Hazel's Sweet Revenge

Simula

"Shot na Sab! Dami pang sinasabi eh!" Iniabot ng kaibigan kong si Edmerson ang isang shot glass na may refill ng Jose Cuervo Gold.

"Tangina, ako pa ata ang unang malalasing ah..." I blurted out before taking the shot in one go. Napangiwi ako kahit pa pang-anim na lagok ko na nito. I am slowly losing this game.

"Do it for the vlog!" Cheered by my vlogger gay friend Crisostomo, Cris for short.

You heard that right, we are currently playing this game "who knows who better."  Kapag mali ang nahulaang tao based sa description na ibibigay, you need to take a shot of tequila. 

At dahil nakakuha na siya ng 10,000 subscribers, heto't naisipang magpakalasing sa inuupahan kong condo unit sa Gateway Regency.

"I thought you knew that it was me Sab." Hagikhik naman nitong Briton kong pinsan na si Hilary, ang nag-sponsor sa alak namin ngayon.

"No she wasn't there. Sab was too busy fixing her own mess. " Segunda naman nitong si Edmerson, pagtukoy sa pagiging absent ko nung mga panahon na brokenhearted si Hilary at nag dare sila na magpo-pole dance ito sa isang Gay Bar. 

That was the question awhile ago at akala ko si Cris iyon, you probably knew why I ended up with my 6th shot. Mali na lahat ng nahulaan ko. I'm not really doing good with this game. 

"Okay next question, huwag na nating alamin kung nasan si Sab nung mga panahon na 'yon." Makahulugang sambit ni Rowan, another gay friend of mine.

"Okay eto. Sana mahulaan niyo. Ehem ehem. Who was this person who got wasted and kissed someone while still in a relationship?"

Natigilan ang lahat at nag-umpisang gumala ang mga mata. Napairap ako while writing the name of that person. The hell with this game, really.

"Time's up!" Said Cris while covering his paper.

Makahulugan ang mga tingin ng tatlong bakla sa akin while Hilary is still figuring out who that person was.

We all raised our papers and I saw my name written on it, except for Hilary who thought that it was Rowan.

"What! Was it Sab?!" Halata ang gulat sa pinsan ko.

"Naku kung alam mo lang ang ganap nung gabing 'yon nakakaloka!" Edmerson exaggerated. Habang ang dalawang kalahi niya ay panay na ang hagikhik.

"Mga gago I can explain..." Even if I'm not the one who lost, napainom ako ng alak at napa-papak ng asin.

"Oy baks nagiging obvious ka, affected pa rin?" Pang-aasar ni Cris habang nagre-refill para kay Hilary.

"Ulol" Bwelta ko sa kaibigan.

"Hey guys wait, paano nangyari 'yon? My cousin couldn't do that, she's super loyal." Depensa ni Hilary, "Right cous?" Sabay baling ng tingin sa akin.

"Except for that one night Hil. Kapag nakalagok na 'yan ng alak, nagiging ibang tao na 'yan." Binato ko ng unan si Edmerson. Malayo kasi sa akin kaya hindi ko mabatukan.

"I didn't cheat" I started. "Kasalanan niyo 'yon, I was so wrong of bringing you all there. Basta kapag bar ginagawa niyong playground."

"Hoy Sabrina huwag mo kaming sisihin dyan, sino ba nagsabi ng "Hahalikan ko kung sino ang tumabi sakin, bahala na siya sa buhay niya, makakahanap din ako ng iba!" Binalik ni  Ed sa akin ang throw pillow.

"I was wasted!" I defended again.

"And that night Hilary..." Cris continued, not minding our banters. Nakuha naman nito ang atensyon ng pinsan ko. 

"that same night, Hazel -- I mean her ex walked in, saw the whole thing, then walked out again. We never see her again after that night." Pag-narrate pa nito.

"Oh... So, that was the reason why you two broke up. I thought it was the other way around." Komento ni Hilary at napatingin sa akin nang may pagdududa.

Nagpakawala ako ng buntong hininga at napasandal sa backrest. "Anyway, past is past. it's been six years cous, let's just forget about it." Napahilot ako ng sintido, dama ko na ang epekto ng alak sa puntong ito.

"Okay, thats enough. I'll get you water." Tinapik nito ang hita ko bago dumiretso sa kusina.

I was massaging my temple when I noticed Rowan, Cris, and Edmerson are all staring at me suspiciously, as if waiting for me to tell a story behind Hilary's statement.

"Mga walangya kayo, dinamay niyo pa pati pinsan ko."

Cris maneuvered the camera as we stopped the game. "Huwag mong ibahin ang usapan Sab, obviously Hilary knew something we never heard of. What's the other way around, huh? Hazel cheated on you first?"

The three waited for my answer. I just let out a long sigh again. "I don't know, okay? Matagal na 'yon. Does it even matter?"

Cris just shrugged his shoulders off and took a slice of apple on the center table. "Hindi naman, out of curiosity baks, hindi na ba kayo nagkausap after ng gabing 'yon? Be honest."

Nanatili ang titig nila sa akin. My eyes blinked twice as I feel my head starts to throb again. "Hindi na." 

"Here you go." Sumulpot si Hilary na may dalang water bottle at gatorade para sa aming lahat. I guess I could say that I was saved by the bell.

Nagpatuloy pa rin ang laro pero hindi na ako nakisali dahil alam nilang mababa ang alcohol tolerance ko. Magaling din mag-timing ng inuman itong si Cris dahil kung kailan Sunday ay tsaka naisipang maglasing.

I need to sober up fast because we will be having a meeting tomorrow morning. 

They all stayed up 'til 1am. Hilary decided to spend the night here, nauna na siyang matulog habang ako ay nakahiga pa rin at hindi pa dinadalaw ng antok. Bigla akong tinabihan ni Ollie, ang alaga naming pusa.

I scrolled down some of the emails I've received this day. Deleted some, then continue on scrolling again until I reached the ones saved as important.

It was a short message.
From her.

I went home to have a serious talk with you. But I guess you've done more than that.

I would like to thank you for making it easier for me to end this relationship. Now I know that my decisions were right.

- Hazel

I stared at it for another minute, before finally pressing delete.