The MOON Journals

To Touch A Moon

CHAPTER 3

It was extremely loud in the gym.

The basketball match was down to its final quarter and the home court crowd as hoarse as they cheered for their team, minutes before the game end. It was quite obvious that they were winning, but much of the cheer was not even for the game but for the tall basketball player who was currently dribbling the ball and blocked by much of the guest team, he bent his knees, angled his lean body for a shot, aimed and the ball was in the air.

Score. A three-point shot. A shrill whistle sounded and a time-out was called.

The crowd went wild. The girls from the nearby school had banners and were screaming their hearts out. Oblivious to the attention he was getting, Phana strolled toward the bench where his teammates sat. He grabbed a plastic cup of water from the waterboy, took a sip and poured the rest of the water on his face, water cascading on his firm chest which can clearly be seen through the thin and wet cloth of their jersey uniform.

"Quite a lot of fans you have here as always Ai Pha, " Kit, his team mate said, gesturing to the gaggle of girls who were seated right behind them, "Careful and give them a bit of that rare smile otherwise Beam will steal them all from you. I mean look at him, he is shamelessly asking for everyone's number. "

Phana glanced at his other friend, standing right next to the giggling girls and handing one of them his mobile.

"Let him, I never wanted them to scream like that anyway. "

"Yeah? But they're your fan club. " Kit teased, a wicked smile on his face.

"I do not have a fan club. " Annoyed, Phana strolled back to the court as the game was called back. " Kit just laughed.

A few feet from where the bench was, a pimply, bespectacled boy with braces was listening to the exchange but his eyes followed the long strides of the star center as he went back to the game. He saw the tired face, the cool demeanor but he knew that Phana was near exhaustion having given the team most of its leading scores.

Wayo quickly stood up, startling Ming who was stuffing his mouth with Kitkat.

"Eii Ai Yo, where are you going. "

"I'll be right back. "

"But the game is almost over. "

"Exactly why I had to go now," as the shorter kid rushed towards the exit of the gym leaving a curious Ming looking after him. The taller kid looked over to the bench where the home team was anxiously waiting for the last few minutes of the game to be over, he purposely glanced at the shortest of the players, the boy Phana just talked to before going back to finish the match.

"Kitty Kat, " Ming mumbled and snapped a stick of the chocolate in his hand and stuffed it in his mouth.

The cheer was deafening as the crowd stood up in the stands. The shrill call of the referee just made the home team's win official and the varsity players were rushing to the center of the court. The girls were jumping up and down, streamers and banners with Phana's face were being hoisted up. Mobile phones were snapping endless pictures and the tall 12th grader at the very center of the commotion just stood still, finally feeling the aches and tension in his muscles from all the exertion.

The gym was too wild, too noisy and too crowded for Phana. Smiling for a few friends and accepting their congratulations, he made his way to the edge where only a few bystanders were watching the wild exhilaration of the triumphant team and their fans. He saw someone approach.