.


    He talked about industries such as the airline and telmunications sectors.


    Raheem spoke about the evolution of market structures over time and how they have changed in the U.S. up to 2002.


    Which markets were most skewed towards oligopoly.


    Like the soft drink industry with Coca-C and Pepsi.


    Sampared the two market structures in terms of efficiency. He discussed how perfectpetition leads to consumer benefits, while oligopoly can result in higher prices and reduced consumer choice.


    The presentation had been going smoothly, and it was time for thest segment.


    My segment.


    The projector disyed a series of charts illustrating the rise of oligopolistic tendencies.


    "Market dynamics shift over time," I began, pointing to the graphs. "These charts highlight a clear trend. As economies expand, industries often evolve frompetitive to oligopolistic."


    "This bubble graph shows a significant increase in market concentration. Aspanies grow and capturerger shares of their market, they often switch to a carnivore strategy, acquiring smallerpetitors."


    I nces over a few students, "This rises a question about capitalism. Markets tending to oligopoly can drive innovation, as the dominatingpanies have spare resources to spend on innovation, but on the other hand eliminatingpetition leads to power and wealth concentration, driving inequality."


    "And maybe just maybe, we are gradually eroding the ideal of the American Dream." I concluded.


    CLAP!CLAP!CLAP!


    "Très bien, très bien," Professoe Bacri said as he stood up with a wide smile, "I was so into it that I didn''t even drink my coffee." He looked directly at me, "Your group is getting an A for the project."


    Maybe for the Professor it was exciting, but some studentsy t on their desks even after devouring a coffee...


    People started leaving the room, "Great presentation!" some said.


    "Fuck. Now we actually need to try." Matt Roney muttered as he walked by.


    And then out of nowhere Lucas Surfer who was one of the onesying t on their desks, woke up and started talking gibberish.


    "Ey, yo! Did you guys catch Hurricane Lili on the west coast? I was out there surfing on the weekend. Anyone wanna hit the surf with me sometime?"


    I shook my head, "I can''t surf."


    Lucas pped me on the back,  "No worries, dude. I''ll teach you." he then nced at Alex and Raheem, "What about you guys?"


    Raheem looked at him like he was crazy, "Nope, not interested."


    Alex actually put his hand over Lucas''s shoulder, "I''m not against it, brother, but I think we have examsing."


    "Hey!" Mia started, "Why aren''t you asking me as well?" She made a sad face at Lucas.


    Everyone stared at her in surprise.


    Including me.


    ...


    25th October, 2002.


    "Don''t stress out~" they say, "Mid-term exams don''t really matter that much~" they say, as they pack hundreds of students into a single hall, each desk set with a nk sheet of paper, and teachers patrolling the aisles like hawks.