Loving Greene

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

If you would ask me to think of a word that would describe Atlas Greene, I would say… everything. He is everything. He's also a wonder to me. My every waking moment is haunted by his perfection. Habang pinagmamasdan ko siya ngayon, ang tanging nasa isip ko lamang ay bakit ako pinanganak para maging alipin niya? My heart is blindly loyal to him. Everytime Greene would smile, my heart would leap and become excited as if it was directed to me.

Like how could he be so perfect in my eye? It feels like I was bewitched to become a slave of his affection. Kahit anong pigil ko sa aking sarili na huwag tuluyang magpakalunod sa mga ngiti ni Atlas Greene ay hindi ko magawa. It seems like I cannot be saved anymore.

“Feeling ko mababaliw na ako,” sabi ko kay Fidel habang naglalakad kami sa locker room namin na nasa gilid gymnasium. Nasa unahan namin ang grupo ni Greene, they were goofing around and were laughing at each other.

“Matagal ka naman talagang baliw. Sumobra lang ang kabaliwan mo nang magkagusto ka sa Atlas na ‘yan.”

He's such a hater. Hindi ko na siya pinansin. Wala akong mapapala sa isang ‘to lalo ma kapag si Greene ang pinag-usapan. Fidel and I parted when we reached the locker rooms. Pumasok ako sa female area at kinuha ang aking pe uniform bago pumasok sa dressing room.

Nang makalabas ako ay saktong nagtama ang mga mata namin ni Marina. I was shocked to see her here. Parang ilang linggo na rin bago siya makabalik. Nobody really talked about her and Greene, everyone just stopped pairing them all of the sudden. I saw the smirk that formed in her face when she saw me. I just looked away and ignored her. Wala naman akong mapapala kapag haharapin ko siya. I never felt sorry for what I've done anyway.

Naroon na ang iba kong kaklase sa loob ng gymnasium nang makarating ako. Coach Ty told us to do warm-up exercises dahil maglalaro raw kami ngayon ng volleyball. Lumapit ako kay Fidel at sabay kaming nag warm-up. After fifteen minutes, Coach grouped us into four. Sadly, hindi ko kagrupo si Fidel dahil nasali siya sa grupo ni Greene. They're the group one, group two ay sina Clara, kami naman ang group three, and lastly Marina is in the last group. Coach told us the order of games. Group one and group two on the first match then three and four on the second. Kung sino man ang dalawang team na mananalo ay magkakaroon ng championship round.

Pumuwesto na ang grupo nila Greene at Clara, side by side. I looked at Fidel at nakitang focused lang siya sa laro. He was the spiker of his team while Greene was the libero. I cheered for Fidel when the other team failed to block the ball that Fidel spiked. However, I was silent the whole time Greene was showing off his skills. I just clap and cheer for him inside my head. There was even a moment when he suddenly looked to where I was seated and he smiled at me. My heart skipped a beat and I couldn't stop smiling after that. I looked in different directions to see if anyone saw what Greene did but I was relieved when they were all busy watching the games.

“Having fun, whore? Are you happy dahil naagaw mo na si Atlas sa akin?”

A chill ran down my spine when Marina sat beside me and said those words. I never moved, I never acknowledged her. Nang makita niyang wala akong balak pansinin siya ay ngumisi siya. “Let’s see what you've got then.”

I shrugged it all off. If she's here to scare me, it would take her a lot of effort to do so. Nang makaalis siya ay bumalik ang focus ko sa laro nila. Both sets were dominated by Greene's team. Nang matapos ang kanilang laro ay kaagad na lumapit si Fidel sa akin. I handed him his towels and his bottled water. Tiningnan niya naman ako na para bang nagmamayabang kaya nginisihan ko siya.

“May the best player win,” saad ko at bumaba na sa bleachers.

Habang pababa ako ay madadaanan ko pala si Atlas, I never prepared for this. Dadaanan ko lang ba siya or should I congratulate him? I gulped when I was near.

“Congrats.” “Good luck.”

We both said that in unison. I laughed and he did too. Hindi na kami nakapag-usap dahil tinawag na kami ni coach. Ako ang naatasan na maging setter ng grupo. While my team was busy discussing the positions and game tactics, napatingin ako sa banda ni Greene at nakita kong nagthumbs-up siya sa akin. I was about to smile but it faded when I saw Marina's evil smirk across the court.

“Good luck, Adi!” sigaw ni Fidel sa itaas na bahagi ng bleacher. I smiled at him.

Pumuwesto na kaming lahat. Marina will be the first one to serve on her team. When the coach blew the whistle, she tossed the ball up high then hit it with a calculated strength.

“Good luck, Adi!” somebody shouted in the audience. The very moment I heard those cheers, the ball hit me straight to the face. I wasn't able to block it or set it because it was too fast and she served it too well. Marina is actually a varsity player of our school and she was good. That's why she was able to hit my face after a perfect trajectory.

Natumba ako sa lupa. I almost lost my consciousness pero dahil gusto yata ng katawan ko na makaranas ng kahihiyan, nagawa niya pang bumangon.

“That was uncalled for!” sigaw ko kay Marina. My teammates and her teammates ran to me and made sure that I was alright. I tasted blood dripping from my nose and I swear to god I was about to faint.

“Adelaida, are you alright?” I looked at the person who is terribly worried of me and I was greeted by the worrisome face of Atlas Greene. Could I just melt in his arms?

Coach blew his whistle at kaagad na tumabi ang aking mga kaklase. He examined my face and told me to go to the clinic.

“Marina, apologize to Millarez! You're an athlete. You should know better than using your skills to hurt your classmate!” galit na galit si Coach nang hinarap niya si Marina.
The girl just stood there with her I-know-nothing look.

Habang pinagsasabihan siya ni Coach ay tinulungan ako ni Greene na makatayo. He guided me to put my right arm around his neck while his left arm is on my waist.

“Coach, ako na ang magdadala kay Adi sa clinic.”

Coach looked at us then nodded. “Rest, Millarez. Pupuntahan kita mamaya sa clinic after class and after I'm done with Marina.”

Sobrang sakit ng mukha ko at halos hindi ko na rin mabuksan ang aking mga mata. I have to put all of my weight on Greene. Tahimik na lang sana kaming lalabas ng gym at pupunta ng clinic kaso nakita ko ang bola na gumapang at nasa entrance na ngayon. I could let all of this go and have Marina bully me for the rest of my high school life or I could change my fate and show her that I wasn't some weakling.

“S-sandali..” I told Atlas.

He was confused when I went to get ball, took a step back, and threw the ball with all my might towards the unsuspecting Marina na kinakausap pa ni Coach. I hit the back of her head however, I wasn't able to put her down. Both of her feet are still on the ground at mukhang hindi rin naman ganoon kalakas ang aking pagbato. Nanlaki ang mga mata ni Coach nang makita ang ginawa ko. His face turned red but before he could shout at me, hinila ko na ang gulat pa rin na si Greene palayo roon.

When we reached the clinic, I never bothered to tell the nurse about what happened to me. I guess everything shows in my face. It was swollen and I really need some ice right now.

Greene was the one who talked to the nurse about what happened to me. I was too tired and too hurt to even care so I dozed off. Nang magising ako, nararamdaman ko ang lamig ng dinadamping ice pack ni Greene sa aking mga pasa. He looked serious in doing so that he never noticed I was watching him the whole time. When he noticed me, he sighed and returned to what he was doing.

“I’m sorry…” he trailed off. “I know Marina was mad at me but I never expected that you'll be subjected by her evil plans as well. Pasensiya na, Adi. I will make sure that she will pay for this.”

I chuckled. I never thought that he would look cute when he is angry but then again, I'm slowly losing my mind over this guy. Napatingin naman siya sa akin kaya natutop ko ang aking bibig.

“I hit her in the head too. I hope that she learns her lesson dahil hindi ako papayag na api-apihin lang nang hindi ako gumaganti,” I bravely said those words.

Ngunit bigla naman akong nahiya dahil baka tingin niya sa akin ay isa akong warfreak. It would really hurt me if Greene would be disappointed but when I met his eyes, pride is evident in it. His lips even curled and softly, he whispered the words “That’s my girl.”