THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

The golden sunlight streamed through Kristin's window in a well-mannered announcement of the rising sun. Kristin's eyes flickered open, and she woke from deep slumber to yet another day that brought with it new hopes and aspirations. The golden rays of the late morning sun shone into her still bleary, sleep-laden eyes, irritating them. She quickly brought up her hands to guard them. She let out a suppressed yawn, her eyes closing once more as she took a few moments to enjoy the brief darkness. The beauty of the fresh new day wasn't tempting enough to goad her out of bed.

She'd slept late the previous night after attending a post-match get-together with some of her friends. Everything about her, from her arms to her feet, still felt heavy. Nevertheless, she reopened her eyes a moment later to steal a glance at the pointless alarm clock, glowing red, on her bedside table. She didn't want to sleep up to midday even though she was still tired.

But on noticing it was just 9:30 AM, she gave in to the temptation of sleep and went under the covers once more. She could afford to sink back into her dreamland for another hour or two since she had nothing scheduled for that Thursday morning.

But circumstances couldn't always go as one wished or wanted. No sooner had Kristin closed her eyes, intending to sink back into slumber, than her phone buzzed and vibrated on her bedside table. She still ignored it for a few seconds, trying her best to condition her mind into sleeping once again. She believed that whoever was calling would give up and wait after a few rings. However, the buzzing soon transitioned into her catchy Taylor Swift's <We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together> ringtone.

Kristin could no longer ignore her phone with that much noise close to her bedside. She stretched out an arm, intending to pick it up while cursing at herself for not putting it into silent mode when she was going to bed the previous night. All that was on her mind was to switch it off immediately and return to doing the needful, which was sleeping off her fatigue. She didn't wish to interrupt her morning beauty sleep just because of a call.

But on taking a peek at her smartphone's glowing screen, her eyes fully flickered open, stirring to full attention within an instant. Her thoughts quickly switched into a very high definition as she forced herself out of bed. Without a moment of delay, she pressed the "accept" button to receive the call.

"Hello, Kristin," A deep and slightly raspy voice said from the other end of the line. "How's your morning? Did I wake you?"

"Good morning, grandpa," Kristin spoke into the phone, making sure to keep her voice steady and devoid of any lingering signs of sleep. "I didn't expect your call today. I woke up earlier but was in the shower."

"Oh, okay," Martin Stein, her grandpa, replied. "No worries. I only wanted to check on you. It has been a long time, probably two months, without you visiting. Did you follow up with the sporting director about the possibility of taking a few months as an intern at the club? I had already mentioned it to him. He'd promised that he would consider you for some of the volunteer positions during the period before you start university."

"Oh, that," Kristin said, walking towards the large window that took up a large section of the wall on one side of her room. "I already met Mr. Erik Hoftun, and he promised that he would bring me on board during summer. If all goes well, I'll be attached to the publicity office."

"Okay, that's great, then," Mr. Stein said. "If you get any challenges there, call me. Although I'm already out of the management, my words still carry some weight at the club."

Kristin's smile faded on hearing that. She took a moment to organize her thoughts as she peered out of the curtains, noticing that there was already a pearly glow in the sky. But a moment later, she closed the curtains once again as the sun outside was too intense for her still bleary eyes.

"Grandpa," she said after a moment. "Did you find out if the new coach was involved?"

For a few seconds, there was silence at the other end of the line. But just as Kristin started getting worried that she'd caused her grandpa to hung up, his voice came through her phone's speaker once again. "Kristin," Mr. Stein said, his tone somber. "I've already confirmed that the new coach isn't one of them. It seems like they didn't get a chance to recruit him because of how fast he switched from being the academy coach to the manager of the senior side."

"Did you find out about the rest of the people involved?" Kristin probed, retracing her steps and sitting back on her bed.

"Yes, I have one suspect," Mr. Stein replied. "But let's not talk about this on the phone. And please don't try to ask the other club employees about this when you meet them. Stay out of this and focus on getting an internship. It'll be good for you if you're ever going to manage an agency in the future. Okay?"

"Yes, grandpa," Kristin replied, her tone humble.

"That's great," Mr. Martin said, his voice seemingly taking on a relaxed state. "If you get some time, come and see me, and I'll tell you all about the issues. Also, try to get that Zachary to visit me when you're coming. It has been a long time since I last saw him. I also need to warn him about such issues."

"Okay, grandpa," Kristin replied. "I'll tell him. How is your health, by the way? Are you feeling better after the surgery?"

"Don't worry," Mr. Stein replied. "I'm getting better with each passing day. Soon, we shall be making trips to the rest of the world like before." He added jokingly.

"That's great," Kristin said, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "But don't push yourself too much. Take it slow, and you'll get well in no time."

"Okay, take care," Mr. Stein said. "But please do go back and visit your family once in a while. They may not understand your dreams, but they still care about you. Okay?"

"Yes, grandpa," Kristin replied perfunctorily. "I'll try."

"That's my granddaughter," Mr. Stein replied excitedly. "I hope you do it soon. Goodbye." He added and ended the call right after.

A troubled smile outlined Kristin's face as she took one final glance at the screen of her iPhone before throwing it onto her bed. She didn't like it in the slightest when her grandpa requested her to visit her folks.

She could talk to her grandpa without any needless worries. After all, he was one of the few people in her family who truly understood her since he also enjoyed sports. Talking to the rest of her family members was another matter. She dreaded the idea of having to face them once again. She couldn't sit together with them in a room without an argument breaking out in a few minutes.

She hoped to avoid them as long as possible since they were set against her dream to be part of the sports industry.

When she was younger, they had continuously discouraged her from getting too involved in any sports. She couldn't remember a single time they'd taken her love for skiing, chess, and football into consideration. They'd always asserted that she needed to study and learn to handle the family businesses rather than wasting her time in fields where she had no talent.

At one time, when she'd stood her ground and insisted on joining some of the professional skiing clubs, they'd used their influence and blocked her from getting a membership. They'd even shipped her off to a boarding school in Switzerland soon after, citing that they needed to correct her rebellious attitude before it was too late. Had it not been for her maternal grandpa, she would have never gotten a chance to get involved in any sports, whether chess or football. She would have remained cooped up somewhere, reading accounting books and other boring stuff.

"Kristin, are you awake yet?" The voice of Monica Rønning, her flatmate, sounded from behind her bedroom door, accompanied by a couple of loud knocks. "Would you like to eat breakfast with me? I've made eggs, veggies, and some cookies."

"Okay," Kristin replied, yelling back. "I will be out in a few minutes. Give me a few minutes to freshen up."

Ten minutes later, Kristin sat opposite her flatmate on their small dining table, feasting on a light breakfast. Their dining room carried a happy vibe interwoven with the aroma of their meal which soothed Kristin to the bone. She felt her thoughts clearing further—all her worries forgotten as she enjoyed her breakfast.

"You didn't go for training today!" She said to her flatmate after finishing her breakfast.

"Day off," Monica Rønning responded, her eyes never leaving her bowl of cereal. "You didn't play the game yesterday?" Her flatmate queried after a while, in-between mouthfuls of cereal.

"I was watching Rosenborg's home game until late," Kristin replied, leaning back in her chair and sipping on her juice. "I came back very exhausted and couldn't concentrate."

"Oh," Monica said, glancing up for the first time to observe Kristin. "You'll fall in the rankings."

"I don't mind," Kristin replied, the corners of her mouth turning up. "I don't want to ascend the chess rankings so quickly. That would attract the attention of my folks even before I can join uni."

"Well, up to you," Monica said. "By the way, have you checked Olav Brusveen's Facebook page today? I mean Olav, the TV2 sports journalist."

"No," Kristin replied, raising a brow. "Why?"