The Brighter Side of Things

Chapter 17

Looking for another girl who's interested with basketball was like searching for a needle in a haystack. Coach Anj gave me free reign to recruit a new member and had asked the boys to do the same. As a result, I had been approached by girls wanting to learn the sport only to realize that they were more interested in rubbing elbows with North and the other varsity players than actually playing basketball. When Coach Anj rejected their application, the girls projected their frustration at me. Great. More enemies at school.

But that didn't stop me from finding my own teammate. With coach's blessing, I posted a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board. But two weeks later and all it had were fictitious names and nasty comments. Either no one from the female population really knew anything about the sport or they were all afraid to be associated with me. You'd probably think my schoolmates eventually got tired of calling me names and dropping snide remarks.

They didn't.

I wouldn't even lie that it didn't hurt. Because it still stung.

But this time, I was determined to make the most out of the chance I was given. Coach was right. If I wanted to play basketball so badly, I had to stop whining everytime I heard comments against me. I had to develop the rhino skin if I wanted to push through.

"For someone who's tall, you are so good at hiding yourself."

I lifted my eyes from reading a chapter in our history book for a long quiz to see North leaning against a bookshelf, his arms crossed over his chest.

This wasn't the first instance that North came looking for me. Since my falling out with my best friend, he appointed himself as my personal buddy like what his cousin had initially planned. But even before our sudden closeness could spark more ugly rumors, I distanced myself from him. I thought he got the message. That I didn't want anything to do with him so I wouldn't stain his pristine image in the campus.

What was he trying to do? "H-hey."

North shuffled closer. "Don't hey me. I've been looking everywhere for you. But as soon as class is dismissed, you disappear. Why are you in such a depressing place?"

Well, I couldn't develop rhino skin overnight. Given that neither Lexi nor I wanted to make the first move, I had to look for a new hiding place to treat my wounded ego and recuperate somewhere nobody could find before I could face them with my chin held high. The corners hidden behind the shadows of the tall shelves in the library was the perfect spot.

"It's one of my talents," I grinned at him, half-concerned that somebody might see us talking, half-flattered that he bothered to look for me. "You know, like Batman. I blend in the shadows." Finding it funny, I chuckled at my own joke. "Get it? It's a disappearing act best achieved when the night falls for someone as dark as me."

He didn't seem amused like what I had expected. If anything, the knot formed by his bushy eyebrows deepened as he continued to stare at me with such intensity that had goosebumps crawling over my arms.

Which of course, made me conscious that I tucked my hair behind my ear. "What?"

Before talking, he reached for a random book from the shelf and scanned through it. "You get hurt when people call you 'matuling'. But it's okay when you use derogatory words to describe yourself. Sometimes, I don't get your logic."

Really. This guy and his ability to shift my emotions in a jiffy. "If you just came here to give me a lecture, get lost, North. I'm trying to study."

The sigh he let out after putting the book back to its slot sounded exasperated. "I looked everywhere for you because an eighth grader is interested to be part of your team."