Arwin (Win) is infatuated with Lovely (Love) but there is one major obstacle; Lovely's stone-cold elder brother who is the team captain of the University's basketball team, Bryden (Bright). Arwin joins the men's basketball team in an effort to win o...
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"Unibersidad ng Pilipinas!" The UP Pep Squad bellowed in unison.
"U-NIBERSIDAD NG PILI-PINAS, U-NIBERSIDAD NG PILI-PINAS," the predominantly rainbow-colored crowd chanted with fervor and unity as the cheerleaders made their way to the center of the performing area in a peculiar manner. They seem to be chained to each other and walking in cadence like an army of robots. At the end of the chant, the cheerleaders are arranged in a huge circle and standing in attention. When the drums died down, the music started.
Shot to the heart and you're to blame
Darling, you give love a bad name
When the guitar riff to Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name" sounded, a group of cheerleaders clad in black entered the circle and started to symbolically thrash everyone creating a chaotic atmosphere that matched the song's long guitar intro. The circle collapsed inward and a mini-mountain was created with the bodies of the cheerleaders as if they were cadavers piled on top of one another. Then, the cheerleaders clad in black heaved one figure atop the mound of bodies. It was Tine, and Wat almost fell off his seat at the realization that his boyfriend is actively participating in the routine after almost two years.
"Is that Tine?" Man asked in surprise as he squinted his eyes to see the man's face better. The three of them have changed into rainbow-colored shirts in deference to Tine's request.
"Yes, I wasn't expecting him to participate in the routine," Wat said with eyes furrowed in confusion. Tine never mentioned this to me, maybe he was feeling insecure? Wat thought absently as he began taking a video of the entire performance.
"Did he usually do that when he was just a freshman?" Bosch asked with furrowed brows, unable to imagine the strict and towering Tine performing cheer dancing routines like the rest of the cutesy cheerleaders.
"Of course, but then he grew too tall to blend with the majority. He always stood out that is why he was made to focus on being a spotter instead of an actual performer," Wat said ruefully. He remembered when Tine had to take over the leadership of the Pep Squad when he was just in his second year because the seniors who are in charge of the cheerleaders met a freak vehicular accident that sidelined them for months. Tine stepped up to the task and since then, has been relegated to the administrative and training department instead of actually performing. The explanation was so long and complicated that he opted to tell his teammates a sanitized version of the truth.
"Do you think he still has what it takes to perform?" Man asked curiously as he watched Wat record the performance on his digital camera.
"Of course, for a tall man, Tine is quite flexible. I am sure he wouldn't be out there if he is not certain that he can get the job done," Wat said confidently without taking his eyes off the performance happening on the court.
"Why do I find the term flexible somewhat disturbing?" Bosch said in an embarrassed tone and Wat resisted the urge to flick the freshman's forehead for being nosy.
