Chapter 11

After studying at the library, Lino and his friends went to a McDonald’s restaurant near the university.

Before we proceed, let us describe each of Lino’s friends.

The first guy is named Kevin. He has a height of one hundred eighty centimeters (about five feet and eleven inches). He has a shaved cut on the hair on his head, making him look like a bald guy. He has average looks, although among his beautiful features was his sharp nose. He is rather tanned from the usual playing of basketball under the sun.

The second guy is named Xavier. He has a height of one hundred seventy-nine centimeters (about five feet and ten and a half inches). His hair is styled in a spiky way, and he has rather handsome looks. His skin is fair, and he has kind-looking eyes and a sharp nose.

The third guy is named Cain, who has a height of one hundred seventy-eight centimeters (about five feet and ten inches). His hair is long enough to reach the middle of his nape, and his nose is rather roundish than sharp. His skin is also fair, and he would usually wear a blank facial expression.

While the friends were eating, Kevin suddenly asked Lino, “Hey, man, are you available this weekend?”

“I’ll be in Bacoor on the weekend,” Lino replied without hesitation. “Why?”

“We just want to have a drink with you, man,” Kevin answered eagerly and excitedly. “Can you please come with us?”

“Sorry, I can’t,” Lino replied at once.

“But why not?!” Kevin asked in a disappointed tone.

“My girlfriend and I will be dating,” Lino responded with a smirk.

“Oh, man, you’re no fun!” Kevin said in an even more disappointed tone than before. “Then please come with us next time!”

“I will when I’m free,” Lino replied while smiling gently. “Don’t worry, man.”

“That’s great, man! I’ll expect that, then!” Kevin replied cheerfully while offering a fist bump to Lino, which the latter gave back to the former.

Xavier chuckled and said, “You really can’t refuse your girlfriend, huh, Lino?”

Lino chuckled and, while smirking, replied, “Yeah, man. There’s no way I could refuse her, of course.”

“You really do love her, huh?” Xavier answered while smiling from ear to ear. “You’re such a great boyfriend, man!”

“Of course I am, man!” Lino replied loudly with a smirk. “How about you and your girlfriend?”

“What about us?” Xavier asked curiously.

“I mean, how are things going on between you and your girlfriend?” Lino asked in an interested manner.

“Oh, okay,” Xavier replied while smiling. “We’re doing fine right now, man. Whenever we meet on the weekends, she would cook some food for me like my favorite pork sinigang*. Also, I would take her out wherever she wanted to, as long as I could afford it.”

“That’s awesome, man!” Lino commented with a smirk. “Have you ever cooked for her before?”

“Not yet, but I plan to do so someday,” Xavier replied with a gentle grin.

“That’s great!” Lino commented cheerfully.

“So, how did you meet her, man?” Kevin asked curiously.

“She was my childhood friend,” Xavier said while grinning from ear to ear. “I first met her when we were both seven years old. I eventually fell in love with her during high school, and we have been together for about three years now.”

“Nice one, man!” Kevin commented in a lively manner.

“How about you, Kevin?” Lino asked curiously.

“Me? I don’t have a girlfriend right now,” Kevin answered rather gloomily. “I broke up with the most recent one about three months ago.”

“That’s so sad, man,” Lino said in a pitiful tone. “But why did you break up with her?” Lino asked curiously.

“She told me that she didn’t want to continue anymore, but I couldn’t get her to explain the exact reason. Then one day, I happened to see her in a restaurant dating another guy,” Kevin answered gloomily.

“How sure are you that they were dating?” Cain asked in a monotonous voice, speaking for the first time.

“I could see it in her eyes,” Kevin answered with his mind going back to that painful day. “She seemed deeply in love with the guy.”

“That’s...so unfortunate, man,” Xavier commented while feeling sorry for his friend. “But that’s fine. It just means there’s someone else who deserves you better,” Xavier declared in a reassuring tone.

“He’s right, Kevin,” Lino said with a smirk in an attempt to cheer Kevin up, with Lino also gently patting Kevin on the latter’s back.

Kevin’s smile was brought back to his face and said, “Thanks, guys.”

“How about you, Cain?” Lino asked curiously.

“My girlfriend and I have been together for two years now,” Cain answered with a smile in his monotonous voice.

“How did you first meet her?” Kevin asked in an interested tone.

“I met her back in first year high school,” Cain said while blushing with romantic excitement. “She was my classmate too.”

“And when did you court her?” Xavier asked while grinning gently.

“I started courting her during our second year in high school,” Cain replied while blushing and smiling. “And it took me about four months before we became official.”

“That’s so short compared to mine,” Lino commented with a smirk. “I courted my girlfriend for six months before we became official.”

“Yeah, man, you mentioned that before,” Kevin answered cheerfully while elbowing Lino gently.

“Oh, right. I already have,” Lino said before laughing out loud. “Anyway, how about we play basketball after this?”

“Sure, man!” Kevin answered eagerly and excitedly. “But where?”

“There’s a street basketball court just near my apartment,” Lino replied while smirking. “I have a basketball inside my room at the apartment too.”

“Let’s go, then!” Xavier said eagerly in a loud voice. “I can’t wait to see your athletic skills, Lino!”

“Same here!” Kevin said in a lively manner.

“Me too,” Cain said in a loud voice in an excited tone.

“Great!” Lino exclaimed cheerfully. “Let’s go, guys!”

“Yeah!” Lino’s friends said in unison before all of the boys went out of the McDonald’s restaurant to head for the street basketball court.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

“Just go ahead to the basketball court,” Lino said to his three friends while they were all on the way to the street basketball court. “You’ll see it on the left side if you keep going straight ahead.”

“Okay, man” Kevin replied with a smirk. “But how about you?”

“I’ll get the ball,” Lino answered while smirking.

“Alright! See you at the court then, man,” Xavier said to Lino while smiling gently before turning to both Kevin and Cain. “Let’s go, guys!” Xavier said excitedly.

“Yeah!” everyone except Lino said excitedly before they followed behind Xavier.

Meanwhile, Lino went inside his apartment unit to look for the ball. While he was looking for it, he suddenly saw one of his pictures taken from about eleven years ago on the shelves. Then he took and held the picture firmly between the thumb and index finger of his right hand while looking at it with a serious facial expression.

In the picture, both Lino and Ersel were on the beach at Dakila Island. The two of them were standing side by side with both of them also wearing innocent smiles on their faces. The sea was behind them, the sky was not that bright, and the sun was not about to set yet, meaning the picture was some time taken in the morning. Lino felt nostalgic upon seeing his and Ersel’s younger selves, making him remember the memories he had with Ersel, including the time they first met and the last time they talked before Ersel went off for Manila.

Then Lino put his left hand on his forehead after reminiscing the nostalgic memories.

“Tsk,” Lino mumbled with a bitter look on his face.

[Damn it!] Lino thought while feeling sentimental as he stared at and held the picture firmly between his fingers. [I’m still being haunted by my painful past. And now that I’ve met Ersel again, it haunts me even more. Why did all these things have to happen to me?! What did I ever do to deserve all these?!]

Afterwards, Lino put the picture back on the shelves and punched the wooden floor with his right hand to release his frustrations. The impact from punching the floor hurt his right hand immensely.

“Ouch,” Lino mumbled while holding the painful part of his right fist with his left hand. “Fuck.”

After a few moments, the pain Lino felt on his right hand somehow subsided. Then Lino remembered that he has yet to get and bring the ball for him to play with his new friends at the nearby street basketball court.

[Oh, right!] Lino thought after remembering what he had to do. [I’ve got to find the ball and get to my friends at the court.]

Lino went through his boxes and finally found the ball inside one of them and took it using both of his hands. He held the ball between his hands firmly while also checking if it was dusty or dirty. Fortunately, it was clean, so there was no need to clean it.

[Yeah, right...I’ve got no time to think about Ersel right now.] Lino thought seriously while holding the ball with both of his hands. [My friends and I will be playing basketball. I’ll have some fun and forget all these for now!]

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Definition of Terms

*Sinigang - A popular dish in the Philippines that is known for its sour and savory soup. Most often, a tamarind is used in providing its sour taste. (Source: Wikipedia)