A different view

Chapter 20

Ming's POV

I loved our boys' evenings. Although all of us graduated, we still found time to hang out and play football some days. Having seniors like P'Park and P'Lam join us was a rare occurrence and those days were even better because the teams on both sides were strong and the games got even more competitive. As our team took a shot, I saw a figure in an oversized hoodie running behind the goal, possibly warming up.

"Hey isn't that..." P'Park had started to say but I was already sprinting towards the hooded athlete.

"Nong" I called out running up to reach the same speed

"Hi P'Ming"

"Want to join us for a game?"

"Sure"

We broke away from the trail and joined the rest of the group

"How have you been Nong?" P'Park asked. P'Lam just gave a quick fist bump like we always do at football games

"Good, thanks! Which team do I join?"

"You can join us, the winning team" P'Park said with an air of arrogance

"Then I'll stick with P'Ming then, thanks for letting me know"

My mind went back to the last time I remembered her being here at the football stadium when she ran away from P'Sharp. P'Pha had met us that evening to tell Yo and me about what had happened. Yo was in tears and I was crushed. I was aware that P'Kit was researching an old incident from his school. He hadn't hidden it from me and I had already read what he found. The fact that it was Preeth, someone we knew, just hit differently. It was almost as if I could picture vividly what had happened to her. I hit the gym for 5 hours straight that night. P'Kit waited patiently for me in the gym lounge not saying a word. That was the wonderful trait of P'Kit, he'd let me deal with my turmoil my way. Even though all of the seniors had left the university by that time, Yo and I didn't do anything different. We stopped by her table just as always and chatted with her friends as she scribbled in her notebooks, only speaking when she was spoken to. When Preeth and her friends took over as the senior most in the university, Wat was part of the hazing team and kept us in the loop on all the on goings. We were all there when they graduated and that was the first time all of us had met Preeth's parents formally.

Back in the real world, looks like the boys had forgotten how good she was at the game. For the winning goal she did a fantastic bicycle kick where she kicked the ball over her head. The team was focused on the ball but P'Park, P'Lam and I were running towards her to make sure she was fine. She had already turned around to watch the ball make the goal. There was only a slight smile on her otherwise confident face. The team came to hug her out of excitement but P'Park was the first to say "Easy fellas, give the lady some space will you?" and pushed them back.

"You were saying P'Park?" I said referring to his comment earlier. She sure made P'Park eat his words.

"You come here often Preeth?" I asked her as we were headed to the bleachers.

"The juniors usually play here and I join them P'"

"Yeah I heard Lin formed her own football cult now"

"It helps beat the stress"

I took a picture of all of us to post in the group Lin had created entitled 'Forever More'. Even though the name was cheesy, no one dared oppose Lin on it. In no time P'Kit called me.

"Ming, Was that Preeth in the photograph?" he asked

"Yeah P'Kit, she literally whipped P'Park's team" I said aloud making sure P'Park heard it. P'Park gave me the finger in response.