Alcohol
Tahimik ang dalawang buwan matapos ng pangyayari na iyon. Every once in a while naririnig kong nandoon daw sa baba sina kuya with friends meaning nandoon din si Ross. I always stay in the room naman even before, so for my brothers there was nothing unusual. Ako lang talaga ang praning na tuwing pagdating sa bahay ay agad iniaakayat lahat ng maaaring kailanganing nasa baba, mapa tubig at snacks.
This school year seems so go by so fast at ngayong week na ang first periodic exams week namin. So here I am reviewing for the last day of exams at inabot na nga ng 1am. I am grade conscious, yes, but I'm not studious. Magulo paringgan pero kasi I prefer na mag-cram sa pag review last minute kaysa araw araw. It works for me naman since I listen in class kaya naiintindihan ko yung lessons.
Patapos na ako ng makitang wala nang laman ang water bottle ko. Saktong pag tayo ko ay tumunog at umilaw naman ang phone ko - pinakitang may message si Tati. Kasabay kong puyat sina Tati, Sam at Sasha. Naniniwala pa akong nag-rereview talaga ang kambal, pero si Tati, duda ako. One time I had them over for a sleep over with a review sesh pero panay phone lang siya. She's just too afraid she'd miss something from our chikas in between breaks kaya kahit hindi daw siya makakapag beauty rest, okay lang magpuyat.
"Tuloy ba Ash?" sabi ng chat niya. Nagdecide akong tumawag na lamang para safe ang paguusap namin at walang maging ebidensya.
Nababa na ako ng hagdanan at nag stretch ng leeg nang sumagot ang tatlo.
"What now?" Tati.
"You're brothers are gonna kill you and us when they hear about this," paalala ni Sam.
Sam is the ate in our group. Medyo nagkakaparehas kami kaya kill joy ang turing sa amin ng dalawa, Tati at Sasha.
"They won't kills us because they won't hear about it. We're gonna keep our mouths shut, right?" sagot ko.
Naabot ko na ang water dispenser sa kitchen.
"Alam mo Ash, I always wanted you to be like this pero ngayon na nangyayari na... na ikaw ang nangunguna sa mga planong ganito natatakot din ako," ani Sasha followed by nervous laughters.
"Just support me this once, ngayon lang."
"You're not even broken hearted girl? Why are you so thirsty for alcohol?" sabi ni Tati.
Napuno na ang bottle ko kaya sumandal ako sa may kitchen counter at uminom sa bote bago sumagot. "Look, all of you are just saying that because naranasan niyo nang malasing. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for my brothers but pagdating sa inom ang strict nila masyado. They don't allow me to go attend parties, I somehow understand them sa part na iyon. Pero remember Tati, last year when we hinted we wanted to drink? Their reactions were super harsh! Ang unfair lang knowing that Kuya Enzo started drinking when he was 12 at ako ni isang patak ng alchohol wala pa. I'm just curious. It's not thirst for alcohol. More like thirst to quench this curiosity of how much my alcohol tolerance is, what my drunk tendencies are and so on."
"Ash, hate to say this but napatakan ka na ng alcohol. You remember when we were 10 and your dumbass tripped sa stairs? Ang lala ng sugat mo that time and ang daming alchohol ginamit sa'yo 'di ba?" sabat ni Tati na ikinatawa naming lahat.
"Anyway. Kambal ha, just make sure wala si Archer sa bahay mamaya. Para safe tayong walang makakarating na info kina kuya," paalala ko pa nang natapos ang tawanan.
Naiimagine ko pa ang sabay na pagtango ng kambal bago sumagot si Sasha ng, "I think they're also going out to drink. Kasama ang mga kapatid mo kaya safe na safe. Narinig kong they're also sleeping over wherever they're going. Tingin ko si Luigi naman maghohost this time, so medyo malayo."
