NOTE:

hello po! this serves as your content warning po that this story will not end in a happy ending. second lead po ang totoong ending dito. kilig is not the purpose of the story. wag na po basahin kung ayaw nyo po ng gano'n.

i'm only reposting the story po dito para sa mga old readers na gusto pong mag-reread. kung di nyo po bet ng mga ganitong klaseng endings ~ wag na po sana basahin pa.

please po.

thank you.

Javee De Villa

I'm nervous.

Ngayon ang first game ng basketball varsity team namin. Maglalaro for the first time this season ang kuya ko and I'm really nervous. Centrex University kasi ang kalaban kagad. For the longest time, sila talaga ang campus rival namin kaya marami talagang nag-aabang sa game ngayon. Maliban do'n, marami ring nakatutok sa pagtatapat ulit ng star players ng bawat team.

Papunta na nga kami ngayon sa venue, though currently stuck pa sa traffic. I gripped my phone tighter and looked out the window, mas lalong kinakabahan. The car was barely moving down the Macapagal road. Baka ma-late kami.

Biting my lip, I started tapping a finger to the edge of my phone.

"Chill, J. You're starting to look like your brother's stage mother," Lhyle, my only guy best friend, said with an easygoing laugh as he hit the brakes when the car in front of us stopped yet again.

"I can't help it,"sagot ko sa kanya. "This isn't just any other team, you know that. We're up against someone big."

"So? Our team's just as good. Have some faith in your brother. He's not our star player for nothing."

He was right, of course. Si Kuya Jacob nga ang ace player namin, a feat that he was definitely proud of and made little effort to hide. Yung biglang pagsikat niya talaga ang rason kung bakit lalo pang tumindi ang rivarly between Intersci and Centrex (which had been a thing since forever) kasi napakita niya ngang kaya niyang makipagsabayan sa Centrex, who were known for bagging the championship numerous times in the past.

It was precisely why this specific match made a buzz on social media days leading up to it. Halos lahat ng kilala ko, sa face-off lang ng dalawang team nakatutok.

But this rivalry on court wasn't the only reason why these teams were closely anticipated. Honestly kasi, kung rivaly at clash of skills lang usapan, then mas interesting ang competition between UTA and Constello kasi sila rin ang madalas manalo sa cheer dance competitions. No, the match today was controversial because of something else entirely. Something that everyone knew about—even the media—but wouldn't speak of in the open air dahil sa mga high profiles involved.

Open secret na nga na merong bad blood between the two basketball teams, at ilang beses na rin talaga silang nagkaalitan outside the court. I'm talking about actual brawls and physical fights. Kung bakit, I also didn't know.

"Do you really think we can win?" tanong ko sa kanya.

"Oo naman. We have a good line-up this year. Saka mas gumaling pa kapatid mo since last year."

"Tingin mo he can score a lot today?"

"Bakit ba ang kabado mo? 'Di mo naman first match 'to."

"Eh kasi. This is the first time I'm watching him live."

"And?"

"Okay, fine." I blew out a puff of air. "We had a bet. I wanna know who'll win between my brothers."

"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.

Then there was Hiro (Hiromi Yamamoto), our shy tennis player. Fierce inside the court, but outside those games?A total wallflower. Interesting nga kasi kahit mahiyain, active pa rin siya sa campus pageants.

And the last, my best friend since elementary days.

Ahron (Reah Claiborne Rosales), our student council vice president, campus queen, and a popular social media influencer. She didn't play any sports, like me, but we were both into it just the same.

Ako naman, I was the student council's treasurer, habang si Lhyle (Lhyle Arian Fuentez), part ng photography club kaya kung ano-anong events na ang na-cover niya inside and outside the campus. One could say he was also an influencer in his own right, but he was the type to work behind the scenes. The type where he preferred to have his models showcase the brands for him instead.

"Who are you rooting for this time?" tahimik na tanong ni Hiro kay Anjo.

Mukhang naeskandalo si Anjo sa tanong niya. "Anong klaseng tanong 'yan, H? S'yempre team natin!"

Ahron smirked. "Really, now? You're not rooting for that Racel Gutierez?"

Namula kagad si Anjo. "Gagu, hindi ah!"

"Really? Then what's with the lobster blushing?"

"Che. Racel may be the god of all hotness, but Jacob is still hotter, 'no! I'm 100% Jacob's bitch!"

Tumawa kami sa reaksyon niya—and then my gaze went and found the man in question.

Ang daming beses ko nang naririnig ang pangala ni Racel Gutierez. He was someone that was always around, his name always lurking in the corners of our campus like a shadow, kahit na never pa kami pormal na nagkakilala. He had a bit of a reputation around him. Magaling nga raw at gwapo. I couldn't personally attest to that because I'd never seen him up close until now. Sure, I'd seen photos of him kasi sikat siya even among my classmates, but I'd never really paid enough attention to form any solid opinion. 'Di kasi siya kasundo ni Kuya Jacob.

May certain period of time noon na na-curious din naman ako sa kanya, pero 'di ko na sinubukan na kilalanin for obvious reasons. Wala namang magandang idudulot, plus it could also send a bad message to my brother, na tinitingala as Racel's fiercest arch-rival inside and outside the court nga. It seemed petty to some, but my brother had the worst temperament ever and I didn't want to push my luck.

"Real talk though. I heard the other team's gotten even stronger?" Maxxie said. "Because of... that Justin? New player ba 'yan?"

"Justin Mercedez—yeah, dude's a beast," Lhyle answered. "This year lang sumali pero grabe ang bilib d'yan ng mga taga-Centrex."

"Shh. Stop talking about the other team. Don't jinx us."

Sa sinabi ko, inasar ako lalo ni Lhyle for being too overprotective of my brother, but before I could fire back at him, a text interrupted me. Galing kay Kuya Andrei, my third oldest brother.

Kuya Andrei:

Come outside.

Me:

Why? Where?

Kuya Andrei:

Parking lot. Here with the others. Jacob's also here.

I furrowed my brows, confused. Magsisimula na ang game. Ano pang ginagawa nila sa labas?

I whipped my head back to the court—and sure enough, Kuya Jacob was nowhere to be seen. Mabilis akong nagpaalam at naglakad papunta sa parking lot. Finding my brothers was easy enough. They were a foot taller than everybody else, so they were quite hard to miss.

"Kuya!" I yelled to get their attention.

Instantly, four heads turned to look at me and I instantly grinned at the sight of them. Kumpleto kaming lima ngayon.

Pinalapit ako ni Kuya Jacob. Seeing him here was shocking enough, but seeing him acting so comfortably like he wasn't doing anything wrong was even more unbelievable.

"What are you still doing here? Magsisimula na yung game," sabi ko sa kanila bago nilingon si Kuya Jacob. "Saka why are you even here, Kuya? 'Di ba dapat nagwa-warm up ka?"

"Chill, sis. I got this," sagot niya at nagawa pang ipagmayabang ang bicep niya.

Napasimangot ako sa kanya.

Nginitian ako ni Kuya Travis, our eldest, as if reassuring me. "We won't be long. We're just giving our moral support to Jacob."

I almost snorted. Moral support. Yeah, right. Baka naman pinapaalala lang yung bet.

"Have you seen him before we called him out? Jacob looked like he'd piss himself." Tumawa si Kuya Chris, ang second oldest namin, at sabay inakbayan si Kuya Jacob.

Pero mukhang 'di naman tinatablan si Kuya sa pang-aasar nila. "As if."

I narrowed my eyes at Kuya Jacob. "Whatever the reason is, you need to go back. Magsisimula na ang game soon!"

"Sheesh, Javee, relax. Alam ni Coach na nag-restroom lang ako kaya ayos lang. Plus, we still have a bit of time left."

"Your overconfidence is worrying me, alam mo ba 'yon? Sana 'di ka maging too complacent. I'd really hate for you to lose just because of that."

"Like I said—as if," sagot niya lang. "I'ma beat those Centrex losers, just wait and see. Before you know it, I've already won the bet."

I wrinkled my nose at him and stuck out my tongue. Ang childish, but when it came to Kuya Jacob, I just couldn't help but default back to being a kid.

"I heard there's a monster rookie on that team," Kuya Chris mentioned. "How is he? Is he really good?"

"Ah, Mercedez?" sagot ni Kuya Jacob. "Nahh. That guy's nothing. He can support Gutierez all he wants, but that still won't change the outcome. This game's ours."

"Even so, don't lose your guard. Gutierez is not dumb. He knows what he's doing," tahimik na pasok ni Kuya Andrei. "I placed my bet on you, asshole. 'Wag mo 'ko ipatalo."

"Seriously, you're all wounding me. Where's the trust here?" sagot niya lang bago bumaling sa phone niya. "Right, that's my cue. Coach is calling me back," he announced, putting his phone back in his pocket. "I better get going."

"Good luck, Kuya," I said bago siya niyakap.

After that, my brothers tapped him in the shoulder and then we entered the arena complex together bago naghiwa-hiwalay ulit.

Nang makabalik ako sa grupo, angat-kilay akong nilingon ni Ahron. "What's up? What did they say?"

"Nothing important. Moral support lang daw for Kuya J," tumatawa kong sagot.

"Seconds before the game?" she muttered. "Weirdos."

'Di na 'ko nakasagot sa kanya because in a beat, the game finally started.