Games of the Heart

Wet Traces

The day had started bright and sunny. But now, the afternoon sun was starting to be obscured by dark clouds in the sky. The wind was also picking up, the cold breeze making the students shiver as they walked to their respective after-school clubs. Amidst them, Alex walked toward the gym, his sports bag over his shoulder, wishing it wouldn’t rain.

There were many people inside the gym when he walked in. The recruitment must have been a definite success, he thought, as he made his way to the bench where the club members were all gathered. The group of recruits for the try-out was large, at least 20 more. They were all standing together at the end of the gym, looking timidly at their surroundings, waiting for it to start.

“You're late,” Adam Cuizon, the basketball club captain and a Grade 12 student, called out to him.

Alex raised a brow. “I still have five minutes left.”

“Everyone's already here. So you're late.”

“Then why set the time to 3:30 at all?”

Adam grinned. “You're going to be captain next year. You have to be a good role model. Five laps. Now.”

This was stupid.

Alex glared at each of his teammates and noticed they were looking away, trying not to laugh.

And in front of the new recruits too.

He dropped his bag on the bench loudly and bent down to check the lacing of his basketball shoes. This actually didn’t come as a surprise to him. Adam was an eccentric person and was known to make ridiculous commands. But there was no doubt he was a good leader. Alex just wished he’d stopped being unreasonable.

“Like Adam said, I'm going to be captain next year,” Alex muttered when he straightened, giving the rest of the members a well-placed scowl. “So you boys better watch yourself.”

Daniel, who had been spinning a basketball on his index finger, put the ball down, thumped his chest with his fist and then declared, “I'll run with you, co-captain, my co-captain. I just got here too.”

Another of the members rose from the bench. “Me too.”

“I'll run with you too, sir.”

Soon everyone sitting on the bench had risen while the others standing drew near him, proclaiming their loyalty and their desire to run with him. Adam started laughing.

“Then you morons better start running. The coach is coming soon.”

“Let's go!” Daniel shouted and the group began their first lap. Alex briefly glared at Adam then followed them. Slave driver.

The cheer squad was just dispersing from their meeting on the left bleachers near the back of the gym. Daniel sidled next to Alex, whispering, “Act cool.”

Alex elbowed his side. “I am cool.”

“Franceska's put her hair up today. She’s so cute, isn’t she?”

Alex glanced back. The cheer squad was giggling while they exited the gym.

“Shut up, Dan,” he muttered.

Daniel snickered but fortunately stopped talking and they continued their run.

“You’re not in a good mood,” Daniel said after their third lap around the gym, sounding breathless. “Is it because of the test this morning?”

“You know me well,” he answered.

“Cheer up, Alex. At least you only got two marks wrong. I barely even passed, you know.”

“They were easy questions. I could have gotten them right.” Looking back, Alex noted that the rest of the group was far behind them. “We have one more lap to go, guys! Let’s pick up speed so we can rest!”

“Yes, sir!”

“I don’t understand why you need to be always perfect,” Daniel said when he had his attention again. “And why aren’t you breaking a sweat?”

Alex shrugged, chuckling. “It’s just the way I am, Daniel.”

As soon as the final lap was over, the coach came inside through the double doors. Some of the members were still trying to catch their breaths while the others were drinking water and wiping the sweat off their body.

“Alright, stop being lazy and get up,” the coach called out, gesturing the recruits to come to him.

“Lazy?” Daniel laughed low, wiping his brow.

Adam clapped his hands twice. “Gather around, team.”

The club members huddled together. While the coach introduced them to the new members and did his speech about basketball, Alex looked amongst the recruits and spotted Marco Dy. He grinned and tipped his chin up at him. Marco returned the gesture then focused on the coach again. He really did apply for the basketball club, Alex thought. He did have the height and build for it. Alex just hoped he also had the skill for it too.

Later on, the coach tasked them to do basketball drills such as speed dribbling, court passing and form shooting. The old members were assigned in pairs or trios with the new members to help them. Alex went for Marco, who was dribbling the ball with a practice hand before aiming for the hoop. It went straight in.

“You're good,” Alex couldn't help but be impressed. “That was a good shot.”

Marco wiped his forehead with his wrist band. “I played street basketball with my friends when I still lived abroad.”

“How about when you were in junior high?”

“I played tennis.” Marco glanced at the other members practicing. “But I really want to play basketball again.”

Alex patted his shoulder. “And you will. It’s obvious you can play. We really appreciate having you in our team.”

Marco nodded. “Thanks.”

His expression remained the same, expressionless and inscrutable, but Alex didn’t play it much heed. The new transfer was already known for his expressionless countenance that hid what he was really thinking. But it was easy to notice the slightest change if you knew where to look. His shoulders, tense during the coach’s directions, had eased. And Alex wanted to further ease his worries about the club.

“You know, Eliza already told me you'll be joining the basketball club,” he admitted. “But believe me when I say that I really mean my words, Marco.”

He nodded again, his face revealing a hint of relief and satisfaction with himself. “Right. Thank you. I’ll work hard.”

“Fernandez!” the coach called Alex. “Can you take a look at these kids and teach them how to dribble without looking spastic?”

Alex laughed and raised his hand. “Be there coach.” To Marco, he said, “Later.”

“Yeah, later.”

“He's good, right?” the coach whispered to Alex when he moved to him.

Alex smiled as he watched Marco shoot another ball into the hoop again. “He's great.”

**********

Eliza glanced at her wristwatch. She hadn’t even noticed it was close to 5 o’clock. Stretching her arms up high, she glanced around the classroom. The book club had just held its first assembly today and although there weren’t many people who joined this year, the room was still almost full.

It wasn’t mandatory to be in a club in St. Anne’s Academy. But to make her records look good, she joined the book club. She had been a member since junior high and had only chosen the club because there wasn’t much to do. She could either sleep or play on her phone. Actually most of the members had the same thinking as her. Except of course, the club president Amber Damaso. Though she let the members do what they wanted, she still made them pass one book report every two weeks and held at least one activity every month.

“It's almost 5 o’clock,” Amber muttered, looking at the wall clock. “Since we’ve already gone through our schedule and activities for the school year, shall we call it a day?”

The members murmured their assent and prepared to leave. Eliza put the book she had been pretending to read in her bag. A tap on her shoulder made her look up. It was Amber.

“You actually participated in the assembly today,” the older girl told her. “What gives?”

She grinned. “I’m trying to be a good student this year.”

“Is that why you’re not looking like a slob anymore?” Joseph Cui, a student from the same grade as she, asked her.

“I didn’t look like a slob.”

“Honey, you never combed your hair or wore your tie. You were practically known as the slob class president in our grade.”

“That was before,” Eliza protested. “I’m working hard now.”

“Oh I can attest to that,” Amber inserted with a chuckle. “Are you going to wait for Alex again?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

“You used to go home without him if his practice doesn’t end early,” Joseph mused. “What's up with you guys lately?”

“You're secretly dating, are you?” Amber interjected.

Laughing, she shook her head. “No, we're not.”

“Then why did you start waiting for him now?”

Her laughter subsided. Eliza couldn't tell them. “My parents are worried about me going home alone,” she answered. It wasn’t a total lie. They didn’t like the thought of her going home alone after that incident. “And since Alex is the only person I know that lives in the same neighborhood as me, they made me go home with him. They say I’m getting prettier every year and they’re afraid someone might snatch me up.”

Joseph was choking with laughter when he said, “You? Pretty?”

“You’re gay so you can’t appreciate my beauty,” Eliza teased, happy she’d successfully diverted the topic.

“She’s right,” Amber smirked. “If you weren’t gay then you’d probably fall for Eliza.”

“Sorry. She’s not my type. Alex, however, is totally my type.”

They said goodbye to each other after chatting some more. The sky was getting darker, mostly because it was cloudy, and Eliza walked quickly to the gym. Practice and the try-out seemed to have ended by the time she walked through the double doors, making sure she was quiet. The coach saw her and gave her a nod. She smiled and waved back, leaning against the wall next to the doors to wait for Alex, who was zipping up his sports bag, talking to Daniel.

“Are you waiting for Alex?”

She slid her gaze to the side. Marco was looking at her, his sports bag already over his shoulder.

“Yeah,” she smiled. “How was the try-out?”

“It was fine,” he answered. “The list will be out on Monday. I hope I’ll get in.”

“You will,” Alex said as he joined them. “Did you wait long, Liz?”

“No.” Her eyes shifted from him to Marco. She was surrounded by giants, she thought in amusement. “I just arrived,” she went on. “Is the try-out over?”

“Yeah,” Her best friend patted Marco’s shoulder. “It’s going to be a promising year. Especially now that we have Marco.”

Marco shook his head, uncomfortable with the compliment. “You overestimate me too much.”

“Dude, you landed two consecutive three pointers. Don’t down play your skills.”

“Lucky shots.”

“Lucky shots?” Daniel scoffed as he also joined them. “Adam can't even do that with his eyes open.”

“I heard that, Daniel!” The captain shouted across the gym.

Ignoring Adam, Daniel's eyes honed on her. “Hey, Eliza,” he drawled out with a slow forming grin.

“Hey, Daniel,” she grinned. Daniel didn’t seem to have changed over the summer. He was still a goofball. And from the look on her best friend’s face, Daniel seemed to still enjoy pushing Alex’s buttons.

Daniel suddenly leaned in and said, “Do you want to be my girl—?”

“Let’s go.” Alex pulled Eliza and Marco to the exit before he could finish his question. “See you next week, Daniel.”

The amused laughter that burst out from Daniel followed them out the gym.

**********

“We’ll take that ride.”

Completely horrified, Eliza stared at Alex.

How could his best friend be so shameless?

Alex raised his brows at her. “We don’t have a choice, Eliza. Either that or get soaking wet in the rain.”

She bit back a retort and looked outside the shelter of the school building. It had started to drizzle when they left the gym and bade goodbye to Marco but it had turned into straight-up downpour by the time they reached the main building. Eliza and Alex found themselves taking shelter. Their umbrellas were useless as the wind was too strong.

“Eliza?”

She returned her attention to the black car on the driveway in front of her and to the boy standing outside the driver’s side door. Marco had spotted them making a run for shelter when the rain had turned heavy and turned his car back inside the campus. He offered them a ride home and while Eliza hesitated, Alex had immediately gone for it.

“Are… are you sure it’s okay for you to take us home?” she asked him. “You live in the opposite direction, you know. And it’s raining so heavily.”

Marco nodded. “It’s alright. I’m used to driving in this type of weather already in Manila.”

She managed a smile. It would be rude at this point to reject him after the trouble he went through coming back for them. “Well, if you’re sure… Thank you.”

They all moved to get inside the car. After exchanging looks of death and torture with Alex, who was silently gesturing for her to take the front seat, Eliza slipped inside the back seat. Fortunately, it wasn’t an awkward ride home because Alex began chatting with Marco immediately.

“Do you take your car to school everyday?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, your house is a little far from school,” Alex mused. “You’ll have to take the bus if you don’t.”

“I’m more comfortable in my car,” Marco admitted.

“I would too if I have one. I don’t like walking in the rain.”

“That’s because you always get splashed on trying to shield me,” Eliza chided.

Alex glanced at her over his shoulder. “You get sick easily, Liz. Mom would strangle me if I let you get wet.”

“You don’t go home with your other friend?” Marco asked. He was a careful driver, treading the wet roads with caution. “Anthony Maxino?”

“He’s part of the going-home club,” Alex answered him.

“Clubs aren’t mandatory?”

“Not really, no.”

Eliza leaned her forehead against the cool glass of her window, staring out at the rain. While Alex disliked the rain, she had always liked it. There was something calming and soothing about the rain, something musical too. She enjoyed watching the fall of the rain and feeling the pellets on her skin. Unfortunately, she didn’t have much chance to do the latter because like Alex said, she always gets sick easily.

“If the rain lets up tonight, we should go to the cove tomorrow, Eliza,” Alex suddenly suggested.

Eliza perked up. While she liked the rain, the beach was her first love. “We should,” she agreed, beaming at Alex’s way.

“You should come with us, Marco,” Alex said as he turned to the boy driving the car and Eliza’s smile faltered. “I heard you haven’t had a tour of our beaches.”

“For a reason,” she heard Marco mutter and if she wasn’t so disconcerted by Alex inviting him to come along with them, she would have laughed in amusement. “Anyway, we’re not even sure the rain would stop.”

“Oh, it will,” Alex said confidently. “It never rains too long in our town. I’m sure you know that we have many prized beaches being a coastal town but there’s this cove you’ve just got to see. It will fix your aversion to the beach for sure.”

Eliza was about to tell Alex to shut up by stabbing his back with a pen when Marco glanced at her through the rearview mirror. Adopting a blank expression, she raised her eyebrows at him.

“You told Alex, didn’t you?” he asked her.

She blinked. “About what?”

“Our conversation about the beach?”

“Now why would I do that?” she asked, trying to look as innocent as possible. Alex, on the other hand, was hiding a smile under his hand.

Letting out a sigh, Marco muttered, “You really don’t lie all that well, Eliza.”

Then he turned to ask Alex which of the houses lining the street was Eliza’s.

Eliza watched Alex exchanged numbers with Marco in the car while she was under the shelter of the porch of her house. She waved at Marco when their eyes met over Alex’s shoulder and even in the distance, she saw how his usually blank face softened. Earlier, she had felt bad that Alex had kept badgering Marco about going to the cove with them but seeing as Marco had no hard feelings, she decided not to kill her best friend in his sleep.

“What’s up with the sudden beach outing?” she said when said best friend rushed over to where she was. “You’re planning something, aren’t you?”

Alex closed the umbrella. “I don’t know what you mean,” he answered, poorly feigning an innocent look.

Eliza sighed and opened the door. “You also don’t lie that well, Alex.”