I made every effort to avoid Percival, both on and off campus. Wala siyang ibang bukambibig but the Villados, Iskwala, and Damian specifically. It's starting to be annoying.
So what if Damian's back in Manila since last week? Percival himself na nga nagsabi na it has nothing to with me or it's not because of me eh. Ang kulit niya pa rin.
"Hey," Nash said, sitting down next to me.
We're in the locker room, getting ready for a game in an hour. We're about to have our team huddle pero wala pa si coach.
"What's up?" I asked, tying my shoes as he did the same.
"Have you heard what happened to Real?" he whispered, pero it was loud enough naman for our teammates to hear.
"Real? As in Knox Real of Sunridge U?"
"What happened to him?"
"Oh, shit. May nabalitaan ako pero 'di ko alam kung totoo ba 'yon."
Now everyone's talking at once. Hindi ko na maintindihan what they're saying because they're speaking over each other na.
"The whole Iskwala is a mess?"
That grabbed my attention. I stood up para harapin teammate ko who just said that. "Whole Iskwala?"
"Yup." It was Nash who answered though. "The point is Knox Real, he's in the hospital."
"Why? How about the rest?"
"Why do we care about the rest?" Nash laughed na parang I just asked the most ridiculous thing. Bawal ba ma-concern? They only care about Knox because he's a rival, is that it?
Everyone hates Iskwala— sa tingin nila that circle of friends is overrated. I used to think the same thing. They are only infamous for a 'scandal', their words, back in grade school and for coming from rich families.
"I'm just asking, Nash." I wanted it come out na concern lang ako but I knew they knew that there was a hint of annoyance.
"Yes, Cap, they're a mess. Tio's parents just got annulled, Archer's failing his classes, Conrad's at the police station, Ian's missing, and Knox is at the hospital."
I paused, trying to take it all in. Only one thought kept echoing in my mind though. Damian's missing?
Hindi ako clearly makapag-focus during the game against St. Clement University, and it was evident that my performance wasn't up to par that coach decided to bench me for the last quarter.
This isn't the time to be distracted pero hindi ko kaya. All my life I've known how to keep my composure very well, but suddenly, with Damian missing, I'm falling apart.
What the fuck happened?
I got a good scolding after the game. We won but as the team captain, sobrang disappointed si coach sa 'kin.
I really hate letting people down. I've always felt na if someone is disappointed in me, I must be doing something wrong. It makes me question if I'm on the right path and pushes me to get rid of anything that seems to be holding me back.
So yes, disappointed si coach- and my teammates, so my usual option is to stop thinking about Damian para lang bumalik ako sa katinuan.
So fuck me for not doing that.
I can't stop thinking about him— I don't want to.
Instead of going straight home after my shower, I stopped by Percival's condo. Sobrang careless ng ginagawa ko but the consequences are my least concern right now.
