Chapter 2: New Challenges
The air inside Ridgeview University's gym smelled like sweat, rubber soles, and steel. Sheik Jin wiped his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt as he finished a set of bench presses. It had been a rough morning workout, and Coach had been extra strict since the Rams barely scraped a win in their last game.
"You good?" Lucas asked, spotting him as Sheik sat up.
"Yeah. Just thinking too much," Sheik said, swinging his legs off the bench.
Lucas grinned. "Thinking about Andrea again?"
Sheik didn't answer. But Lucas was right. Ever since that conversation by the bleachers, she'd been stuck in his mind like a song on repeat.
After practice, Sheik tossed on a hoodie and slung his bag over his shoulder. As he walked out into the campus quad, the breeze hit his face—cool and refreshing. And then, as if fate had lined it up, he saw her.
Andrea Mei sat cross-legged on a wooden bench beneath a flame tree, her laptop open and a stack of papers beside her. She was typing with focus, lips slightly parted, earbuds in, totally zoned in.
Sheik hesitated for a second, debating whether to approach her. He wasn't sure if she'd want to talk, but his feet moved anyway.
"Hey," he said, stopping just in front of her.
Andrea looked up, pulling one earbud out. "Oh. Hey, Sheik."
"You working on something important?"
Andrea nodded, glancing at the screen. "Stats project for sports analytics. I'm comparing offensive play effectiveness in collegiate-level soccer teams."
Sheik raised an eyebrow. "You're into that kind of stuff?"
Andrea smirked. "What, you think I just watch the game for the jerseys and dramatic falls?"
"No, I just—most people I talk to don't even know what a 4-3-3 is," Sheik said, half-laughing.
Andrea closed her laptop, leaning back. "I'm not most people."
He smiled. "Yeah. I'm getting that."
A short silence followed, comfortable this time.
"Your team's last match," Andrea said, "you hesitated before that final goal."
Sheik blinked. "You noticed that?"
"You were playing safe," she said simply. "You had a clean shot, but you passed instead. That's not the Sheik Jin I've seen play before."
He looked down, scratching the back of his neck. "I've been overthinking things. Coach keeps hammering me about playing smart, not flashy. And… well, I've got stuff on my mind."
Andrea tilted her head slightly. "You can play smart and still play like yourself. Sometimes the hardest part isn't the game—it's tuning out the noise."
Her words struck a chord deeper than Sheik expected. He gave her a look—curious, impressed.
"You ever think about coaching?" he asked.
Andrea laughed. "No thanks. I prefer staying off the field. I like the big picture. Strategies. Data. Negotiations."
"That's cool. You're good at it."
"Thanks," she said, a little caught off guard. "That's the first time anyone's said that about spreadsheets."
Sheik chuckled and Andrea smiled—really smiled this time. And just like that, the walls between them cracked a little more.
"Hey," she said, standing and slinging her bag over her shoulder. "I've got class, but… see you around?"
Sheik nodded. "Yeah. I hope so."
As Andrea walked away, Sheik stood there for a few more seconds, letting her words echo in his mind.
Sometimes the hardest part isn't the game—it's tuning out the noise.
He smiled to himself, a bit of the pressure on his shoulders lifting. For the first time in a while, he wasn't just playing for wins or his dad's approval. He had a new reason to play—with someone watching who actually saw the real him.