I, Ache Vol. III

Confessions | Tequila

Written by hdrmd24

Dear Ache,

"Iha, may boyfriend ka na ba?"
"Wala ka pa bang ipapakilala sa amin, anak?"
"Kailan ba may manliligaw sa'yo dito sa bahay?"
"Meron bang nagkakagusto sa'yo sa school?"
"Kailan mo ba balak mag-asawa?"
"Anak, gusto ko pa magka-apo bago ako tumanda."
"Sana naman maihatid kita sa altar bago man lang ako mamatay."
"Girl, wala ka pa bang boylet?"
"Don't tell me dun ka pa din nakatira sa US Virgin Islands?"
"Tell me the truth, are you a lesbian?"

These are just a few of the all too familiar countless remarks I hear from friends and family. And frankly, it's getting pretty fucking annoying.

My name is Janice, and I am a 28-year old Medical Doctor and this is my love story.

My life has always been simple growing up, being the only child of two doctors, who pretty much raised me to be one of them. My childhood consisted of daily visits to my parents' clinic and seeing them in action, helping to save lives of numerous people. It inspired me to obtain that prestigious MD after my name and that white coat over my back.

I did my best in school, always acing exams and topping the class, graduating Valedictorian in highschool and Suma Cum Laude in college. I even got 99+ score in my NMAT Exam, and that straight line of 1.0's in my transcript of records landed me a spot in one of the most prestigious medical schools in the Philippines.

People say I'm pretty much the definition of a perfect child, and my parents never failed to express how proud they are of me, especially during family gatherings. My aunts and uncles would always tell their children to aspire to be like me, and that really made me feel so accomplished. But being so concentrated on my studies also have a downside.

I barely had a social life. I only had a handful of friends, most of which I don't get to see very often. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't party. Heck, I don't even belong to any of the organizations in my school. I also had no time for dating, well I had no suitors anyway. So I belong to the "No boyfriend since birth" club. You can say that my life is boring, but there's one person that makes it interesting, and his name is Charles.

Charles or Charlie, as I like to call him, is my ultimate best friend. I met him in college during our first day of school. He was late in the orientation and he asked me how it went. That got us talking. We had the same course and choice of career path but he was almost the total opposite of me. He was laid back, adventurous and kind of lazy. He was always late to class but manages to get a high grade with very little effort. That's why we both got accepted in the same medical school.

We went through the hardships of medical school together, enduring caffeine induced sleepless nights of studying, doing reports and submitting requirements. We were always in the same section and groupings, always together and never apart. Because of that, we'd formed traditions, one of which was watching a movie and hanging out in his condo after a major examination.

During our third year of med school, after finishing our last final exams, Charlie asked me to do just that, since it was the last time we'd be able to do so before we enter clerkship.

"Janice! Ja! Huy!" Charles called out to me as we went out of the classroom after finishing our last final exam.

"Uy Charlie."

"Ano gagawin mo after neto?"

"Wala. Baka uuwi lang ako at matutulog."

"KJ naman neto. Tara, dun tayo sa condo, nood tayo movie tas inom tayo."

"Di ka pa ba pagod? Jusko, katatapos lang ng exam at inom na agad nasa isip mo. Uso pahinga, uy."

He then put his arm around me as we walked to the elevator and pinched my cheeks.