The Other 'I'

9 : The party

I didn't have any spare clothes for the party aside from my white button down uniform and skirt under my knitted cream cardigan. And dropping by at my apartment would be impossible. Dahil nang sinalubong ako ni Terrence palabas ng room mula sa last subject ko ay naabutan kong kasama niya si Michael at Dina.

"They're hopping in," he said after noticing where my eyes went.

He was wearing a black t-shirt over an unbuttoned red and black plaid shirt, both his jeans and sneakers were black too. I just realized then that I'd never known anyone who could wear black so well but him.

"Let's go?"

With a small smile, I nodded as he held me from my waist and we started walking towards his car. Napasulyap ako sa palad niya at bahagyang naasiwa.

Obviously, we need to do some talking to clear things out—specifically our set-up. And here I thought we could do that on the way. Pero paano kung narito ang mga kaibigan niya?

"Hey, Eunice," nakangising bati nang nakasandal at nakahalukipkip sa pinto ng backseat na si Dina, Michael's girlfriend.

"Hi." I gave her smile back, remembering how she only greeted me whenever I was with Terrence.

A fitted black tube dress hugged the curves of her body well under a dark denim jacket. It was paired with a fishnet on her legs and a black boots. And as usual, she had on her smoky makeup, making her slanted eyes bigger.

Dina was a snob, moody chick and I didn't really expect her to be genuinely nice to me. I started convincing myself that after countless times of her ignoring me whenever we saw each other on campus at random times. She didn't like me, I could feel it.

But yeah, no hard feelings. Iyong mga naging kaibigan ko nga'y kung hindi ako pinapansin ay nagawa pa akong traydurin. Para saan pa ang paghahangad ng expectation mula sa ibang taong hindi ko naman talaga naging kaibigan? That was why I'm just here, returning the same energy she was giving me. Fair enough.

Itinabingi niya ang ulo habang pinapasadahan ako ng tingin. Chuckling sarcastically under her breath, she said, "Are you kidding me? You're planning to wear your uniform at the party? What are you, a nerd?" Sabay ikot ng mata.

"You don't have a spare dress on your locker?" Agad natigilan si Terrence pagkatapos na pagkatapos iyong itanong sa akin. His jaw clenched when he realized he knew the answer to his own question. "We can drop by your apartment."

"Dude, we don't have time for that," ani Michael na kabababa pa lang ng passenger seat, abala sa pagtipa ng sariling phone. He had a plain white shirt on under his varsity jacket, paired with a light jeans and blue sneakers. "I'm sure Dina can do something about it."

Lumipad ang mga mata namin kay Dina na ngayo'y bagot nang tumatango. "Yeah, okay. I know. Whatever."

There I was, riding his car and suddenly hanging out with him and his friends again. The irony.

Hindi ako mapalagay buong byahe patungo sa party. I wanted so bad to talk to Terrence but I couldn't. Iniisip ko pa kung paano kami makakapag-usap mamaya sa party dahil paniguradong maingay do'n.

Halos magkakasudlong ang mga sasakyang nakita kong naka-park sa gilid ng kalsada pagkalabas namin ng sasakyan. Mula sa labas ay rinig na rinig ang malakas na dagundong ng upbeat music sa loob pati nang ilang sigawan ng mga naroon.

The house looked alive with all the lights opened. Napahagod pa ako ng tingin sa mga kalapit-bahay nang maisip na baka mareklamo ang may pasimuno ng party. Ngunit matapos kong pasadahan ng tingin ang paligid ay walang ibang sumalubong sa akin kundi kalsada at naglalawakang bakanteng lote na nasasalitan ng mga damo at pine trees. It looked really weird but then again, this is an exclusive new developed subdivision so it really might be deserted. Tanging ang malaking three storey house lang nina Michael ang nakatirik doon—probably their second or third house here at Willow Grove? Not sure.