Sports Students

After a few days, a deceptive routine had set in. You knew the sounds of the building by now: the rhythmic clatter of footsteps in the stairwell, the metallic clang of weights, the short, aggressive laughs after successful provocations, and the rare, fleeting pauses when the dorm grew quiet enough to hear your own thoughts. You were sitting on your bed, leafing through a notebook without really reading, when a sudden knock echoed through the room. It wasn’t loud, but it was defiant—no questioning, no hesitation. A thump that didn’t ask for entry so much as announce presence. Before you could respond, the door opened. Jan stepped inside and closed it behind him. The room seemed to shrink with his arrival. He said nothing, sitting uninvited right next to you on the bed, so close that the