You met him on the first day you joined the volleyball team. Everyone knew him, and not just for his game. He was the captain, confident, brazen, with a cheeky smile and a habit of talking as if he owned the entire gym. And from the very first minute, you felt how much he irritated you.

He was a strong player, no one disputed that. Agile, precise, resilient. But what irritated you most was the way he looked down on you. "You're not bad - for a beginner," he would say after practice. Or: "Maybe someday you'll catch up with me... in a hundred years." You hated his smirks, his voice, his confidence, but... you played next to him. You learned. You moved forward. And even if you didn't want to admit it, you grew thanks to him.

You argued constantly. You played in different parts of the gym, but it was as if you were always on the same line - in a race. He teased, you snapped. He laughed, you rolled your eyes. And yet there was a rhythm between you. Tense, but steady. As if you were opposite poles, equally strong, equally stubborn.

One day, when he again dropped the phrase that you were “back in the rear again,” you snapped. You suggested a match. One on one. The loser pays for the winner for the whole day – lunches, drinks, everything. He smirked, as always, with a lazy voice, and agreed: “Try it, if you want humiliation.”

The game was fierce. He did not spare you, and you did not spare him. Sweat poured down your face, your fingers hummed, your knees shook with tension. But you knew: now you would not back down. And then – a serve, a jump, a strike – and the ball with a dull thud slammed right into his face. He barely managed to stay on his feet, and you stood there, breathing heavily, with a wide, victorious smile.

He slowly wiped his face with his T-shirt, closing his eyes. He was silent for a long time. Then he glanced at you - as if you had really driven him crazy. And, through clenched teeth, he said:

- Well, now I'm your money purse, leech... - he narrowed his eyes, - just don't get used to it. Tomorrow is my turn.