Eleventh Grade | Senior High
Despite being a covered venue, the humid air inside Cebu Coliseum clung to everyone's skin as students and athletes milled about for the interschool Sportsfest. The high ceiling trapped the echoes of school chants blasting through loudspeakers, while colorful booths lined the sides of the court offering free drinks and merch. Classes were suspended for the week, replaced by competitive energy and school spirit that buzzed through every corner of the coliseum.
Stella had transferred to Southwestern University just a year ago, fresh from her junior high graduation in Bohol. Since then, life has been quiet—no drama, no close friendships, just polite nods and passing acquaintances. She didn’t go out of her way to connect with anyone either. Not because she couldn’t, but because she chose not to. The things that had happened in St. Adrian’s still echoed in the background of her thoughts, not loud but present enough to keep her guard up.
She sat in the bleachers, arms folded loosely, watching the coliseum fill up. Her classmates were buzzing with excitement, phones out, waving banners. She had none. Sports weren’t her thing. She was only there because the school required it.
The opening program was already dragging when the next batch of athletes was called to march out—Cebu Eastern College. That name made her blink.
Wait. That’s the school Vince transferred to…
Her eyebrows knit slightly. She sat up straighter, casually scanning the lines of athletes entering the court from the tunnel. CEC’s basketball team was entering last—tall, energetic guys in matching navy tracksuits. One by one, they passed. Most were hyped, waving to the crowd and throwing up hand signs.
Then—
There he was.
Same walk. Same unbothered air. His hair was now longer, and his build had filled out, but she’d know that face anywhere.
That’s him.
Vince was scanning the crowd.
But not in general.
He was clearly looking for someone. His eyes roamed every row with a sort of focused detachment—until they locked in her direction.
And then, just like that, he smiled. Big and wide. Not a small hey-it’s-you grin. No. He raised both hands and waved. Full on waved. Like they were longtime friends who hadn’t seen each other in years—which, technically, they were.
Stella blinked, slightly stunned.
Her classmates turned, trying to figure out who the varsity guy was waving at. Some giggled, others threw teases at each other, assuming he was looking for a girlfriend.
Stella didn’t move. She didn’t wave back right away. Her mind scrambled to make sense of it. How did he find me in the middle of this crowd? What if he’s not waving at me? But… he is, isn’t he?
In the end, she gave a small nod. Subtle. Polite.
It was the best she could do.
The program dragged on. Another school was being introduced. Vince was now standing in line with his teammates in the middle of the coliseum. While the announcer read names, he pulled out his phone.
On the bleachers, Stella felt her phone buzz.
Vince:Stells, if you’re not busy later, watch the game?
I’ll be playing around 3. Also—lunch? Catch-up?
She stared at it.
The last time they spoke was before summer ended—before his sudden expulsion from St. Adrian’s. Before she decided to stay silent about what really happened.
They weren’t close, not really. Their only connection was the occasional weekend dinner their moms forced them into whenever Vince’s family visited Bohol. And yet, there he was, acting like everything was chill. As if there weren’t miles of silence between them.
She locked her phone without replying.
But when lunch break was announced, she stayed in the coliseum.
And when he came looking for her, still in his uniform and sweaty from walking, she stood up without hesitation.
"Hey," he said, flashing that lazy grin again. "Tara, kain tayo?"
“…Okay,” she said quietly.
They walked across the court, dodging booths and noisy students. He bought two bottled waters and a rice meal from the food stall. They found a corner near the backstage hallway of the coliseum and sat on the floor against the wall.
Vince ate like he hadn’t touched food all day.
“You still picky with vegetables?” he asked, nodding at her barely touched carrots.
Stella blinked. “You remember that?”
“Of course. One time sa dinner niyo, tinabi mo lahat ng carrots sa kanin tapos si Mama mo pinagalitan ka ‘cause you wasted food,” he said with a smirk. “Kaya pala ayaw mo ng mixed veggies.”
She cracked a small smile. Barely. But it was real.
For a moment, it felt oddly normal.
After a few bites in silence, he glanced at her. “Di mo ako tinanong kung bakit ako nandito.”
“You’re with CEC now. Alam ko na ‘yun,” she replied.
“Ah,” he said, nodding. “So alam mo na rin ‘yung tungkol sa… expulsion?”
Stella stiffened. She didn’t answer right away.
“I know everything,” she said at last.
He leaned his head back against the wall and let out a breath. “Hindi ako galit. I just wanted to say… it’s okay. I get it.”
She turned to him. “Get what?”
“That you didn’t say anything. About what really happened,” he said. “That you tried to, but I stopped you because I didn’t want you to get tangled up in it.”
Her fingers fidgeted with the cap of her water bottle. She didn’t have a defense ready.
“I wanted to,” she said after a beat.
“I know,” he said, eyes closed. “But still. It mattered.”
“…I’m sorry.”
He shook his head. “You don’t have to be. I figured things out eventually.”
They sat in silence again. This time, it wasn’t awkward.
It was something else. Like breathing in after holding it too long.
After a few more minutes, Vince checked his phone. “Game starts in twenty. Stay?”
Stella looked at him. He didn’t look smug. He looked hopeful.
“…Okay,” she said.
From that day on, something shifted.
Vince stopped being just a blurry memory from middle school. He started being a presence. Consistent. Unexpected. Real.
He messaged her after that game. Then the next one. Asked if she wanted to hang out between practices. Invited her to inter-school events when he found out she liked photography. Even helped her find an old bookstore one Saturday when her map app kept failing.
She never said yes to everything. But she said yes enough.
To him, that was more than enough.
From guilt to friendship, Stella didn’t realize when the line started to blur. But Vince—he had always known. He’d known from the moment he saw her sitting in the crowd, looking like she didn’t belong, and somehow still managing to pull his attention like gravity.
And for the first time since Bohol, Stella allowed someone past the guarded version of herself she carefully curated since moving to Cebu.
It didn’t start with a confession.
It started with a wave.
And then a message.
And then lunch.
That was how their story—really—began.
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