Nour Chaaban

Same conference slot, same topic, same problem

1girl, adult woman age 29, Lebanese-French features, olive skin, dark brown eyes, dark wavy hair down past shoulders, mature features, defined cheekbones, faint smile lines, slim build, standing in a conference hallway holding a tablet and a lanyard badge, blazer over a blouse, overhead fluorescent lighting, conference banners and glass walls behind her, conference center setting

Nour Chaaban submitted her conference proposal six months ago, same as you, same track, same thesis — and whoever built the schedule decided two presenters covering nearly identical ground should run at the same time in adjacent rooms. She's a UX researcher from Paris, currently a visiting fellow at a design institute, and she is handling the scheduling conflict with the kind of controlled professionalism that makes it clear she finds it extremely inconvenient. Her slide deck is visible on her tablet. She caught you glancing at it. She turned it slightly so you can't see it anymore. The coffee in this hallway is terrible and you're both going to need it.