VIP Ticket

When I heard him talked, I was not convinced if I heard it right. Did he ask about my shift? But why?

“Ahm, pardon me. Are you asking about the work hours here?” I calmly asked back to make sure about it.

“I’m asking about your shift, he replied seriously. "I mean if I can walk you to your dorm after your shift," and he made it clear that it was about my job schedule.

My body shivered to hear those and my heart beats fast. I didn’t know what to answer as my brain isn't working because of the kind of feeling I have. And how did he know that I’m staying in the dorm near the campus?

“Oh, my friend Yvonne in the counter and I are staying in the same room so we always go  ….,” I was talking still when he cut me.

“I see, it's alright," he cleared his throat. "I’m just wondering if we can be friends so that I have someone to talk to because staying in my place alone is quite boring, you know," he explained. "No worries, it's not a problem with me, I just want to ask you that,” he assured. I still couldn't believe we were talking about it. And did I hear it right again? Did he want to be friends with a person like me? Why? I didn't get it.

I sensed that his quite disappointed but he still talks nicely to me. I felt guilty that I refused him after what he has done to me.

“It’s alright! Yvonne and I won’t mind if you want some company," I told him just to ease the guilt I have inside. I thought that it's midnight so no one would see us and we're not alone coz Yvonne will be there too.

“That’s great! My apartment is just one block away from your dorm, so it’s a good walk too,” he informed and I noticed he smiled showing his few teeth. I guess it was the first time I saw him smiled like that.

Since that night, he usually accompanies me and Yvonne to our apartment after our shift. He always brings all his review notes and studies to the cafe while waiting for us to finish. He's really a good person and never gets bored with our random topics. Sometimes, it’s just me and him because Yvonne has errands to do but I know that she's doing it intentionally. 

I asked him one time why he’s spending his night in the cafe and kept on spending his time walking me to my dorm but he just shrugged his shoulder and smiled. But there was a time that he mentioned that his closest friends are far from New York. His basketball friends also have their own things and errands and they’ve got different courses and classes. Yes, they hang out but not that often.

We are starting to get comfortable talking to each other that he sometimes discloses his personal life but not with full details. He’s getting a business course because it’s what his parents want for him and also to help with their business. I am not sure what their business is coz he too doesn’t want to talk about it like he’s stressed when he mentioned something about it.

I realized that he’s a gentleman and a kind person who doesn’t brag anything to anyone. He wanted to stay alone rather than partying or hanging out with people. He’s just contented with his routine with basketball practice, classes, opening his notes in a cafe, and never gets dull doing it. Sometimes, I wondered why he wanted to be friends with me, is it because I’m a discreet person? I laughed at the thought of it because there's really nothing special about me.

"This coming Friday we have a basketball game," the two of us were walking to my dorm because Yvonne gave me a lame excuse again on why she couldn't go with us. Sometimes, her excuses were quite valid but most of the time it's obviously ridiculous.

This is the last one before the semester ends. I got two tickets for you and Yvonne,” he extended his hand to give the tickets like he was hoping for me to accept them.

“Oh, thank you but I’m afraid I can’t because we have a shift on a Friday night,” as I said those, I right away noticed that he’s unhappy about my response. Who would not if someone's refusing your offer, right?

“Ahm, alright I’ll talk to the tenured employees if they can cover us on our shift on that day. But I can’t promise right now,” he faced me and it was like something triggered to excite him.

When I got into our apartment, I saw Yvonne already slouching on the couch. I thought she has errands but I got confused as to why she’d back early.

“You said you have something to do tonight?” I asked a little louder with a frowned face but she didn't buy it. She really knew me well.

“It was canceled so I decided to go home,” she said with a meaningful smile. “I don’t believe you anymore, your excuses are so lame,” I sighed and slumped on the couch.

That night, I told her that Marco gave us a ticket for the Friday game and she felt ecstatic about it again. She assured me that someone will cover us up on our shifts and I should send a text to Marco to confirm that we are coming on Friday to watch his game. Yvonne really has magic ways when it comes to solving problems with a click of an eye.

On a Friday morning, I chose to wear a shirt and fitted jeans and they looked good on me. I felt comfortable with jeans because they really suit me with my five-six and a half height. I just partnered it with my sneakers with a matching simple sling bag. I thought we will just watch a game later after our class so these simple clothes won’t deny access for me to enter a gymnasium.

As usual, I leave my hair down as I have a long and shiny one. Every time I looked at my mom's picture that was left in me, I know I acquired this beautiful hair from her. I just got to ponytail it at work because it is required to be able to not mess with the food.  

Yvonne is excited to go to the campus not because she wants to listen to our lessons but because she wanted to pull the time fast so we could watch the game. She’s really so Yvonne!

“C’mon let's go inside the gym,” she pulled me on the entrance separated from the one which has students falling in line.

“Where are we going? The line is this way,” I pointed on the left entrance. She stopped and looked at me like a frustrated cat.

“Didn’t you check your ticket? We got a VIP ticket, which means we are allowed to go inside using the VIP entrance door,” she scolded me a little but I just laughed at her and raised my fingers with a peace sign. “You know I never attended such activity and this is my first time so please bear with me,” I smiled and bit my lip as I looked at her.

When we were inside the gymnasium, I'm awed by how big it is and a lot of students were already in their seats.  When we found ours, I noticed that it's on the front side three seats away from the players.

I felt delighted as we could see the game clearly, but I got worried when I saw Georgia and her squad busy with their cheering steps. It was really possible for her to notice me and surely will think that I’m able to watch a game from a VIP seat because of Yvonne. I’m aware that it’s no secret that I can’t afford such a ticket with my earnings, but I don’t really care about her. As long as I’m not doing anything bad towards her, I guess I’m good.

My eyes wandered to the players who just got out of their dugout and right away, Marco and I made eye contact. He's so handsome in his jersey in number ten and he's having a robust body added to his attractiveness. That's why a lot of women are crushing over him and no one could ever deny that. He smiled at me and I believe I blushed over it.  I felt shy because Yvonne saw that and that would be a teasing topic.

"Woohoo! This is fun!" she was loud which made me feel dizzy beside her. 

The crowd started to cheer when all the players were out and did some warm-up. When everything was set on the court, a referee whistled indicating that the game is about to start. 

The excitement was really evident in everyone's faces as the players were called and entered the court one by one. I felt like I'll be deaf when I get out of the place after the game and it's no wonder.