Location: Gubat Coastal High Dormitory – Daet Sports Housing Center
Time: 8:43 PM, Night before Quarterfinals
There was absolutely no such thing as silence.
The volleyball girls were dancing to K-pop in mismatched pajamas. The tennis boys were yelling about banana ketchup vs. real ketchup. A pillow hit someone, and no one claimed it. On a table near the hallway, Nina was surrounded by the wreckage of a fallen Uno empire.
"WHO STACKED THREE DRAW FOURS ON ME?" Nina shrieked, wild-eyed and betrayed.
"It was Yumi!" a voice from the chaos called.
"Lies! I am a child!" Yumi, age thirteen and undefeated in badminton trash talk, struck a smug pose atop her beanbag throne. "Also: uno reverse."
From the corner: "That's not how that works!"
Enter: The Chessboard
On the other side of the room, the Chess Club was the last island of calm.
Under flickering fluorescent light, they sat in scholarly silence. Pieces clicked neatly. Minds sharpened. Jomar, their first board player, had just said the phrase, "And that's a textbook Ruy Lopez."
That was when Dane wandered over, still drying his hair with a towel, bored after basketball drills.
"Hey," he said, blinking at the board. "Mind if I try?"
Randy looked up. "You play?"
Dane shrugged. "My lolo taught me. I haven't played in years though."
It was the most dangerous sentence in history.
The Game That Shook Gubat
Dane sat across from Randy. The first five moves were ordinary.
Then Dane sacrificed his knight.
Then his other knight.
The chess club sat up straighter.
Then Dane castled, captured two pieces in one combo, and forked Randy's king and rook with a pawn.
"…Huh," said Dane. "Is that good?"
Someone from tennis dropped a juice box in slow motion.
Randy's mouth opened and closed like a fish. His king was surrounded, his queen gone, and his rook isolated like a kid at the wrong lunch table.
"I—I didn't even—" Randy whispered. "This isn't in any textbook…"
Dane tilted his head. "Wait. Is it checkmate?"
"YES."
Silence.
Nina, from across the room, yelled, "WHAT JUST HAPPENED?"
The Coaches' Council (Now a Heist Planning Table)
Across the dorm, four coaches had gathered like war generals in hoodies.
Coach Dan (Basketball) was still sipping his coffee when he saw it.
"Did he just beat Randy?"
Coach Leia (Volleyball) gasped, "In under six minutes."
Coach Tonton (Tennis) nodded solemnly. "I've never seen Randy cry without losing to a robot."
Coach Cely (Badminton), reading a sports journal, didn't even look up. "Told you. The boy's built like a stats engine. You think he only dribbles?"
Coach Dan narrowed his eyes. "If any of you try to poach him, I will challenge you to a three-point shootout."
Leia leaned over. "Counter-offer: I teach him to spike. You teach him nothing."
Tonton muttered, "He'd make a terrifying doubles partner…"
Cely, calmly flipping a page: "You're all five years too late. He babysits Yumi. That's strategic awareness and trauma resilience."
Night Whispers
Later that night, the lights were out. Flashlights flickered like fireflies as kids told ghost stories, shared secrets, and hid snacks under blankets.
Alona, brushing her hair in the bunk bed corner, looked toward Dane's bed, where Yumi lay curled like a content cat on the lower bunk.
"He's full of surprises," she whispered.
Nina, already face-masked and snack-bloated beside her, nodded. "Basketball genius. Secret chess monster. Hidden abs. Probably writes poetry."
Yumi's voice floated out from the dark: "He only writes notes to our dog."
Then: "But still. Ate Alona, I think you're perfect for Kuya."
Pause.
"…Go to sleep, Yumi," Alona muttered, ears warm.
"Sleep is a concept," Yumi whispered mischievously. "Destiny is not."