Wreaking Havoc

duodēcim

Fucking hell.

I woke up with a really bad headache that I almost didn't want to leave my bed pero may quiz pa kami sa OB I at mas hassle kung hindi ako mag-te-take ng quiz ngayon because I was leaving next week and I needed good recommendations for my credentials. Not that I hate OB I—I really like the subject kaya nga kahit gano'n magpa-quiz or recitation si Doc ayos lang sa'kin... but the headache was so excruciatingly painful that I ended up taking Paracetamol.

I never really take medicine for headaches dahil nasanay akong inuman na lang ng tubig at itulog at dahil na rin sa lagi akong umiinom noon ng gamot for the vertigo attacks. Even Manang was surprised when she saw me taking Paracetamol because it was that bad.

Kailangan ko na yata talagang magpa-check up.

Ironic because I am a med student and I guess I already have an inkling of what's really happening to me but I just wanted to ignore the signs for now.

Maybe because I'm scared of the inevitable.

I had to rest for a while bago ako nag-ayos. The headache was still there but it was more tolerable than when I woke up dahil gustong-gusto ko na talagang tanggalin 'yung ulo ko kanina sa sobrang sakit to the point that I had to throw up even with an empty stomach.

"Ayos ka lang ba, nak? Ayaw mo bang mag-absent muna? Parang masama talaga pakiramdam mo, e. Namumutla ka," sabi ni Manang habang kumakain ako ng avocado toast. Tipid lang akong ngumiti at umiling bago inubos 'yung ginger ale because I figured it helped a little with the nausea I was feeling just a while. Hindi ko na lang dinamihan dahil umaga pa lang naman tapos umiinom na'ko ng carbonated beverage, naririnig ko na kaaagad 'yung boses ni Eli na sinasabihan ako.

"May quiz lang naman po kami ngayon," sagot ko at ngumiti. "Uuwi rin po ako kaagad."

Manang nodded at kinuha na 'yung pinagkainan ko at inilagay 'yun sa dishwasher. It was already 12:15 kaya chineck ko muna 'yung sarili ko bago nagpaalam at lumabas ng unit. 

"Therese!" Astrid exclaimed and came running to me—eksakto namang nag-ring 'yung phone ko dahilan para kunin ko 'yun sa bulsa ng uniform ko at tignan kung sino'ng nasa screen.

I groaned and ended the call when I saw Janine's name. What the hell do they want now? Mom literally has my flight ticket already, and I guess they've been pulling strings to enroll me somewhere in New York already. 

"Janine?"

I nodded and pushed down the side button of my phone to turn it silent. Astrid seemed to have noticed that I wasn't really in the mood to talk about anything kaya tahimik na lang din kaming bumaba sa lobby. I checked my phone to see if Eli had replied to my message from a while back. He's probably busy at the firm since 'yung last message niya ay kanina pang bago 'yung pasok niya. What he said to me last night had me wallowing in guilt... it would've been nicer to hear that if we didn't have to go through such hoops just to be together.

Ang unfair.

When we were almost near the university, Eli's name popped on my phone asking for a videocall na mabilis ko namang sinagot. Eli looked a little less tired while telling me that they won the case against a known company who were known to abuse its employees. 

"God, if you only saw them, love. It was really dreadful when I saw them mourning for their loved ones," he uttered, his voice laced with much frustration and anger. "Imagine operating a factory that the employees have been reporting for so long dahil sa sobrang daming irregularities? Tapos they don't even earn minimum wage, only for them to die when the factory caught fire? I was so fucking angry. How can people be that heartless?"