Game Plan

05

Oh... This is not from dad? Kanina kasi ay kalahati sa amin ang nagpunta sa mga kainan dito sa tabi lang ng field, akala ko naman ay nag-take out si dad para sa akin. 

It's too late to give it back to Ven. Instead, I gave him a small nod. "Thank you."

Pero hindi niya rin naman sinabi na siya ang bumili... I really should stop over-thinking shit. 

I ate it in silence while observing my surroundings. Mayroong nag-kekwentuhan, may nag-titiktok, may nakain lang din, at may mga nag-uuli. 

I really find it cute how athletes are in their nature and natural being whenever in a tournament. Most likely, no one cares about what they look, they only care about winning. 

I finished my food and used my phone for a while. Later on, dad called me. I thought he was calling for a short team-meeting, but he threw a water bottle at me. 

I caught it with my left hand. Then, dad said, "Refill mo iyang flask mo. Mas mainit ngayong hapon." 

The games started once again, and we were facing a... let's say, more difficult team. 

"Mae!" I shouted her name. Hindi pa nagsisimula ang laro, pero nag flip coin na sila. We chose to have the right to pick a side of the field, and we chose to stay here dahil sa palo ng hangin. 

Mae looked at me, naniningkit ang mata, with an expression asking why. I held up four of my fingers. Kung ito ang makakalaban namin, it's better to perform the more confusing game plans. 

With play number four, we, forwards, along with one defender, will run and switch places from time to time while passing the ball to one another. 

Tinaas din ni Mae ang apat niya na daliri to show the others that that's the play that we're doing. And with that, even though the other team attempted and scored a lot, we were up by one. 

For the finals, we were facing the team that we already beat once a while ago. But now, they're more aggressive and eager to win. 

And I was proven right when I was dribbling the ball around the player, and she pulled my jersey. This made me lose my balance. Ang masama pa dito, walang foul na tawag ang referee. I swear, sometimes they are blind! 

We lost possession of the ball many times because of their violent moves. Dahil dito, nahirapan ang defenders namin, at lalong nahirapan si Shane na goalkeeper namin. 

I sighed. It's normal to have bodily contact, but they're overdoing it. Mayroon ngang isa na siniko si Kathleen. 

I really try to avoid playing dirty, but if they can do it without getting a yellow or red card, then might as well return the favor. 

Mae passed the ball to me, and now it's my job to dribble once again. Nakita ko na kaagad na patakbo na patungo sa akin 'yung bantay ko sa kabilang team. So I avoided the ball and used my elbow to hit her in her stomach.