The Introduction
The gymnasium was unusually quiet.
Dan sat on the polished floor with his back against the wall, staring across the empty court. Beside him sat Ken and Vin, both still wearing their practice jerseys.
For several seconds, none of them said anything.
Finally, Ken broke the silence.
“So… what are we supposed to do now?”
Vin glanced at him.
“What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean.”
Ken gestured toward the empty court.
“Look around.”
Vin did.
There were barely enough players to form a proper team.
Dan remained silent.
Ken leaned back and sighed.
“We need more players.”
“We know,” Vin replied.
“And nobody is joining.”
Vin shrugged.
“Why would they?”
Ken looked at him.
“Exactly.”
Volleyball had never been the school's most popular sport. Football attracted most of the students who wanted to compete. The stronger teams drew attention, while their volleyball team had been slowly losing players year after year.
And now they were running out of both players and time.
Ken rubbed the back of his head.
“Any first years show up?”
“Not that I've heard,” Vin said.
Ken sighed.
“They'd rather join football.”
Vin looked toward Dan.
“What do you think, Captain?”
Dan didn't answer.
He sat a short distance away, staring at the court.
But he wasn't really looking at it.
His mind was somewhere else.
A few days earlier, Dan had seen a boy on this very court.
A volleyball had been flying through the air.
The boy had jumped.
Then came the spike.
Dan still remembered the sound of the ball being struck and the force behind it. It had caught him completely off guard.
It hadn't looked like a normal hit.
There had been something raw about it.
Something almost instinctive.
And then Dan remembered what happened afterward.
The boy had broken down.
Dan still didn't know why.
He didn't know who the boy was.
He didn't know what had happened to him.
But he hadn't been able to forget him.
Who is that kid?
Dan's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the gymnasium door opening.
Everyone looked toward the entrance.
A boy stood there with a bag over his shoulder.
Dan recognized him immediately.
It's him.
Ken looked at the newcomer.
“Hey. You must be a new first year.”
The boy nodded.
Dan walked toward him.
“I'm Daniyal Sheikh. Third year. I'm the captain of the volleyball team.”
He gestured toward the others.
“That’s Kasim Nazeer. He's a second year.”
Kasim raised a hand.
“Yo.”
Dan continued.
“And that's Wajahat Ali. Third year.”
Wajahat gave the newcomer a small nod.
The boy looked at all three of them.
“I'm Sami Khan.”
He paused.
“But you can call me Sam.”
Kasim's eyes immediately lit up.
Sam.
He looked at his only junior.
Then at himself.
Kasim Nazeer.
There was no way he was going to waste this opportunity.
He couldn't believe his junior had a cool nickname and he didn't.
So obviously, he needed one too.
Kasim straightened his posture.
“I'm Kasim Nazeer.”
He looked directly at Sam.
“But you can call me…”
He paused dramatically.
“Ken.”
Dan immediately understood what he was doing.
Wajahat understood too.
Dan sighed.
“Sure.”
Wajahat looked at Kasim.
“You just changed your name?”
Ken grinned.
“It's a nickname.”
“That's not how nicknames work.”
“It's my nickname now.”
Wajahat quietly gave up.
He shook his head and turned toward Sam.
“Anyway, I'm Wajahat. Third year.”
Before he could continue, Ken interrupted.
“You can call him Vin.”
Wajahat immediately turned toward him.
“No, you can't.”
Ken pointed at him.
“Yes, you can.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Ken.”
“Vin.”
“Stop.”
“Vin.”
While the two continued bickering, Dan looked at Sam.
“I guess you can call me Dan, then.”
Wajahat slowly turned toward him.
Dan froze.
“…What?”
Wajahat stared at him.
Dan's expression tightened with embarrassment.
“I was just saying…”
He cleared his throat.
“Anyway. Let's move on.”
Ken smiled proudly.
“Dan's a cool name.”
Dan looked away.
“Just forget it.”
Dan turned his attention back to Sam.
“So, Sam. What position do you play?”
Sam hesitated.
“I… don't know.”
Ken raised an eyebrow.
“You don't know?”
Sam shook his head.
Dan looked at him.
He already knew what Sam could do.
He had seen that spike.
He had felt the power behind it.
But he didn't reveal any of that.
Instead, he casually pointed toward Ken.
“Ken plays left-wing spiker.”
Ken gave Sam a confident nod.
“The best there is!”
Dan ignored him and pointed toward Wajahat.
“Vin is our middle blocker.”
Wajahat frowned.
“I'm Wajahat.”
Ken immediately interrupted.
“Vin.”
“No.”
“Vin.”
Dan continued as though nothing had happened.
“And I'm the setter.”
Sam nodded slowly.
“I don't really know which position I should play.”
Dan paused.
“Okay…”
He let the word hang for a moment.
“Then I guess we'll have to figure that out.”
Dan watched him carefully.
Then he asked,
“So… what do you like about volleyball?”
Sam didn't answer.
His eyes dropped toward the floor.
What did he like about volleyball?
The truth was…
He didn't know.
It wasn't the game.
It wasn't the competition.
It wasn't even the team.
There was something else.
Something he couldn't explain.
Dan noticed his silence.
He glanced toward Ken.
Then toward Vin.
The two exchanged a brief look.
Dan turned back to Sam.
His expression became unusually serious.
“Then tell me something, Sam.”
He paused.
“Why do you want to play volleyball?”
Sam looked up.
For the first time since entering the gym, he had no answer.
---
A Few Days Earlier
Sam stood alone on a rooftop, staring out over the city.
His eyes were filled with tears.
He felt exhausted.
Not the kind of exhaustion that disappeared after a good night's sleep.
It was something deeper.
Something that had been building inside him for years.
Sam closed his eyes.
“I'm sorry, Mom.”
His voice trembled.
“I know you wouldn't want this for me…”
He struggled to continue.
“But I can't take it anymore.”
Then came the memories.
His mother's laugh.
Her smile.
The warmth in her eyes.
The way she used to sit beside him when he was little.
The way she cared for him and fed him when he was too young to do it himself.
Small moments.
Ordinary moments.
Memories that had become precious only because they were gone.
Sam opened his eyes.
“I'm sorry, Mom…”
His voice broke.
“I'm sorry.”
He wiped his face, but the tears continued.
“I've been alone for six years.”
He looked away.
“I never had any friends.”
His voice became quieter.
“I can't even talk to people anymore.”
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then—
THUMP.
Sam froze.
Another sound followed.
THUMP.
He turned toward the distance.
A volleyball.
Through the open windows of a gymnasium, three boys were practicing.
Sam didn't know them.
He simply watched.
Another volleyball struck the floor.
THUMP.
Something inside him shifted.
The sound felt familiar.
Then the memories came.
Two young boys running together.
Laughing.
Chasing each other.
Playing.
Cheering.
Another flash—
A volleyball.
One of the boys called out:
“Sam! Do this!”
Another memory—
“Sam! Over here!”
Laughter.
Running.
A friendship that felt impossibly distant.
Then—
Nothing.
The memories vanished.
Sam stood completely still.
His breathing was unsteady.
One hand slowly moved to his chest.
Tears fell down his face.
His lips trembled.
“…Omar.”
---
Present Day
“Why do you want to play volleyball?”
Dan's question echoed through Sam's mind.
Sam looked at him.
For a moment, he said nothing.
His eyes drifted toward the volleyball lying near the court.
The memory returned.
Two boys.
A volleyball.
A voice from a time he could barely reach anymore.
Sam lowered his eyes.
“I…”
The word barely escaped him.
He stopped.
He didn't know how to explain it.
He wasn't even sure he understood it himself.
Finally, he looked back at Dan.
“I don't know.”
Dan watched him carefully.
There was clearly something behind those words.
But he didn't ask again.
Instead, he simply nodded.
“Alright.”
Dan picked up the volleyball and tossed it toward Sam.
Sam caught it.
“Then we'll figure it out.”
Sam looked down at the volleyball in his hands.
He still didn't know why he had come here.
Not yet.
But for some reason…
he didn't let go.
Before Dan could say anything else, the gymnasium door opened again.
A boy stepped inside.
He looked around the gym before noticing the group.
Dan turned toward him.
“Oh.”
He nodded toward the newcomer.
“Looks like another first year.”
The boy approached them.
Dan smiled.
“Hey. What's your name?”
The boy straightened slightly.
“Ali Ahmer.”
Dan nodded.
“First year?”
Ali nodded.
“Yeah.”
Dan glanced toward Sam.
“Sam, this is Ali. He's another first year.”
Ali looked at Sam.
Sam looked back at him.
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
Then Ali gave a small smile.
“Hey.”
Sam hesitated.
Then returned it.
“Hey.”
And just like that…
Sam wasn't the only first year in the gym anymore.
