Game Plan (COMPLETE)

23

I thought Mom was just being dramatic again—like she always is—until her words started making too much sense.

I tilted my head. "Love agad?"

"Basta! Doon din naman papunta 'yon!" She said without missing a beat, going back to chopping strawberries. "Pero grabe, ha—this is the first time you've ever told me about a girl. Dalaga ka na talaga!"

"Mom, I'm binata." I corrected, even though I knew she was just teasing.

"Putcha, conyotics pa talaga ang anak ko," she muttered under her breath, shaking her head dramatically.

Well, living with my lolo and lola who mostly speak English and going to a university with people that predominantly speak pure Tagalog can really scramble one's brain.

Mom kept giving me all sorts of advice—about what to do, what not to do. And for the first time in a long time, I actually wanted to listen.

I actually wanted to learn.

Even if I couldn't promise to get everything right... I wanted to try.

It wasn't just her that I liked—it was also the little things we built together.

The things we called "the usual":

The dinners after training, the small talks after long drives, the jogging partnerships, and me dropping her off one block away from her house.

Truly, I like her.

But maybe... maybe not enough to set aside my personal goals.

And without even realizing it, I was already starting to fuck it all up.

Sometimes, I would prefer to play with fellow athletes than to check my phone.

Sometimes, even if I saw that there is a notification, I would set it aside and say that "I'll check it later."

Sometimes, I would convince myself that there's still plenty of time to make her feel important.

***

I thought I was done. I thought everything was okay. I had already submitted my final paper weeks ago. But just this morning, my professor emailed me—"Needs revision. Urgent."

My chest tightened as I skimmed through her comments. There were major sections I needed to fix. No warning. No second chances.

I looked at our group chat. Tatlo lang kami sa isang grupo, pero wala talagang kahit isang nakapansin?

And... how the fuck did I missed that? I'm not the type of person that fails a course. I rarely miss anything. So, how the hell did I miss that?

I rushed to the campus, heart pounding. I pleaded with my professor in-person inside the faculty office, asking if I could still resubmit. We were already beyond the official deadline... pero kinapalan ko na lang ang mukha ko dahil ayaw kong bumagsak.

She gave us one last shot, but only if we could submit it today before noon.

So I sat in the empty library, typing like crazy—fixing paragraphs, editing citations, calling my groupmates, and checking every damn detail until my hands started to cramp. I wasn't even thinking straight anymore. Hindi na rin ako nag-assign sa ibang groupmates ko.

The only thing in my mind was to finish it—fast.

When I finally hit submit, I sprinted to my car. I drove like hell, hoping I could still make it to her graduation.

I was flying down the highway, barely breathing, barely thinking. The only thing I could hear inside my head was, 'I'm late. I'm late. I'm fucking late.'