Vino stood up from his seat, buttoning his suit jacket as he took a deep breath. He grabbed his phone from the table as he exhaled, a little bit louder. Miguel and Jeff chuckled at him and provided him with some encouraging words.

"Go, Vino," Bianca added before Vino left our table and made his way up the stage.

Brian held his right fist and they fist-bumped while Lily gave him two thumbs up before giving him his space.

The lights dimmed once again and a spotlight was directed at Vino causing him to squint for a moment. All eyes were on him and I knew he wasn't comfortable to be at the receiving end of attention right now. He might be an excellent student and athlete, but speaking in front of a large crowd wasn't something he was fond of.

There were only a few occasions wherein he was required to speak in front of a large crowd and he had told me before about how he feels nervous about people watching him. I teased him that people watch him all the time whenever he plays basketball but he justified that playing basketball on a jam-packed court is very far from giving a speech in front of an audience. I could still hear his voice saying, 'it's the eye contact, Kane', and of course, he was right.

Vino placed his phone on top of the rostrum and took another deep breath. We could all see how his chest rises up and down. He looked around the gym, and I assumed he was eyeing the decorations, looking for anything that would calm him down.

His eyes finally landed on me and I gave him what I hoped was an encouraging smile. His face was still void of any trace of a smile and his jaw twitched, but he nodded at me in response.

With a bit of shaky voice, he started with a very formal greeting similar to mine but specifically mentioning Coach Reyes too. The latter was one of the closest teachers to him after all. He occasionally looked down on his phone as if he would forget the names of Eastview's faculty. He took another deep breath and finally beamed at us.

"I'm not the best when it comes to public speaking, so please bear with me as I give it a try tonight," he explained as he chuckled nervously before looking down at his phone. "Let me start off with a quote from Dr. Seuss. It says, 'sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory' and I think about how relevant this is tonight."

He cleared his throat as he glanced down on his phone. I couldn't see his hands behind the rostrum but I bet he was tugging at the hems of his suit jacket.

"Four years of high school here in Eastview and we have created countless memories together. We may have been unaware before but even the smallest moments inside our classrooms or on the school grounds and hanging out under the shade of the trees can be some of the most memorable moments we will treasure as we grow old.

"And for me, one of the fondest memories I have was the moment I set foot on Eastview. At that time, I couldn't consider it a great experience. It was nine years ago when I transferred here and—uh—I could still remember my first day of school jitters.

"I didn't know if I would be able to make friends. I was a tall kid, but I had felt so small as I entered the high school building. Everything was new for me, and it scared me. I even considered turning around and walking back to our car but boy, oh boy, am I glad I didn't do it."

He gripped the right side of the rostrum with his hand and he tapped his fingers against it. He glanced at Brian and Lily and mouthed something I couldn't read. Lily gave him thumbs up again.

"But, uh, Eastview has been one of the best things that have happened to me. It opened doors for me and it introduced me to all the awesome people who are here tonight. When I had received the message about the reunion plans last year, the first word that came to my mind was 'when' since I was out of the country at that time. Elisa told me the target date was March and without hesitation, I told her I would be attending."

He stopped tapping his fingers against the rostrum but he gripped it harder. He licked his lower lip as he read what was on his phone.

"Some people would say that high school can be annoying, hard, and, or, awkward. But it can also be the best years of your life. I don't know about you guys but high school is and will always be my favorite part of my student life.

"When I entered here earlier, memories of my varsity days filled my mind. It may be decorated tonight and it looks different from how it used to be on regular days but this is still the same place where I, together with my teammates, practiced very hard. We have lost and won games here. And if I close my eyes, I could still imagine the cheers and boos from the crowd," he chuckled. Then he took another deep breath and added, "This is one of the facilities in this school which is very close to my heart."

I remembered a particular memory I have of the gymnasium and I couldn't help but smile.

***

8 years ago

"Wait 'til you see me play," Vino had bragged. He had liked bragging about his height and his skills in playing basketball, but it was just one of his ways to tease me. I wasn't athletic like him so he had always won our argument when it came to his basketball skills.

"I don't think you can even reach double double."

He laughed. "Wanna bet?"

"No, thanks. But we'll see." I smirked. "Go ahead. I'll wait for the girls."

He ruffled my hair and walked ahead of me to catch up to Brian and Miguel who had just entered the gym. I waited for Lily and Bianca by the entrance and I could already hear the familiar sound of shoes on the hardwood tile of the basketball court. The inter-high sports fest was coming up so all the players were doubling their practice.

"Here's your drink," Lily said, handing me a bottle of apple-flavored iced tea.

"Thanks," I replied as I took the bottle from her.

"Let's sit over there," Bianca pointed to the right side of the bleachers as we entered the gym.

I nodded as I opened the bottle to take a sip of my iced tea. Most of the players were already practicing their shooting and I saw Vino was just starting his warm-up exercises on the other side of the court. Miguel and Brian were sitting on the bleachers near him, waiting.

"Hey, hey," I heard a player yelled and I assumed he was asking for the ball.

And all of a sudden, the spherical rubber hit my left arm, leaving a stinging sensation on my arm and causing my drink to spill all over my t-shirt.

"Aaaaahhh!" Lily and Bianca screamed at the same time.

Everyone turned their heads toward us and I grabbed my handkerchief to wipe my chin and neck. I could already feel my t-shirt sticking to my skin.

"What the hell?" I heard Vino cursed for the first time.

I was looking down at my soaking wet t-shirt and when I looked up, I saw Vino running towards me.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" he asked me as he inspected my left arm, which was already red from the impact.

"I'm fine," I replied, even if I felt the soreness of my arm. But I was more concerned about my sticky t-shirt than getting a bruise on my arm. "Just a little...icky."

He turned his back to me to face the other players including the freshman who I assumed threw the ball.

"What do you think you're doing?" Vino asked and his voice boomed.

The freshman froze in his spot, unable to speak as Vino towered above him.

"And you? Why didn't you catch the ball?" Vino asked another freshman.

He looked enraged enough and I began to panic because he might punch the younger student.

"I-it was an accident. We didn't mean to hit her," the second freshman stammered in response. "We're sorry."

Miguel and Brian approached Vino and Miguel grabbed him by the shoulder to pacify him.

"Dude, calm down," he told Vino.

"Hey, that's enough," a senior and the current team captain warned.

"Enough?" Vino asked, his expression mocking the captain. "Have you seen what these kids did?"

He shrugged off Miguel's grasp.

I couldn't understand where he was coming from. I wasn't mad at all. I was just really annoyed by all the attention and the fact that I was soaking wet from iced tea.

His cheeks turn red and he was still shouting, making a big fuss about the incident. Seeing Vino this furious was foreign to all of us and everyone around us was stunned, including Bianca and Lily. I frantically looked around for Coach Reyes as my heart hammered against my chest. Vino would be in deep trouble when Coach finds out about this commotion.

"Vino," I grabbed his arm and his hands were still closed into a fist. "Just let it go."

"Let it go? Look at what he did to you."

"I know. But it was an accident."

He glared at the poor kid and I noticed his fists slowly relaxing. He turned his back to the kid and faced me.

"Fine," he scoffed, lightly grabbing my elbow. He gave me a once-over and said, "But you should change your clothes."

He went to the shower room to get his bag then he handed me his towel and an extra t-shirt. Lily and Bianca accompanied me to the restroom and helped me clean up. When we got out of the restroom, the players had already started a practice game and Vino was one of the players on the court. We had no idea what happened after we left for the restroom but it seemed like everyone had already moved on, including Vino. His bad temper was gone and he looked calm while playing.

After the final talk with the coach, all the players went straight to the shower room except for Vino. Coach Reyes was probably talking to him about the incident. I suddenly felt anxious because I was involved in the incident. Vino might be suspended from playing because of his behavior. I watched the two of them as they spoke. Coach Reyes didn't look happy, but he didn't look mad as well. Vino nodded occasionally as he kept his eye contact with the coach. I wished I could read their lips. Vino probably wouldn't tell me what they talked about.

When all the other players left the gym, we waited for Vino outside the men's shower room. Lily and Brian were talking about the game earlier while Bianca and Miguel were talking to Jeff about the shots that they want him to capture during the upcoming games.

"Hey, thanks for waiting for me," Vino mumbled to us then he turned to look at me and teased me, "You look good in my t-shirt."

I looked down at my outfit. I was wearing his dark gray t-shirt, which was a few sizes too big for me, tucked into my light wash jeans. I couldn't be gladder that it was our wash day.

"She looks good in a boyfriend shirt," Lily butted in.

Vino pressed his lips together in a cute smile. I knew he was thinking of something to say but he never said a word.

We all walked outside of the gym.

"You shouldn't really have done that," I whispered.

"Done what?" he asked, feigning innocence. "Lending you, my t-shirt?"

"You know what I mean."

"If I were to decide, they should have more practice about handling a ball before joining us for our practice games. If that makes sense. They don't even know how to catch and throw a ball," he answered, although it wasn't the answer I wanted to hear.

I had wanted to tell him he shouldn't have defended me. I had wanted to tell him he shouldn't have made a scene. But then, maybe I had been overanalyzing things. Maybe it hadn't been about me at all. Maybe it had been really just about handling the ball.

***

"And I will always treasure all the memories from our basketball games and all the lessons I've learned from it. I also would like to take this chance to show my appreciation to Coach Reyes and to my former teammates who are here tonight. Thank you for the good times and for your patience with me and thank you for teaching me to be more patient.

"Most of the time, I was annoyed when we didn't get things our way in a game or I could see when things were being unfair. I could be hotheaded, short-tempered, and whiny, but who would've thought that those little moments could turn into some fond memories too?

"I treasure all the basketball memories, both good and bad the same way I treasure my whole four years in this school. Because both good and bad made up the best and most memorable moments."

He looked down on his phone for a few moments before keeping it in his pocket. My eyes widened as I realized what was happening. I glanced at Bianca and the boys, and they were unmindful of what was happening. Either they didn't notice that Vino had kept his phone already or they didn't realize that Vino had no script anymore.

I couldn't tell if he was done or he was about to say something impromptu.

He cleared his throat and looked sideways at Brian and Lily before touching his tie and adjusting it a bit.

"This might sound cheesy coming from me, but tonight, I have realized how much I missed you all," he chuckled as he looked around the gym as if scanning the place until his gaze landed on me. We locked eyes for a couple of seconds, and I could see a slight hint of a smile.

I swallowed as my heart thumped in my chest and waited for his next words. He looked away from me and smiled like he remembered something funny.

"We may have taken different paths, we may have changed as we grow old, but one thing is for sure—some things never change."

Everyone started applauding.

"Let us all enjoy the night like we always didbefore. Thank you."