Straight Out of Guijo

It was a scene straight out of a coming of age film. A jampacked apartment turned bar, crowd singing with the playing band. My friend whizzes through and gets me to follow her to the washroom where we stand inside with the door ajar as Daisy looks on. "Zip me up!" Stella had been struggling to get into her dress and decided that she'd take an uber to Saguijo with an unzipped dress instead of changing into another one. "I'm stubborn I know." she tells me as I try my best to zip her up. "I don't think it's you, it's the dress, the thing just gets stuck." After a few more minutes of struggle I finally managed to tuck Stella into the dress.

"Way to start the night. Ratchet." I said not realizing the events that were to come.  It was Cat Kinko's EP launch, Javier , Daisy's boyfriend was the drummer of the band and we'd been invited to watch the show. I had shown up earlier than my two friends and was just about to throw a tantrum when the rain poured. Oddly the rain made me feel better. Javier offered to get me a beer. Or I could go inside, I could get in for free he said but I said I'd wait for the two missing souls who said they were going to arrive in a few minutes. Daisy finally arrived earlier than Stellar did and she got us bottles of beer 'til Stella found us and dragged us off to the washroom.

-

I love how my friends acknowledge a relationship that I didn't find pleasure in remembering. They refer to him as the ex, and to our parting as a breakup without second thoughts while I find it hard to tell people what exactly happened. We talk about that for awhile and then we talk about what I'm planning for my thesis film.

"Uhm it's about emotionally abusive relationships and. . .misogyny." I say uncertain but Stella and Daisy nod. They both like it, we've all been there and we stayed for years. Smart, progressive women finding themselves in relationships that did them no good.  We go back into the bar as the main event starts. Cat Kinko's upbeat music makes everyone in the room sway. It's a cheerily noisy crowd, the room is jampacked. Everyone leaves the event in high spirits. Outside Stella and I argue over whether we should have korean barbecue and soju or go to Tipple and Slaw. Outvoted 4 to 1. When we get there I promise myself not to be such a grandma and I start drinking glasses of Jack and coke. I don't remember how many glasses I consumed afterwards but I do remember feeding everyone pizza and dancing like a weirdo. And then I remember things going woozy, bottles getting broken and bile.

Unfortunately I am the kind of drunk person who does not forget. I remember the ride home, and the moment I slammed on the couch with my shoes intact. Somebody sensed my discomfort and took the shoes off, bless their heart. But the party wasn't over yet and Stella came home with more guests. I slept.

When I woke up it was quiet, I quickly went for a shower. There's a knock on the door, a random girl. She tells me she was here last night and left her phone. I didn't know about a phone but maybe Daisy and Javier did. She had made a call and someone answered.

The phone wasn't in the unit, I lent her my phone to call her number. Apparently she lost it at the bar and not while partying in the condo. She tries to find a way to get her phone which is all the way in Quezon City while she's herein Makati. She agrees to meet up at Fisher Mall with the man on the other line. I help her book an uber through my phone. I try to be helpful but not that helpful. My inner self wrestling with my goodwill vs. my "who dis bish i'm groggy and hungover." Then she disappears. Then I wake up with a cancelled uber booking and a 100 peso fine to pay.

A few more hours and Stella arrives with breakfast in tow as she chastises me. "Who told you to drink that much, noone was pressuring you to drink that much!" I think I was trying to have fun or be fun. It was the end of the semester for me and my life loomed on like a flatline. I felt I needed something exciting, I thought I'd never be this young again and I'd never have the liberty of doing things like these when I voluntarily place myself into corporate servitude.

"At least i didn't lose my phone while drunk" I told Stella smugly.

"speak for yourself!"

Apparently I had also made Javier pay an Uber cleaning fee. I apologize to the group, Javier, Daisy, and Stella. We have breakfast, afterwards Stella falls asleep on the sofa bed. I ask Daisy and Javier if they wanted anything from the convenience store. Javier comes with me and we walk a block, adjacent from the train tracks to a 7-11.

He asks me if I remember anything and I tell him that I unfortunately do. I apologize again but he says as long as I had fun then it's okay. We arrive at 7-11, each get a bottle of water, candies etc. Then we walk back to the building, a tall wall on our right and the train tracks to the left. We don't talk going back, I drink my pineapple juice and contemplate on  life.