Games of the Heart

The Sun Over the Horizon

"You know, that Marco guy looked kind of familiar,” Alex said, reaching over to take a piece of fried chicken from the kitchen counter.

Eliza slapped his hand away for the fifth time that night. “Dinner's going to be ready in ten minutes,” she scolded him. “Go sit in the living room and stop disturbing me.”

Alex rubbed his hand absentmindedly before adding, “I just can't place him.”

Same, she thought as she sliced a r****h and added into the soup simmering on the stove. Marco did look familiar. Maybe because she watched too many Korean dramas? He did look like a cross between Kwak Dong Yeon and Ji Soo.

“He didn't do anything funny to you during the tour right?”

Sighing, Eliza frowned at him. “This is the fourth time that you’ve asked that question.”

“I’m just making sure,” Alex answered defensively.

He definitely would. While Eliza had two younger siblings, she didn’t have an older sibling. Alex felt it was his duty to be her big brother since he was five months older than her. If she’d let him, he’d boss her around forever.

“He was a perfect gentleman during the tour, Alex,” Eliza replied patiently. She turned to the stove again. “He didn't even talk that much to me. And it was a very short tour considering the size of our school.”

Alex leaned against the counter, folding his arms across his chest. “A lot of girls are aiming for him now.”

“Well, good for him.”

“Maybe you'll fall in love with him too. I hear your seatmates.”

She thought her mouth had dropped open but her mind had blanked so she wasn’t sure. Recovering, she asked, “Now why would you say that?”

“Let’s just call it a hunch?” he replied with a lopsided grin.

It just had to be tonight of all nights that both their families decided they were having dinner together, she thought irritably. Alex was on a roll tonight and his favorite target for his juvenile teasing was her. Though her heart had fluttered when she was in Marco’s presence, it didn’t mean that she was immediately crushing on the guy.

“I have a knife with me, Alex,” she reminded him, a thoroughly disgruntled look on her face.

That didn’t scare him. It only served to amuse him more. “Eliza, you're afraid of the sight of blood.”

“I’ll smack you. See if I don't.”

He burst out laughing. “Whatever you're going to do, I bet you'll need a stool to do it.”

“Keep this up and you'll be sorry,” she warned him.

Tilting his head to the side, he grinned at her. “Not as sorry as you'll be if you burn that soup.”

She whirled her head around and immediately reduced the temperature. Then she poured in the tamarind juice into the soup and began to stir, hoping Alex would finally take a hint and leave her alone to finish cooking.

“What do you think about Marco Dy anyway?” he suddenly asked.

That question gave her pause. What did she think about him?

“He’s alright, I guess?” she offered hesitantly. “He’s quiet in class and listens to the teacher. Everyone seems to like him. And he is quite eye-catching.”

She regretted the last statement as soon as the words left her lips. Lord, but she sounded shallow. She just couldn’t get over his looks yet. And in her defense, she didn’t know Marco enough to judge his character.

“What about you?” she mumbled, her mind tripping over itself to divert the topic from her. “What do you think about him?”

Alex seemed to be thinking about it. “Well… He looks tall and athletic enough to join the basketball club.”

“Of course you’d only think about basketball,” she deadpanned.

“And the guys said he was nice when they talked to him.”

“Do you think he’s nice?”

“Does it matter what I think?”

“Your opinion counts for me,” she said matter-of-factly. Then she added, “Sometimes.”

Alex couldn’t help but smile. “From what I could tell he doesn’t seem to be a jerk.” His smile suddenly disappeared and his face became worried as he stared down at her. “But I still want you to be careful around him, Liz. We still don't know him. Maybe he's a good guy. Maybe he's not. I don't want you to get into trouble.”

Again.

This unspoken word hung in the air between them for an uncomfortable moment.

Eliza pressed her lips together, trying to blank out the memories. To get her mind off it, she started to scoop the rice into a bowl.

“Are you listening to what I’m saying, Liz?” Alex muttered quietly.

She sighed as she added in the seasonings into her soup. “I’m busy, Alex.”

“I told you I’ll help you.”

“No,” she chuckled, shaking her head. “You'll break a plate again. Go look after the kids, will you? They might get into a fight again.”

“Aw.” A little girl peeked into the kitchen. “You two sound like an old married couple.”

Eliza rolled her eyes. Alex grinned. It was Amy, his adorable little sister.

“Let’s go, Amy,” he said, walking to her. Patting her head, he went on, “We might not be invited to dinner again if we make Eliza angry. Where are Mom and Dad?”

“Auntie said they're coming home with Uncle from work,” she replied, sucking her thumb. Alex’s parents owned a construction company and that was also where Eliza’s father worked as an engineer. “I got bored because Eric and Sammy were being mean to me.”

“Tell them they won't have dessert if they won't play nice,” Eliza muttered, turning off the stove.

Alex grinned. “Let’s go tell them what their big sister said.”

Amy nodded. “And maybe you can punch them real hard for me.”

Their voices trailed away and Eliza smiled at the pot.

Then she continued to prepare dinner in peace.

**********

Alex waved at his basketball teammates and walked out of the gym. Morning practice had just ended and he was about to head to his classroom. Breathing in the fresh morning air, he stretched his neck muscles. Practice had been particularly strenuous since they had to prepare for new members. And the coach had made them listen to a rather long lecture about a brand new year for their basketball team and the upcoming inter-school tournaments.

He let out a yawn and rubbed his eyes. It had been awhile since he last had to wake up before dawn. He was made co-captain last year, a position he could actually live without because he had to take extra responsibilities for the team and that also meant waking up early. Adjusting his sports bag over his shoulder, he turned to step into the covered walk leading to his building. He looked around idly, wondering where Eliza was. She was supposed to be here somewhere, waiting for him.

Suddenly, like a burst of warm sunlight, he saw her.

Franceska Reyes. The girl he liked since junior high.

A radiant smile lip up her face as she walked past him with her friends. Alex’s heart nearly stopped beating at the sight. It took everything he had in him to stay calm when she and her friends said hi to him. His lips curled up as he stared at her back. She was so beautiful with her hair down like that. And the smile on her face only made her look even more beautiful.

“I am so, so in love with her it hurts.”

His whole body jerked and he whirled around. Eliza was grinning up at him, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

“That’s what your face is telling me,” she told him.

“What the...?” Alex hurriedly glanced at Franceska then returned his gaze to her. “Since when were you behind me?”

“Wow,” Eliza peered around him, clearly ignoring his question. “Franceska looks super duper pretty today.”

“Keep your voice down—“

“She’s even perfectly pressed the pleats of her skirt.”

Of course his best friend would notice that and make it seem important.

Alex shook his head. “Eliza—“

She suddenly leaned forward and cupped her hands around her mouth, shouting, “Hey, Frances—!“

Realizing what she was trying to do, he clamped his palm across her mouth before she could finish and pulled her behind a tree. Eliza allowed herself to be dragged away, giggling uncontrollably.

“I told you you'll be sorry,” she told him when he let her go, reminding him of last night’s conversation.

“I didn't even tease you that much!” he whispered furiously.

“But I told you to stop didn't I?”

Alex glared down at his best friend. Eliza fluttered her eyelashes at him, a mischievous grin on her lips.

“I can't stay mad at you,” he muttered, walking past her to get to the covered walk.

He heard her giggle then she fell into step with him.

“You really should try asking Franceska out,” Eliza kept relentlessly suggesting.

“I’m not asking her out,” he protested, giving her a look that suggested she’d lost her mind.

“We’re graduating in two years.”

“So?”

“Am I asking for the impossible?” she asked in exasperation. She clutched his arm with both hands, shaking it, before adding, “Just ask her out already!”

“I don't even like her.”

Eliza gave him a look. “You are so in denial that it hurts.”

Alex rolled his eyes and walked faster. He regretted having teased her last night. His best friend could be a little vindictive. It was a good call, not telling her he and Franceska were in the same class together.

“I bet Anthony will tell you that you're being a wimp,” he heard her say over his shoulder.

Alarmed, he halted to a stop and looked at her over his shoulder. “You didn't tell him right?”

“Of course not,” she assured him. Before he could relax however, she had to add, “But I bet he already knows.”

Sighing, Alex put his arm over her shoulder and squeezed her, making her squeal.

Then he muttered, “Let’s just assume he doesn't, okay?”

**********

The teacher was droning on and on about Math and Alex tried his hardest to stay awake. Yawning, he leaned back on his chair and let his eyes wander around. Like him, most of his classmates were on the verge of sleep. His desk neighbor and co-club member, Daniel Montenegro, had his face buried in his arms and was full-on sleeping. Alex smirked. His friend could only get away with this because the teacher rarely looked past the third row of the room, him being near-sighted.

Numbers came easy to Alex. He was planning to be an engineer like his parents and in the future, inherit the business. He wasn’t like the other kids in this town who had grandiose plans of going to the city for university and never come back. He didn’t tell anyone yet but he had been only planning to go to the state university in the next town over. No matter how good he was in the sport, basketball for him was just a hobby. He’d rather give the athletic scholarship the coach was trying to persuade him to get to another deserving person and stay in the town where he grew up and look after his family.

But that was before. After what happened three months ago, he could no longer stick to his plans. Eliza wanted to be a CPA lawyer in the future. To do that, she had to leave town to attend a prestigious university in the city five hours away. He couldn’t let her go on her own. Lord knew that after what happened, she needed someone to be by her side, someone to look after her. It was one of the reasons why he didn’t tell her about the state university thing. She’d feel guilty. And he didn’t want that.

Franceska was going to the front of the classroom, Alex belatedly noticed. She had been called up by the teacher to solve a problem on the board. Like Eliza, Franceska was also their class president. No wonder, she was a very smart and talented girl. She was also in the cheer club since junior high which was how Alex met her.

“Man, you got it so bad for her.”

His thoughts vanished in an instant when Daniel’s murmur reached him. Alex gave him a quick glance. He hadn’t even noticed he’d awoken.

“Quit it, Dan,” Alex whispered back.

Daniel smirked. He still had his head cradled in his arms but he was facing him this time. “How many times do I have to tell you? Go ask her out.”

He sighed. “Did Eliza tell you to badger me?”

“No. I just want you to have a girlfriend already so I’ll be free to ask Eliza out.” Daniel lifted his head slightly and wagged his eyebrows suggestively.

“Not a chance,” Alex irritably replied. As much as he liked Daniel, his friend was a player. He was currently jogging two girlfriends, one from St. Anne’s and one from the town public school. There was no way he’d let Daniel ask Eliza out, much less leave her alone with him.

Daniel straightened up with a yawn. “Damn, this class blows. I don’t understand shit.”

“Then why don’t you transfer to Humanities and Social Sciences instead of sticking with STEM?”

“Nope. I’m going to be an engineer, build my own construction company and compete with yours,” he answered cheerfully.

Alex shook his head. “You’re such a liar. Didn’t you say you were going to be a doctor when we were kids?”

“As the weather change, I change.”

Franceska was going back to her desk, having finished answering the problem on the board. She looked up, saw Alex staring, and smiled. Alex smiled back, trying to be chill when inside, his heart was pounding like a jackhammer.

“Maybe I should ask Franceska out instead.”

“I’ll kill you if you do.”

**********

Lunch time came around and Anthony was nowhere in sight when Eliza came out of her classroom. With a sigh, she approached him, her bento box in her arms.

“It’s either he’s skipping classes,” she told him grumpily, “Or he hasn’t come to school.”

He shouldn’t be surprised. Their rude friend was a habitual class skipper. But they were already senior high students. And this was just their second day of school. Anthony should focus on doing his best this year and the next because this was their first step towards adulthood and a good future.

Sighing heavily, Alex rubbed the back of his head. “I’ll talk to him later,” he told Eliza.

“You should.” They started walking. “He listens to you.”

“I don’t think so. Doesn’t he listen to you more?”

Eliza’s face scrunched up in thought. Then she shook her head and said, “Nope.”

“That’s because you let him bully you.”

“I think it’s because you antagonize him.”

Alex grinned at the thought. It wasn’t because he liked antagonizing Anthony. It was the only way he could make him linger for longer and chat with them. And Anthony might never admit it but Alex was sure he enjoyed their company. It was only his trust issues that made it difficult for him to open up. Still, Alex wasn’t going to give up on him.

“Hey, Alex! Wait up!”

They turned their heads. Franceska was running down the stairs towards them. Alex swallowed nervously and glanced at Eliza. She was staring at Franceska, an indecipherable expression on her face.

Stopping at the landing to catch her breath, Franceska smiled at them.

“Hi, Eliza,” she waved at his best friend.

Eliza blinked then grinned at her. “Hey!”

Turning to Alex, she said, “I’m sorry but do you know where Daniel put all the Math workbooks?”

Trying to avoid the heavy gaze of the small girl beside him, he told her, “I think he shoved them in the filing cabinet beside the teacher’s desk.”

“Ah.” Franceska frowned. “So that’s why I didn’t see them. Anyway, thank you!”

And with another smile, she disappeared back up the stairs, her long hair trailing behind her as she ran.

Alex glanced at Eliza. He could see the light curve of her lips. It was a teasing smile. He frowned at her, knowing what thoughts filled her head.

“You didn’t tell me you were classmates,” Eliza accused him.

And he had been hoping she wouldn’t know this soon.

He rolled his eyes and continued down the stairs. “I’m not having this discussion.”

Laughing, she followed him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Shut up, Eliza.”

“Are you blushing?”

“Shut up!”