Scandalous Affair: Atlas Mate

28

O L I V I A   V A L E Z

"O, 'di ba CBA night was fun?" sabi ni Prim.

Prima Donovan, with her crazy yet eccentric hair color of silver hair, certainly stood out. She was holding a red cup from the fruit punch that I saw earlier that she put alcohol into it. Of course, Prim was so used to doing things that screamed trouble. That's why no one noticed what she did. She made sure the SSG was busy with other things, primarily Saint. I only hooked my head and smirked after that.

I wasn't particularly in the mood to party, but I can't deny that this was fun.

"Yeah," I answered as I took a sipped on my own not-so-alcohol-free fruit punch.

"Told 'yah! It's good that you attended this year's CBA night. I also thought that it would be boring since this department was full of nerds." Prima laughed and swirled along with the loud music, "They should be thankful that I am here. I made their party fun and exciting."

I swayed my body timidly even though the music was fast and very upbeat. This was the third CBA night Prima joined while I, on the other hand, was a first-timer. Talagang every year gumagawa ng eksena si Prim. It wasn't that bad, but still, it was trouble. In our first year, Prim danced on the top of the table while holding a glass. Na out of balance siya nangsitahin siya ni Saint at pinababa sa table. Pagkahulog niya ay ang pagkabasag ng hawak-hawak na baso. Kaya simulanoon ay red cup na ang ginamit nila.

Noong second-year naman, she caused a big accident and fight. She slipped some alcoholic drink for herself, just like what she did today. Sa sobrang kalasingan ay may natapunan siyang senior nang hindi sinasadya at hindi niya napansin iyon. And Prim being herself, everybody knew what happened next. Nagka-physical-an silang dalawa noong senior kaya maagang natapos ang CBA night. 

Mabuti nga at pinayagan siyang sumali ngayon. I think Saint can never say no to her. Kahit pa saway-sawayin niya si Prim palagi. He was still soft for her. I really wish Prim could see that.

I didn't join when I was in freshman and sophomore. I wasn't that ready to socialize with others. Hindi nga rin sana ako sasali ngayong taon, pero today's event put me on edge that made me want to be distracted.

Wala pasok tuwing CBA night para makapag-prepare ang mga students, kaya nakasabay ko pa si Dad kanina sa breakfast. It was supposed to be a peaceful morning. Well, it wasn't that benign for the reason that the same nightmare still hunted me for the past two years. Pero kahit gano'n I was kind of used to it, but it still affected me a lot. I still overly washed my hand from time to time. 

I was silently eating pancakes with berries and mapple syrup when dad suddenly talked. He started the conversation casually, so I didn't pay much attention to it. The pancake was so good that it lifted my spirit. Every time I slice a piece, it would bounce, making it more appetizing. However, that little joy I found while eating the delicious pancake burst like a balloon and dissolved to nothingness.

"Your Tito Atlas is getting married." 

It was like a curse.

A curse cast on my whole being, making my entire world stop and never function again. 

It was like a bomb on war.

An unstoppable bomb was exploding after one another, making my ears hear a deafening silence of pain. 

I felt thousands of unexplainable pain that I couldn't even name. That I didn't know where it came from. All I knew was that my heart was bleeding, and I didn't know why. There was chaos and darkness of silent cries inside me, but all I did outside was drop my fork on the porcelain plate. Even the sound of it was like mourning cries for a dead heart. Like, a thousand head was beheaded in front of me, and all I can do was watch it.