The Little Prince of mine (Hoàng Tử Bé của tôi)

Chapitre Onze

 I sat silently next to Mer, left him crying for satisfaction, gave him tissues once in a while, or patted his shoulder to comfort him. I tried to be as gentle and affectionate as possible because I was just afraid of unintentionally hurting him...

 The harsh midday sunlight crept through the trees outside the window, dropping sparkling spots on the wall. A rare cool breeze blew into the room, bringing in an ecstatic and fragrant scent of frangipani flowers. I felt unusually peaceful when he overslept and placed his head on my shoulder. At that moment, I suddenly understood what to do:

"I will never have a single corner of your heart, but I can help you heal its broken parts."

 As gently as possible, I put my arm around him and hugged him for the last time.

"Sweet dreams, my Little Prince."

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 In the city basketball championship at the end of that school year, my school team had a member who caught the attention of a lot of people although he was newly joined. He was a 10th-grade boy with soft hair hanging over his forehead and deep black eyes. Despite his disadvantage of having a small body size, he could move extremely fast and flexibly. Furthermore, his special move of throwing 3-point perfect shots made the backline of my school team extremely fearsome in the eyes of other opponents.

 That boy was none other than the same old "pédé" Mer, but everyone had recently stopped calling him by that name. After the incident at the eventful presentation contest that day, I asked Mer to practice basketball. Although he was hesitant at first because he had never played sports before and was physically weak, the boy gradually became strangely determined in this sport. I trained with him every morning on the basketball court, and he did more at home in his free afternoons. Sometimes, I thought I also used those times to get closer to Mer to satisfy my heart. Anyway, Mer's smile was a good sign.

 At first, everyone still derided and made fun of Mer when he started playing basketball. However, their eyes were gradually opened, and even I was pretty amazed when he began to show his hidden potential with the orange ball: Mer's speed, dribbling, and shooting technique from far distances were improving faster than I could expect! He then joined the basketball team as a substitute and started playing on the official team when my school entered the city championship.

 Just like a miracle, in the final that year, my school team won the gold trophy after defeating Cannelle High School - the previous defending champion. It was impossible to describe the details of the extreme joy of my teammates, our P.E. teacher, and the fans who were constantly screaming frantically. I could feel the ecstatic taste of victory in my heart when I grasped the trophy tightly and joined the laughter of my teammates and friends, who were crowding around me. I wanted to share this happiness with Mer, but I suddenly realized that he had already left.