Page 8 of The Girlfriend Goal
"Is that Lance Fletcher?" Samantha whispered. "Since when does he take advanced classes?"
"Since never, probably. He's a senior who just declared his major. Probably needs this to graduate."
"Still." She craned her neck for a better look. "You have to admit he's gorgeous. That jawline could cut glass."
"If you're into that whole 'I've never faced a consequence in my life' aesthetic."
Samantha laughed. "Bitter much? Did he ghost you or something?"
"Please. I have standards." I pulled up my notes from the reading. "Besides, you know my rule. No athletes."
"You're an athlete."
"Male athletes," I clarified. "They're all the same. Ego first, everything else second."
"That's a bit harsh, don't you think? Tom from the swim team is really sweet. He volunteers at the animal shelter."
"Exception that proves the rule." I glanced at the clock. Two minutes until class. "Besides, I don't have time for distractions. Not with nationals coming up and grad school applications and—"
"And your sixteen other responsibilities, I know." Samantha patted my shoulder. "You know it's okay to have fun sometimes, right?"
Professor Latham saved me from responding, bounding into the room with his characteristic enthusiasm.
"Good morning, everyone. I hope you're all ready to dive deep into the fascinating world of sports psychology." He pulled up his presentation. "Before we get into today's material, let me tell you about the semester project that will comprise 40% of your grade."
A collective groan went up from the back of the room—probably the contingent who'd thought this would be an easy A.
"You'll be working in pairs to develop and implement a comprehensive mental training program for youth athletes at the Greenfield Community Center. This isn't just theoretical—you'll actually be working with kids aged 10-14, helping them develop mental skills for sports and life."
My hand shot up. "Will we be able to choose our target population? Different sports have different psychological demands."
"Excellent question, Rachel. You'll be assigned a mixed group—soccer players, basketball players, swimmers, even some young hockey players. The challenge will be creating a program that addresses universal mental skills while acknowledging sport-specific needs."
I was already mapping out potential modules in my head. Goal setting, visualization, anxiety management, confidence building—
"Now, for partnerships." Professor Latham pulled up a list. "I've assigned these randomly to encourage diverse perspectives and prevent friend groups from clustering together."
My stomach dropped. Random assignments were the worst. I'd probably end up with some slacker who'd expect me to do all the work while they coasted on my effort. Story of every group project since middle school.
He started reading names. Each pairing announcement felt like watching a reality show elimination. The good partners were disappearing fast, leaving me with an increasingly dire pool of possibilities.
"Sarah Martinez and Josh Chen."
There went my first choice. Sarah was brilliant and hardworking.
"Rachel Fox and..." He paused, scanning his list. "Lance Fletcher."
"No." The word came out before I could stop it—a sound somewhere between disbelief and physical pain. I turned to stare at the back corner where Fletcher sat, meeting his equally shocked expression.
"Is there a problem, Ms. Fox?" Professor Latham's voice carried a note of concern.
"Actually, yes." I raised my hand properly this time, trying to sound professional rather than panicked. "I have some scheduling conflicts that might make partnering difficult. Could I possibly—"
"I'm afraid partner assignments are final. Learning to work with challenging partnerships is part of the real-world application of sports psychology."
Challenging partnerships. What a delicate way to phrase "stuck with your worst nightmare."
I gathered my materials with as much dignity as I could muster, which wasn't much considering my hands were shakingwith suppressed rage. The walk to the back of the room felt like a funeral march.
