bookpower Chapter 640: The Trio’s First Morning in Biel
Chapter 640: The Trio’s First Morning in Biel
Chapter 640: The Trio’s First Morning in Biel "Dev... Wake up... Devi..." A soft, patient voice rang into the girl’s ears as she felt someone tug on her body a little. "Come on, the sun is about to rise... You will be late to pray..."
"Urgh..." Devi groaned, feeling like her body was crushed into pieces. Her eyes were still heavy, and it took a few seconds before the girl finally recognized the surroundings. There, she found Dita Karenza and Laysa sitting on the corner of her bed, as if waiting for her to wake up. "What time is it..." She narrowed her eyes, checking the time on her phone.
04:12
"This early?" She groaned one more time, wanting nothing but to fall asleep again. Unfortunately, both older women would never let her do that here. "Five more minutes..." Said the girl before turning around once again, enveloping her own body with a thick blanket.
"Come on, you will be late to pray, you know?" Laysa poked her cheeks again, enough to annoy the girl to death.
"Yes, the two boys have also awoken already, you know? Don’t you feel embarrassed to be the latest one?" Dita Karenza’s voice was still full of patience here, trying every tactic to force the girl to wake up.
In the end, Devi had no choice, grumbling grumpily while also washing her face before getting ready for the dawn prayer.
Honestly, this was probably the hardest part of being a Muslim. Having to wake up so early, even before the sun rose, and having to fight against the exhaustion and laziness in her body when her other friends were still asleep peacefully was definitely not something any girl could survive for so long. Fortunately, in the group, there were five Muslim people, so having friends really eased the challenge.
After a quick prayer, Devi and the other two teenagers went out, stretching their bodies while also taking a deep breath. This was the first time they were in Switzerland, and even though they were in the middle of the city, the sky was still quite clear, turning from dark to the redness of the sun. It was a mesmerizing sight, one that was enough to stun those three teenagers on the spot.
"No wonder Brother Sheva said that this is the best place to stay..." Nayaka sighed, staring at the sky in peace.
"Yeah, if I could, I would want to stay here forever..." Devi also nodded unconsciously. "I mean, don’t you see any air pollution around? Everything is so clear that I would believe it if you said we are off the Earth."
Duta just grunted, closing his eyes while also letting the cold breeze through his face. They spent the tranquil moment in silence, enjoying every second of it. From the bird chirping to the old man strolling around, even though nothing extraordinary happened, no one really bothered with that.
In the end, after half an hour outside, they finally—albeit reluctantly—went back to the hotel, just to find out Sheva was waiting for them in the lobby. The boy looked so restless, with dark bags formed deep under his eyes.
"Um... Brother Sheva? Is there anything wrong?" Devi couldn’t help but ask, her tone hesitant.
The older boy was taken aback slightly, seeming not to notice their presence. However, after realizing that it was his students who were coming, his eyes lit up immediately. "Devi! I have been waiting for you! Come here, sit! You two as well!" He also gestured for the other two boys to follow.
The three teenagers looked at each other for a moment, still confused about what was going on. However, since it was Sheva who was asking, they just followed along, knowing that it should be something important.
They also used this chance to order breakfast. Although the food in the hotel was quite expensive, at least it would still be better compared to having to find any food stall or restaurant that was open this early to fuel them for the rest of the day.
After their breakfast arrived, Sheva finally opened a conversation. "So, how is your preparation for the first match? Have you known about your opponent already?"
Those three were so stunned, with Duta, the quietest one among them, couldn’t help but blurt out a question, "Wait, you mean the pairing is out?!" In return, he only got the ’are you stupid?’ gaze from his teacher, which only made his face flush in embarrassment.
Sheva could feel his face fall when he saw that those three were clueless. In the end, he could only sigh helplessly while complaining, "How could I be preparing for you when you yourself don’t even know your opponent today? Grab your phone and look at it for yourself!"
The three teenagers were so embarrassed that they didn’t even complain about it. They took out their respective phone, looking at them for a moment until they found their name there.
Aryan Chopra (2626) – (2074) Safira Devi
Satria Duta Cahaya (2122) – (2410) Richard Wessman
Read Samadov (2482) – (2111) Nayaka Buddhidharma
Well, as expected, since they were the bottom-tier players on the list, they would get a stronger opponent for their first-round pairing. The two boys were still slightly better, what with them only having to face an IM. It was still hard for them, but at least that was not an impossible job.
However, Devi was another matter. Somehow, she was so unlucky, getting paired against the Indian GM Aryan Chopra. Sheva could still remember that strikingly handsome man whom he beat in the same exact tournament a year ago, and somehow, that man would have to face his student in the same field here.
’Fate sure is a funny thing, huh?’ He couldn’t help but snort.
However, even though Sheva beat him last year, that didn’t mean Aryan Chopra was a weak player, especially for Devi. While sometimes, the rating gap didn’t mean anything, this time, they had about a 500-point rating difference, and that also reflected in their ability. Also, the Indian GM was the third-seeded player of the tournament, so the man would definitely aim for a win.
If Devi wanted to steal something...
"This might be difficult, Dev, but let’s start our cramp class. The purpose? Simple. I will have you steal half a point from him, so get ready to shake the entire tournament here!"