So, here's what went down that morning. I had my wallet and keys packed, rocking my brother's cargo shorts and t-shirt that somehow still fit. My keys were tucked in my wallet, snug in the thigh pocket of my shorts. I decided to grab breakfast at the spot Lorraine and I first ate at. Even though I was still stuffed from last night's feast with Lorraine, I just needed to kill time. By 5:15am, I planned to be at Kate's place. Even though I knew she was feeling under the weather, I was still gonna check on her. Walking it is!
When I got there, their market was buzzing, tons of fresh goods ready to sell. I found Kate at their store, having breakfast. She spotted me right away, and she didn't look sick at all. No sign of Aling Bea or Mang Cris though.
"Where's your mom?"
"Upstairs, getting dressed. Why are you here?"
"Eh, no biggie... Just need to show Kuya Balong this Jeric dude."
"Huh?" Kate looked puzzled.
"Yesterday, I was here talking to your mom. She said Kuya Balong is your ride. I need to point out who's been messing with you so he can deal with it."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's gotta be done! Just let me know if anyone messes with you or my bro. If Lorraine hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known!"
"Huh? What did Lorraine say?"
"Well, it turns out my bro got punched by Jeric's gang…"
"Oh! Yeah, they messed with us before. I kinda forgot about it... But damn, that was wild! If a teacher hadn't shown up, more fists would have flown. I screamed for help! That's why the teacher came out and they ran off. I reported them to guidance, said they punched Arcy. Poor Arcy was almost in tears, couldn't do anything."
"Later, the guy who hit my bro is gonna pay. No way I'm letting that slide."
"Hey! Don't do anything crazy."
"It's cool... Don't worry. Just, babe... Can you go with my bro? So I can keep an eye on both of you. Ride with Kuya Balong. Head straight here or get off at Sunog-Apog. If that's okay, babe?"
"Alright, but stay out of trouble!"
"We'll see. They won't stop bothering us otherwise. Remember how they chased us in that jeep at Pritil? I've got a plan to shake things up. Let's see how tough their crew really is. Once I break them up, no more problems."
I greeted Aling Bea when I saw her. Kuya Balong showed up, and we didn't waste time. I hopped into the tricycle with Kate; she was inside on the left, and I was hanging off the entrance of the sidecar. The road was wet from last night's rain, but it looked like a sunny day ahead. We passed Pag-asa and Benita, then we were in front of St. Joseph and turned onto Pampanga St. The tricycle couldn't get all the way to Jose P. Laurel because of the crowd of students and jeeps unloading them. Jeep fares for students were just a peso back then. I saw Lorraine and Jessica get off a jeep and yelled Lorraine's name to get their attention. I told Kuya Balong to drop Kate off and let her go with Jessica and Lorraine. Kuya Balong agreed, and I mentioned that Jeric was in the afternoon shift, so I'd point him out later. But he warned me Jeric might be lurking around if he's really into Kate. So we parked the tricycle and kept an eye on Kate. We saw them walking by the school entrance. Kuya Balong's hunch was right.
"Holy crap! There's Jeric!" We rushed over. Jeric was heading towards Kate, looking like a clown with his shaved sides and long hair on top. His polo was draped over his shoulder. Total gangster! Baggy black corduroy jeans and white-red Nike Cortez.
"There he is..." Kuya Balong stepped in front of Jeric. Let's see how tough you are! I was taller and more built than Jeric from my sports, and Kuya Balong was a muscular giant, maybe 5'9". Let's see your swagger now.
"Kate, you go on ahead, we'll handle this." Jessica pulled Kate along, urging her, "Come on!" Kate didn't want to leave, but they managed to get inside the school.
Jeric didn't notice me at first, hidden behind Kuya Balong's broad frame. Once Kate and the girls were safe, I stepped out beside Kuya Balong.
"This the guy messing with Kate?"
"Yes, Kuya... That's Kate's godfather, he's in the army!" I threw that in for good measure.
"That's the guy creeping on Kate, bro... They already reported him to Colonel Roman, but the dude's busy. So Mang Cris asked you guys to handle it," I said, knowing Jeric would freak out. He was trying to win a staredown with my bro Balong. Jeric's a tough guy, but I know I could take him down. He's only brave because he's got his crew. Dude's got mad social skills and built himself an alliance. He's bragging about being a starter for Temple Street (TST)... whatever, man; you're just borrowing courage when you've got your boys around.
And sure enough, we started noticing some dudes closing in on us. So, I gave them the once-over, looking for the biggest or oldest one in the group. I needed a measure, and I couldn't be the first to show fear. I spotted the biggest one. I saw someone in front of me and checked behind, but there was no one there.
Alright, game on. There were ten of them, including Jeric. As usual, the first one to flinch loses!