Library love

"The football team."

"Hey!" I smiled at Mia, before sitting down next to her. Mia was the first friend I made in Journalism, and since day one, we've had an unspoken agreement that we sit together always.

"Hey! How was your weekend?" She asked me, grinning warmly. I glanced around the room, and noted that our professor was yet to arrive.

"It was alright. Same old, same old. Yours?"

"You can't same old, same old, me! I want the details!" She exclaimed.

"What details?" I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"The party? You went home with Alex Carter, didn't you?" She asked me, her eyes twinkling.

"Well, yeah, he drove my friends and me, but it wasn't a big deal. How do you know anyway?" I scrunched my nose in confusion.

"Alex Carter gets into a car with a girl- everyone's going to know," Mia shrugged:

"I didn't hear anyone was talking about it. I thought we left this in high school," I muttered glumly.  Mia opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off with our professor entering the room.

"Morning, guys!" Professor Warner walked in, a wide grin on his face.

There was a chorus of good morning's from the rest of the class, but my mind was still focused on the fact that people were talking about me. That wasn't supposed to happen.

"So I had a chance to go over all your assignments from last week, and I was impressed by majority of them. Of course, they all could do with a little bit of polishing, but that's to be expected. Now that we've got that assignment out of the way, I was thinking we could do something a little more fun, and a little more strenuous. I have a box full of slips of papers, with a particular club or team on it, and I want each of you to come up to my table, and pick one. Whatever slip you get- that decides what your project will be based on." Mia and I both turned to each other, with questioning looks.

"Let's say, for example, if you pick the chess club, you're expected to shadow the members, with an emphasis on shadow, making sure you don't disturb them or get in their way, and you have to take notes of their practices and competitions, including their habits, strategies, success or win rate, and so on. Their habits could include how often they meet, what they do in their meetings, what projects they're working on, and so on. Based on this, you have to compile all your information, and present it in the form of a magazine, with a variety of articles, all about your selected club.

A number of groans arose at the usage of article.

"Now, none of that. It may seem boring, but this is one of the most exciting assignments I give my classes. It lasts for approximately 2 months, give or take a few weeks, so you guys have plenty of time! Before you start picking your chits, any questions?"

A couple of hands went up. "Yes, Jack?" Professor Warner called on one of the guys sitting in the second row.

"How are we meant to get access to what goes on in the meetings? A lot of the clubs are strict about not sharing their work."

"None of you have to worry about that. I've spoken to the heads and the coaches of all the options, and all of them were more than happy to allow you to sit in during their meetings and practices. All you guys need to do is go up to them, and ask for the schedules of your respective team or club." Jack thanked him, and Professor Warner moved onto the next question, coming from a girl sitting at the back of the class.

"Is there a particular format for the article? Like are there certain sections that should be there, or anything?"

"I will email all of you a detailed summary, including what sections should be there, along with the timeline you guys should maintain, and so on. I'll try to get it to you by tonight, so keep your eyes open for that." The girl thanked him, and I turned to Mia, as Professor Warner went on to answer more questions.

"Do you have any team or club you're hoping to get in particular?" Mia whispered to me.

"Not really, do you?" If I was being completely honest, I was still pre occupied with the fact that I was being talked about.

"The basketball team. Connor's on it, so I wouldn't even have to work too hard to get information," Mia grinned cheekily. Connor was her boyfriend, and they'd been together over a year. I didn't know him very well, but he seemed nice enough.

"Ooh, then I hope I get the hockey team. I'll just get Aaron to fill me in on everything."

"Or the football team," Mia winked. I let out a fake laugh, but internally, I wanted to die.

Finally Professor Warner was done answering questions, and alphabetically, he began calling us up to his desk.

I sat back in my chair, nervous about what I would be assigned. It was during times like this where I wish my last name didn't start with a W.

"I've got the film club," Mia groaned, as she returned to her chair.

"That's not so bad, is it? I've seen them filming around, and it seems pretty cool," I attempted to make her feel better.

"I guess, but I was so certain I'd get the basketball team," she pouted.

"Why don't you just find whoever got the basketball team, and switch with them after class," I suggested, to which she shook her head.

"I can't. He's listing down the topic we got."

"Shit, I was counting on being able to swap with someone if I got some dumb topic," I complained.

Mia replied, but the sound of Professor Warner calling out to me caught my attention. I shot her an apologetic glance for cutting her off, before walking towards his desk. 

"Hazel, your article was wonderful! You have a real knack for writing," he complimented, as I stood in front of the desk.

I felt my cheeks get warm at his praise and I thanked him, internally kicking myself at how horrible I was at receiving compliments.

"Well, what are you waiting for! Pick a slip!"

I shoved my hand into the box, and jumbled around for a second, before pulling out what I hoped was the hockey team.

"And?" Professor Warner asked me in anticipation. 

"The football team," I trailed.

•••
apologies for the cliche