3
2013
After our last class for the day, Alyssa Sen, one of my close friends in my block, occupied the seat in front of me.
Her heart-shaped face and long curls greeted my vision when I looked up from my phone.
"AJ, gusto mong sumama sa weekend? Nood tayo sa Tivoli?"
I packed away my things and put them all in my bag. "What's up?"
"May mga maglalaro ng basketball. Mga liga-liga. You know that?"
Oo naman. I was aware of what they were doing in Tivoli because Kellan, my fling from second year high school, loved to play there and I kept seeing the social media posts of our high school circle.
But I'd never been there. Basketball was interesting, maybe, but I had no real purpose to watch. Without the proper motivation, it was like any other sport to me—so-so. Lukewarm. Boring.
Not my thing.
"Who's playing?"
"Nando'n yung mga De Villa. Yung si Agravante. Pati si Rio Andrada. I dunno who else but it's their team against another team from Manila."
I nodded at her. Wala akong idea who the other two were, but I remembered the De Villa boys. It was hard not to know them when they were always part of every girls' conversations.
"I'll think about it. I'll let you know."
"Okay. Sabihan mo lang ako," she said before going back to her seat to pack her things.
I pulled out my phone to send a quick text to Cari.
Me:
Babe, is Andrei playing at Tivoli this weekend?
Cari:
I'll ask.
A minute later, another text came in.
Cari:
Sabi niya, just his cousins. His brother will be there to watch.
Me:
Have you watched a game before? Is it interesting?
Cari:
Once or twice. But not when they were playing. Interesting naman if you like the sport. Manonood ka?
Me:
Baka. Why is Andrei not playing?
Cari:
Prior commitment daw.
Me:
Should I go? I'm bored.
Cari:
When are you not bored? Go for it.
I thought about it long and hard. I wasn't that persuaded to watch talaga. I didn't bother to see the UAAP matches before nga kahit pa nakapasok sa final four ang Ignatio bago kami natalo ng Intersci. Sila ang nag-champion that season.
But I was awfully bored. Tapos ko na ang goals ko for the week. I had nothing else to occupy my time with. I could meet Zach, but that idea wasn't appealing to me either.
Should I go? It could be fun. I didn't enjoy the sport that much but it was way better than seeing that house.
Besides, I wanted some variety in my life. Maybe this could be it. Maybe it could be my new thing now.
I stood up and followed Alyssa out of the room. She was walking down the hall with her friends now.
"Alyssa," I called out which made them turn to me. "Sama ako."
Her friends looked surprised at what I said. Friends kami ni Alyssa—she was a cool, pleasant girl. But her friends were wary of me. It wasn't that I was bitchy to them or they were cringy to me. Some people were just not compatible enough to be friends.
