Chasing Red

Seeing Red

"Althea, please!" the long-haired girl cried, her voice muffled behind the car windows as she rapped on it hard. "Pag-usapan naman natin 'to, oh!" the girl continues to cry. The robe swooshed with the movement and Batchi looked away—but not without rolling her eyes a bit—when she saw that the girl outside is naked under those robes.

"Drive," Althea ordered, looking straight forward as she wipes her tear-stricken face with her sleeve. Seeing her friend, it prompted Batchi to stop cursing the long-haired girl outside in her head and just focused on Althea.

"Siguro mag-usap muna kay-"

"I said drive!"

Batchi jumped at the sheer volume and she automatically complied. She then saw in her periphery how Wila keeps on desperately knocking on the car door and pleading for Althea to talk to her. The girl kept on doing it until the car drove off, leaving her in the dormitory's parking lot.

Five minutes later and the car is still silent except for the sniffling that's coming from the passenger's seat. Batchi chose to remain quiet knowing that pushing her friend to talk is not a good idea.

"Pagod na ako," Althea whispered after a few minutes have gone by. Batchi saw how her jaw hardened, though her eyes betrayed her by showing how vulnerable she really is.

"Nakipag-break ka na sana dati pa," Batchi commented carefully as her eyes went back to the road.

"I love her..." the other trailed off with a sniff, "...pero pagod na pagod na talaga ako."

"Umuwi na lang tayo," Althea finished as she closed her eyes, slumping tiredly on the car seat. Batchi glanced at the other girl and saw the red nose, red-rimmed eyes, and a look of heartbreak etched on her friend's face.

But she agrees. Enough is enough.

[End of Flashback]

Batchi sighed at the memory, her fingers dance atop the keyboard as she searched for additional informations on the web. Her friend is an epitome of a mess since that day. It started off as sulking then turning into partying almost every night.

Then turning into one-night stands.

At every parties on different fraternity/sorority houses, Althea is always present. And every night she goes back to their shared dorm, she's with someone different.

Batchi hates the noises, grunts, moans, screams. But she knows that she'll rather have her friend hook-up at their shared dorm rather than somewhere strange where it's unsafe. So, she just invested on some good, noise-canceling earmuffs to block out the unwanted sounds.

She's okay with the one-night stands (although she hates it when she wakes up to find some naked stranger frolicking in their kitchen in search for coffee/breakfast), but she can't help but be a bit worried.

A lot worried, actually.

Random hook-ups is uncharacteristic of Althea Guevarra, but she practically became an expert in promiscuous arts these past few months. Batchi just let her be especially after they had a huge row where she criticized her recent behaviors and the other girl flipped her lid off.

They moved passed that. Although Batchi started showing her care and support as a friend by making sure to always replenish her friend's condom supply.

Better safe than sorry, right?

Batchi sighed again before turning her focus on reviewing. She searched, read, and memorized until it's well into the midnight. Seeing the time, the girl reached for her phone to text Althea when it suddenly pinged.