Kyra's POV
I could barely keep my eyes open, my body heavy from exhaustion. The clock read 9:47 a.m., but it might as well have been 4 in the morning for how awake I felt. Vic, sitting beside me, was faring no better. We had both been up late the night before, playing GTA5 on PS5 until the early hours, even though Lotte had practically begged us to get some sleep.
"You're going to be grumpy tomorrow," Lotte had warned us, but we'd just laughed it off. Grumpy?
No way. We were fine until now, that is.
Dr. Bronze was at the front of the lecture hall, walking back and forth as she delivered the day's lecture. It wasn't the driest lecture we'd ever sat through, thanks to her charisma and the fact that she wasn't Professor Smith, who could put even the most enthusiastic footballer to sleep. But even Dr. Bronze's energy wasn't enough to keep my eyelids from drooping.
I stifled a yawn as I glanced down at my notebook. A few sad lines of half hearted scribbles stared back at me, barely decipherable. Vic nudged me with her elbow, and I turned to see her in the same state fighting off sleep like it was a full on match.
"You know Lotte was right," Vic whispered, her voice low so as not to draw attention. I glanced over at her and chuckled softly.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't rub it in," I muttered back. "Just remind me next time that sleep is important."
Vic grinned, but her smile quickly faded when both of our phones buzzed at the same time. I saw her hesitate before glancing around the room, checking if anyone had noticed. Dr. Bronze was still mid sentence, gesturing towards the projection screen, so I figured we were in the clear.
I reached into my bag and pulled out both our iPhones, handing Vic hers and glancing at the screen of mine. We both opened our team group chat to see a new message from our captain, Steph. My tired brain took a moment to process what I was reading.
Steph: "New coach arriving today at the club! Be ready for training."
Vic sat up straighter, a flicker of excitement breaking through the haze of tiredness. "Finally!" she whispered, a little louder than intended. "I thought we'd never get a coach."
I couldn't help but grin. "Yeah, I was starting to think we'd have to manage the team ourselves."
We both snickered under our breath, trying to keep it quiet, but it was too late.
"Pelova and Cooney-Cross!" Dr. Bronze's voice cut through the room like a whistle in a dead silent stadium. My heart jumped in my chest as I snapped my head up to see her staring directly at us. "Care to share what's so amusing?"
Vic froze, her eyes wide, and I felt heat rise in my cheeks. Dr. Bronze was intimidating on a good day, but right now, after getting called out in front of everyone, she was downright terrifying.
"Uh, no, nothing funny," I said quickly, trying to salvage the situation. "Excuse us, Dr. Bronze."
Vic nodded along beside me, biting her lip. "Yeah, sorry about that."
Dr. Bronze folded her arms, still staring at us for what felt like an eternity. Then, to my surprise, she sighed and her expression softened just a little.
"You know, phones aren't allowed during my lectures, right?" she said, her tone still firm but not as sharp. "I'll let you off this time, but only because I know you're usually respectful."
I exhaled, relieved that we weren't about to be properly chewed out. Dr. Bronze might have been tough, but she was fair. I'd heard rumors that she had a reputation for striking fear into students, but to be honest, she wasn't as scary as Professor Smith. And it helped that we'd known her from the first year, which probably earned us a bit of leniency.
