"Congratulations, everyone, for a job well done! You all worked like professionals—the quality of your outputs was outstanding. I knew you could do it, and now you're more than ready to take on Sinulog. Each output you submitted will have a copy stored in the school's video library for future reference, while another copy will remain in your personal files here. We will see you in Cebu! Thank you all for your cooperation and for being so engaged in every activity. I hope you bring the same determination, energy, and eagerness when we get there—or even better, exceed it. You'll need that during the entire coverage. I know this will be your first time handling a month-long event, and it's going to be exhausting, but I assure you, you'll learn a lot—things that go beyond theory and even what we covered in this summer training," said one of the professors who handled our training. Today was our last meeting, as our training had been delayed by a week due to our regular summer advance classes.
Our training had been fun and memorable. Of course, it ended with a celebration—a meal shared with our professors while watching a randomly selected video of our work. We wrapped up the event at around eight in the evening on the final day of our filmmaking training.
"Thank you, Lord! We finally made it!" Blue shouted as we walked out of the school gate.
As usual, my groupmates and I stuck together, as we had already planned our own little celebration after training. We stopped by a convenience store to buy some supplies before heading to Mitch's house, where we would all be safe. I had already told Georje to pick me up at Mitch's place tomorrow so we could head home together—I had something important to retrieve, and he had practice. It would be a quick trip.
"I'm so excited for our internship!" Roy said as he downed a shot of tequila.
"I'm even more excited about going to Cebu—it's my first time!" Blue said cheerfully.
"You're not the only one! A lot of us will be going to Cebu for the first time. My cousin went on vacation there, and they said it's a beautiful place," Peachy chimed in before taking her shot.
"Why is that shot glass moving so fast? Are you guys in a hurry?" Mitch complained as the glass landed in front of her after Peachy.
"Oh, sorry, folks! Too fast? Okay, I'll slow it down," Blue replied, laughing as he poured another shot.
"Yeah, take it easy, bro, or these girls might pass out too soon," Mel agreed, teasingly pointing at us one by one.
"Heh!" Peachy, his girlfriend, scolded him playfully, making us all burst into laughter. The house was suddenly filled with noise. Anyway, it was still early, and we were all hanging out on the terrace to enjoy the fresh air and have more space. We cleaned the floor, laid out a mat, and sat together. Some leaned against the wall, while others were busy snacking.
"Lui, what are you thinking about? You're so quiet," Roy asked me. He was sitting beside me, and I was leaning against him while lying on my side.
"Nothing. I just don't have anything to say yet, so I'm just listening. You know me—once I start talking, there's no stopping me," I answered, and we both laughed. Roy and I became close after bonding over music. Ever since then, I noticed he would often come over to talk to me. I also noticed that he had changed a bit—during brainstorming sessions, he no longer insisted that his ideas should always be followed.
We continued reminiscing about the struggles we faced since becoming classmates in our major subjects—how we first got grouped together and how our professors never changed our groupings to make things easier for us. They said it would help us complete group projects more efficiently if we stayed with the same people. So, we remained in the same group during training, our internship, and even our trip to Cebu.
"By the way, Lui, your birthday is next week! What's the plan before the first semester starts?" Blue asked.
He really hadn't forgotten my birthday since last year when we celebrated it with Mitch.
"I don't know where I'll be yet," I replied.
"Why? Are you going somewhere?" Roy asked beside me.
"No, but I'm going home tomorrow, so I'm not sure yet. But I don't plan on staying long—I just have to pick up something important," I answered.
"Ah… okay," Blue simply said before taking another shot.
"Don't worry, I'll call you guys if anything comes up. You'll definitely find out because I'm always here at Mitch's place anyway," I reassured them.
"Yeah, I've noticed that. But don't you rent an apartment with your Psych major friends?" Peachy asked.
"Oh, yeah, we still have it, but I rarely go there—only when I need to grab something," I replied.
"That's a waste of rent if you're barely staying there," Mel, Peachy's boyfriend, chimed in.
"It's fine. Most of my stuff is still there, and my family doesn't know that I don't stay there much anymore," I explained.
"Why is that?" Peachy asked again.
"Why is the conversation suddenly about me? Why am I on the hot seat now?" I suddenly complain. "I thought this was a drinking game tournament! Turns out it's a talk show—nobody even informed me," I said sarcastically, making everyone laugh.
"Well, things happened… I just feel more comfortable here for now. Unless Mitch kicks me out because she's tired of me," I joked, avoiding the real reason.
We continued our lively conversation, teasing and laughing. When we ran out of tequila, we switched to beer. By then, we were all a little tipsy, but no one was giving up yet. We had built up our alcohol tolerance from drinking so often.
The next day, we were woken up by the loud ringing of the telephone around lunchtime.
Peachy, being the closest, answered the call while Mitch and I went straight to the kitchen to prepare food and boil water for coffee—some of us were probably nursing hangovers.
Peachy: "Hello?"
Georje: "Good noon. May I speak with Lui? This is Georje."
Peachy: "Hold on, I'll call her."
"Lui! Phone call! Someone named Georje is looking for you!" she shouted from the living room.
"Okay! Coming!" I yelled back, setting my mug down on the table.
"Thanks, Peach!" I said when I saw her sitting on the couch beside Mel, watching TV. She just gave me a thumbs-up and smiled.
Me: "Hello?"
Georje: "Hey, did I disturb you?"
Me: "Not really. Where are you?"
Georje: "I'm at the corner. Luckily, there's a payphone here, so I decided to call you first. I saw one of your groupmates earlier, but I was too shy to ask where you were. So, I passed by and found a payphone instead."
Me: "Idiot! You should've just asked so you wouldn't have to go out of your way to call. Come over, I'll wait for you by the door."
Georje: "Alright, I'm hanging up now. I'm on my way."
Me: "Bye."
I didn't wait for his response and immediately put the phone down. I grabbed my mug of coffee and stepped outside to the terrace so he could spot me right away. It wasn't long before I saw him walking toward the gate.
"Come in," I invited him.
"Did you just wake up?" he asked as he walked closer to where I was standing.
"Just a little while ago. I kind of drank too much last night, and we finished at dawn, so some of them are still here. But they'll probably head home after we eat," I explained.
"Come on in, I'll introduce you to everyone. They're inside," I added as I walked back into the house, and he followed behind me.
"Pips! I have a visitor!" I called out to everyone, who were apparently already in the kitchen. The curious bunch immediately peeked out.
"Guys! This is Georje, my boyfriend. Georje, these are my groupmates," I introduced them one by one. Thankfully, it went well because the guys started talking to him. But of course, he wouldn't be Georje if he wasn't the type to be sparing with his words.
"Bye, Pips! Thanks for getting me drunk last night!" Peachy said as she leaned on Mel, who was escorting her home. Apparently, her family might be looking for her. Roy and some of the others decided to leave as well.
"Bye! Let's do this again! I had so much fun!" Mitch called out as she stood by the door. Meanwhile, Zette decided to stay a bit longer since she had already called her mom and told her she'd head home later.
"Give me a sec, I'll just take a quick shower, and then we can go," I told Georje, who was sitting on the couch watching TV.
"Okay," was his only response, nodding before returning his attention to the show.
After I got ready, we said our goodbyes. Only Mitch and Zette were left in the house, but Mitch didn't mind since Kim would be arriving soon to keep her company while I was away.
At the bus terminal, we had just missed the bus, according to the dispatcher, so we took a seat in the waiting area. Georje and I sat in silence, though I was listening to music on my CD player, with my backpack resting on my lap.
A few minutes later, the dispatcher told us to start lining up since the next bus was arriving soon. I immediately stood up, assuming Georje would do the same, but to my surprise, he didn't move. I called out to him, noticing he seemed lost in thought.
"Georje! Come on!" I said, not needing to shout since the line was close to the seats.
"Huh?" was his only response.
"I said, come on, we need to get in line," I repeated.
"You go ahead; I'll follow once you're seated. Save me a seat next to you," he replied.
I was surprised by his response but decided not to overthink it. Just as the bus was about to pull in, a group of people around our age arrived and immediately approached Georje. I averted my gaze, not wanting to stare at people I didn't know. To distract myself, I grabbed my CD player from my bag and pretended to scan for a song, though I was actually listening to their conversation. Their voices were loud, making it easy to hear everything from where I stood. Thankfully, my dark black shades hid the way I stole glances at them.
"Georje, isn't that the girl you were with at the show?" a girl's voice asked.
"Oh, yeah, that's Lui," he replied lifelessly.
"Introduce us! We're curious because Jake mentioned her once. We ran into him and his girlfriend at the mall before," another girl added.
There were about five of them, including a guy who I assumed was someone's boyfriend. I could only see them through my peripheral vision.
"Jake even said she's your girlfriend," the girl continued.
My heart started pounding. I didn't know rumors like that were going around.
"No way! Jake's an idiot, you guys believe anything he says! She's just my cousin!" he blurted out. It felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on me. I froze.
"Really? You guys don't even look alike," someone doubted.
"If she's really your cousin, then introduce us," a guy challenged.
I didn't know what to do—should I just walk away or pretend to run straight into the bus to avoid this? Why was the damn bus taking so long to park?
"Lui! Lui!" I heard Georje call, but I pretended not to hear and kept busy with my CD player.
"Hey!" he said, nudging me.
"Huh?" I responded, forcing myself not to show any change in my mood despite what I had just overheard.
"Come here for a sec, I want to introduce you," he said as he took out my earphones.
I just nodded in response.
"Uh, this is Lui, my cousin. Lui, these are my former high school classmates," he introduced them, clearly nervous and even sweating.
One by one, they stepped forward and introduced themselves, but I didn't remember a single name. I just gave them a small, forced smile and didn't even bother taking off my shades. I didn't care what they thought—what mattered was that they couldn't see my eyes, which were already welling up with tears.
Thankfully, the bus was finally in position and boarding passengers, so I quickly excused myself and climbed in. The group lined up at the back, and Georje joined them.
As soon as I sat by the window, I put my earphones back in and turned the volume up. I didn't want to hear anything else that would add to the heaviness in my chest. I shut my eyes, even though I knew I wasn't sleepy and wouldn't be able to sleep with the weight of my emotions pressing down on me. I wanted to cry, but I held it in.
After a while, I felt someone sit beside me, but I ignored it. I didn't care if it was Georje or someone else. I kept my eyes closed and had no intention of checking who it was.
"Lui," he said softly, nudging me.
I didn't respond and just let him keep nudging me. I never thought he would deny me a second time, thinking I hadn't heard, but he was wrong—I heard everything loud and clear.
"Lui," he said again.
I still ignored him, not even glancing in his direction. I could hear conversations from the back of the bus. I knew it was the people he had introduced me to earlier, so I chose to stay quiet to avoid making a scene.
Not long after, the conductor approached to ask about our destination and collect the fare.
I let Georje handle the talking while I simply pulled out my wallet and took out some money for my fare. I didn't care if I gave too much, and I didn't even bother taking my change when Georje tried to hand it to me.
I was sure he already knew why my attitude toward him had suddenly changed. The entire ride to the Sta. Cruz terminal, I didn't say a word to Georje. As soon as we arrived, I got on a tricycle without even telling him I was leaving. I didn't spare him a glance, knowing that if I saw his face, I would break down in tears.
When I got home, the house was empty. I had no idea where everyone was, but thankfully, when I checked the fridge, there was food. I decided to eat before heading up to my room to rest. I watched the Discovery Channel while eating a chicken salad. Wait—why was there a chicken salad? What was the occasion? Where was everyone? Were they coming home tonight? I should've called before heading back. How was I supposed to get what I needed when no one was home?
After eating, I washed my dishes and went upstairs to change. I lay down on my bed, the one I had missed so much. This bed belonged to me and my late brother. We always slept next to each other, which made this bed—and this entire room—sentimental to me.
I woke up to loud noises downstairs—something had broken, followed by shouting. Panic rushed through me, and I immediately got up and ran downstairs.
"You son of a b*tch! Go live with your mistress!" my mom screamed at my dad.
"That's not what happened! Can you just listen to me first? How can we understand each other if you won't even hear me out?!" my dad pleaded.
I froze on the staircase, unable to move, completely shocked by what I was hearing. My mind was in chaos. I saw shattered pieces on the floor—maybe a vase or a planter, I wasn't sure.
My mom was furious, screaming at my dad, who kept begging her to listen. Neither of them noticed me standing there, watching and hearing everything.
A sharp pain struck my head. My mind couldn't process everything I had heard—not just now, but everything from earlier, piling up and making my heart feel even heavier.
"I'm not leaving this house, no matter what you say! This is my home too!" my dad yelled back as my mom kept trying to drive him out.
"You've got some nerve! Get out and stay with your mistress! You're both disgusting! You have no shame!" my mom screamed again.
"Enough! You can't do anything about it because I am NOT leaving! I built this house, so don't expect me to go anywhere! I'll only leave when all of them have finished school and when I retire. That's when I'll move to the land my parents left me. But until then, you'll just have to put up with my presence because I am NOT leaving this house!" my dad declared.
That was when he finally noticed me, standing motionless on the staircase.