Their Days of Nights

05 : Before

April/May 2006

Kimberly

"Sounds like you had fun," Benjie says as we cross the road going to the public high school.

He's in town for the last week of April and the first two weeks of May. We just came from the dairy shop across Joseph's house. We met with him and Steve for a while. And on the rides back to town, I told Benjie about the day I had with Darlynne last week.

She and I talked and talked and laughed about things just like we used to when we were in high school. And we roamed around the small city as if we've never been there before.

She goes to college now at one of the schools in the University Belt. It's a part of one of the cities in the Metro, so-called because campuses are concentrated within the area. During the semesters, she stays somewhere near there with her dad and stepmom, but she's here with her mom for most of this summer.

The sky is already cooling down when Benjie opens the gate. We're not the only people inside the premises of the school. A group of elementary school-age kids is riding bikes within the square garden by the main entrance. And it seems like they're teaching the younger one how to.

We just pass by another group of kids carrying a beaten-up home-made kite along the walkway going to the open field with that white concrete stage. And a middle-aged couple is jogging around.

Benjie and I sit in the middle and near the edge of the stage, the same way as last year during our first date. But he looks away from the sky and shifts his whole body, so he's facing me.

"I need your opinion on something," he says. He sounds serious and contemplative.

I change my sitting position, as well. "On what?" I ask.

He runs his fingers through his hair first, a mannerism that flutters a sensation inside me.

He keeps his hair the same cut as he used to, and it looks like he just had it trimmed. His face is also freshly shaved. And he's in the usual plain t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers get-up. As simple as that, and he never fails to carry himself as neatly as he always does. I like neat.

"I had tennis as my PE last sem, right?"

I nod.

"Well... During the last day, the instructor talked to me about something." He pauses and sighs. "He said I should try out for the tennis varsity team this coming semester."

I get a little wide-eyed. "That's great!" And I grin at him.

"He said I have the right moves, and I know the game, but I can still learn tactics and strategies for competitive play, which I could if I'm in the team," he says with a shrug. "Which is cool, I think. And the way he said it, it's like I'm a shoo-in."

"Okay. So..."

His eyes wander around. "I'm not sure if I should," he says.

"Why not? You like tennis. It's your favorite sport."

"I know. But I never really thought of doing sports or becoming an athlete while there."

"So, what's your decision?"

"I haven't really made up my mind."

"What did your parents say?"

He scoffs. "That I'm an adult, and I should decide on my own 'cause, technically, I'm of legal age now." He sighs and looks away.

"Have you weighed in the pros and cons?" I ask when he faces me again.

He nods and lifts his right thumb. "One major pro," he says, looking at me straight in the eyes, with a glimmer of joy in his. "Just like you said, I like tennis. I enjoy playing." He raises another finger. "Two, it'll be an honor to play for the top school in the country." He continues counting with a third finger. "Being a varsity player looks good on paper." Then he drops his hand to his knee. "It has its perks, like a priority in enlisting classes and so on."