Sports Day

-15 Years Ago-

I scuffle my new sneakers against the asphalt as we line up for roll call. It’s been a week since I started attending school here, but I still haven’t made a single friend. It’s not that the kids in my class are mean or anything, they’re nice enough, I just haven’t really clicked with any of them. At least, not yet.

“Altair Vargas!” I hear my teacher yell. I wordlessly raise up my hand and she writes something on her board and moves on to the next student.

Once we’re all present and accounted for, Sports Day officially begins. I’ve never been particularly good at sports so I’ve been dreading this day. I look around and take in the excited chatter among my other classmates as we head out to the large field next to the playground.

The teacher announces that the first activity will be a ball toss. I’m not part of this activity so I’m able to just take it easy and watch from the sidelines. One of the kids that’s signed up for this game has been one that’s caught my eye since day one.

She’s a dark haired girl with perpetually messy hair and a loud, booming voice. Normally this combination would doom anyone to a life of perpetual bullying, but this girl seems to be gifted with a unique kind of charisma that makes her easily one of the most well-liked kids in my class.

Already, other students are cheering for her before the game even starts. I even overhear kids from other classes yelling out her name. She responds to all these cheers with a bright smile and an enthusiastic wave.

“Go Mary!”

“You got this, Mary!”

“Yeah, Mary! Let ‘em have it!”

I find myself glued to her the entire game, but not because she’s particularly good. It’s the exact opposite. She’s terrible at this to an almost embarrassing degree. Her aim is abysmal and she keeps missing even when she positions herself closer to the basket.

Our team loses, but Mary’s smiling brightly and goes over to the other team to personally congratulate each of them. When she returns to where our team is seated, she’s met with a series of laughs, cheers, and good-natured jokes. Our eyes meet and she waves at me. I find myself shyly returning the wave before quickly looking back down at the grass by my feet.

Eventually, we get to the part that I’m dreading. The three-legged race. For whatever reason, my teacher thought it would be a good idea to sign me up for this event. She’s about to find out that I’m the least qualified person in the class for this.

The other kid I’m meant to work with is one of the taller kids in class. His height immediately earns him the respect of our peers and he sits squarely at the top of the social food chain. I worry at first that he’ll scoff at having to be paired with a scrawny kid like me. We never even got the chance to practice for this event, because apparently our teachers think it would be better for our mental health if we “respond spontaneously” to each event.

My teacher claps her hands together to get our attention.

“Okay! Our next event is the three-legged race! Altair, Cobalt, come on up!”

We both do as we’re told. As with Mary, lots of other kids are already shouting out cheers for Cobalt. A few other kids at least give me encouraging pats on my back, but it pales in comparison to the amount of support Cobalt is getting.

We stand next to each other and, as if sensing how nervous I am, Cobalt lays a comforting hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t worry, kid. We got this.”

That gets to me. “Who are you calling kid? We’re the same age.”

Cobalt raises a brow. “Oh yeah? When’s your birthday?”

“June 20.”

Cobalt smirks. “Mine’s on April 29. That makes me two months older!”

I open my mouth, ready to make a comeback until our conversation is interrupted by the loud trilling of a whistle. And just like that, we’re off.

I feel like we’re flying. I run as fast as my legs can carry me and Cobalt lets out a loud laugh as we run. I don’t know where this sudden burst of energy came from, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s mostly because of Cobalt’s natural athleticism. Whichever the case, it’s nice – fun, even.

We don’t win, but we get pretty close. This time, when we return to our team, I receive just as much cheers and applause as Cobalt. He asks if we can eat lunch together after that, and it’s then that I realize I’ve finally locked in my first real friend in this school.

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After two more games, we’re finally allowed to break for lunch. Cobalt and I manage to find a nice shady spot to eat and we are later joined by other friendly kids in our class. Some of the kids ask about the Filipino dishes that my mom packed, a few even ask to try it, and the overall atmosphere is very relaxed and comfortable. It’s the first time I feel like I might be able to have a good life in this country.

I’m about halfway through my lunch when I pick up an interesting piece of conversation.

“Hey, where’s Mary?” A girl asks.

“Probably eating with the lunch ladies again,” A boy replies.

Why would Mary be eating with the lunch ladies? I thought she had lots of friends in our class? Cobalt notices my confused expression and answers my unasked question.

“Mary’s family is kinda poor so she gets free lunches. But I think she’s embarrassed by that. Dunno why. So she usually eats lunch with the lunch ladies. She only eats lunch with us if her parents get her something from McDonald’s.”

I look down at my food. My family isn’t exactly swimming in cash either, but we at least have enough resources for my mom to cook yummy meals everyday. I pick at my remaining food, setting some of the remaining side dishes aside and close up my lunch box.

“Where are you going?” Cobalt asks.

“The bathroom!” I yell, already making a mad dash for the cafeteria.

“But you need to ask for a bathroom pass first!” Cobalt yells at my retreating back.

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It doesn’t take long to find Mary. All I have to do is follow her loud laughter. Eventually, I find her in the empty lunchroom sitting with a bunch of lunch ladies. They’re all smiling and talking like old friends and I find myself wondering if Mary actually just genuinely likes eating them, as opposed to Cobalt’s theory that it’s just a simple case of saving face.

I manage to catch a glimpse of her plate, which seems to have a generous amount of food heaped on it, no doubt thanks to how well-liked she is among the cafeteria staff.

One of the lunch ladies notices me and smiles. “Can I help you, young man?”

The conversation abruptly stops and now everyone is looking at me. I’ve never been the type to enjoy being under the spotlight so I try to make this quick. I run up to Mary and hand her the rest of my lunch and run back out before she can say anything.

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The rest of the day goes by in a blur. We play more games, I make more friends, and our teacher awards us a bunch of prizes. Nothing big, just stuff like stickers and candy, but who am I to say no to free sweets and Spongebob stickers?

Throughout the day, I can feel Mary’s gaze on me. I’m still wondering what possessed me to give my leftovers to her earlier. I was just thinking she might appreciate trying my mom’s cooking, but now that I think about it, it was probably very rude of me to do. It’s like I’m rubbing my good fortune in her face.

We’re nearing the end of the school day so I brace myself and prepare to just go over to her and apologize. But then I turn around and she’s right behind me.

“Bwah!”

“Wah! Oh, sorry! Didn’t mean to scare you!” Mary smiles sheepishly, scratching the side of her cheek.

“Oh, uh, no. It’s fine. I was actually looking for you.”

“R-really? Same here. Truth is, I’ve been trying to find the right words to say to you after what you did earlier.”

“Oh, yeah, about that. I’m really sorry! I don’t know what I was thinking, it was really rude of me and—“

“Woah, woah, slow down! Why are you apologizing?”

I pause. If she doesn’t want me to apologize, then why did she seek me out? I look back up to Mary (wow, she’s tall for a girl) and see that she’s beaming at me.

“I came here to thank you, silly!”

“Thank me?” Now I’m even more confused. So she’s not upset with me?

“Yeah, The food you gave me earlier? It was sooooo yummy! So thanks a bunch! Hey, do you want to eat lunch together tomorrow?”

And just like that, I’ve made best friend number 2.