Oh My Captain

Ball 2

Rinig na rinig ang lagaslas ng mga sapatos namin sa buong court.

"MINE!" I shouted when I calculated that the ball is going on my direction.

I jump as high as I can then spike the ball. They miss my attack and that lead us to score for this round. Nag-apiran kaming mga teammates ko.

"Ibang klase ka talaga Herrera!" sigaw sakin ni Maureen, isa sa mga teammates ko.

"Halimaw!" segundang puri naman ni Amanda.

"Nice Herrera!" I heard my coach shouted.

Ngumiti ako sa kaniya at nagpasalamat kila Amanda at Mau. Pati din naman sila halimaw e, lalo na si Maureen, hindi ko pa nakita siyang pumalya sa spike niya.

Start of intercollegiate league ngayon at ito ang unang game namin. Kalaban namin ang taga Mauricius University. Ibang-iba talaga ang paglalaro sa high school sa college. Mas maraming malalakas na kalaban na namin. Dalawang university ang nangingibabaw lagi sa game, ang LU at ang Greendale. Last year, champion ang Greendale, sumunod naman ang LI, school iyon ng pinsan ko and pangatlo kami.

For this year, we aim at least to surpass LU kaya sukdulan ang practice namin sa nagdaang buwan. We even went to Zambales to try playing beach volleyball. Coach said it will help our agility and endurance since our feet are used to concrete and I saw the difference when we were playing it. Nakatulong sa amin ng malaki yung training sa Zambales.

We are having a short break after the first set was finished. Lamang kami sa set na to dahil naipanalo namin iyon. We need to exert more agility and presence of mind para walang thrid set na mangyayari.

We heard the whistle sounds. Tumayo na kami agad at nagwarm ng kaunti. Magstastart na ng second set.

Coach gathered us in cicle to give us advice and tactics.

"Always keep the ball in the air. Huwag niyong hahayaan na may makitang butas ang kalaban. Lorin, toss the ball as high as you can to Shein, it will give her advantage to do her moment" advice niya.

Napangiti ako. Coach knows me so much. I really love when I am in the air, reaching for the ball to touch my palm. I look like a bird if I does that.

Tumango si Lorin sa sinabi ni coach.

"Alright, we can do this!" hiyaw niya sabay lahad ng kamay sa gitna namin para cheer namin.

Isa-isa naming pinatong ang mga kamay natin sa taas nun.

"Go Falcons!" we all cheered our team name. The Feivel Falcons!

The game started.

We all cheered in victory at the end of the set. We won! nagkayakapan kami sa pagkapanalo namin. One down, 3 more to go.

Lumabas kami ng Greendale gymnasium na may malapad na ngiti sa aming mga labi. It was a good fight naman dahil magaling na kalaban ang UE sa game na ito. Mas malakas lang ang coordination namin and will kaya nanalo kami.

Coach told us to rest a bit first since mamaya may laban pa kami. Sabay-sabay kaming nagpunta sa quarters namin. Greendale University is a gigantic school among all the schools here. Pang mayaman din ang school na ito but I love my school kasi doon galing mommy ko kaya loyal ako. Sana all loyal diba?

"Grabe ang laki-laki talaga ng school na to!" manghang bulalas ni Tiff, short for Tiffany.

"Oo nga, magkano kaya tuition dito and I heard all students here are required to stay in the dormitory. Amazing diba?" manghang sabi naman ni Maureen.

I heard that too. Tsaka ayaw ko nang ganun, para kang nakakulong. Gusto ko parin umuwi sa bahay, maybe because I am just an only child kaya clingy ako.

Nilapag ko sa kama ko ang duffel bag ko. Pagod kong binagsak ang sarili ko doon din. God, I'm exhausted but still high spirited with our victory.