Chapter 7
Acute Irritability
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Believe Jenica when she said she tried her best to be the best housemate to Jeremy but he really makes it hard for her to do so.
Gusto nang maiyak ni Jenica nang marinig niya ang alarm clock niya. Hindi pa siya nakakatulog! Bwiset na Jeremy 'yan!
Padabog siyang bumangon mula sa kama niya. She glared over at his door. Of course, he's not awake yet! Eh ang ingay niya kagabi.
She was about to go to sleep when she heard the television at the living room. Mukhang kararating lang ni Jeremy mula sa duty niya. She wasn't surprised that he had to go home at this hour. Baka marami rin siyang pasyente ngayon. She can't blame him for going home late.
She tried her best to understand her housemate but the thing is she can't sleep! Tapos ang pinapanood pa ni Jeremy ay suspense thriller. Napakaraming violence, barilan, at kung ano-ano pa!
Hindi na natiis ni Jenica ito. She marched over at the living room to ask him to lower the volume. "Wala na bang mas ilalakas pa d'yan?" she asked sarcastically.
Jeremy looked confused. Dahil lutang ito mula sa trabaho, mas nilakasan pa niya ang volume ng TV. Nagulat naman si Jenica sa ginawa niya. "No, no, no! Argh!"
"What?"
"Can you please lower the volume down?" Jenica requested nicely. She figured rhetoric questions and sarcasm won't work with Tired Jeremy.
"But you asked me for a higher volume."
"Yeah, that was sarcasm."
Madali namang kausap si Jeremy. He immediately lowered the volume of the TV. "Is that okay?"
"I can still hear that. Sige pa."
"This?"
"Sige pa."
"How about this?"
"Lower."
Jeremy looked at her ridiculously. "Edi hindi ko na narinig yung pinapanood ko? Tanggalin mo na lang kaya yung tenga mo?"
"Look, I still have duty in the morning. I can't sleep if it's noisy," Jenica pleaded.
"This is gonna be my only time for leisure. I deserve a break," Jeremy argued. "Just use ear plugs so you won't hear any noise." Then he paid attention back to the show he was watching.
Jenica tried to follow Jeremy's suggestion but her earphones are not necessarily used for noise reduction. Masakit din ito sa tenga.
It took a while for her to get her sleep but she was restless in bed. She kept tossing and turning every time she heard something from the television. Nakatulog lang nang maayos si Jenica nung pinatay na rin ni Jeremy ang TV.
And before she knew it, her alarm clock woke her up.
Bago pa siya may gawin na pagsisisihan niya, inalala na lang niya kung para kanino niya ginagawa ito. Para kay kuya. She took several inhale-and-exhale cycles before she went past Jeremy's door.
Ginawan na lang niya ang sarili niya ng kape. Baka sakaling kumalma siya kapag nakainom na siya nito. Iyon na lang din ang panlaban niya sa antok ngayon. Sana gumana.
* * *
The coffee didn't work. Lorraine notices how Jenica is extra cranky today.
"Teh, meron ka ngayon?" Lorraine asked her.
Kung may ikukunot pa ang noo ni Jenica, ginawa na niya ito. "Huh?"
"Extra mataray ka today eh. Meron ka?"
"Wala."
"Eh anong nangyari sa 'yo? Kinukulit ka pa rin ba hanggang ngayon ni Ate Nhila?"
"Hindi."
"Nag-away kayo ng kuya mo?"
"Hindi."
"Ano ba yan! Sirit na," Lorraine gave up with the guessing game.
Naalala na naman ni Jenica ang magaling niyang kasama sa bahay. Iniisip pa lang niya, nabubwisit na siya kaagad. "Yung kasama ko sa bahay. . . hindi ako pinatulog."
Lorraine gasped. "Nakakaloka ka, teh! Rated SPG na kayo agad?!"
Nagulantang si Jenica sa sinabi ni Lorraine. Sinapak niya ito sa braso. "Hoy! H'wag ka ngang maingay," she hissed. "Isa pa, it's not what you think! Hindi niya ako pinatulog kasi ang ingay ng pinapanood niya," depensa niya sa sarili niya.
Nakahinga nang maluwag si Lorraine. Akala niya kung ano na ang nangyari sa kaibigan niya. "Eh anong balak mo? Araw-araw kayang alas siyete ang duty natin."
Napaisip si Jenica. Totoo naman. Hindi pwedeng araw-araw siyang ganito kasungit dahil lang hindi siya nakatulog nang maayos. Isa lang ang naiisip niyang paraan para mabalikan yung asungot na 'yon. "Humanda sa akin 'yon pagdating ko sa bahay."
Jenica looked like she was planning something evil to get back at her housemate. Lorraine didn't bother to ask because she didn't really want to be involved but she was definitely scared for Jenica's housemate. Mahirap galitin ang kulang sa tulog.
* * *
Jeremy's alarm rang and he immediately stood up to turn it off. He immediately rushed to the bathroom to void his urine but much to his dismay, he's not alone in his unit anymore. He knocked on the bathroom's door. "Ryl–I mean, Jenica, I have to use the bathroom."
Walang sumagot sa kanya. Kinusot-kusot niya ang mata niya saka sinubukang buksan ulit ang pinto ng CR. It's still locked. "Jenica?"
"Bakit?" Finally, she acknowledged him!
"I have to use the bathroom," he repeated.
"Magmumog ka muna d'yan sa lababo. Tumatae ako," Jenica said.
He groaned. Ugh, too much information. Instead of disturbing her, he gargled at the kitchen sink and held his urine.
Minutes later, lumabas na rin sa CR si Jenica. He quickly ran to finally void his urine. He immediately felt relief afterwards.
Paglabas niya ng CR, he checked the time on the clock pinned on the wall. He was relieved that he still had an hour to prepare.
Prenteng-prente pa sa pag-upo si Jeremy habang kumakain ng almusal niya nang itanong siya ni Jenica, "Anong oras ang duty mo?"
"Seven," he answered.
"Hindi ka ba male-late sa ginagawa mo? Hindi ka pa naliligo oh," said Jenica.
Jeremy's forehead creased and looked at the clock again. "It's still six o'clock."
"Mr. Ylagan, hindi na po gumagana ang orasang 'yan," Jenica softly broke the news to him.
Jeremy's eyes widened. He checked his phone for the time and he read it was already 6:46. "Why didn't you tell me?!" He immediately ran to the bathroom for a quick bath.
Meanwhile, Jenica cackled.
He tried his best to finish as fast as he can. After taking a quick bath, he still has five minutes to travel to the hospital. Malapit lang naman ang apartment niya sa pinagtatrabahuhan niya.
He started his car as soon as he went inside it. If he drove faster, he would probably come in on time. Unfortunately, traffic was not on his side today. Imbes na mapabilis siya ay mas lalong naging late si Jeremy.
Because of the heavy traffic, Jeremy was late for rounds for almost ten minutes. He was never this late. Not even during his internship. Mabuti na lang at siya ang resident doctor ngayon. Wala nang magagalit sa kanya. But for him, that was not an excuse to be late.
Hiyang-hiya siya sa nurses at interns niya nang makarating siya. "I'm so sorry for being late," he immediately apologized.
"Ayos lang po, Doc," the head nurse said.
But for Jeremy, it was not okay. And that took a toll on him. Napansin iyon ng nurses niya.
"Doc, ayos lang po ba kayo?" Sybil, one of his interns on his team, was concerned.
Jeremy dismissed it. "I'm alright."
It was weird for them because his mood completely shifts from cranky to calm when he starts talking to his patients. He thought that his patients didn't deserve his crankiness.
Meanwhile, his nurses and interns tried not to make his mood worse. They don't want to see Angry Jeremy. They haven't witnessed it just yet but they also heard they won't want to because of the previous batch of interns' stories.
Kung may sinisisi si Jeremy sa pagka-late niya ngayon, iisang tao lang naman 'yon.