clumsy, small steps and where it would take us

3

Thirdy, Anton and Isaac were involved in a brawl with other children. Their parents were about to give them a piece of their minds until they heard why.

"Inaaway nila si Bea eh!" Anton yelped as his mom pinched the sides of his hair.

"Tigil-tigilan mo nga yan, Antonio Rafael!" The mom of the small boy answered. "Alam natin lahat na ikaw ang pasimuno at nadadamay lang itong sila Thirdy at Isaac. Ngayon, kailangan pa habulin ng babae mga nang-away sa inyo."

"But it's true!" Anton retorted. "And hindi naman ako yung nagsimula, si Thirdy naman."

Thirdy hissed when the boy mentioned it. Within seconds, all eyes were on him. He noticed the apologetic gaze of the girl who stood up for them when they were being overpowered.

They were playing ball on the court. It was the usual of them (actually, it was more of Anton and Isaac) teaching Bea the basics of basketball and playing with them when a bunch of kids from the next street approached them and asked if they wanted to play a game. The boys didn't say no to any game offered to them. They accepted on the condition that Bea would be playing on their team.

The boys were offended when the kids from the next street laughed as if they had told a joke. Thirdy noticed that this made the girl uncomfortable.

Thirdy glared. "Anong nakakatawa?"

As for what Thirdy thinks of them as of the moment, the uglies tried to stifle their laughs before one of them answered. "Nag-joke kayo di ba? Sasali niyo yang titan na yan?" Then they laughed again.

Meanwhile, Bea put on a fake smile and gently pulled Anton's arms as she saw him approaching them. The little boy looked at her disapprovingly, noticing the tears in her eyes, which only annoyed him. "Okay lang, Anton," she assured him. "Hindi na lang ako sasali."

"Tsaka di siya pwede sa sports," One of the uglies stated, crossing his arms against his chest. "Lampa yan eh. Kita ko kahapon nung tinuruan niyo, pagulong gulong siya."

Thirdy saw the uneasiness on the girl's face. He saw Isaac pulling her behind him. For some reason, Thirdy felt fuming. Yes, he always called her lampa and dumb whenever she couldn't follow the techniques they taught her. But those kids, those uglies, didn't have the right to say that to her. They weren't there to see how their friend pushed herself to learn the sports. They weren't there when they saw Bea practicing her dribbling skills on their lawn. They didn't witness her joy when she made her first shot at the ring. Those annoying uglies didn't know anything about Bea.

"Hoy, Ravena!" one of the uglies called him out. "Dapat huwag ka sumama sa mga ganyan. Magiging weirdo ka din."

And that seems to be the last push Thirdy needed to jump on to the boys, punching the smug out of their faces. Without hesitation, his two friends didn't think twice about joining the brawl. The lone girl stood on the sidelines, walking back and forth, panicking about how she would stop the fight. She felt helpless when she realized they were outnumbered and her neighbors were all on the floor, taking kicks. Bea didn't know what happened after pulling one of the uglies of her friends. Suddenly, in her desperate attempt to help her friends, she saw the bullies struggling to get up and running away from her.

"Si Bea ang lakas po!" Isaac remembered. "Kita ko na hinablot niya yung sumisipa kay Thirdy tas hinagis niya po. Sobrang cool niya para siyang si Wonder Woman!"

Isaac tried to lighten the mood, but it didn't work, especially when they saw a vast figure approaching them. A figure that everyone was familiar with. A decorated former PBA player and now coaching a powerhouse team, father of their friend Thirdy. And its face wasn't amused with what he heard from the kids.

Thirdy looked at his feet, afraid to meet his dad's eyes. His friends squirmed behind their parents. They knew how strict Thirdy's father was. They remember all the training the boy did together with his dad. They knew the legend wasn't fond of his kid shifting his attention away from basketball.

The man stood before the boy, ready to give his peace of mind, when the young girl, the reason why Thirdy and his friends engaged in a fight, stood before him, looking determined.

"It's not his fault." She claimed, arms hiding her newfound friends behind her. "Kasalanan ko po. Huwag niyo po sila pagalitan."

Thirdy pulled the girl. "Anong ginagawa mo?"

Bea looked back with tears in her eyes. "Because it's true. It's my fault and hindi kayo dapat napapagalitan."

"Inaasar ka nila. Alam naman nilang bad yon."

"So, are you saying na throwing fist is good?" Thirdy's father asked. "Is it justified? Na nakipag away ka? And why are you even here? Aren't you supposed to practice?"

Mozzy, Thirdy's mother, pulled her husband and whispered. "Dad, stop." then turned to the parents and bowed as many times as they could count. "Pag pasensyahan niyo na ang asawa ko. Pagod lang sa trabaho. Since wala naman nasaktan sa mga bata, can we go home na lang? Let's talk to our kids at home."

Wanting to eliminate the awkwardness between the families, other parents agreed with Mozzy's suggestion. They all watched as the Ravenas walked away from them, with the father still giving the bothered son a piece of his mind.

"Kawawa naman si Thirdy." Anton heard his mom say to his father. "Pressured na yung bata at that age."

He just shook his head before he followed Isaac, both approaching Bea. She was looking down, uneasy; her family was still not around. "Bea, are you okay?" Isaac asked.

The little girl nodded but soon followed with tears. The two boys started bickering as to who made her cry. The situation didn't escape the eyes of the boys' parents. They all stood behind the girl. Isaac's mom wiped the little girl's cheeks stained with tears. "Don't cry na, anak."

"I... didn't...mean...to...cause...a...fight." she tried to talk in her sobs. "I...just ...want...friends....safe...I..."

Anton's father gently nudged the boys towards the crying girl. Both boys looked at each other before Isaac patted the girl's arm, hoping it would stop her from crying. "Wag ka na iyak." he says. "Pag umiyak ka, iiyak si Anton."

"Luh?" Anton frowned. "Bakit ako iiyak?" He proceeded to give Bea a firm pat on her shoulders. "At ikaw, huwag ka umiyak. Tama lang ginawa namin dun. Friend ka namin. Pagtatanggol ka namin."

"Pero si Third-"

"Kahit magalit papa niya, wala namang maling ginawa si Thirdy." Anton's mother smiled as Isaac's mother nodded in agreement. Her friends grinned, revealing their crooked teeth. "You are all friends, and they will defend you if anything bad happens. It's okay."

Bea sniffed and used the collar of her shirt to wipe her tears and snot. "Si Thirdy po ba, okay lang?"

Both mothers smiled at the young girl. "He will be."

(He wasn't.

Thirdy spent the whole night crying because he didn't understand why his father was so mad about him defending his friend.

"Imbis na nagpa-practice ka mag basketball. Tas nakikipagbugbugan ko doon sa mga dapat sinasamahan mo? Walang wala ka talaga. Umayos ka nga.")