Dying Embers

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen: Bahala Na

The days blurred into a mix of busyness and routine — parang paulit-ulit lang, pero may halong excitement sa hangin. Sa campus, teachers and coaches were constantly arguing whether the upcoming Intramural Sports Day should be held sa school grounds o sa stadium. The debate dragged on for hours, with a meeting that almost everyone wished would end sooner. In the end, the stadium won.

Students and trainers were all over the place — cheerleaders perfecting their stunts, athletes pushing themselves through exhausting drills. The whole campus thrummed with anticipation, as if every heartbeat echoed the countdown to Intramurals 2020.

Natapos na rin ang pageant kagabi, pero hindi na ako nag-abalang pumunta. Si Jilliana na lang ang nagbalita sa akin kung sino ang nanalo. The winners of Mr. and Ms. Intramurals had already been announced — representatives from Grade 10 and 11 took the titles, while the Grade 12 contender landed as first runner-up.

Pero ngayon, doon pa lang magsisimula ang totoong saya.

I woke up early, the morning light filtering softly through my curtains. Mr. Agullana, our P.E. teacher, gave us a task: observe and write an essay for each sports game. Sighing, I stuffed my notebook and pen into my sling bag, already imagining how long the day would be.

I slipped into my favorite high-waisted faded jeans and a black spaghetti strap top, neatly tucked in. Over it, I wore a Wildcats baseball jersey — the one Chance had made for me. My white Vans added that laid-back vibe I loved. I let my hair down, brushing it back lightly, then tied a slim ribboned headband to keep it from falling in my face.

Just as I was about to leave, my phone beeped.

The moment I saw his name light up on the screen, my lips curved into a smile I didn't even try to hide.

From: Chance

'Good morning, Nieve 😘 How's the tee shirt?'

That jersey — he had it custom-made together with their team uniforms for the Grade 11 Wildcats. Siya pa ang nagbayad. Ayaw ko sana noong una, pero pinilit niya. Para raw pareho kami. And so I gave in.

At the back, printed in bold white letters, was my name — NIEVE. Beneath it, the number 8 — the day we first met. He remembered. The thought alone made my chest tighten, in that soft, familiar way. We even had matching numbers, like he promised. It was silly... but it felt special.

'Morning, too. Tee shirt's fine. Thanks, though ☺️'

Wala pang isang segundo, nag-reply na siya kaagad. Ang bilis naman?

'Geez, you really need to do something about that emoji. I can already picture you smiling like that right now. Too cute 😍'

Napatawa ako. Napailing, sabay type ng reply.

'Stop joking. That was lame.'

Came another reply from him:

'😄 Where's my good luck, though? May laro kami mamaya, 9:30. Wildcats vs. Panthers.'

The Panthers. One of the toughest teams this season. Halos lahat ng players nila ay kabilang din sa Hawkeye team — the official CSU Baseball squad. I won't deny, they're skilled. Pero may laban din ang Wildcats, lalo na't si Chance mismo ang captain ng Hawkeye.

'Good luck!'

Chance replied. 'Yey, thanks 🤩 Manonood ka ba mamaya?'

I quickly replied to his question without thinking. 'Ewan ko.'