#Yatiz is a story focusing on the lives of young people in a small seaside municipality called Carmen in the southern part of the Philippines. The name is based on a cuss word here, "Yati/Yatis" that has no English equivalent but is closest to WTF.
...
"MY AUNT KAKAY. SHE'S MOM'S SISTER. SO WHAT SHE DOES IS, SHE GOES BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN HER HOUSE AND OUR'S. WE'RE NEIGHBORS ANYWAY. SHE COOKS US FOOD AND SOMETIMES DROPS OFF AND PICKS UP MY SISTER TO SCHOOL, IF I CAN'T DO IT. SHE'S ALSO IN-CHARGE OF THE MONEY AND STUFF."
Suddenly, Pamela joins them in the kitchen, wearing Gabbie's clothes.
Everybody goes quiet and looks at her.
Gabbie, quick to think, hops off the kitchen table and gestures for Maya to start setting the table. "Erm..." She clears her throat. "Mangaon ta?"
"LET'S EAT?"
Hamza sets aside the broom and helps Maya with arranging the utensils on the plates.
Feeling a bit panicked since she hasn't finished cooking Pamela's food yet. "Gab," she says as she gestures towards the unfinished dish.
Pamela walks towards the kitchen table and finds herself a seat.
"Actually..." Gabbie walks over to the refrigerator to find food. "Nangaon nami ganiha pero gigutom pa man pud mi. Gigutom man ta diba girls?"
"WE ALREADY ATE EARLIER BUT WE'RE STILL A BIT HUNGRY. AREN'T WE, GIRLS?"
"Oo. Gutom kaayo," Mariz says, hilariously too forced and wooden.
"YEAH. WE'RE SO HUNGRY."
Everyone takes their seats around the table.
Gabbie manages to find some cold hotdogs in the fridge and places them on the table.
All of the girls fix their eyes on it for a moment, all confused.
In an instant, they explode into laughter, unable to contain the sheer absurdity of the scene.
"What the fuck?" Maya says, wiping off the tears from her eyes.
"Okay pa na siya guys, pramis. Breakfast na namo gahapon," Gabbie remarks.
"YOU CAN STILL EAT IT GIRLS, I SWEAR. WE ATE THAT YESTERDAY FOR BREAKFAST."
Pamela looks at her friends around the table. "Girls, salamat," she says; a smile on her face.
"GIRLS, THANK YOU."
The other girls share tender glances with each other.
"Ug sorry pud sa..." Pamela bites her lip and looks down, embarrassed. "...sa tanan. Kabalo ko dili dali nga maamigo nako."
"AND SORRY ABOUT..."
"YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING. I KNOW I'M NOT THE EASIEST PERSON TO BE FRIENDS WITH."
"Just a little," Gabbie jokes.
Pamela weakly laughs nods.
Mariz takes her hand and gives her a comforting smile.
"Pam," Maya starts. "Kuan ba..." She looks at the other girls. "Katong gabii."
"BY THE WAY...ERM..."
"ABOUT LAST NIGHT."
"Buntis ka Pam?" Gabbie interjects.
"ARE YOU PREGNANT, PAM?"
Pamela looks down on her empty plate and shrugs. "Dili ko sure. Pero feeling nako." She gently caresses her stomach. "Kay kada buntag nalang, naga suka ko, tapos panagsa malipong ra kog kalit."
"NOT SURE. BUT I THINK SO."
"BECAUSE EVERY MORNING, I THROW UP, AND SOMETIMES I GET DIZZY ALL OF A SUDDEN."
"Pero wala paka nagtest?" Mariz asks. She gets a notification on her phone and reads it.
"DID YOU GET TESTED."
Pamela shakes her head. "Makulbaan ko sa result."
"I'M SCARED TO SEE THE RESULT."
Mariz rolls her eyes and turns off her phone.
"Pamela," Hamza chides. "Unsaon nimo pagkabalo kung dili ka mag-take?"
"HOW WILL YOU KNOW IF YOU DON'T TAKE THE TEST?"
Mariz gets up from her seat. "Pam, mag-test ka karon."
"PAM, YOU'RE DOING IT TODAY."
"Unsa?" Pamela asks.
"WHAT?"
"Magtest ka karon. Manggawas mi ni Maya—Maya, okay lang?"
"YOU'RE GETTING TESTED TODAY. MAYA AND I WILL GO OUT—MAYA, ARE YOU FINE COMING WITH ME?"
Maya nods.
"Kato...Mamalit mig makaon nimo tapos pregnancy test sa botika. Okay ka ana?"
"AND YEAH...WE'RE BUYING FOOD AND ALSO A PREGNANCY TEST FROM THE PHARMACY. ARE YOU OKAY WITH THAT?"
Pamela hesitates a little, taking a bit of time to think about it. Slowly, she nods. "Sige. Okay," she says.
"FINE."
"Unya katong gislice nimo nga onion, bb? Unsaon man to namo?" Gabbie asks Mariz.
"AND WHAT ABOUT THAT ONION YOU SLICED, BB? WHAT DO WE DO WITH THAT?"
