Chapter 13 : Breaking the Rule

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🧡💙

"Hi Amanda!"

"Uhmm, my key cards aren't working — it doesn't want to open my door." I pointed my left thumb at the door behind me.

This is going to be awkward, pero di ko na talaga matiis.

"Can I use your restroom quickly? I really need to pee." I shamelessly asked my Thai counterpart as my knees kept on moving back and forth.

"Of course! Sure, sure. Please use the bathroom."

Amanda opened her door wide for me to get in easily. I rushed inside and luckily, hotel bathrooms are usually nearby the main door.

Grabe ihing-ihi na talaga ako, wala nang arte-arte. I went straight to the toilet that I don't even recall locking the bathroom door, hindi naman siguro papasok si Amanda ng bigla-bigla nalang.

"Ahhhh", I moaned softly.

Finally, nabawasan narin yung laman ng pantog ko. I felt so relieved and thankful kahit paano na may nagbukas ng pinto. Such a life saver. If not, baka napaihi nalang ako habang tumatakbo papunta sa lobby—ay grabe nakakahiya. Naiimagine ko na yung mga pictures from the Thai and Latino media covering the pageant here in Florida and yung mga headline sa social media posts if ever — 'Rabiya Mateo hindi na umabot ng banyo. Sa korona pa kaya?' or 'Philippines scatter warmth in Florida' or even 'Rabiya Mateo of the Philippines debuts Ihi Walk' — cringe.

I washed my hands properly with the liquid cream soap and water - ang bango amoy Vanilla. I looked in the mirror to fix my hair, clothes and remove my sash, and to also see if maayos pa ba itsura ko despite panicking earlier. Maganda pa naman pala ako.

When I opened the door, I saw Amanda swiftly rise up from one of the twin beds.

"I hope you feel relieved now"

"I do very much, thanks to you. I don't think my bladder can survive the trip back to the lobby" i smiled even if I'm not sure if she could see through my mask.

"No worries. You can use my bathroom anytime you want."

Joke ba yun?

"If you like, I can call the front desk to bring up a new key card for you so you won't have to go down, it's quite a long walk and I think you're tired from your trip. You can wait here in my room and rest for a bit." Amanda offered.

"Oh you don't have to do that, I can come down now. I don't want to disturb you further."

Nakakahiya naman kasi talaga, para ngang patulog na siya—naka robe na eh.

"It's okay, Rabi. You're not disturbing me —I'm actually glad you're here".

She's coming closer.

"Hi."

Her eyes were smiling.

I looked down at my knees before looking back up at Amanda, "Hi." I bit my lower lip. "Thank you for letting me use your toilet. You saved my bladder."

She giggled.

"The pleasure is all mine—— Why don't you come sit in that chair over there while I call the front desk? I can't stand in those pageant shoes for hours so I know your feet are probably killing you right now." 

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