Between the Rainbow (Strawberries and Cigarettes Series #1)

Chapter 39

Relationship

"The players in Cebu sexually harassed one of the Green Archer's friends. The team captain Bautista flipped the real side of the story, saying he was molested by the Green Archer's friend, but it wasn't the truth. Jarsdel and his friends defended their friend, which resulted in punching the perpetrator," basa ni coach sa viral post na iyon nang ipinatawag na kami dahil sa kaguluhan.

Tahimik kaming umupong anim sa bench. Kami lamang ang nandito at wala sila Nick na iba pa naming teammates sa basketball lalo na't kami lang naman ang sangkot sa kaguluhan na nakitang nakisuntok. The internet seems so invested in the basketball brawl that they are digging deeper to know what's behind it.

Nagpalakad-lakad si coach sa harap namin. Nakapangalumbaba kaming anim sa nakabukaka naming mga hita, tahimik na tinitimbang ang desisyon ni coach.

"May ebidensya ba kayo na makakapagpatunay dito?" tanong niya.

Tumango ako. "Meron coach."

"At 'yung kaibigan niyo, anong desisyon niya? Sasampahan niya ba ng kaso?"

"Trauma pa 'yung kaibigan namin, coach. Sinira ng mga hayop na 'yan ang reputasyon niya. Na kick-out siya sa school dahil doon sa bintang. Natatakot 'yung kaibigan namin na baka maulit ulit. Baka pag ipinaglaban niya, walang makinig sa kanya," si Rick sa seryosong tinig.

Coach sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Coach, we can't just let this slip. We were given a chance to finally use our voice for our friend. If we needed to make a loud noise so they would hear him out, we'll do it," si Tyler.

Coach looked at us critically. Nagpalakad lakad ulit siya.

"Coach, I know you care about our reputation. But that won't weigh if we cover the dirt of the other people just because we are afraid it would stain our name if we expose them, or we might get tangled by it. Kung tatahimik tayo coach, kung palalampasin natin, kawawa ang mga magiging sunod nilang biktima," si Mavric.

"It wasn't us who should be ashamed on exposing them. It should be them who must be ashamed on harassing people," sabi ko na ikinatigil ng palakad lakad ni Coach.

"Our friend screamed from the past that he's innocent, coach. But no one listened. I hope his silence now is enough for all of us to hear him..." si Ronan na medyo namaos ang tinig.

Coach sighed and nodded. "Hawak na ng PBA ang kaguluhang ito. They are willing to take legal actions to punish who started the brawl so they could ban them on the next games. Sa sobrang trending ng laro niyo sa internet, kahit ang ibang bansa, nakikisali sa tweet. Nakikisali sa kaguluhan. Kaya umaani din ng atensyon at maraming gustong tutukan ito hanggang matapos."

Nagkatinginan kaming anim. It was indeed big. The players who are involved would be banned. Ramdam ko ang takot ni coach na masasali kami sa desisyon ng PBA, ngunit handa kaming anim na harapin iyon. As long as everything falls into the right places. As long as justice prevailed, not just for Shiloh but for people who were victims like him.

Nagbasa basa kami ng mga tweet. Halo halo ang naroon pero apat na tweet ang related sa amin.

Jarsdel the killer. Which showed the tweets about how I slammed dunk over Bautista.

Green Archers to Red Archers. Which about our team how we turned the game into a bloody one by devouring the team fearlessly.

Banned the players, which was about Bautista's team being unsporty for losing and creating a feud by disrespecting our friend, as they didn't disclose the name.

And lastly, SHOW YOUR TRUE COLORS.

"Show your true colors tapos ganito kay Bautista," natatawang ipinakita ni Tyler sa akin ang gray na nilagyan pa ng R.I.P. at ginawang meme dahil sa nangyari sa laro.