Kabanata 1
"Sancha," tawag ng aking fiancée sa telepono. He seems tired with his husky voice. Iniimagine ko siyang nakakakunot ang noo habang sinasambit ang pangalan ko dahil ilang tawag na niya ang dinecline ko.
"What now, Trevor?" marahas kong tanong. He keeps bugging me with calls na alam naman niyang nagbabakasyon ako.
Trevor is a good guy, he's 5 years older than me at napakatalino niya, matagal na kaming pinasundo ng mga magulang namin, I was 11 back then and he was 16 when our parents planned it. I like him (as a friend) noon nang hindi ko pa alam na ipapasundo kami, he helps me with my studies, and visits me in the mansion every weekend. I treated him like my brother, my friend at wala na hihigit pa doon.
I stood up from bed at dumiretso nang pumasok sa bathroom, kakagising ko lang dahil sa tawag niya. I'm planning to party tonight, gusto kong lumasing, at makawala sa mga isipang nagpapahina at nagpapalungkot sa akin.
"If you have nothing good to say, I suggest you to stop calling me!" sambit ko. Ilang segundo siyang nagbuntong hininga bago magsalita ulit. I'm trying to be difficult para i-call off na niya ang engagement, besides I'll never be happy with him, hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit hindi niya pa ginagawa.
"Sancha, I'm worried for you! Wala kang kasama jan, ano nalang iisipin ng daddy mo sa akin? Na hindi kita binabantayan? You're my responsibility because we'll get married soon, I just don't understand why you keep pushing me away from you. It's sinking in my system everytime nagtatravel ka na hindi man lang nagpapaalam sa akin o sa pamilya mo, you know I love you and I don't want anything bad to happen to you," malambing niyang sabi.
"Alam kong aware ka naman sa plano ko dibah?" I asked. Gusto ko nang maintindihan niya and ofcourse, he knows it! When daddy told me about it, I run for the hills to never see him again, I just like him as a friend or a brother and nothing else.
"What do you mean Sancha?" it makes me sick everytime he does that. Alam naman niya dibah?
"Trevor, I have no plans to marry anyone yet! You knew that from the very beginning for God's sake! I want you to call off the engagement! I don't think I'm in a stable state to be a good wife, let alone having kids, I'm very young Trevor!" I shouted from my lungs. Look at what my father did, he married his supposed mistress and was never there to show his affection to me again! Tapos eto pa yung gagawin niya sa akin, making me settle in marriage for his own benefit! For his own convenience!
"Sancha, we will make this work! I'm in love with you since. I can be a good husband to you-"
"Shut up!" I cut him off. "I will never make that happen," at pinatay ko ang tawag. He called several times more, at pinilit ko nalang sarili ko na patayin ang phone ko, I have an extra phone anyway.
I texted some friends that could accompany me in the club later, I'm sure two or three friends are also staying near the place, hindi nga lang dito sa The Coast pero sa ibang resort. Just some of my trusted friends in highschool, I may not be very vocal with my problems sa kanila, pero dahil sikat kaming magpamilya, I don't bother telling them because I'm sure, they have clues. They never judged me, never thought of leaving me, and getting tired of me. Yes, I also have friends like them.
I put up my hair in a messy bun, at nag dark red lipstick make up. Nagsuot ako nang leather tube top, black leather high waist skirt, Carlo Lino sling bag, boots, silver hoops, stainless steel bracelet, and sweetheart necklace.
I'm sure at this time, ready na ang club ng five star hotel na ito, there are a lot of foreigners and rich celebrities na nagsastay dito for summer, may mabibingwit talaga akong lalaki for the tonight. I'm sure of that.
One night stand isn't really my thing, I just drink, dance and chitchat with them. Kung alam ko nang nagmamalikot ang kamay, I immediately tell the guy to stop, and if he doesn't, magkakagulo talaga. Again, I'm no reserved teen, I let guys kiss me but more than that, no. I'm not that weak, I'm a black belter in Taekwondo, and I know my limits now. That's why kapag alam ng mga lalaki na nasa isang club ako sa Maynila, they take extra careful with their drinks and when they dance with me. If you're thinking that they avoid me or whatever, no, they don't. They just get a little more careful because they know how I handle things.
I graced the hallways of the place, maraming mga turista ang tumitingin sa akin, I seem to love the attention since wala nang nagbibigay atensyon sa akin simula nang namatay si mommy. I gave my pass to the bouncers pero nagulat ako ng di nila tiningnan, they just nodded to me, senyas na pwede na akong pumasok kahit hindi ko na ipapakita sa kanila ang aking pass, that's how the power of money speaks I guess.
Nang pumasok ako ay usok ng sigarilyo at alak ang umatake sa akin, how I miss this kind of surrounding tatlong araw lang ang lumipas. The bass boomed so hard, blocking my senses, tempting me to dance and be wild.
I filled my eyes with the neon lights at tumigil lang nang nakita ko na ang isa kong kaibigan, si Beatriz na kumakaway sa akin, I walked fastly towards her sofa at umupo. She shrieked as she hugged me tight and gave me a peck on my right cheek, I did the same. She's not in her usual self right now, I know it because she's very demure 'n shy but now she's already drunk, and hell it's still 11:30pm.
Inangat ko ang kamay ko sa waiter at umorder ng mga inumin and also one glass of water to Beatriz, para mahimasmasan muna siya. Agad kong binigay ang aking credit card at bumaling na sa kaibigan.
"How's your fiancée?" she asked after sipping from another shot glass. Nilayo ko sa kanya ang lima pang shots at nakita ko siyang ngumiwi, tila disappointed at nanibago sa asal ko.
"Hey! I came here to have fun, Sancha," sabi niya with a pout and evil grin.
"Paano tayo uusap ng masinsinan kapag ganyan ka na kalasing?" tanong ko, she raised an eyebrow and nodded.
"Right," sabi niya habang iniinom ang bagong lapag na baso ng tubig. Iginala ko muna ang aking paningin sa ibang table. I saw a cute mestizo guy smirking at me and I smiled back. He raised an eyebrow at kinindatan ko ito. Then two more friends came to our table, Frances and Ella. We all exchanged greetings and talked for a bit. After drinking my second shot of gin, ibinalik ko ang aking tingin sa lalaking kinindatan ko kaina, he smiled at me habang sumisimsim sa kanyang martini.
This is gonna be one hell of a night...
