clumsy, small steps and where it would take us

15

Besties GC

Anton: [Grabe ang busy niyo naman!]

Isaac: [Iisang school tayo, Anton.]

Anton: [Hindi yon para sayo. Group chat to di ba?]

Maddie: [Kami ba?]

Anton: [Malamang.]

Maddie: [Naghahabol lang requirements. Buti nga walang GVL.]

Isaac: [Ang aga niyo kasi natalo.]

Maddie: [Ganon talaga.]

Thirdy: [Kauwi ko lang. Ano balita?]

Anton: [Welcome home, baby?]

Thirdy: [Yuck!]

Isaac: [Lalabas na ata next week yung result sa ACET and ibang schools. Nag apply ba kayo sa iba?]

Anton: [Gagi, Ateneo lang talaga ko. Akala ko ba together forever tayo? I am hurt.]

Maddie: [Nagtanong si Isaac, Anton. Drama?]

Isaac: [Matatanggap kaya tayo lahat?]

Anton: [Oo naman. Tiwala lang. 5EVER tayo dito. Di ba Bea? Kahit wala ka paramdam.]

Bea: [Sorry. Pagod.]

Thirdy: [Okay ka lang ba?]

Bea: [thumbs up emoticon]

Bea: [Good night.]

Madeleine

Thirdy: [Maddie?]

Maddie: [Yes, sir?]

Thirdy: [Okay lang ba?]

Maddie: [Okay ang alin?]

Thirdy: [You know what I am talking about.]

Thirdy: [Hey?]

Thirdy: [Hey!]

...

Thirdy clicked the print button and waited for his book report to finish printing. He minimized the Word application and was redirected to the Google web page. He took a glance at his phone, checking if Maddie had responded. It's been hours, and she hangs up even if he tries to give her a call. It had been a while since he saw the two of them, and knowing that their team didn't make it to the finals of GVL and graduating students usually have a lot of free time, it did not make sense why they see that less of them. Thirdy never had the chance to ask the two of them what happened back then, and even if they tried to open that up, Bea and Maddie wouldn't say anything. There was a gut feeling inside of him. He has never seen Maddie looking like that before. He swore he saw Maddie trembling while Bea was staring at her. He saw how Bea shook her head, forced herself to smile, and called out their friend's name.

He took a deep breath, sat up straight, and his fingers started typing words he never thought he would look at on the internet.

Trips and falls. Ever since he met Bea, she has had difficulty with her feet. However, they were no longer seven years old and were unlikely to trip or fall on flat ground with no obstructions.

Muscle cramps. She often had one while they were in the middle of light practices.

Weak hand grip. Anton's mom bought Bea a plastic cup because she kept breaking their glasses.

Thirdy knew he was probably overthinking this, but he couldn't stop his hand from scrolling through the webpage and reading the possible reasons why.

He just hoped he wouldn't read anything wrong.