"Ano ba! Stop pushing!" I told my friends scowling. "Why am I even here?" I added instantly regretting some of the decisions I've made in life. I wasn't even sure how I managed to land myself in such a situation when an hour ago I was sleeping soundly on my bed.
"H'wag na nga kasing maingay. Lahat naman tayo nag-agree rito, 'di ba?" Chandra tried but failed miserably to sound calm. "Wala naman sigurong multo rito, ano?" she added in a shaky voice.
"Mas matakot ka kung rapist ang nandito," Chloe, said.
"Mas nakakatakot kung multong rapist," Camila uttered.
I turned my head to glower at them. "Napakagaling. Napakagaling n'yong lahat."
My friends and I have been together since we were in diapers – we were classmates from nursery to high school and were even attending the same university. We're your typical teenagers who fangirled over boy bands, quarreled over our imaginary boyfriends, and took dibs on fictional characters as if they were living and breathing humans; and maybe that's the reason why we were still single. Or at least that's what we thought and in some way explained why we were in our current dilemma.
"Whose freaking idea is this anyway?" I asked in a whisper. "Ang sarap na ng tulog ko kanina, eh, ginising n'yo pa talaga ako."
"Eh, kasi nga, 'di ba, blue moon ngayon? So, the door to the magical realm is open."
"Magical realm ka pang nalalaman, Camila, eh, mamaya makasuhan tayo ng trespassing."
"Stop it, Chandra, in the first place, ikaw kaya ang nagsabi na ituloy natin 'to!"
"Chloe is right, this is your idea, Chands."
"Eh, 'di, wow, pinagtulungan pa raw ako—"
"Tama na!" I hissed. "Nag-aaway pa talaga, eh, nandito na nga tayo! Pero, ang tanong ay bakit ako ang nasa unahan?"
My friends giggled as if we were in some amusement park and not outside the door of an old abandoned house that was known to be haunted and a great source of thrilling juvenile speculations when we were children.
"Ikaw kaya ang Ate namin, Girl, so, dapat talaga ikaw ang mauna."
"I am only eight days older than you, Camila, kung maka-Ate ka naman. Besides, talagang ako ang nasa unahan, eh, in an hour ay birthday ko na? Wala man lang kayong consideration."
"Oo nga, mamaya ikamatay pa natin 'tong adventure na 'to—"
"Will you stop talking about death and dying, Chloe? Diyos ko, ha."
"Sorry..."
"Papasok pa ba tayo or are we just going to stand here and talk?" Chandra asked.
"Well then, why don't you open the door if you're so brave?" I challenged.
Chandra shook her head. "Ayoko, ano! Si Camila na lang kasi since if we go alphabetically, 'yung name n'ya ang mauuna."
"Ay, alphabetical pala ang usapan? Akala ko find your height kaya si Chloe dapat ang magbukas kasi s'ya ang pinakamaliit."
"Oo nga."
"Anong oo nga? Excuse me, pareho lang tayong five-two, Chandra, ano!"
"Excuse me ka rin, Chloe, but I am five-two and a half!"
"Five-two ka lang kaya!"
"Five-two and a half nga!"
"Saan mo naman hinugot 'yung half inch mo, ilusyunada ka?"
"That's the truth, mas matangkad naman talaga ako sa'yo! Mommy told me so!"
"We're the same height, are you crazy?"
