Speakers:

• Ryan (Male student)

• Mateo (Female student)

[Ryan] Hey, is this seat taken?

[Mateo] Nope, go ahead—plenty of room. I’m trying to keep my notes from taking over the table.

[Ryan] Thanks. I’m Ryan, by the way.

[Mateo]Nice to meet you, Ryan. I’m Mateo. First time studying in this corner?

[Ryan] Kind of. I usually camp out near the windows, but it gets distracting. Figured I’d try the quiet zone today.

[Mateo] Good call. I’m here a lot—architecture major, so when the studio gets too noisy, I escape to the library.

[Ryan] Architecture sounds intense. I’m computer science. I’ve got a data structures quiz tomorrow, so I’m laying low and grinding through practice problems.

[Mateo] Data structures, huh? Hash tables and trees?

[Ryan] Exactly. And a sprinkle of graphs for fun. What brings you here today—design project or theory reading?

[Mateo] A bit of both. I’m sketching concepts for a community center and cross-referencing some case studies. The library has these awesome monographs you can’t find online.

I[Ryan] should use the print stuff more. I’m mostly on the laptop, but the quiet helps me focus. Are you more of a night owl or a morning person?

[Mateo] Night owl by necessity. Studio crits run late, so I end up here after dinner. You?

[Ryan] Afternoon power sessions. If I start too early, I crash; too late, my brain is mush. I set a timer and do 25-minute sprints.

[Mateo] The Pomodoro thing? I’ve tried it on design tasks. Helps me not over-tinker with one line on a drawing for an hour.

[Ryan] Exactly. What class are you working on the community center for?

[Mateo] Studio III. The prof, Dr. Bell, is all about daylight and circulation. I’m pairing it with Structures I, which makes sure my walls actually stand up.

[Ryan] i’ve heard of Dr. Bell—my roommate’s in industrial design and mentioned her. My favorite course this term is Algorithms; the prof uses real-world examples, which makes it less abstract.

[Mateo] I love when professors do that. In History of Modern Architecture, we walk around campus to look at buildings instead of just slides. Makes the lectures stick.

[Ryan] That’s cool. If you like history, have you read The Martian or Dune? Not history, but they got me into problem-solving mindsets—figuring things out with limited resources.

[Mateo] I loved The Martian—so many clever fixes. For architecture vibes, Invisible Cities by Calvino is a favorite. It’s not technical, but it makes you think about space in a poetic way.

[Ryan] I’ve heard of it but never picked it up. Maybe I’ll check it out after the quiz. Besides architecture, what else are you into?

[Mateo] I sketch in a little black notebook—people, buildings, coffee cups. And I climb at the campus wall on Fridays. You?

[Ryan] I play pickup basketball at the rec center and tinker with side projects—built a tiny app that tracks study time. Also, I’m in the board game club, which is a fun way to procrastinate with rules.

[Mateo] Board games are great for strategy. Ever play Azul or Spirit Island?

[Ryan] Azul, yeah. Spirit Island is on my list. We should try a game sometime when we’re not drowning in assignments.

[Mateo] I’m in. Also, if you ever want a change of scenery for studying, I usually book those small group rooms on the second floor. Better for talking through stuff without shushing.

[Ryan] That would be perfect for me to explain graph traversals out loud. Talking it through helps. And I could look at your sketches and pretend I know anything about sightlines.

[Mateo] Ha, I’ll trade you critique for a crash course in big-O notation. When’s your quiz again?

[Ryan] Tomorrow afternoon. I’ve got a practice exam I’m about to start. What’s your deadline?

[Mateo] Pin-up is Monday morning, so I’m polishing diagrams and figuring out materials. I want to grab a few books on passive cooling before I leave.

[Ryan] If you want to collaborate a bit, I could do a timed problem set now, then take a short break while you scan your sources. After that, maybe we hop into a group room and swap feedback?

[Mateo] That sounds ideal. I’ll put a hold on a room for an hour. Does 30 minutes from now work?

[Ryan] Perfect. I’ll set