Leading Risk

CHAPTER 9

"Should I put on sunscreen?"

She furrowed her brows, contemplating whether to apply sunscreen or just use powder for her face.

Since it was already evening and she might just sweat it off, she decided to skip the sunscreen and just used powder and lip balm. After finishing her makeup, she styled her hair, letting it down and putting on a white sponge headband.

Once she was done, she glanced at her phone and, seeing it was six o'clock, hurriedly made her way down from her room.

She was wearing a pink sweatshirt, black penguin shorts, and, of course, her slippers.

"Hurry up, Ley!"

Yna said, clearly in a rush, making her scramble to put on her slippers.

Before heading out, she grabbed her sling bag, which contained her wallet and a few touch-up items, and tucked her phone inside.

"Mom! I’m leaving!"

She called out while peeking through the little hole in their store. Her mom just nodded at her while scrolling through her phone, so she and Yna headed out.

"You’re so slow! The game’s about to start!"

Yna said irritably while pinching her.

"Sorry, I was feeding my cats."

She defended herself, though she knew she was just taking too long with the sunscreen.

Yna shot her a glare as they hopped onto a tricycle heading to the game where Kuya Lester and Wes were playing.

"Thanks for the free ride, I mean fare!"

She said cheerfully, already spotting Sunny Side Subdivision. Yna only rolled her eyes as they got off the tricycle.

"You really are a cheapskate; you better pay me back for the ride home, okay?"

Yna said sharply. She just nodded while waiting for Yna to get her change from Manong.

Once they received the change, they quickly headed to the court.

"Good thing Aunt Joy is already here, and she reserved us seats up front!"

Yna exclaimed excitedly, practically dragging her inside the court.

Ley grimaced upon seeing a crowd; she hadn’t expected so many people since it was inside the subdivision.

"YNA! POKLAY! OVER HERE!"

She scoured the area, trying to locate the person who called her by her nickname, but once Yna spotted their aunt, they hurried over to her.

It took them a while to reach Aunt Mean's spot because of the crowd.

"The game hasn’t even started yet, but I feel like I’m already going home!"

Yna complained, panting, while Ley wiped the sweat off her brow. Luckily, she hadn’t forgotten to bring her towel.

"ATEEE!"

She jumped in surprise when Wes suddenly yelled, giving him a smile as he switched places with them.

"There’s cold water in the cooler, Ate!"

She glanced at the cooler he pointed out, which was right at her feet.

"Is this free?"

She asked as she opened it to check for any Zesto.

She cheered when she spotted Zesto mango. She grabbed one and sat down next to Yna, poking the straw into the drink.

"Ate, why aren’t you wearing your glasses?"

Wes asked, drawing the attention of the people beside her.

"Yeah, Ley, you’re blind without them," Yna teased, and Ley just grinned while showing her the leather eyeglasses case.

"My eyes hurt, so I took them off for a bit," she explained, and Yna only nodded after seeing the case.

She pulled out her phone to snap pictures of the players and send some vitamins polunium with germanium to their group chat.

While taking pictures, her camera accidentally shifted to the other side of the court.

"Filinvest is playing against Wes’s team, right?"

She heard Aunt Mean ask, and Yna nodded in response.

"Yep, 'ta. They’re strong and cute," Yna said, all giddy while glancing at the opposing team.

Ley rolled her eyes; she couldn’t believe her sister was only using her camera to spot cute guys since she still wasn’t wearing her glasses.

"The game is about to start!"

She heard a girl whisper behind her, prompting her to finally put on her glasses.

"Oh my gosh, sis! Is that the guy you’ve been telling me about?"

She perked up, listening intently to the gossip while counting her bets with Yna and their aunts.

She joined the betting game even though she didn’t know much about basketball, but if there were cute guys involved, she was all in.

So she placed a 50-peso bet on Wes’s team, jokingly adding a 20-peso bet on the other side.

"Yes! He’s so cute, right?"

"Oh, he’s wearing a Filinvest shirt."

"I’ve heard he’s a shooter."

"And he’s studying at the Technological Institutions of the Philippines."

"What?! That’s where my ex studies too."

"See? I heard he’s an engineering student, though I’m not sure about his major."

"Maybe mechanical? I’ve heard there are a lot of cute guys there, but they’re all red flags."

That was the last thing she heard before the court’s speaker blared to life. She leaned forward to catch a glimpse of Wes’s team warming up.

When she said warming up, she meant they were doing a dance routine called "Big Boy."

"What are they doing? They look ridiculous!"

She laughed as she watched them dance, bursting into giggles when their group chant echoed, and she nearly cried from laughter when they did a silly move. She shook her head, unable to contain the craziness of the team she was betting on.

"Dela Merced is so tall."

"He's cute too!"

"I heard Dizon and Dela Merced are cousins."

"Maybe they have a sibling who’s of legal age; how nice would that be!"

"Salvador is hot, but he’s taken."

Both she and Yna felt their ears burning from the shouts and chatter of the girls behind them.

She nudged Wes as they lined up in the court.

He was tall, with long wavy hair, which she had asked him to tie up earlier because it was distracting him from playing.

She frowned, unable to see what was so special about the guys causing a commotion behind her.

She took a peek at them using the reflection from her phone and was annoyed to realize that even though her brother was only seventeen, he looked older than those girls.

She sighed as she focused on Wes’s opponents, who wore yellow uniforms while Wes’s team sported blue.

Her eyes widened when she spotted a familiar face on the opposite bench.

"Is that Celi?!"

She searched for something to catch his attention, and she found her handkerchief from earlier.

"CELI!!!!"

She shouted, waving her handkerchief in the air.

"CELITOT!!!"

She was breathless after shouting her name, and she jumped with joy when Celi finally noticed her.

"LEYIEEEEE!!"

She ran over to Celi, both of them laughing as they jumped in excitement.

"What are you doing here?!" Celi asked eagerly, clasping Ley's hand.

"My younger brother is playing too!" Ley proudly declared, pointing to where Wes was.

"OH MY GOSH, IS THAT WES?!"

Ley rolled her eyes at her friend; Mark Celi was one of her closest friends.

She had been staring at him for a few minutes, and she had never felt happier. They had been friends for seven years, only drifting apart when they both went to different schools for senior high and college due to their busy schedules.

"LET’S GO, GIRL! THE GAME IS STARTING!"

Yna called, making Ley pout as she glanced at Celi.

"Let’s chat tomorrow; I’ll message you!" Celi said, giving her a gentle push back to her seat.

"Is it really starting, Yna?"

Yna nodded, pointing to Wes, who was getting ready inside the court.

"Let the game begin!" the host announced energetically.

"Filinvest versus Katuparan."