The Brighter Side of Things

Chapter 10

"Nice shooting skills."

Even at the intrusion, I still made the shot. I swiveled around at the familiar voice to see North go after the ball that had bounced off. "What are you doing here?" I asked in between huffs.

"Lexi said she's got a group meeting and that we both could go home if we want to," he shrugged. He dribbled the ball and aimed for the basket without warming up. Swish. "If you want to do some shooting drills while waiting for her, I'm down for that too," he grinned, running after the ball then passing it to me.

Great. Just when I needed someone to talk to, Lexi couldn't make it. I threw the ball from the free-throw area and without looking at the ring, I turned around, sure that it didn't miss the basket.

It didn't surprise me anymore when I heard footsteps echoing mine. In no time, North fell into step beside me. "Anything bothering you?"

I didn't want to talk about what I heard at the Faculty Room. I just badly needed to rehydrate. "I think I'd take you up on that offer for a drink."

🏀🌞🏀

Since it was still a week night, the closest food park wasn't as crowded as it would be during the weekends. Save for kiosks that had best-selling food and slash or beverage, the others did not open shop. Which made it easy to look for a spot and narrow down what we would like to get. I only wanted a drink and North bought me a large cup of cucumber-lemonade juice. He also insisted that we try the Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream to know if it was any different from the kind they had in Manila. I gave in, thinking it was a good way to kill time while we both waited for Lexi (because apparently, they both had to go home together as their Tito Sam had ordered perhaps fearing that North would get lost, or kidnapped or something).

I inhaled the scent of a mixture of spices and grilled meat permeating the air. The loud conversations filled the silence between me and my companion because I didn't know what to talk about with North. Blindly, I took him up on his offer for a drink without realizing the implication of my decision.

For the first time in my life, I was out with a boy my age. Was this what a date felt like? Although it hardly counted as one because there was nothing remotely close to romance between me and North. Would I even allow myself to be linked with someone who had placed me in unpleasant situations? No way! That would take a lot of groveling from him to even make me consider him as a friend. Or acquaintance. This was nothing but returning the favor. Right.

"Jeeze," he muttered under his breath. I had noticed he kept looking behind him for something. Or someone. Maybe he didn't want to be seen with me. Ditto.

"You can already leave, y' know. If you're so uncomfortable being with me." I slurped loudly from my glass of cucumber-lemonade juice.

His eyebrows met as he looked straight at me. "What? What are you talking about?"

I wasn't going to tell him this was my first time to have a casual drink with a guy. I wasn't insane. "You don't have to be polite. You can already leave if being with is a mark against your cool image," I shrugged.

North's face hardened, his gaze intensifying. "I'm not maintaining any image at school. And you do not make me uncomfortable. It's the..." he looked around him again, at the group of adults bursting into a chorus of cheers then talking all at the same time. "Is this normal? The noise?"

I couldn't help but smile at his discomfort. Looked like Manila Boy lived a quiet life back in his city. He wasn't going to get the same peace here in Tarlac though.

"Yes," I chuckled. "It is normal. You should get used to it. You're staying at a place where there are more Kapampangan residents."

"You don't say," he deadpanned and swiveled his head once more, probably wondering why the food park was so noisy with just a handful of customers. "I don't wake up from my alarm clock at the compound. It's the shouting and screaming from the neighbors that wakes me up because I think there's always a fight going on, or a fire engulfing someone's house..." he trailed off. "How do you even understand each other when you talk?"