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My legs were folded as I sat in my favourite spot at the campus coffee shop with a book in my hands.

The weather was taking a turn from the sunny morning.

The rain had only started getting heavier after the tiny drops that fell half an hour ago.

A tiny flash of lightning appeared, quickly followed by the soft sound of thunder.

It was perfect.

In certain circumstances.

Not when you realize you got carried away by the book you’re reading to the point where you were going to be late for class.

‘Shit,’ I cursed out. Quickly but gently, I shoved the book into my backpack and rummaged through it to find my umbrella.

But as my hands continued to search through my pile of things over and over again, I tried to remember the last time I used it. Then it hit me: I used it yesterday and left it to hang near the front door of my apartment. I was in such a rush in the morning; I must’ve not noticed it when I left.

‘Are you kidding me?’ I whisper shouted at myself. The one day I didn’t bring my umbrella also happened to be when I absolutely needed it.

Groaning out my frustration, I zipped up my bag, checking once again to make sure I didn’t leave anything behind before heading to my next class of the day. My mind already dreaded taking the longer route to shield myself from the rain.

Tardiness wasn’t uncommon for me. But considering it was the first class of the semester, I wanted to make a good impression or, at least, not draw attention to myself and get called out by the lecturer in the upcoming weeks.

My class was to start in five minutes and if I quickened my pace, I might be able to reach there just a few minutes later.

Fortunately, the coffee shop—my favourite one on campus—wasn’t too far from the building where my elective was going to be.

After having spent two years here, I was pretty familiar with all my classrooms. However, my next class, Introduction to American Sign Language or ASL, was held at a different part of campus—the one that I rarely visited.

Once I safely arrived inside the building, I took out my phone on my way up the stairs to the second floor. I was thankful for my foresight in finding the classroom; otherwise, I would have been even later than I already was.

I was panting by the time I reached the door. I made sure that I was at the right one before twisting the door handle and heading inside.

My mouth was already preparing to apologize for being late when I noticed that the front desk was empty.

The instructor wasn’t there yet. I let out a sigh of relief.

Awkward apology avoided.

I quickly turned my attention to the rest of the classroom, searching for an empty seat. The space wasn’t anything extraordinary, same white walls and floor tiles— both things that had definitely seen better days. However, the tables and chairs were different.

Instead of the usual task chairs, the classroom was fully packed with rectangular tables from the front to the back, each one capable of comfortably fitting two people. Most of the tables were filled, except for the one at the back of the room, which was perfectly fine by me.

I made my way to the table and took my seat in time, just as the front door opened and a man, who looked to be in his fifties, stepped in.

‘Good morning, everyone,’ the man, whom I presumed was our instructor for the class, greeted us. He had a briefcase with him which he softly placed on the desk. ‘Sorry for the slight delay. Just give me a few minutes and then we can start the class.’

Taking out my notebook and pencil case from my backpack, I turned to a blank page and wrote the day’s date, along with the class name.

Once he settled himself, he opened the briefcase, taking out a piece of paper from a pile that was already covering the desk. ‘It seems that everyone is already here,’ he said. ‘So, let’s get started. Hi, every …’

He was interrupted mid-sentence by the squeak of the door, signalling the arrival of someone new.

‘Hey. I’m sorry for running late, the rain caught me off guard,’ I heard a masculine voice say as I was going through my bag to find the class syllabus that I had printed out yesterday.

‘No worries, Colton. We were just about to get started,’ our instructor replied. ‘I think there’s a seat available at the back.’

My hand stopped mid-task when I heard the name.

Colton.

There’s no way it was that Colton, right? I mean, it was a pretty common name.

The universe wouldn’t be that cruel.

But boy was I mistaken.

Because lo and behold, the Colton that was standing at the front door was none other than Colton Reed, the beloved star athlete of the college.

And he was heading straight to my table.

I was so focused on getting myself ready for the class that I didn’t even realize the seat our instructor was referring to was the one at my table. I gave a quick scan to the rest of the classroom to see if there were any other empty seats.

But nope, the only seat available was the one next to me.

My pulse started to speed up. My mind was freaking out.

I tried steadying my erratic heartbeat as Colton pulled out the chair next to me and took his seat.

‘Hi,’ he greeted me, a small smile on his face.

‘Hi,’ I croaked back, giving him a tiny wave, internally groaning at its awkwardness.

I tried to think of something else to say to shake off my embarrassment, but luckily, I was saved when the instructor decided to start his introduction once again.

‘All right, I think everyone is finally here, so best to get started.’ He cleared his throat before he began talking again, and this time he was also conversing in the sign language we were supposed to study.

‘Hello, everyone. I’m Mr Albert. I’m a CODA, which is Child of Deaf Adults, and I’ll be your instructor for this class.

Welcome to Introduction to American Sign Language (ASL) . ’

He continued with what would be covered on the course syllabus throughout the semester, as well as all the assessments.

I was looking through my own printed paper, my eyes searching for any assignments that required a partner. I let out a breath of relief when I couldn’t find any.

As long as we’re not partnered up together, I’ll be fine, I thought to myself.

But it seemed I may have celebrated too soon.

‘And, to those of you who have already printed out the syllabus, I do recommend you print a new one due to some new changes,’ Mr Albert announced.

Changes?

He can’t possibly mean …

‘As you are all aware, ASL is different from other languages because it doesn’t use any verbal words. Although most of your assessments will be individual, I decided to add one that requires you to be in pairs,’ he explained, confirming my worst fear.

‘There might only be one paired-work assignment, but I advise that you frequently meet up with your partner to practice. It’ll be a lot easier for you to grasp the language that way.

’ His phone rang at that very moment. Looking at the screen, he picked it up and excused himself from the class while he took the call.

‘I’ll be back in just a minute. You can take this time to find your partner. ’

Once he stepped outside, the room instantly came to life with everyone’s chatter, conversation upon conversation, breaking through the silence.

I tried to find someone whom I could partner up with, but it seemed everyone was already acquainted with the person next to them, which meant …

‘So,’ Colton said, snapping me out of my inner turmoil. ‘Do you want to partner up?’

‘Umm, I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ I answered him.

‘Why not? Are you thinking of dropping out of the class?’

‘No, but …’ I paused trying to come up with a reasonable excuse.

‘I’m just not sure if you’ll be able to free up some time to practice ASL with me.

I mean, doesn’t the baseball team train almost every day?

’ My eyes widened in horror at my words.

I had basically just revealed I knew who he was—so much for wanting to be nonchalant about it.

While I may not have known anyone else on the baseball team, I knew Nina, who was also a college athlete.

After being roommates with her for years, I knew just how much dedication it took to commit to being one.

Other than training with the team, Nina also set aside time to train on her own.

I can’t begin to imagine just how much more the baseball team trained, especially with their goal of defending their place as the nation’s collegiate baseball team champion.

Understanding dawned on Colton. ‘You know I’m on the baseball team then. I mean, we do. But I can make time to practice ASL with you, I’ll be helping you just as much as I’ll be helping myself. I want to get a good grade too, you know?’ he added teasingly.

A blush rose to my cheeks. ‘I didn’t mean to assume that you didn’t care about your classes.

’ At least I didn’t mean it entirely, but you can’t blame me for thinking that the baseball team might get a free pass after winning the Men’s College World Series, especially in a small elective class such as this one.

‘I know,’ he answered with a tilt in the corner of his mouth.

‘And I understand where you’re coming from—but trust me, the first thing our coach told us before we started each of our training was to not slack off our classes.

It’s either meeting the average grade requirement or he wouldn’t let us on the field.

Anyway, what I’m trying to say is, if I were to be your partner, I promise to set out time each week for us to practice together. ’

I took a moment to think over his words. While his engagement was not my biggest concern, it was nice to be reassured of his seriousness towards this class. But of course, I would still have the curse to think about.

‘How can I trust you to stay true to your word?’ I asked, instead.