8 years ago

Vino and I hadn't seen each other in two days.

He had competed in the interschool math quiz bee on Wednesday. Out of twenty contestants from different schools, he won first place.

On Thursday, Elisa, Noah, and I competed for the inter-school spelling bee. Vino was supposed to be one of the participants from our class who would compete but since their ball game for Friday was moved to the day of the spelling bee, he wasn't able to come with us. They thought the basketball team needed him more, so Noah had replaced him instead.

It was the evening of Thursday and I just got home from Summitville Academy, the school which hosted the interschool spelling bee.

I lay on my bed and put on my earphones. Vino was on the other line. "What were you saying?" I asked.

"I said, congratulations. I think you've reaped the fruits of our labor. Helping you review was worth it."

"Yeah right," I responded, and rolled my eyes. How was reviewing me worth it when I only got second place? "But I could have done better."

"We may be talking on the phone right now, but I know you well enough, Kane. I know what you did," he said, and I laughed. "Don't be so hard on yourself. I heard there were like 45 of you who competed."

"Yup."

I was still disappointed that I only got second place. When I had entered the house, Mommy and Aunt Esther were in the living room. They had asked me how the competition went and I showed them my certificate. Mommy congratulated me and assured me I did a good job, but I doubted it. She just said it to console me. She just said it because she was my mom. On the other hand, Aunt Esther had a different reaction. She told me to study harder so I could be the spelling champ next year.

"Imagine you beat 43 students and that's from different participating schools," Vino explained, trying hard to cheer me up.

"Tell that to my aunt."

"Come on, stop it. She wasn't there when you competed. We're not even sure she can reach second place if she competed for you. No offense."

"If you were there today, you could have won first place. Just like what you did in the math quiz bee yesterday."

"I'm not quite sure you want me to win the first place. That would mean you'd get third place. I think you should be thankful I was at the game."

I thought about what he said and he had a point.

"I hate you," I laughed.

"Ouch. I'm just trying to explain what could've happened."

"How was the game today?" I asked, trying to change the topic.

"You're talking to the almost best player of the game," he bragged.

"Almost?"

He laughed. "Yeah, almost. Coach Reyes didn't let me play after halftime. He only let me back into the game in the last few minutes."

"Why is that?"

He talked about how the game went and how he played. He even narrated some of the highlights of the game. He told me he was on fire during the first quarter but he lost his momentum because of the opponent's ball captain.

"It was my first time playing against him and he was really arrogant. I lost my temper and got into foul trouble."

"Maybe he was intimidated by you," I teased him.

"That guy was the worst."

"Is he like Brian when showing off during a game?"

"That and add some physicality like Miguel's. He elbowed my rib too many times and he wasn't called for a foul. I complained to the refs and then I was the bad guy for complaining too much. But when he elbowed my jaw, that's when I lost it. I got a little too physical and that's when I got into foul trouble. Coach wasn't amused."

"Was he mad at you?"

"Yeah, I received an earful from him. He told me he wouldn't let me play if I couldn't get my head straight. He said he doesn't want to risk me getting fouled out or getting in trouble with that guy."

I still couldn't imagine Vino brawling and getting into a fight especially during a game.

"How'd you got out of the bench?" I asked instead.

"We were down by five points and Miguel was exhausted. He played longer than his usual minutes and he had leg cramps already. Coach Reyes had no choice but to let me in. They needed a big man on the floor."

"Let me guess, you led the Eastview Tigers to victory?"

"Um... I guess you could say that. Brian had the winning shot but the assist came from me. But really, it was a team effort and I helped by behaving on the bench," he answered, laughing at his last statement.

"I feel bad I missed the game."

"I wish you werethere too. Then maybe I wouldn't have lost my cool during the game."