#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.
...
Surprised, he quickly picks his phone up from the floor and checks the messages.
They're all from Aljun.
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9:28 PM
ALJUN:
BAI!
WHRR YOU?
WHERE
HIM AND MAYA WERE TALKING
BAI, NOEL'S SO DRUNK
JR THERE'S SO MUCH BLO0D!
JR!!!
JR anxiously nibbles on his fingernails, thinking of what to say.
Gelo notices. "Oh, unsa'y problema, JR?"
"WHAT'S UP, JR?"
"Er..." Before he could say more, he gets another notification.
Aljun sent him a video.
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He plays it.
It's badly lit but it's of sat in one corner of the house, covering his nose while people crowd him, there's some yelling in the background. "JR...Asa si JR?" he asks, his words clearly slurred.
"JR...WHERE'S JR?"
Somebody shushes him.
"Ayaw na'g isturya, Noel, tabuni lang na—tabuni lang imohang ilong."
"WOULD YOU SHUT UP, NOEL? JUST COVER YOUR—COVER YOUR NOSE."
Noel drops the tissue stopping his nose from bleeding.
The camera shakily pans and shows Mariz grabbing Noel's arm and maneuvering it so his hands cover his nose again. Hamza is also there, looking all concerned and covering her mouth.
"Ali diri bai," Aljun says from behind the camera.
"BAI, YOU NEED TO COME HERE NOW."
Noel's drunk eyes widen. "Si JR na?" He floppily and excitedly waves. "Bai. BAI! Kabalo na ko—" The video abruptly cuts off.
"IS THAT JR?"
"BAI. BAI! I FINALLY KNOW—"
JR breathes shakily. He calls Aljun and pushes himself up from the floor.
"Unsa diay ang nahitabo?" Gelo asks him.
"WHAT'S GOING ON?"
JR turns to look at him and shrugs, the phone still on his ear, still ringing. "Tubag, Aljun," he mutters to himself. But the ringing ends. He types up a message to him.
"PICK UP, ALJUN."
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He sends the message and stares at it for a few seconds, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. He looks at the message again and there is still no reply. "Erm...Mulakaw sa ko."
"ERM...I NEED TO GO."
Gelo gets up from the bed. "Ha? Asa man ka? Naa'y emergency?"
"WHAT? WHERE ARE YOU GOING? IS THERE AN EMERGENCY?"
"Wala...wala. Adtoon lang nako sila Noel." JR walks over to his cabinet and quickly browses through it.
"NOTHING...IT'S NOTHING. I NEED TO GO TO NOEL."
"Aw." Gelo grabs his things from the bed.
"OH."
"Makagawas pa man ko Gelo no?" he asks.
"CAN I STILL GO OUT GELO?"
Gelo checks his phone for the time. "Oo. Sure ka okay lang ka, JR?"
"YEAH. YOU SURE YOU'RE OKAY, JR?"
"Oo," he says, taking out a hoodie from his closet and putting it on.
"I AM."
"Okay," Gelo says, sounding unconvinced and leaning against the door frame while JR continues to rummage through his cabinet.
He takes out a pair of jeans. Through the mirror, he can see Gelo still there by the door. He sighs and forces a smile at him. "Ingnon lang tika Gelo kung naa ko'y kinahanglan, okay?" He turns to look at him.
"I'LL LET YOU KNOW IF I NEED YOU, GELO, OKAY?"
"Sige." Gelo nods. "Ingat ha. Gabii na baya."
"OKAY."
"TAKE CARE. IT'S ALREADY A BIT LATE."
"Okay, salamat," he says with a halfhearted little grin.
"YEAH. THANKS."
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