Nanon was annoyed to see a text message from his former basketball coach that morning. Mr. Reyes wanted to talk to him about returning to the team. Nanon's first reaction was to ignore the message and pretend he didn't receive anything but his conscience bothered him.
Mr. Reyes has coached him before in the Under 19 team and he was really nice.
Besides, I have nothing to lose, might as well just talk to him, he thought.
The biggest problem was, the coach's office was inside the gym and he would have to see the other players again if he chose to go.
Whatever, Nanon thought, deciding to ignore whatever Arm will say the next time they meet.
Inside the coach's office, he and the coach talked about the same things they discussed when Nanon first decided to drop out from the team.
There was nothing new that they haven't talked about but Mr. Reyes still wanted him to go back to the team. This time though, the coach mentioned what happened in the locker room the previous day.
"I don't want you to feel uncomfortable or anything Nanon, but I believe in you. I believe you will do great things in basketball. And your sexuality has absolutely nothing to do with it. Do you remember me asking anyone of you if you guys were straight or not? Never, right?
"That's because it doesn't matter. What matters to me is your passion and dedication to the sport that we both love. And you have that, Nanon. You have that in loads. So I won't just sit down and watch you give up on your dreams like this just because of some bigoted teammates," Mr. Reyes said with a sympathetic expression on his face.
Nanon was overwhelmed with the coach's kind words and replied, "Thank you very much, coach. But I really don't want to make anyone uncomfortable with my mere presence. I might cause more harm than good in the team."
Mr. Reyes patted Nanon's shoulder. "You're too kind, Nanon. But that's not right. As long as you're not doing anything wrong, you should be free to be who you are. Again, you are very much welcome in our team. And if I ever hear about anyone harassing you, I'll cut them from the team no matter how good they are as players. I don't have any space for bigotry in my team, OK? Please think about it. We still have a few days before the season starts. You've been training with us all summer and you played really well during the pre-season. You're always welcome here, remember that."
"Thanks Mr. Reyes. I promise to think about it."
With that, he left the coach's office.
---
Nanon was rushing to exit the gym when he heard someone shout in pain which was followed by a commotion. When he turned to check out what happened, he saw Chimon lying on the floor, wincing in pain.
He immediately rushed to where his friend was and half-carried him towards the bleachers."I'm okay guys, Nanon's here. Besides, it's just leg cramps. Please get back to practice," Chimon told the other players who have crowded around them.
"Where's Kuya Luke?" Nanon asked, talking about their team physical therapist.
"I don't know," Chimon answered.
"Wait, I'll call him," said Nanon. He and Chimon were both seated on the bleachers and he was massaging Chimon's leg after stretching it.
---
Ohm was doing free throws on the other end of the court when he saw what happened. He was about to go and help Chimon when he saw Nanon already there first.
He watched closely as Nanon was tending to Chimon's leg.
Flashbacks of all the times he and Nanon got injured and took care of each other came flooding in. He was so used to Nanon being around all the time, taking care of him that he found it weird to see him taking care of someone else.
What am I thinking, Ohm thought. They're friends too, of course Nanon would care for Chimon, he reminded himself.
But he couldn't deny that he felt weird watching the two so close like that. He has always been extremely possessive. Not just with his girlfriends but also of his bestfriend.
He remembered that one time when he was absent for a day back in grade school and when he came back the next day, he saw Nanon playing with another classmate at their favorite spot.
He walked up to them and pushed the other boy away. "Only I can play with Nanon," he shouted at the poor kid. Nanon just stood there not knowing what to do.
Ohm smiled at the memory then another memory came to his mind: another time when they were in Junior High and they were going on a field trip to a museum in another city. He and Nanon were in the same class and were going on the same bus.
When Ohm got on the bus, almost all seats were taken except for the one beside Carla, the girl he used to date back then. Carla told him to sit beside her.
Ohm however ignored her and scanned the bus seemingly looking for someone. He finally saw Nanon sitting at the back with a random classmate.
He walked straight to the back of the bus and asked the kid beside Nanon to go sit with Carla. The other kid, scared of Ohm, just did what he was told. Nanon again had nothing to say about it.
Carla wasn't so happy that day, Ohm remembered, amused at the memory.
Ohm couldn't remember why he chose to sit with Nanon instead of his girlfriend back then. Maybe it's because Nanon knows I get motion sickness very easily and always has some nasal inhaler that helps me calm down, Ohm convinced himself.
Only when Mr. Reyes came out and started their morning drills did Ohm wake up from his thoughts.
He took one last look at Nanon massaging Chimon's leg and whispered, "I hope you'll still be there for me when I need you, Non."
---
Jane was walking along an open path in front of the gym toward the park at the back for her daily lunch with Nanon, Chimon and New when a basketball hit her head from behind. She almost lost her balance.
She quickly picked up the ball and looked around to see who threw it. She then saw a group of basketball players (based on their shirts, with USC basketball printed on the front) looking back at her with embarrassment.
"Which one of you threw this ball at me?" Jane shouted angrily. She wasn't in the mood for such lame bullshit.
One of the guys started walking toward her. He was really good looking and hot, Jane thought but immediately dismissed it.
"I'm sorry, miss," the guy said. "We were just passing the ball around. We didn't mean to hurt anyone."
Jane's expression softened. "Maybe you guys shouldn't be doing that here where there are many people passing through."
"The university cheering squad is training right now so we had to find somewhere else to practice," the guy explained.
"But yeah, we should be more careful. I apologize."
"Ok then," Jane said and was about to turn around when the guy offered his hand."I'm Arm by the way," the guy said, "And you are?"
"You're Arm from the basketball team? Namtan's older brother?" Jane asked suspiciously.
Arm smiled, "Yes, yes I am. How did you know my name?"
Jan ignored his hand and raised her eyebrow, "So you're the homophobic guy who picks on poor freshmen? Sorry. But I wish I'd never met you. My name is.. Bigots Are Assholes. Bye."
Jane threw the ball at him then strutted towards the back of the gym, not even giving Arm another glance.
Arm was perplexed on how the lady just reacted to him. He wasn't used to that. Girls usually liked him and would have been excited to shake his hand.
That one might be crazy, he thought as he walked back to join the group who were now laughing at him.
---
Nanon, Chimon and New all had a good laugh when Jane told them about what happened.
"I'm proud of you, Jane," New exclaimed. "How I wish all my friends were like you."
"What happened to your conversation with Namtan?" Jane asked.
"We just ended up getting mad at each other. She obviously doesn't understand the magnitude of her mistake and has no idea how to make things right," New answered. "It bothers me knowing someone as sweet and kind as Namtan can also be so insensitive."
"Ask the guy whose bestfriend is still not talking to him after learning that he's gay," Nanon said then laughed.
"You have weird friends," Jane told the two.
"At least we have each other now, right?" Chimon declared. "Speaking of, I want to go to the cinema after lunch. There's a good movie premiering today. Who wants to come? I'll take care of the tickets."
"Thanks Chimon but I have to see my endocrinologist later. You know transwoman problems," Jane said.
"Forget the movie, we could go with you instead," Chimon offered.
"Hey Chimon you don't have to be too sweet. I might fall for you," Jane teased.
"Am I good enough for you, Miss?" Chimon jested.
"Sorry but I don't do friends," Jane answered. "But thank you, sincerely. Sometimes, it's very difficult to go through all these things without any support system. I'm so glad I met you guys."
"Aww. No problem, Jane. Just tell us if you need anything," Chimon confirmed. "How about you, New? Come see the movie with us."
"I'm sorry Chimon, there's an editorial meeting this afternoon. Next time maybe?" New replied.
"Ok then," answered Chimon.
"Haha, that means you're stuck with me," Nanon laughed.
"For sure. Don't even consider saying no or I'll kill you," Chimon replied. "You'll have to buy me snacks by the way."
Nanon just rolled his eyes at him and laughed.
---
Chimon and Nanon were about to fall in line to buy snacks before they go inside the cinema when they saw Namtan and Ohm also walking towards the snack shop.
Nanon briefly remembered Ohm was into this kind of movies: superheroes from comic books. He always found it both funny and annoying how Ohm would notice all possible special effects and fight scenes but fail to get the meaning behind these movies.
Imagine not seeing any political or social message in the Black Panther. That's how oblivious he is, Nanon thought.
Meanwhile, Ohm was conflicted whether to greet both friends or just act like he didn't see them. It was too late though since Chimon was already waving at him.
"Hey Ohm, nice to see you here. Nanon and I thought we'd see the premier too. Right, Nanon?"
But Nanon had already left heading to the restroom. "Oh," said Chimon awkwardly.
Namtan and Ohm pretended that nothing happened and just quietly waited for their turn. During the movie, Ohm kept glancing around, trying to spot Nanon.
Namtan noticed this and was a bit annoyed. "Hey, you forced me to watch this movie with you and you won't even focus on it."
"Sorry," Ohm whispered.
While stuck in heavy traffic on the way back to their campus, Ohm couldn't help but think of Nanon again. They would have seen the movie together, if it weren't for what happened. He imagined by this time, Nanon would have been discussing all the little things he missed in the movie. Ohm would then get a long lecture about US Imperialism or white savior complex or even whitewashing. Instead, he was with Namtan who only commented on how cold the cinema was.
God, I really miss that brat, he thought.
---
New was fidgeting while sitting on one of the armchairs in the school paper office. Their editorial meeting just ended and he was feeling pissed.
Apparently, the sports editor thought it was a good idea to assign New to write all stories about the basketball team for the entire school year so he would be working with Tay as his photographer.
Now I have no choice but to work with a freaking homophobe out of all people, New thought in contempt.
He was deep in these thoughts when he heard a knock on the door. He immediately recognized Arm. Namtan had introduced her brother to him months ago when New was still at his old school.
New thought Arm was actually nice before but now, all he can think about are his nasty homophobic comments on Nanon. Still, he respected him enough to actually talk to him."Hi Kuya, what's up? Namtan's not here," New said.
"Hey there New. I haven't seen you for a long time. How are you doing?" Arm's tone was quite warm.
"I'm doing fine kuya. What brings you here?"
"Ah, I brought some food for Tay. He isn't here right?"
"Uhm, he just left with some other junior staff."
"Good. I don't think he wants to see me yet. Can you please give these to him?" Arm handed him two paper bags from Starbucks. There was one drink and one box of pastry in each bag.
"Sure kuya," New answered.
"By the way, the other paper bag is for you. You and Namtan must be fighting, huh. She asked me to buy you something too when I told her I was out to buy Tay some snack."
New just smiled.
Arm understood, "It's okay. Hope things will be fine between you two soon. What can I say, my own bestfriend doesn't even want to see me too so I'm like an idiot here buying him snacks without him knowing." He then laughed. "Thanks, New. Gotta go."
"Bye kuya," New replied with a curious smile.
---
New had already finished his coffee and cake when he noticed Tay coming in with some juniors. He immediately stood up, picked the paper bag and approached Tay.
He handed the bag to Tay and coldly said, "Kuya Arm came here a while ago and left this for you." He then walked back quickly to his chair without even waiting for Tay's response.
New tried to focus on his laptop. He was working on some profiles for the current Team A of the USC Dragons basketball team when he heard one of the juniors talking to Tay. It was Off. New couldn't even remember the guy's last name but he seemed to be close to Tay.
"So what did your best friend do again this time?" Off asked Tay.
"Nothing, I just got tired of his antics again," replied Tay. "And what made you think he did something wrong?"
"Well I've been working with you long enough to know he always does these things when you two fight. I remember just a few months ago, he also did the same thing, giving you snacks for how many days until you started talking to him again. Better help the dude get a girlfriend soon so he'll stop treating you like one," said Off.
"Well he has a lot of girls already," Tay responded. "And he only does stuff like this when he knows he did something wrong. Wait til I forgive him, he'll be back to his stupid self once again. Arm is often too busy chasing girls to even talk to me when we're not fighting. Haha."
"I don't know how you two became bestfriends in the first place. You're complete opposites."
"I like to think of it as bad karma for all my mistakes in the past," Tay replied and laughed.
New was secretly waiting for another comment from Off when he noticed Tay standing beside him.
"Thanks for keeping the stuff Arm left for me," Tay said.
New just nodded at him and went back to his article.
Tay felt weirded out by New's reaction but he just shrugged it off. Maybe he's having a bad day, he thought. He walked away from New thinking how awkward it would be for them to work together on covering the basketball team for the rest of the year.