Those Damn Dimples (BL)

Chapter 25: The Games Part 1

After the pageant, the students immediately cleared the field and returned to their respective classrooms. They were given free time to prepare for the first event, which was Women's Basketball. To say that Class 9-A was unprepared is an understatement. Not only did they not practice, but they also didn't know how to play basketball at all. Luckily however, Class 9-A was matched with 9-B, where their players didn't know the game at all. The rules weren't really very strict with Women's Basketball at Ascension High. If anything, almost no one dribbles at all. The game went fast, and it was quite comedic. Claire was in the first five, and she practically elbowed everyone, including her teammates. It was as if the title "Women's Basketball" was misleading, because the game looked like they were playing a game of "Who gets to hold the ball the longest." In the end, 9-A lost in the first round, ultimately removing them from the games.

There was still hope for the 9-A girls, though, as Women's Volleyball was next. They had 3 student athletes on their roster, it was going to be a breeze. In the end, their first matches against Class 9-B was won easily without even needing a 5th set.

Tyrone's badminton game came next. He was very confident with his skills. He used to play badminton with his cousins at home, he's got this. However, it turns out that training with amateurs wouldn't even take forward. In the end, he lost his first match to Class 9-B.

"What happened back there?" Jake asked Tyrone. He was just shocked at how his opponent ate him alive. He treated badminton as a fun pastime for family. Little did he know it was more competitive than what he thought. I guess that's the end for Class 9-A's badminton career.

One of the more awaited events was coming, though. Men's basketball is always the most watched out of the men's events. It's no wonder, basketball is really significant in the Philippines. As usual, Class 9-A was going first, going head-to-head against Class 9-B.

The boys were doing really good in the preliminaries. It seems like their Saturday training was worth it. Theo particularly scored most of the points. He didn't have his glasses on, yet he could make 3-point shots effortlessly. Maybe our valedictorian calculates the required trajectory every time he shoots. Jake was shining on the court, too. His towering height of 180 cm proved helpful as his position in the center. In the end, they were able to win their first game, advancing into the quarterfinals for tomorrow.

The boys were visibly tired, sweating profusely. Men's volleyball was going to start in 30 minutes. They went back to their classroom first to cool off in the airconditioning. Jake was panting really hard. Caden went to him and brought him a towel and a bottle of water.

"You gotta take it easy. Class 9-B wasn't even trying hard." Caden told Jake, wiping his sweat with the towel. Jake just replied with a simple "Thank you", taking the towel from Caden's hands and wiping himself. Oliver looked at Caden from the corner. He stopped wiping his face with a towel and walked over to Caden.

"Why are you dripping?" Caden told Oliver. He was sweating hard, like he ran a 10-kilometer run. Oliver looked at him with smiling eyes, but didn't say a thing. Caden just scoffed and laughed at him, slapping his shoulder. "Go clean yourself up, big boy." Caden told him. Oliver just laughed with him, but his laugh sounded a bit off. Caden noticed it, but didn't mind. He didn't want negative emotions before their first volleyball match.

Caden put his kneepads on and proceeded to go warm up with his team. It was a good thing he taught them how to aim the ball when receiving. The boys were able to pass Caden the ball with almost no problem at all. He was optimistic. Plus, he'd been practicing something that would surely catch people off guard.

The game against Class 9-B is up. The referee made them do a coin toss to see who'd serve first. Caden won it. With that, he walked to the back of the line and held the ball in front of him with his stretched left arm. He was really far from the court, a few feet from the service line. The referee blew the whistle. This was Caden's signal. He threw the ball upward and ran forward. His leap was perfect, legs apart and his left arm stretched up, giving momentum for the right hand to hit the ball at the perfect angle. The ball flew straight down into the opponent's court. No one saw it coming. It was as if a bullet grazed the front row players' bodies. One second Caden was in the air, and in the next, he had already scored.

Class 9-A cheered loudly at the sight. Who knew their adopted brother had such a wildcard in him? "He's a demon!" some spectators exclaimed. He was a whole different person on that court. The shy, reserved Caden they knew was washed away in their minds.

The whistle rang again, Caden gave his jump serve a second try. It was another service ace! The whole school was in awe at what they were seeing. Is he a potential student athlete for the school team? This went on until he reached 12 points. His 13th service landed outside, he hit the ball too early, and it went too far.

It was no problem, though. His team got good at receiving under his wing. Although they didn't know how to toss, Caden taught them that it's okay to touch the ball twice with an underhand receive. Oliver was surprisingly quick on his feet, receiving the ball like an honorary libero. Theo passed it to Caden, launching it high for him to spike. Caden took a leap and did his spike. The ball was invisible! No one could keep up when he attacks. In the end, the final score was 25-3, 25-4, 25-9, and 25-4. Class 9-A obviously won. It was apparent that the boys of 9-B didn't bother practicing volleyball, or maybe they just didn't know the games at all. The third set game them quite a thrill though. Jake was feeling the adrenaline in the court. He was fired up and tried to copy Caden's movements. Sadly, his height wasn't enough to compensate for the amount of skill needed to spike a ball in the air. No biggie, 9-B almost didn't know a lot of the fundamental rules in volleyball. They didn't know what lifting meant or recall never stepping in the line when serving. This definitely helped their chances. With that first win, Class 9-A is moving to the quarterfinals!

The boys hugged their team captain. "Why didn't you tell us you had that strong attack up your sleeve?" said Theo. Caden didn't want his team to get tired after their basketball match. They went to Granny Luming's after school.

Then again, Oliver was sitting next to Caden, but he didn't really talk to Caden that much, let alone meet his gaze. He was off towards him the whole time, but he wasn't that way with Jake, Theo, or Tyrone. He was moping about, like a kid that got his candy taken away while asleep.

Caden wanted to talk to him, but he didn't want to ask him what was wrong in front of their friends. So when they got out of the eatery, Caden walked beside Oliver, walking behind the other boys so they could get their private time.

"What's wrong? You seem off the whole time." Caden asked his best friend. Oliver just swayed his head, looking away at Caden like a sulking child. This made Caden let out a small giggle, it didn't seem like the problem was a big one. He wrapped his arm around Oliver's shoulders and asked him again.

"I wish you wiped me like what you did with Jake." Oliver whispered. Caden's laugh became louder. He didn't expect this answer from him. "Aww, sorry my king." he teased. He then formed a fist with his other hand and rubbed the top of Oliver's head. "Don't worry. Tomorrow you'll get a real royal treatment!" he joked. The two then laughed together, ending the day on a good note. They had to rest now, because tomorrow was the quarterfinals.