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FaceTime chimes helpfully. Incoming call from Theo. He picks up and is treated to eight blurry pixels of his boyfriend's face. "OK, stop flirting with me, because it's working," Khalid says.
“We are dating. That was a picture of my sourdough starter.”
“Right.” Khalid pops in an earbud and stands. “C’mon, I’m taking you on a walk.”
“What, is it time for your second lunch break already?”
Khalid slips into a rural British accent. “You mean luncheon, Mister Frodo?” He picks out a coffee capsule—mm, Caramello sounds interesting—and pops it into the Nespresso.
“God, you’re such a nerd.” Theo’s voice echoes slightly, like he’s far from the microphone—Khalid can picture him pacing around their tiny kitchen, cell phone on speaker.
“It’s why I love you. How are the proteins? Are they folding?”
Khalid could live off of the breathy, if distracted, laugh he hears over the line. Tin that and sell it. “Mhm. Did you know they named a protein after Sonic the Hedgehog?”
“You’re shitting me.”
“I’m serious. The original gene—they found it in fruit flies, obviously—was called the ‘hedgehog’ gene because mutations made the embryos look spiky and quilly. And then they kept naming related genes after species of hedgehog."
“Damn. How many hedgehog genes did they name until they got to Sonic?”
“Um…” Theo trails off. “I can't remember. Maybe two?”
Khalid barks out a laugh that earns him a strange look from a colleague nursing their Maruchan. “They gave up after two? Literal actual biologists could only come up with two species of hedgehog before they went for motherfucking Sonic?" He takes a deep breath, sighs. "I love hearing you explain your research."
"Well…"
Khalid lowers his voice, puts on a stern affect. "You mean Sonic doesn't have anything to do with your thesis?"
Theo's voice jumps an octave into a whine. "I’m in lit review hell, okay! Leave me alone! Sometimes you fall down a rabbit hole and spend an evening reading about Sonic the Hedgehog!"
"For science."
"For science."
"Well, I'm glad you're being so productive today," Khalid says, with heavy sarcasm. "How's that sourdough coming?"
“I’m tradwifing too close to the sun.” Completely deadpan: “If I keep going I'll have to detransition."
Khalid chokes on a laugh and is both acutely glad and disappointed that he's the only one who can hear Theo. "Hey, my coffee's ready." He extracts his mug from the oversized coffee apparatus.
"You're an addict," Theo informs him. Khalid can picture his grimace from his voice alone.
"I'm just trying to make the most of my mid-day pick-me-ups while I still can." Ramadan starts in a few days—his first after graduation. He's lived here for almost a year, but the new city can still feel lonely and cold, even with the sun always shining outside his window. His parents encouraged him to visit some uncle (his dad's cousin, he thinks?). He should; it's good to connect with other Muslims, find a local support network. Still, it'll be strange without his family.
Khalid shakes himself out of his navel-gazing. "Wanna hear the review? I think you'd hate this one a little less than normal."
Theo sighs. "Sure. What flavor?"
"Ca-ra-mel-lo," Khalid says, luxuriating in each overdone Italian syllable. "Strong bouquet of caramel." He takes a sip. "Initial notes, caramel—" he smacks his lips and thinks a little—"with a strong caramelly aftertaste."
"Sounds almost tolerable."
"I can nab some for you if you're curious."
"I'd love nothing less. Why don't you quit with the coffee reviews and get back to the code review?"
Khalid groans a long, theatrical, cathartic groan. Then he breathes deep. He is brave. He is competent. He survived so much LeetCode practice to get here. "OK."
"There you go. Move fast and break things, babe. I believe in you."
"Love you too." Khalid sends some pantomimed air-kisses into the void before hanging up.