A Collision of Hearts and Heroes

Chapter 33

Clarissa's POV

Sudden Anguish

This past year sneaked by while I didn't even notice how fast time passed. Totoo ngang kapag masaya ka ay mabilis ang pag-usad ng panahon. Hindi mo na napapansin ang bawat minuto dahil abala ka sa mga magagandang pangyayaring bumabalot sa iyong buhay.

Not much has changed in my life—even after months have gone by. Gasper and I are still doing well in our relationship. His compassion for me has grown so much that I no longer worry about him not understanding me. Kung meron man kaming hindi pagkakaunawaan ay mga minor inconveniences lang at naayos naman kaagad.

The thirteenth season of MPL started today, and I couldn't contain my excitement. I've been eagerly anticipating this, and the wait is finally over.

Ano kaya ang naghihintay sa amin sa season na ito?

Naghiyawan ang mga manonood nang lumabas kami galing sa backstage. We walked to the stage through the center of the crowd, where some people were reaching out to us. We took a moment to acknowledge them, reaching back as we made our way forward. I saw that one of the watchers made a hand heart gesture, so I extended my hand to complete the heart shape.

"Good luck!" He spoke.

"Thank you!"

"Good luck, Arie! Ikaw ang manok ko!"

I held my chest while staring at the guy who made that comment. As soon as they saw my reaction, he and the others erupted into laughter. Grabe si kuya. Mukha ba akong nanunuka?

"Ano ako puti o pula?" I said, laughing, before we proceeded to the front.

Once we had remained at the main stage, we were eventually permitted to proceed to our table. Ang kalaban namin ngayon ay ang Lethal. Since Drake isn't here yet, I assume he's still suspended. Hindi ko alam ilang buwan ang pagiging suspended niya pero mukhang until this MPL season ay hindi siya pwede.

At the beginning of the game, I'm just chilling because most of my teammates are already taking control. Wala akong ibang inintindi hanggang sa naramdaman kong parang may mali. It seems like the opponent is concentrating on ganking the middle lane and is primarily targeting me for an attack.

"Shit, they're here na naman! Akala ko pa-bottom lane na sila," I complained when they suddenly launched an attack on my hero.

Matapos nilang mapitas ang hero ko ay nag-tp silang lahat sabay emote nang nakakaasar. Wow! Just, wow! Now, I'm certain they're target-locking me.

Kanina pa sila. I didn't care about them taunting me by pressing the teleport button and showing their emotes because that's just part of the game. Pero habang tumatagal ay naramdaman ko nang may galit talaga sila sa 'kin. They didn't act this way towards me last season, so the only reason I can think of for this change is Drake's suspension.

Dahil sa kaka-gank nila sa akin ay nasira ang formation at rotation namin. Nawala na rin kami sa focus, lalo na 'yong mga kakampi kong naiirita na rin. I glanced over at them at the other table after we lost the first game. They showed me a look of disappointment and even gave a dismissive gesture, as if saying, "wala ka pala, e. Mahina!"

Ah, okay! Ganyan pala dapat kayo maglaro? Sige!

"Tanginang mga 'yon, ah? Dinamay ba naman personal na problema sa laro!"

"Bawi lang tayo! Don't let your emotions rule. Focus tayo dapat!" Coach Max encouraged us.

We paid close attention as Coach Max explained our plan for dealing with the situation if they continued to target me. To create confusion, Byron and I swapped roles. I took the gold lane, and he took the mid lane.