Tale Teller (West Hampton U Series #1)

Chapter 2 ● Partners

-- Sameer --

My alarm goes off just as scheduled, but I was already awake. Three years of this and now my body knew to rise a minute before 7 every morning. Even during the summer breaks, sleeping in became a distant dream, no pun intended. I throw the blanket off myself and make my way towards the bathroom, once again extremely thankful for having one that wasn't shared by thirty other guys. Now I only shared it with two, but sometimes Ruhaan made up for the other 28.

Today was the first day of classes, which also meant the first day of our new training schedule. Coach really believed I could get the attention of some scouts before the year was over and so he was pushing me and the rest of the team harder than before. After last year's successful run as the second best team in the NCAA, coach was determined to make us first this time around. 

The gym was buzzing with the team back together, despite it being an early morning. All the new recruits were here too, visibly more nervous and wide-eyed compared to the others. Coach blows his whistle and yells for us to line up. He begins his usual start-of-the-new-year speech and Ruhaan is already yawning at the words we've heard twice now. I kick my foot against his before coach can see.

"Sorry," he grumbles, shaking out his floppy hair. A few more sentences and then Coach blows his whistle again, announcing the warm-up.

"What time's your first class today?" Ruhaan asks as we fall into a steady jog around the perimeter of the gym.

"10," I huff, feeling the hunger begin to rumble in my belly. "We need to finish on time so I can get coffee or something before class."

"What do you have?"

"Sociology. Field Research Methods. What about you?"

He slows down to a walk, putting his hands on his hips as he stretched side to side as he strolls behind me. "Don't know."

That gets a laugh out of me. "Off to a great start Rooh."

Ruhaan and I became fast friends in freshman year and it wasn't hard to see why. He must have been a beloved class clown in school, and he seemed to carry much of that into adulthood. Ruhaan was loyal, honest, and got along with everyone. He was also arguably the best player on our team but he never showed off or held that over anyone. He could have made captain if he cared enough to. Studying on the other hand was not his favourite thing but be not fooled by his exterior. Ruhaan was a deceptively smart guy. He just chose where to apply his talents and most of his classes were not it. We met in first year as the only two Desi freshman players on the team and became instant friends. Since then we'd been best buds and moved in to an apartment together this summer with my cousin Zain who started as a graduate student this year at UofWH.

Another whistle from Coach had me and Ruhaan flinching. "Line up puppies! Let's see if any you can throw better than my grandma."

The permanently long line at the campus coffee shop made me nearly late for class. With only a minute to spare before the professor would start, I flit into the classroom and scan the room for an empty seat. There's a few in the back but I know I won't be able to see a thing from there. I find one empty seat at one of the desks in the front with the other chair occupied by someone I recognize. I walk over quickly and pull out the wheeled chair.

"Sorry, I'm saving this for som-" she looks up at me as I let my backpack fall to the ground. "Oh Sameer. Hey."

"Hey Muskaan," I smile, sitting down. "Were you saving this for someone?"

She looks over at the door before biting the inside of her cheek and looking back at me. "No, all yours," she smiles prettily at me before looking back down at her notebook.