Close to midnight in a Stanford biology hallway, Olive impulsively kisses the first person she sees to sell a lie to her approaching friend, Anh. The kiss initially fumbles, then steadies as the man briefly responds—until Olive recognizes him as Dr. Adam Carlsen, a notoriously exacting young professor.

Stunned, Adam asks if Olive kissed him. When she deflects, he coolly cites Title IX and implies he could file a complaint. Pressed to explain, Olive confesses that she told Anh she was already dating so Anh would feel free to accept an invitation from Jeremy, a guy Olive briefly dated who clearly likes Anh. Seeing Anh nearby, Olive acted without thinking and used Adam to make the lie convincing.

Adam listens, dryly noting the illogic of kissing a stranger, but he does not immediately escalate. Olive apologizes repeatedly, acknowledging she misread his response as consent. Overwhelmed by the situation and Adam’s scrutiny, she decides to leave, insisting he should report her if he felt harassed.

As Olive bolts, Adam calls after her—using her name—while she sprints home, rattled. There, she realizes she left her mice unchecked, her laptop and sweatshirt in the lab, and forgot to buy coffee for her roommate Malcolm, capping a disastrous night. She never notices that Adam somehow knew who she was.