Meeting In The Purple Afterglow (Out Of My League Series #1)

Kabanata 18

Fling

"Hey, Siris, right? I'm the basketball team’s captain.”

I lazily turned to face the guy who suddenly appeared in front of me, while I was sitting alone in the coffee shop at the university. My squinted eyes met his smug gaze, as my mouth curled into a faint, straight line of disinterest.

The guy handed me a flyer. That was the sixth flyer I had received from the sports clubs while waiting for Kuya Osias. He was taking care of something at his department, while I went to get my uniform since classes start in a week.

Unti-unting nabura ang mayabang na ekspresyon sa kanyang mukha. Napasulyap siya sa mga lalaking nasa tatlong mesa ang layo mula sa kinaroroonan ko, dahil naghiyawan ang mga iyon at may sumipol pa. Binaba ko lang ang flyer sa lamesa nang hindi man lang tinitingnan.

“I know you're a badminton player, but I heard you used to play basketball too…” 

I arched an eyebrow, signaling him to continue, even though I already knew what he was going to say. It was the same thing the other five clubs had said earlier.

“Umm… we’d really appreciate it if you could give the tryouts a shot."

Tumango ako. Nang mapagtanto niya siguro na wala akong balak magsalita, nagpaalam na siya at bumalik sa table nila, kung saan nag-iingay na naman ang mga kasama niya. 

Napailing na lang ako, hindi na nagtaka kung bakit maraming nanghihikayat sa akin sa kanilang organisasyon. Pinagpatuloy ko na lang ang pakikipagtext kay Sylvier. 

During my elementary and junior high years I was a multi-sport athlete. I trained in rugby, basketball, ping pong, and badminton, but badminton was always my main focus. Maximillian and I were titled the unbeatable duo of badminton doubles, winning four consecutive gold medals at the nationals from grades 7 to 10. When I became a senior high school, I moved to the Metro and decided to switch to singles, where I remained the gold medalist for two consecutive years, with Maxi and I competing against each other in the nationals for badminton singles.

At ngayong magko-kolehiyo na, plano ko naman talagang mapasali sa varsity badminton team sa Goldwyn. Ngayong sa Solaris na ako mag aaral at hindi na doon, hindi naman nagbago ang plano. Hindi ko pa lang masyadong iniisip dahil ang mga subjects sa engineering pa na puro Math ang nasa isip ko at pinoproblema. 

Mahirap talaga kapag hindi ka nabiyayaan ng katalinuhan.

And speaking of Schneider...

“So, totoo ang chismis!” Maximilian exclaimed as soon as he spotted me when he entered the coffee shop.

He clung to my right arm and rested his head on my shoulder as soon as he sat beside me.

Marahan kong ibinaba ang cellphone ko sa lamesa, kahit hindi ko pa nasasagot ang huling text ni Sylvier. Hindi naman sa nahihiya akong malaman ni Maxi na siya ang ka-text ko. Ayaw ko lang talaga ng may nakikibasa sa isang pribadong bagay na para sa akin. 

At kilala ko si Maximilian, magaling sumagap ng balita at mas magaling pang magbalita. Kaya nagtataka rin ako kung bakit engineering ang kinuha niya, e pwede naman siya sa Communication, dahil doon talaga siya magaling. At hindi na ako nagtaka kung paano niya ako nakita dito sa coffee shop. 

Tamad akong napairap nang maupo rin sina Eon at Ravi sa bakante pang upuan sa table ko. Kasunod lang sila ni Maxi, nauna lang talaga siyang lumapit sa akin para lumingkis. 

Nananahimik ako rito tapos biglang darating silang tatlo, na mukhang gusto pa yata akong isama sa reunion nila dahil ngayon lang ulit nabuo ang three musketeers, dahil sa ilang buwan na pamamalagi ni Eon sa States.