Before That

Kabanata 5

Kabanata 5

Kakauwi lang namin ni mama galing kina lola. Maayos na ang pakiramdam ko ngayon at makakapasok na ako bukas. My adviser, Ma'am Panaligan, emailed me about all the missed lessons and assignments I had to learn. She also said that we had three quizzes scheduled tomorrow.

As much as my mama wanted me to rest, I must study. I studied the lessons and ate dark chocolate at the same time.

My door opened and I shifted my eyes from the books to the figure of mama. I eyed at what she was carrying, it was a glass of hot milk. She went to my desk and put the coaster before putting the milk.

"You should be in bed before at 10, Mignonette."

"Okay, ma. Thanks for the milk."

I thanked her and waited her to came out of my room before I went back to studying. The lessons my adviser emailed me were easy to understand as I already read and studied them last week so I had no worries failing those quizzes tomorrow.

That was why I love advance reading, I won't be cramming and studying all night just to mastered the lessons because I was already familiar with those terms and just a little bit of comprehension and tada! Ready na ako sa quizzes.

I didn't want to stress myself because my anxiety alone was a handful and stressful to grasp for. Sometimes I experienced having panic attacks at night and it was a painful experience to me.

After studying and eating three-fourths of my chocolate, I drank the milk all the way down to my stomach. Inayos ko na ang lamesa ko at hinanda ko na rin ang bag ko para bukas.

Tomorrow was the laundry day of our school and we were allowed to wear casual clothes. I went to my closet.

My eyes catched a beige pleated long skirt, kinuha ko ito at inilagay sa clothe rack ko. Kumuha rin ako ng white turtle neck at inihanda ang isang white sneackers.

Matapos kong isteam ang susuotin ko para bukas ay bumaba muna ako para samahan si mama manood dahil alas-otso pa lang naman. Pumunta muna ako sa kusina at nag-init ng croissant.

Nakita ko si mama na nanonood na naman ng paborito niyang teleserye, tumabi ako sa kanya at nanonood na rin.

"Hindi pa pala tapos yan, ma?"

"Next week pa siya matatapos."

Tumango ako at nagpatuloy sa panonood. Dahil malaki ang croissant ay binigyan ko si mama, napansin ko ring umiinom siya ng wine.

"Ma, what does wine tastes like?"

"Sweet. It depends, Mia. I like my wine sweet so I bought this sweet wine."

Inabot ni mama ang wine glass sa akin para ipatikim. Inamoy ko muna ito at umasim ang mukha ko. Ang tapang naman ng amoy! Tumawa naman si mama nang makita niya ang mukha ko.

Dahan dahan kong tinikman ang wine at katulad kanina, umasim na naman ang mukha ko dahil sa lasa.

"Ma! It's not sweet, it tastes like shit!"

"Anak, it's just your first time tasting it. At first, it tastes weird but if you keep drinking, it will soon become sweet. Oh, do you feel dizzy or anything?"

"No, ma."

"This wine has 60% alcohol, are you sure?"

"It has alcohol in it?"

"Of course! Wine has alcohol, honey, and if you're not dizzy at all, you have high alcohol tolerance. Mana ka talaga kay– sa akin."

Tumawa siya at tumawa na rin ako. It was true, I was good. I didn't feel dizzy at all.