Mark comes down the stairs while Justin rises from the couch as he sees his friend up and ready.

  “Let’s go get some knawwledge,” Justin says.

  “Let’s go, bro,” Mark replies.

  Mark lifts a fist and Justin detonates it with a fist of his own.

  “Skabadoosh!!” The both of them say.

  Mark and Justin walk towards the school talking about the Lord and that His mercy prevails in the end in the midst of what’s happening. This is one of the times they talk about something deep and serious, especially with Mark’s situation as of now. There’s no other time to talk about what matters than today. Everything that happens, happens for a reason. It may sound cliché but as long as God is on the throne, there is hope, reason, and way for every single thing that happens in our lives.

  When Mark and Justin arrive at their room, they are greeted by their classmates.

  “WOOOH!!”

  “CHAMPIONS AT LAST!! CONGRATULATIONS, GUYS!!”

  “WE KNEW Y’ALL CAN DO IT!! WAY TO GO, GUYS!!”

  Mark is smiling and nodding all the way to his seat while his classmates hoard over them.

  “Thank you, guys. We appreciate your cheers every game. You bring a lot of energy,” says Mark.

  “Yeah. Thank you, classmates,” says Cesar. “You brought us energy whenever we play. We gave all we got just for you, so that we’ll make y’all proud. Hehe.”

  “Listen all, you maggots,” says Justin. “clean our shoes and lick ‘em.”

  Mark elbows Justin hard.

  “Ooww,” says Justin. “Well, that I deserved. HAHAHA.”

  The whole class laughs along with him.

  Ms. Berido arrives and says, “Let’s give a shout for the CESAFI Basketball Champions. Whoop Whoop!”

  The class rumbles with the shouts of the students. The room shakes as they jump with glee.

  “Warriors, you made us proud,” Ms. Berido continues. “We appreciate you greatly for your great efforts. You bring honor to the name of our school.”

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  While all this is going on Mark thinks, ‘Wow, I can’t believe being famous is this chaotic. Still we made them proud, I appreciate their praise. It’s them that we work hard for, that’s what matters to me now.’

  Mark is ecstatic throughout the school lessons with his lips stretching wide to his ears.

  It’s recess and he sits with his best bud and Ruth on the bench just outside the rooms. Mark looks up at the clear blue sky suspended above him.

  ‘I like this, it’s peaceful.’

  Mark’s thoughts stray from the peace he so momentarily gained and land on the somber thought.

  ‘How can I enjoy myself when dad is in the hospital? I can’t be happy in a time like this. Why should I be happy when dad hasn’t woken up yet?’

  Mark puts his head on his hand with a sigh.

  “What’s wrong, bro? Something wrong?”

  Mark lifts his head up and says, “I’m just… thinking of something… something about dad. I mean how could I be here enjoying when he’s fighting for his life?”

  “Mark, don’t rob yourself with the joy God is giving you. All these things is meant to test your faith and to strengthen it. Problems are not meant to rob your joy. It is meant to be conquered with joy as it would a sword.”

  “Conquer it? I haven’t heard of that before.”

  “When my mom and dad died, I have no choice but to move on and live for their sakes. To live worthy of their love for me to be brought into this world. That’s why I want to have joy so that they will be at peace in Heaven. You also brought me joy, bro. Truth be told.”

  Mark smiles, “Thanks, bro.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Then Justin pats Mark’s shoulder.

  With Mark’s wide smile, he says, “Thank you, Justin. You also brought me joy too. I couldn’t get through life without you, bro. I mean… where would I be without you?”

  “I got your back, bro. No homo.”

  “Way to ruin the moment, weirdo. Hahaha.”

  The three of them laugh when Ruth budges in the convo.

  “Me too, Mark,” says Ruth. “I mean where would I be without you? You mean a lot to me.”

  “Wow, Ruth,” Justin interjects. “That’s straighto. Hahaha.”

  “What does that even mean?” asks Mark.

  “I mean… You know… Homo means there’s homosexual tension in the air, while Straighto means there’s straightsexual tension in the air.”

  Just as Mark elbows Justin in a flash, Ruth bursts out laughing.

  “Eyoo, Justin. That’s wild.”

  Mark gives her a soft smile as he watches her glee.

  “I know right,” replies Justin. “I don’t even know if it should be said. I mean, daang.”

  The trio laughs together again.

  School ends as Mark and Justin walk home together. But before this, Cesar tells Mark something.

  “I’ll spend the night at your crib tonight just to keep you company. I'll drop by when I’ve escorted Sam at her place.”

  Mark remembers this and thinks, ‘Wow. God blessed me with great friends. I didn’t even expect that I would be close friends with Cesar.’

  “What you thinking, bro?” says Justin.

  Mark looks up at the orange sky and says, “Life bro. It’s funny.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “I can’t predict life and I don’t even know it. I don’t even know where it’s going. Sometimes it’s scary but sometimes it’s a heck of a fun ride. Get this, we don’t even belong to the famous and athletic club like Cesar and now we’re one of them. But the thing that scares me is like what happened to my mom and now to my dad.”

  “Hmm. You’re going deep, bro. All I got to say is that, God has a funny way of keeping us humble. In our victories, we are like gods. But tragedies keep us from thinking that way. I think that’s the way to think about it. But, let’s enjoy our time now and let the joy of the Lord be our strength, our guide. Let’s not take life so seriously though, that’ll mess up our mind.”