Untitled for now

Unang Kabanata (Chapter One)

A knock on the door pulled me out of my dreamless slumber. Half asleep and half awake, I tried to find my bearing when the room is suddenly tilting to the side, destroying my equilibrium.

Oh well, since I can’t get up, I decided to go back to sleep. But the incessant knocking wouldn’t stop. It was like a drill wedged into my skull, torturing my already addled-brain.

‘Anyone inside? Can I get in? I just need to get the stuff left by the previous occupant of this room.’, says the devil incarnate at the other side of the door.

Argh! Why can’t this person let up, take the hint and hit the road?

‘One sec! Geez Louise! Can’t a girl just get a few winks before someone disturbs her world!’, I mumbled.

I unfolded my body from its fetal position and blindly grope for the light switch. I touched my eyes to remove the remnants of sleep –it’s encrusted and disgusting. Eck!

It feels like the distance between my bed and the doorknob is a mile away when in fact it should only take three steps to reach it.

Such is the malady one will suffer for unbridled consumption of that poisonous moonshine drink they call ‘Lambanog’.

Why oh why did I have to be stupid to take on Martha’s challenge!

I was conned to challenge her to drink 5 shots of the moonshine and spin around 3 times in rapid succession. The person who will not burf or fell down is the winner. The prize was a ticket to a well-known rock band concert; with the loser doing the script for a Value Spot our team is supposed to record and submit as a final requirement for Fundamentals of Educational Communication. I’m a Development Communication major aka dignified title for a soon-to-be Social Worker using Mass Media. Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against Social Work. This profession entails self-sacrifice and is very noble. But DevComm concentrates on using media for the advancement of rural lives and not urban. I’m a provincial lass but sometimes the atmosphere in the province is too stifling. Everybody knows everyone – you farted and the whole village knew what you’ve eaten. Catch my drift?

Shaking myself awake and in my drunken-induced bluster, I yanked open the door and shouted, ‘WHAT?!’

I have never seen a complete gamut of human facial reaction before which this person in front me displayed. It started from irritated eyebrows knitted together, to eyes (hmmm, nice eyes, light brown and fringed with thick lashes)rounding like saucers
and mouth forming a perfect O, to left eyebrow lifting then the lip curl upwards at the corner forming a smirk to a wide grin with the eyes (gorgeous orbs) giving me a once-over.

The Hell! I was flabbergasted! I bowed my head and looked at myself. Horrified with what I saw, I shrieked, closed the door with a bang and slammed it on this person’s face. Oh my effing gawd! Of all the stupid thing to do! I did not check what I was wearing before opening the door. Well, I don’t think anyone in my situation would check the clothes on your back if you’re drunk and the
devil’s at your doorstep, doing all sorts of raucous just to get in! I was so drunk when I arrived home from the blasted drinking binge that I just took off my top and shimmied out of my pants, leaving my bra and panties on before hitting the sack. My body is in its tip top shape due to years of slamming tennis balls and I’m a tall girl so I should not be ashamed of it. What’s so horrific was me wearing the rattiest and oldest pair of panties and bra. Both are so misshapen – the garters are loose and there’s a small hole at the center of my knickers, almost showing my hoo-hah! I am so
furious that all I want to do is open the damn door and slammed my fist into that person’s smirking face! What an ass!

“Hey, are you decent? Can I get in? This will take less than two minutes. I need to get the back pack my sister left in this boarding house.” said the spawn of Lucifer.

“Oh fudge, the brownies!” I exclaimed. Yep, my roommate, Elaine,
moved out last week. She was rounded up like a cattle by her
mater. Her overbearing, rich, coiffed and smelling like the entire perfumery mother came inside our room in a huff. She surveyed our room and the look of disdain on her face was so funny, I almost literally have to stuff my mouth with a fist to stop from laughing out loud. Boy, she was something. Something like the
biggest snob I’ve met. And oh, I think I’ve met them all. Tell you about it in another chapter.

Now, our room is moderate in size. It’s clean and has 2 windows that let the breeze in, two sets of single beds are on each side of the room, a sturdy dining cum study table strategically placed below the windows, and a big, old fashioned, wood cabinet where
we store our clothes and groceries is at the far end of the room.

The boarding house is an old edifice situated at a corner-side of a respectable neighbourhood in Makati. My former roommate’s mother was just a league of her own.

Anyway, back to the guy who wouldn’t stop. I opened the cabinet
and rummaged through my stuff. I found a board short and a white tee, put those on and open the door, again.

“Come in.” I invited without looking.

“Can you tell me which bed is my sister’s? She left the bag on it.”

“That one’s mine”. I pointed at the messy bed on the left. He went straight to the opposite bed, picked up the bag, looked around the room and at me.

I was nonchalant because I didn’t care.

“Are you done? If you are, you can go now.” I petulantly muttered.

“Hey, you’re Morgan(duh)! My sister asked me to give you this.”

The person stepped out of the room and handed me a parcel. I grabbed it and slammed the door on that face, again. That was so satisfying, it made me smile.