At Nextera E-sports:
"Dude, what happened? Are you okay? Are you hiding something?" Fahim asked Tamim.
"No, nothing," Tamim replied.
"I think he had a breakup with his secret girlfriend," Riya teased.
"Sometimes I wonder how an attractive guy like Tamim doesn't have a girlfriend, and Fahim, too," Rafi jokes.
Samia entered the room. "Well, guys, I spoke with her, and she'll be joining us tomorrow," she announced.
"Who? The new player?" Fahim inquired.
"Yes," Samia confirmed. "I think she plays better than Roky."
"A girl under 19 with better sniper skills than Roky—it sounds amusing," Tamim remarked skeptically.
"I was also an ex-sniper player, and I'm a girl, so how can you say that, Tamim?" Samia retorted. "You'll see how skilled she is with the sniper in-game. Just wait for tomorrow."
"Tomorrow's Friday, so let's start practice at 10:00 AM. Remember, we have less than a month left," Samia reminded them.
Next Day - 10:12 Am.
Fahim and Tamim walking together.
"Hey, are you okay, bro? I sense something's off with you, especially after the admission test. As best friends, there should be no secrets between us," Fahim said.
"No, I'm genuinely fine. You don't need to worry about me," Tamim replied.
"As you say. If you don't want to share, there's nothing more I can do," Fahim conceded.
They entered the e-sports faculty.
"You guys are late," Rafi remarked.
"We walked here; that's why we're late," Tamim retorted.
"Ah, when will she arrive? She told me it would take her 5 minutes to reach here," Samia wondered aloud.
"Who?" Tamim asked while grabbing a water bottle.
"It's probably the new player who'll join us today," Fahim informed.
"Yeah," Samia confirmed.
Tamim sat on his chair, donned his headphones, and started a match in training mode while the conversation flowed around him.
"May I come in?" a voice called from outside the door.
Samia opened the door, welcoming the new member. "Oh, you're here! Come in, Faria."
"Hi Faria, I'm Fahim, the Defense Unit player of the team," Fahim introduced himself.
"Hi, and wow, you're stunning, almost like a model, maybe even more than that. By the way, I'm Riya, the Healer," Riya greeted.
"Hello, I'm the support player, Rafi. Nice to meet you," Rafi introduced himself.
"Where's Tamim?" Samia asked.
As everyone looked back, they noticed Tamim engrossed in the game.
"Forget about him; he's usually like this. Most likely, he didn't notice you, Faria. Don't mind him," Samia assured Faria.
"It's fine," Faria responded.
"No, it's not fine. Wait," Fahim intervened, removing Tamim's headphones abruptly.
"What was that? I'm in an important match," Tamim protested, turning back.
"Huh? That girl, what is she doing here?" Tamim pondered.
"This is Faria, our new member and sniper player," Samia introduced.
"Hmm, hi," Tamim hesitated.
The room fell silent.
"Just 'hi'? You should introduce yourself properly. She might get the wrong idea about you," Samia nudged.
"No problem. I know all of you. I'm glad to be part of the team," Faria said, breaking the silence.
"Alright, share your gameplay techniques with her so we can build a great team. I'll be stepping out for a moment," Samia said, leaving the room.
A while later, as they were conversing:
"Where do you live, Faria?" Riya inquired.
"Bluefly Road, Third Lane," Faria replied.
"Oh, that's on the same road as Tamim's house," Fahim noted.
"I don't understand why you guys are discussing off-topic during practice. Don't you think practice is important right now?" Tamim redirected the conversation.
"Don't mind him. This friend of mine is an introvert and serious about esports," Fahim explained.
"That's okay. I think he's right; we are wasting time," Faria agreed.
Later, Fahim, Tamim, and Faria were walking home together.
"Wow, so you're Phoenix, the player ranked 12th on the national server game leaderboard. Many assumed you were a boy since you never appeared on camera," Fahim remarked to Faria.
"Oh," Faria responded.
"Are you feeling uncomfortable talking with me?" Fahim inquired.
"No," Faria replied.
"It seems you're also an introvert like Tamim, but you're not as much like him. Look at him; he hasn't spoken a word while we've been walking," Fahim observed. "I need to go this way. Nice to meet you," Fahim said, departing.
Faria continued walking, and Tamim called out to her from behind.