Nice Time
Wendy woke me up when we arrived. Sa isang sikat na condominium nagkaroon ng afterparty. Nauna na nga yung ibang players sa amin and it made me think kung paano sila nakapasok sa condo.
"LET'S CELEBRATE, VARSITY TEAM!" Sigaw ng mga players. Everything is already prepared pagdating namin. The food, drinks, and even light snacks.
A lot of people are in the condo. Mostly players, cheerleaders, and students who are here to celebrate, of course.
"Julia! May mga snacks sa table, gusto niyo? Kukuha lang ako para sa inyo." Sabi ni Neo nang napadaan siya sa amin but I stopped him.
"Huwag na Neo. Kami na." Tumayo ako at lumapit sa table. There were chips, nachos, fries, and other finger foods. Kumuha ako ng kaya ko lang kainin and went back to Wendy.
The party was fun. Nagkaroon ng katuwaan ang mga players and had some games. Right now, they're in the middle of telling stories and reminiscing events.
Napansin kong may mga players na bagsak na sa sofa. Drunk? Maybe. I saw some bottles of beer earlier.
"Julia!" Sigaw ng kung sino. Paglingon ko, nakita ko si Wendy at Neo na papalapit sa akin. May dalang red cups si Neo.
"Here, drink this." Sabi ni Neo. Inamoy ko ang laman at agad akong napangiwi. It's beer.
"No thanks." Sabi ko. Nakita kong may hawak din si Wendy at ininom niya ito. My eyes widened.
"It's not pure beer, Juls. It's vodka and beer. Kaunti lang ang beer niyan. And not alcoholic yung vodka." Sabi ni Wendy and she placed her cup in the floor. I looked at Neo and saw him waiting for me to drink the liquid he gave me. Well, here it goes.
Pero nang iinumin ko na sana iyon, may bumangga sa akin kaya the drink spilled all over the floor. Tiningnan ko ang bumangga and saw Kiro. What the hell?
"Julia! You okay?" Tanong ni Wendy. Tumango ako. I'm fine, hindi naman ako nabasa. But I'm still shocked.
"Dude? You drunk already? Hindi mo na nakita si Julia." At tumawa si Neo. Nakatingin pa rin ako kay Kiro na nakatingin kay Neo.
"Yeah, maybe I'm drunk." Sabi niya at tumingin sa akin bago umalis. He joined his team at umupo naman kami ni Wendy sa kabilang sofa. Hindi na rin nila ako pinainom ulit.
Some were already going home by 8:30. May pasok rin kasi bukas. Hinihintay ko lang naman talagang umuwi na ito si Wendy.
"Julia? You okay here?" Tanong ni Neo nang lumapit ito. Medyo may tama na rin siya dahil sa mga laro kanina.
"Yeah, I'm okay."
"Julia! Let's go home." Sabi ni Wendy. Tumayo ako pero hinawakan ni Neo yung kamay ko. "Ihahatid ko na kayo. I'll just get my—"
"No, huwag na. Kaya na namin, Neo." Sagot ni Wendy. "You should rest now, Neo."
"No. Ihahatid ko na kayo. Sandali lang—" Ipipilit pa sana ni Neo ang gusto niya nang may nagsalita.
"Neo, rest now, bro. Ako na maghahatid sa kanila." Sabi ni Kiro at umuna na palabas ng condo. Natahimik kaming tatlo.
"Uhm... sige. Una na kami Kiro. Please rest now." Pagbasag ko sa katahimikan. Nagpaalam na rin si Wendy at lumabas na kaming dalawa ng condo.
Naghihintay si Kiro sa entrance ng condo katabi ng kanyang kotse.
"Kiro, hindi mo naman kami kailangang ihatid eh. Kaya naman nam—" Nagsasalita pa ako ng pinutol na ni Kiro ang sasabihin.
"I'm doing this for Neo para makampante siya. Sakay na kayo."
The trip was silent. Unang hinatid si Wendy dahil sa isang fast food chain lang din naman siya nagpababa. Susunduin daw siya ng driver nila.
Sunod akong hinatid sa village namin. It was still quiet though, hoping it will stay like this.
"You okay?" Muntik na akong mapatalon nang magsalita siya. God! I didn't expect him to talk to me.
"Yes, okay lang ako." Sagot ko. And the silence was back. Why can't I keep a conversation going? He might think that I'm too awkward around him, damn.
Nang nakarating na kami sa village, akala ko ibababa niya lang ako sa gate but I was shocked when he drove all the way to our house.
"Thank you." Sabi ko at tinanggal ang seatbelt ko. But it was too hard to remove it dahil hindi naman ako sanay na umuupo shotgun.
I was about to pull it again when I he held the belt and pulled it for me. And swear, when his hands grazed around mine, nagsiliparan lahat ng paru-paro sa tiyan ko. I hate these butterflies!
"There you go." Sabi nito nang matanggal niya ang seatbelt. Tumango ako at lalabas ng sasakyan niya but it was still locked. I faced him and saw that he also looked at me.
"Good night." Sabi niya. Tumango ulit ako at binuksan ang sasakyan niya. Nang nakalabas ako, tatakbo na sana ako papasok ng bahay when I heard him say things that made my heart go crazy.
"It was a nice time being with you, Julia."
