Day 9: First Assignment

I should’ve seen it coming. It was only a matter of time before the professors started piling on the assignments. But somehow, I wasn’t prepared when it happened.

It all began in Business Communications class. Dr. Rahman strolled in with his signature briefcase and a grin that immediately put me on edge.

“Good morning, class,” he said, his voice far too cheerful for an 8:30 a.m. lecture. “I hope you’re all ready to dive into your first major assignment of the semester.”

I exchanged a panicked look with Faisal, who was seated next to me, already half-asleep.

“This will be a group project,” Dr. Rahman continued, as a collective groan filled the room. “You’ll create a comprehensive business proposal for a hypothetical company. I expect creativity, research, and professional presentation. The deadline is in three weeks.”

**********

After class, chaos erupted. Everyone scrambled to form groups, alliances being made and broken in the span of minutes. I stuck close to Faisal, knowing he’d probably rope me into his group regardless.

“We need at least four people,” Faisal said, scanning the room like a recruiter.

“Fine, but no freeloaders,” I said.

“Agreed,” Faisal replied, though I had little faith in his selection skills.

By the end of the day, our group was set: me, Faisal, Mira (the overachiever who practically lived in the library), and Daniel (the guy who always seemed to have an excuse for everything). I had mixed feelings, but it was too late to back out now.

**********

That evening, we had our first meeting at the library. Mira showed up with a stack of reference books, ready to delegate tasks like a CEO.

“Okay, here’s the plan,” she said, spreading out her notes. “We’ll divide the sections of the proposal. Faisal, you’ll handle the financials. Eddie, you’re on market analysis. Daniel, you’ll do the executive summary, and I’ll cover operations.”

“What about the presentation?” I asked.

“We’ll figure that out later,” Mira said, brushing it off.

Daniel immediately raised a hand. “Uh, I might be busy next weekend, so I’ll need extra time to finish my part.”

I shot Faisal a look, but he was too busy nodding along to notice.

**********

The rest of the meeting was… unproductive, to say the least. Mira tried her best to keep us focused, but Faisal kept cracking jokes, and Daniel kept disappearing to take phone calls.

By the time we wrapped up, I was already dreading the weeks ahead.

**********

Back in my dorm, I stared at the blank Word document on my laptop. Market analysis, I thought. How hard could it be? I started Googling “how to write a market analysis” and was immediately overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information. Charts, graphs, consumer behavior trends—none of it made sense.

I gave up after 30 minutes and texted Faisal:
Me: "Dude, how’s the financials section coming along?"
Faisal: "I’m on it. Just need a snack break."

That was the last I heard from him that night.

**********

At midnight, I closed my laptop and flopped onto my bed, my brain fried from overthinking. Why did professors always assume we had unlimited time and energy?

**********

Lesson of the day: Group projects are less about teamwork and more about surviving the chaos together.