“Isa, dalawa, tatlo, hila!” The game of tug of war shortly began after Bongbong and Leni left the grassfield, it was Isko, Ping, and four other people who’s part and representing the red team for the game.
“Ang hirap!” Isko complained while pulling the rope from Ping’s front.
“You got that body for nothing, be a man!” Ping yelled and pulled the rope harder, mas lalong nabanat ang mga braso ni Ping dahilan upang lumabas ang mga ugat sa maskulado nitong braso.
“This is damn, freaking, hard! I’m gonna die of dehydration!” Isko once again complained. Ping just rolled his eyes and kept pulling the rope.
“Manny! Give us more, will you!” Ping yelled to his friend—Emmanuel Pacquiao which he calls Manny pulling the rope on his back. Kapuwa sila hirap na hirap sa paghila sa lubid, pinagpapawisan ang noo, braso, at mga kamay.
From the city of General Santos in Mindanao, Manny requested to study in Baguio but ended up in Benguet because there wasn’t any near gym from the school he’s supposedly in. He liked boxing very much to the point that he wanted to have a degree in college before entering the world of boxing.
“Kung alam ko lang na may laro pala ngayon sa tug of war eh ’di sana dili na ’ko nagpasok sa practice ng boxing karong buntag.” Tugon nito at muling humila sa lubid, mas lalo pang humigpit ang hawak ni Ping sa lubid at hinila niya ito nang hinila.
“We aren’t gonna loose to this dweebs, we will not!” He pulled once again and finally, they pulled the victory together. Sabay-sabay silang napahandusay sa damuhan—hingal na hingal at hapong-hapo.
“We did it, we did it!” Isko yelled to celebrate their victory, it was then followed by people applauding to them for pulling the victory through.
Kasalukuyang nangunguna ang pink team sa overall tally board, following red team’s victory in tug of war, the scores are close to even. Twenty-two and eighteen points were there. Following the lead is the yellow team with fifteen points, the green team and blue team tied with fourteen, and the white team at twelve.
“Our team won the game.” Bongbong said to Ping while he’s delivering the rope back to the equipment room. Napalingon naman si Ping at ngumiti, pinunas nito ang pawis sa kaniyang noo gamit ang isang bimpo at tumugon siya.
“I’ve done my part.” Ngiti niya.
“Your part?” Bongbong asked confusedly, Ping smirked and flexed his muscles covered in sweat.
“This muscles of course!” he laughed and so as Bongbong.
“Now it’s time for you to do yours.” Tumango naman si Bongbong at inilabas niya na mula sa kaniyang bulsa ang kulay pulang headband. He tied it to his forehead tightly, he gave Ping a brave smile after.
“I’m gonna deliver this rope yo the equipment room, gear up for your race.” He took the rope on Bongbong’s hand and he patted his head, humawak siya sa balikat nito at tinapik-tapik din.
“Better show off for you know... her.” Umiwas ng tingin si Bongbong at nawala ang mga ngiti niya sa labi, tinabig niya rin ang mga kamay ni Ping sa kaniyang balikat.
“Now you’re telling me that, it’s not what you think it is, Ping. I’ll just do my best for the team.” Tumalikod siya sa kaibigan at kumaway dito habang paalis, tango lamang ang itinugon ni Ping at nagtungo na nga sa siya sa pagdadalhan niya ng lubid na ginamit sa nakaraang laro.
It was all embarrassing for Bongbong to run together with those real runners he know, he doesn’t even want to join but he is forced to do. He’s ready to get laughed at when he lost, he’s expecting for people to laugh at him and tease him. But that feeling just makes him strong, strong to conquer his fears.
Bongbong doesn’t really want to get laughed at though, but he took Leni’s favor. He will do whatever he can go prove her right, even though he’s embarrassed, he’ll do it for the sake of her favor. Habang naglalakad siya patungo sa starting line ay naririnig niya ang pagbubulungan ng mga tao, they’re pointing him out.
Underestimating...
Degrading...
...like he’s some sort of a laughing stock.
“Next event is the boys’ two hundred meter sprint.” The red team put thier eye on the runners, nanlaki ang mga mata nila nang makita ang mga kalaban ng kanilang ipinasok.
“Get ready to be laughed at, red team. Ipinasok niyo ’to, panindigan niyo rin ’to!” Cynthia rolled her eyes making Isko look at her in fierce.
“Kanina ka pa riyan, ikaw kaya tumakbo? Irespeto mo naman ’yong ka-team mo.” Sarkastikong tumugon si Isko, napahinga siya nang malalim at tumayo sa kaniyang kinauupuan.
“Atleast, Bongbong tries to do his part. Being a member of the equipment group at the afternoon and a writer at night is hard, Cynthia. Ipinasok nga siya diyan kasi wala nang ibang members, walang may gusto rito. Just appreciate that he didn’t turn our invite down.” Ping delivered his rant, sumunod na rin siya kay Isko sa pagtayo at umalis sila sa harapan ni Cynthia.
“Aray, roasted.” Napalingon si Cynthia sa kaniyang likod at nakita niya si Koko na tumatawa, she just rolled her eyes and looked away.
“Attitude, karma mo ’yan.” He laughed at left.
In the other team, Leni was looking directly at the participants of the race. Her heart was racing as she saw what she’s looking for, she smiled and whispered.
“Good luck, prove me right, Ferdinand.” She whispered to himself and looked at him again. It was then she was then tapped by someone behind her back and she noticed that it was Grace.
“Ah, Grace, what’s up?” she asked her with a smile. Grace smirked and pointed Bongbong out.
“Have you been looking for Ferdinand quite a lot lately? What’s up with that?” Nanlaki ang mga mata ni Leni at napasinghap siya. Kaagad siyang umiling, nararamdaman niya g nag-iinit na Ang kaniyang pisngi.
“Hindi, I was looking at our team’s participant. Kinakabahan ako eh, you see, Kiko—the one with the yellow scarf tied on his arm, is a fast runner.” She made an excuse, bahagya namang napatango si Grace.
“Yeah, everyone knows him. He’s the track and field regionals champion after all.” Grace spotted Kiko stretching his arm from where they are.
“I’m sure Kiko will dominate them all, even Bongbong. Hindi naman tumatakbo ’yang si Bongbong eh, bakit nga ba nasalang diyan ’yan?” Grace asked confusedly scratching her head.
“He’s not a member of the track and field club either. And if you said that he’s not a runner, then...” Leni didn’t utter anymore when she remembered that scenario in the grassfield earlier.
“Or it is that...” she gasped once again.
“Ah, I know why. Occupied na kasi lahat ng mga members nila ’yong ibang games kaya ang natira sa kan’ya ay ’yong two hundo sprint.” Grace pointed out the program list.
“Besides, Koko is just their only track member. And earlier, Koko competed on the five hundred meter run.” Grace explained, Leni again looked at Bongbong and smiled.
“So he’s forced, imagine the embarrassment he’s getting right now.” Leni pouted and she took a deep breath.
“Only God can make a twist.” She exhaled.
“Yeah, this is a big loss for the red team if he looses. They’ll go on third place if he won’t make it to the top three.” Grace sneered and stretched her arms.
“Ready!” Nagsitinginan ang lahat sa facilitator at ang iba naman ay sa mga participants.
“Get set!”
“Go!”
Tumunog ang pito kalaunan at nagsitakbuhan ang mga kalahok, pero natahimik ang mga manonood sa kanilang nasaksihan. Nanlalaki ang kanilang mga mata, hindi nila alam ang reaksiyon.
Bongbong was taking the lead.
~Unexpected Irony.
BINABASA MO ANG
Hatsukoi
FanfictionA BongLeni Fanfiction. With a new school year comes a new group of classmates, including aspiring writer Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and track and field team member Ma. Leonor "Leni" Gerona is assigned to the same class. Despite being complete s...
