DV Series: decoding the boys (under revision) ??

1 - game || edited

"Bet?" Tumawa si Lhyle. "On what?"

"How many points he can score."

That was also why I felt more eager and excited than the usual. For the longest time, pinagmamayabang na ni Kuya ang galing niya sa court, so my siblings and I decided to play a silly game. We made bets on how many baskets he'd make. I opted for twenty points just to play safe, which he wasn't happy about kasi offensively low daw, but I didn't know enough of his actual skills to bet more than that.

My brothers, however, were a different story altogether. They went wild with theirs, betting their precious valuables on the line.

Hindi ko na nahintay si Lhyle at halos magmadali ako papasok ng entrance nang makarating kami sa arena. Ang daming tao sa loob, as expected. Habang hinahanap ko ang seats namin, my attention drifted over to the court.

Nagwa-warm up na yung dalawang teams. Kuya Jacob was currently dribbling a ball and preparing to shoot.

"There's the man of the hour," sabi ni Lhyle na nakasunod sa 'kin, his hands shoved in the pockets of his blue letterman jacket.

Napangiti ako nang bumalik sa 'kin yung excitement at kaba.

So this was UAAP. Ibang level pala talaga. Ang intrnse ng atmosphere at nakakadala talaga ang mga chants ng audience. Ramdam na ramdam ko ang tensyon sa ere.

Mapapansin din kagad na divided into two ang dalawang panig ng arena. Only two colors of shirts dominated the audience: red, for those who were in support of the Red Centaurs (the Centrex team); and blue, for the Blue Eagles (the Intersci—our—team).

With a huge grin, I ambled further into the VIP section kung sa'n naghihintay ang mga kaibigan namin. Some people greeted us on our way, mostly ladies whom Lhyle probably met during his gigs. Having this girl-magnet reputation, dahil na rin sa mga ginagawa niya with the photography club, 'di na 'ko magtataka if he'd already dated half of the girls na tumawag sa kanya. He was like my cousins in that regard—players. Kahit ilang beses ko sila sabihan na mag-settle down at makipag-date for real, their explanations were all the same: they weren't ready for the big commitment yet, and so were the girls. Casual and consensual naman daw. In the end, I had no choice to relent because what could I argue against that?

"So tagal, girl," bungad ni Anjo nang umupo ako sa tabi ni Ahron at umupo si umupo si Lhyle sa tabi niya. "Ba't ang tagal n'yo? You even skipped lunch."

"Ugh, blame Lhyle," sagot ko. "Kung alam ko lang na late darating 'to, 'di na sana ako nagpasundo."

Tumawa lang si Lhyle, unapologetic pa rin.

"What do we even expect from the diva?" pasok ni Maxxie na mukhang 'di natutuwa sa kanya. "Dapat sa 'min ka na lang sumabay. At least nakapag-lunch ka pa."

Lhyle snorted.

Napatawa ako. We'd been friends for years, pero itong si Maxxie at Lhyle, 'di pa rin makaalis sa cat-dog relationship nila. "Lesson learned."

"Keri lang. Maaga pa naman." Anjo beamed. "Excited na 'ko, mga gaga! Imagine n'yo na lang all the hotness—I mean, game— na makikita natin in ten minutes."

A quick introduction: anim kami sa grupo.

There was Anjo (Anjelou Marie Dizon), the go-to girl when it came to all things basketball. From animes down to the local and international games, she's your girl, and dahil 'yon sa basketball coach ng university namin ang daddy niya.

There was also Maxxie (Paula Maxinne Pascual), our previous volleyball player. Out of all of us, she was the simplest in terms of fashion and interests. She was a dancer, like me, although she didn't join the dance troupe this year.