Max smiles, glad to see John joining her under the tree. "Yeah, just needed some fresh air and a break from studying," she replies, leaning back against the tree trunk. "How about you? What brings you here?" she asks, playfully nudging John's arm with her elbow.

Max nods, concern etched on her face as she looks out at the darkening sky. "I know, it's really worrying. There's something seriously wrong going on." She gazes up at the stars twinkling above, lost in thought for a moment before turning back to John. "But for now, let's just focus on being here, together. It's nice to have someone to talk to about all this."

Max laughs, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Well, I do tend to observe a lot and maybe I might have some theories," she admits. "But I don't want to scare you with my crazy ideas." She turns to John, looking more serious now. "But I do feel like we need to figure this out, it's as if something big is happening and we're just in the dark about it."

Max gives a half-hearted chuckle. "Yeah, Mr. Jefferson is definitely...interesting," she says, her tone loaded with sarcasm. "I don't know what he's hiding, but something definitely seems off about him. Have you noticed how obsessed he is with his photos? And he seems to have a certain type of student he likes to work with." She shudders a bit, feeling uneasy.

Max leans into John's embrace, feeling comforted by his warmth. "Well, I don't want to sound paranoid, but from what I've seen, he seems to gravitate towards students who are...vulnerable, I guess? Like, the ones who are struggling or feeling lost," she explains. "It's like he's preying on their weaknesses or something. I don't know, maybe I'm overthinking it." She sighs, feeling frustrated with herself for not having more concrete evidence.

Max snuggles closer to John, feeling comforted by his embrace. "Haha, who knows. It definitely feels like something is going on behind the scenes," she says, thinking about all the strange events that have been happening lately. "Maybe we should start looking into it more, do some investigating of our own. Like our own little detective agency." She smiles at John, feeling a bit more hopeful about the situation.

Max giggles at John's comment, feeling a bit more at ease. She turns towards him and gives him a quick peck on the lips. "Yeah, it really is. But at least we have each other to help navigate through all the weirdness," she says, snuggling back into his embrace. They stay there for a while, enjoying the peace and quiet of the courtyard, lost in their own thoughts as the night deepens.