*1: THE THIMBLEWEED BASKETBALL TEAM*

 

 

“Go Rukeeeeeeee!!!”

 

“Nice one, Rukeeee!!!”

 

“We love you, Rukeeee!!”

 

“Ruke Kruger, Ruke Kruger, L-O-V-E Ruke Kruger!”

 

SCREAMING, alright. Those were just some of the cheering, that I, Harrow Kaneko heard of. Most of them came from the so-called, “Ruke Kruger’s Jologs” or “Jologs ni Ruke Kruger” or “Kruger’s Army” or WHATEVER! They were just the same anyway. Seems familiar, eh? Okay. Here we go again, huh? Explaining things out of something. Isn’t that great? I supposed NOT.

 

Do you happen to know Kaede Rukawa of Slam Dunk? Well, if you were an anime addict, I am 100% sure times two, times two that you were head over heels crushing on him! And you were definitely belonged to his million fan clubs.

 

The good news was that, Kaede Rukawa was already here in our world. The REAL WORLD. Nabuhay na ata si Rukawa sa katauhan ni Ruke Kruger. They had the same personalities. Pleasing similarities.

 

Handsome? Checked.

Tall? Checked.

Fair? Checked.

Popular (Most especially among girls)? Checked.

Suplado? Checked.

Tahimik? Checked.

Seryoso? Checked.

Magaling mag-basketball? Checked.

 

At higit sa lahat…

 

MAHILIG MATULOG! DOUBLE CHECKED.

 

Opo mga kababayan. Tama po ang nabasa ninyo. Wala na atang makakatalo kay Ruke sa larangan ng SLEEP MARATHON. Kapag nagbabasketball lang ata siya gising, eh. Kahit sa klase, lagi din siyang tulog. Halos araw-araw na nga siyang pinapagalitan ng mga teachers, pero deadma lang talaga siya. Parang walang nangyari. At ang mas masaklap pa, pagkatapos tumango sa teacher, tulog na naman. Nagsawa na nga yata ang mga ito kaya pinabayaan nalang siya. Isa pa, matalino naman si Ruke. Laging mataas nakukuha niyang score.

 

Right now, I am at the gym of Shellac Chamber Universal School (SCUS) to watch the practice game of school‘s basketball team, Thimbleweed, and of course to join in it. Confusing, huh? Not as a player but a manager.

 

I smiled when I heard Coach Joe Ryan or commonly called Jiaolian, which means coach in Chinese, clapped his hands three times while shouting ‘ASSEMBLE’. The players stopped the practice and went to Jiaolian.

 

“Okay team. I just want to introduce to you our manager. Well, you see, George was too busy nowadays so she wouldn’t be able to take care of stuff for the team. Both of us decided to have another manager. I want all of you to be good to her, are we clear, Thimbleweed?” Explained Jiaolian.

 

“Yes, Jiaolian!” They chorused.

 

“Good!” Jaiolian seemed so glad to hear it.

 

“Harrow, come here and introduce yourself. Please don’t be shy.”

 

Lumapit naman ako sa kanila at nagpakilala.

 

“Hello. My name is Harrow Kaneko. I’m glad to meet you. How do you do?” Pakilala ko at ngumiti sa kanila.

 

“We’re fine! Thank you for asking. Welcome to the team, Harrow!”

 

They cheerfully replied except for Ruke that, as usual, sleeping again. Nilapitan siya ni Jiaolian at nagulat nalang ako ng bigla siyang binatukan.

 

“Ouch! Jiaolian naman eh!”

 

Sabi niya habang hinihimas-himas ang batok niya. Nasaktan ata. Ang lakas talaga ni Jiaolian. Haha.

 

Natawa ako. Ang cute kasi niya. Parang bata. Nang tingnan ko ang ibang members, parang natatawa sila pero pinipigilan lang. Yung ilan naman sa kanila ay nakangiti, samantalang ang iba naman ay napailing-iling. Ako lang ata ang tumawa ng malakas kaya nagsitinginan sila sa akin na parang nababahala at palihim na tinuturo nila si Ruke. Nagtaka naman ako kaya tumingin din ako sa direksyon ni Ruke. For a second, I saw him frowned then, he seemed amuse.

 

Whew! Kinabahan ako dun, ah! Akala ko, kung ano na ang gagawin sakin. Then he faced Jiaolian. Parang nakahinga rin naman ng maluwag ang mga players pati na ako.

 

“Ikaw talagang bata ka! Ang tigas-tigas ng ulo mo! How many times do I have to tell you, don’t—–“

 

“Sleep when someone is talking to you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. How noble. Millions, Jiaolian.”

 

“Huh?”

Sabi ni Jiaolian kay Ruke na mukhang naguluhan.

 

“Do I have to spell it out? You told me that a million times already. Or most probably zillions, if that really exist. I even memorized it so congratulate me.”

 

Pangangatwiran ni Ruke. Ewan ko ba kung joke yun kasi seryosong-seryoso ang mukha niya habang sinasabi ang mga iyon.

 

“Don’t exaggerate!”

 

Napailing-iling na sabi ni Jiaolian pero hindi naman mukhang galit. Parang sanay na sanay na siya.

 

“Introduce yourselves to Harrow, team.”

 

“Muggy Rou. Nice meeting you.”

 

“Tarry Ai. Glad to meet you.”

 

“Saggy Han. Welcome to the team”

 

 “Mitts Hal. Hello, Harrow.”

 

Then, it was Ruke’s term to introduce himself but…

 

 “zZzZzZz…”

 

~Sleeping mode~

 

“Ruuuukkkkkkeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

 

Grabe! Nabulabog ata ang buong mundo sa sigaw ni Jiaolian. Lahat ata kami napahawak sa dibdib namin sa sobrang gulat. Kahit nga si Ruke na nakaupo kanina habang natutulog, gising na gising na ngayon at nakatayo pa!

 

“Ruke Kruger.” Sabi niya sa akin at medyo tumango lang ng konti.