Chapter 8
2405 Words
I find myself dressing up inside the bathroom of Joe's Coffee. My shift just ended and Tia is about to pick me up at exactly ten minutes from now. I brought a pair of jeans and a plain white loose shirt to pair with my sneakers. I don't have time to fix myself for clubbing so I'm going for the care-free look. After fixing my hair into a ponytail, I head for the parking area to wait for Tia.
As soon as I look around the open parking, I immediately spot her red car from afar. Yeah, Tia loves the color red, and she wants to flaunt her fierce head while driving. Typical Tia.
"Are we heading to church then?", Tia remarks as she parks in front of me and waits till I'm in the passenger seat.
"I don't have time and you know it", I retort back at her.
"You could've freshen up a bit, come on. You like you're ready to sleep on the couch. I'll give you some ten minutes to fix yourself. We're going to get drunk and you already smell like coffee. Go back in there!", she shoves me out of the car again.
I have no choice but to grab my things again. I'm not even in the mood. I was waiting for this for two days now but suddenly I am not in mood to dance or drink. I just want to curl up in bed and rest. These days, I am pretty beat.
I forced myself to dab some powder on my face, wear a little bit of make-up and redo my hair. I guess, Tia would be satisfied if I just let my hair down. So I pull the rubber band out and comb my hair. I look exactly like a very prim and proper school girl with a hairpin missing. I shake my head and let my hair fall freely and untamed. Now that's what I'm talking about. I'm ready.
The club is crowded already. As soon as we go in, reality hits me in the face. There are so many girls here. This must be a very well-known club after all. I think all the women and girls of city left their chores at home and in the office just to go here. Really crowded. I'm not ready to see Blake here. Now where does that come from?!
Tia pulled me deeper into the club. I'm pretty sure we're both first timers here but she seems to know the place already.
Then she dragged me into the bar. No seats but she ordered tequila for starters. I'm not in the mood for hard drinks today.
"I'm skipping that drink." I whispered loudly to her.
"No way, Lana." She shakes her head and pushes me the other glass.
"I really don't feel well to take that. I think I need to have something solid first." I continue to reject the drink and push it back to her.
"Fine then." She smirks and takes the glass. She drinks her own in one gulp and downs mine after.
"You are really going to be drunk after an hour." I shout at her over the loud speakers.
"I'll try not to be. Let's dance?" She asks me as she looks over the huge dance floor swarming with ladies grinding over each other.
"Are you sure bout this Tia?" I ask her as she seems to enjoy the view from the bar, one level above the dance floor. Why does it feel like I'm the straight friend and she's the gay one in here?
"Definitely!" She then grabs my hand and pulls me into the dance floor.
Tia really loves to dance but I don't know how freely she can get when the dance floor is exclusively for girls. She turns around and tries a few moves then after a few minutes is already on full blast dancing. I cannot get myself to dance though. I'm swaying like a girl trying to do my first dance moves. I just want to sit this out and just watch.
Just when the DJ pops in a new beat, the crowd suddenly goes wild. Everybody is jumping on the dance floor. She seems to play the national anthem of the city anyways.
Tia and I joins the jumping and the hollering, typical clubbing if you may say. Then a girl bumps on Tia and she goes out of balance that she falls on her a*s. I pull her up immediately but I am now furious. The girl who bumped her didn't even care to say sorry after all. So after making sure Tia is alright, I tap on the girl's shoulder while Tia pulls my other hand, telling me it's okay.
The girl with the straight blonde hair, turns around and looks at me with a smirk then continues the hollering. I then tell her that she bumped into my friend and that she fell.
"Okay", then she looks away from me and back to her business. Yeah, she looks pretty hot in her black hanging top and her skinny leather jeans but that didn't erase the fact that she acts like a b***h.
I then pull on her shoulders around so she's facing me again while her face is all like "What?!" and her hands flailing on her sides like she doesn't know what I want.
"Do you even mind saying sorry to her because it's the right thing to do?" I tell her as a matter of fact.
She scrunches her nose and again looks away from me, dismissing me.
So this is the way lesbians should act? Yeah right.
I grab her again and turn her around and jump and bump her purposely. She falls into her a*s and looks deadly at me. I just smirk at her and turns around grabbing Tia back to the bar. I'm no longer in the mood.
I asked for a margarita instead to cool me up. Tia bounces her head as if she's still not completely off the beat. I look down again to the dance floor trying to locate that girl in the swarm of dancing people. I spot her looking up at me as if she's trying to memorize my face. I smirk at her. That's what you get baby.
I then turn back into the bar for another drink though. Then I see from the side of my eyes that somebody's approaching us. Then I sense Tia being alerted as she talks to the stranger. I look at her and it's that girl! What now?
I overhear Tia says, "It's okay. No problem. I'm already fine."
Then the girl replies as I eye her from the bar without moving, "Well it seems that your friend seems anxious down there. That's why I am apologizing now. Anyways, I'm sorry again. I hope you both a good night."
The girl turns around and that's when I see another girl waiting behind her. She escorts her by the waist and ushers her down the stairs to the lower level.
"She's cool so relax." Tia says to me when all I can do is stare at the place they vacated.
"You okay? You seem pale. Are you dizzy? Shall we go home?" Tia asks consecutively.
I am suddenly lost. I cannot speak. I want to block out everything but I cannot block out the fact that it's Blake who escorted that girl. Who is she? Is she her new girlfriend? I am stuck and unblinking when I feel Tia shake me.
"What?" I ask.
"What was that? What's happening with you? You seem like you spaced out on me there." she asks with a worried look on her face.
"I'm sorry, I guess I'm already dizzy." I excused.
"Dizzy. Really. With Margarita? Right." She sarcastically remarks.
"It's Blake." I simply nod where they were a few seconds/minutes (I don't know) ago.
"What? The girlfriend?!"She says unbelievably.
"I should have known she's with other girls. How can I be so gullible?" I say putting my head in my hands.
Tia looks helplessly at me. She seems to be in a sour mood as well.
As if sensing my disappointment, she suggests, "Would you want to go home already?"
I nodded. I can no longer enjoy this night after seeing Blake and with another woman. I may have told her that I am not yet ready and she may have told me that by the time I'm ready she might be no longer there, but still.
I didn't even expect to be so affected right now. We don't have anything between us aside from this crazy sizzling tension that seems to spark every time we look at each other and touch each other.
I want to go home.
"So shall I drop you to your dorm or to your aunt's?", Tia interrupts my thoughts.
"I think I'd want to go home to my aunt's. I am now feeling very tired and drained I just want to sleep.", I say still looking at my fingers and not looking at Tia for fear I might break into tears with unclear reason.
As I hit my bed, sleep immediately takes over my consciousness. My mind is just too tired to think some more.
I thought we were back home when I find myself in the middle of the dance floor. Too many women grinding against me as I fought my way out of the crowd. Too many people hollering, I can still smell their drinks on my face as they shout and scream at me. I gasp and lift my head up. I am running out of oxygen and it scares me. But that's not the scariest of all. I am scared of something. I don't know why, who or what, but I feel the tightening of my chest. I lift my head once again while doing the tug of war in this mob. I feel like I'm going to collapse in a few more seconds. I rub my chest trying to ease the ache. Then I feel myself falling. Down. Down. Down. I'm lost.
I feel arms gripping me, then I was being carried bridal style. It was like a dream that the noise suddenly stops, I can breathe again, I hear heartbeat just above my ears. I feel at ease. These familiar arms engulf me like it won't ever let me go. I feel the pull of awareness. My lids are heavy but I force them to open. I feel the rise and fall of her chest by my face. A woman. I sense the familiar smell of fresh soap and toothpaste. My eyes instinctively open and look at the face of the woman carrying me. She stops as if sensing my wakefulness. She looks down at me and says, "I hear you're looking for me."
Then I feel shattered once again. I am already wide awake, in bed. Everything was just a dream.
I glance at the time on my bedside table. 8:47 am, it reads. This couldn't be happening. I can't afford to be late again. I'm too tired. I feel the soreness of my body. I really want to skip this day and fast forward tomorrow. I wish I can just forget what happened last night and move on.
I call in sick in the cafe. I really cannot motivate myself to get up and attend classes or even go to work. This should be my 'ME' time.
Thursday. Amy should be in her room by now. Maybe we can do some Aunt-Niece activity today. I hope she supports my absence in school and work today just because I was drinking last night.
I go to the kitchen and immediately my stomach growls. Yeah, definitely going for that cereal. I make myself a bowl and sit in the living room in front of the television.
I am peacefully eating breakfast when I come across the commercial on TV. It's a commercial of a perfume. The lady endorser is playing with a little white flower while she floats butt n***d. She looks so innocent yet she stares naughtily into the camera. She looks like Blake. That's when the TV pales.
No longer interested on the TV, I move back to the kitchen and eat my breakfast quietly on the breakfast bar. I have to withdraw from all things that spells Blake.
Amy's room opens and she emerges from the door still dressed in her nurse's uniform, hair disheveled and eyes still half closed. She moves like a zombie and walks toward the kitchen. She stops in front of me and brings my chin into her cupped hand.
"What are you doing here? It's a Thursday.", she asks still zombie-like.
"I'm skipping school and work today.", I say nonchalantly.
"Says who?", she asks again, this time with a subtle hint of the aunt-tone.
"Says I."
"Uh-Uh. You are going to school. Late or not late. You are also going to work, want it or not.", she shakes her head in disapproval while she makes her coffee.
"You shouldn't drink coffee. You haven't slept yet", I stop her.
"And you should go to school and work. It's a weekday, remember?", she retorts back.
"I just want some time to relax for once. I feel so edgy today. I am really not in the mood to go outside today. Can't we just have some alone time together?" I insist. Sometimes this aunt of mine is not the coolest when she goes all "auntie" to me.
She stops leaning on the kitchen counter looking like she's going to consider. Then she asks, "Why?"
I'm already in my desperate self. I have no energy to fight. I don't even have the energy to debate or speak for myself. Why is it so hard to just sit in the corner and waste a day away? I'm afraid that if I start to answer that, I'll just burst into tears. That's probably the worst idea because by then I have to start from the very beginning of the story. That includes outing myself into my aunt which is also not a good idea. She might not be ready to go "auntie" on her gay niece.
"Can I just say that I miss your company?", I ask a little out of tune but she nods even if she obviously don't believe it.
- Writer
