Science and Faith

Eight -- Irish

The continued ringing of her phone awoke Sandy from her slumber. She tried to fight off her sleepiness by blinking her eyes twice or thrice. Himala yatang may tumawag sa kanya ngayon? She reached for her phone at the bedside table and grumpily looked at the screen.

Josephine calling…

She was surprised to see the caller id. She immediately removed her battery and irritably threw her phone on the carpeted floor. She sighed after. Bakit naman kaya tatawag ang mommy nya sa kanya? Hindi nga nya alam kung kailan nya ito huling nakausap.

Dalawa lang ang dahilan na naiisip nya. But then she just shrugged those thoughts away. Her mother has been long dead for her since the day she left her and her dad. She’s just her biological mother, but being a mom to a daughter -- Sandy never felt that from Josephine.

She got up from her bed, pagkaraan ay lumabas na ng kwarto. She searched for Ice pero hindi nya ito nakita sa sala. Dumirecho sya sa kitchen, meron ng pagkain na nakahanda dun sa mesa. She looked for Ice in the bathroom pero wala din ito doon.

Bigla ay nakaramdam sya ng lungkot. Ice had gone to work without her seeing first. Hindi pa sila nakakapag-ayos buhat kagabi. Napabuntong hininga sya. Hihintayin nya na lang ito mamaya.

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Hours have passed and Sandy was dying in boredom. Nakasulat na sya ng ilangtulasa laptop nya pero sobrang bagal pa din ng oras. Wala naman sya sa mood manuod ng TV o movie.

She closed her laptop and roamed her eyes around the room. Tumayo sya para tingnan yung isang cabinet doon. Out of curiosity, she opened it and saw Ice’s long sleeves hanging; there is also couple of shirts and neckties. She opened the drawer below. Inside were his briefs and boxers. Nangiti na lang sya ng makita ito. His closet was very organized.

She was about to slam the cabinet door but stopped when she noticed a picture under the folded shirts. Being the chismosa she is, kinuha nya ito mula doon. Ganun na lang ang gulat nya ng makita nya yung photo. It was a picture of Ice with a girl. Magkayakap ang mga ito at parehong nakangiti.

Gulat na gulat sya ng makita nya ito, lalo na sa babaeng kasama nito. She knows the girl. Hindi sya pwedeng magkamali. She knows every detail of that woman’s face. She knows her very well.

“Irish.”

She smiled bitterly upon remembering her. Irish was her only friend and best friend back during their high school days. Sya yung taong pinakapinagkakatiwalaan nya noon. Irish knew her family issues, her dreams, her thoughts and almost everything about her. Irish was not just a best friend to her; she was more than a sister.

But that was too long ago. Things have changed between them. It started when she and Cyrus became an item. She didn’t know during that time that Irish loves Cyrus, and so the fight between them ensued. Pero hindi naman nya akalain na ganun pala ang gagawin ni Irish sa kanya.

Irish told the entire school lies about her. That she’s sleeping with different men, she’s a whore and such those hurtful things. Dahil doon, naexpel sya sa pinapasukan nya. At ang masama pa nito, the whole school calls her being the slut of the town.

Behind her sweet image lies a rotten attitude, that’s what she learned of Irish after the latter did those things to her. Right after she was expelled from school, she found out that the lies Irish created was actually more appropriate for that bitch. Irish was one hell of a flirt. She was aggressive to almost all men around her.

That was also the reason why she never trusted a person that much again. She became elusive of people around her. The only person she have told a secret was Mitch, at iyon pa ang sikretong pagsisinungaling nya kay Ice. But she has never told anyone anything personal about her since her the only best friend she had betrayed her. No one really knows who the real Sandy is.