After almost an hour of petty talks and fake smiling, nakabalik na rin sa wakas si Seulgi sa table nila. She’s glad she did not make any mistake. Worth it yung pagpupuyat na ginawa niya. She’s done it a lot of times before and still, she can’t get over her jitters every time she’d do it. It’s hard, she reconciles that trying to be perfect and spotless is a curse.

“What did I miss?” She asked as she sat beside her fake girlfriend.

“Wendy here is telling us she is planning to audition as a courtside reporter for UAAP.” Joy sounded enthused. If she hasn’t gotten into the volleyball varsity team, she might’ve done the same thing. Pangarap kaya ng lahat ng nasa department nila yun.

“That sounds nice.” Binato ni Seulgi ng crumpled tissue yung pinsan niya. She’s happy Wendy is fitting in nicely here in Manila. “I’m sure you’ll get the part.”

“I’m not really getting my hopes up. It’s totally fine if I don’t get in. At least I will get to experience trying out for it.” Wendy thought about it. Mas marami pang magaling at mas maayos ang credentials sa kanya. Ano ba namang panama ng isang transferee?

“There’s nothing bad staying positive about it.” Sabi naman ni Seulgi. The party has got her tired physically and mentally, lalo na at wala pa siyang tulog.

“Ma’am Seulgi, pinapatawag po kayo ni Prosecutor Kang doon sa room malapit sa toilet.” Sabi naman ng isang waiter na tumapik sa balikat ni Seulgi.

Wala pang five minutes na nakakaupo si Seulgi pero heto na naman siya. “I’ll just finish this up real quick and then we can go home.” Labag sa loob niyang sabi sa mga kasama. She hoped her face didn’t show discontent. She hates it when everyone looks down on her. She stood up again and went with the waiter.

The three of them went really quiet. Damang-dama nila yung pressure kay Seulgi. For Joy, she’s just glad her parents weren’t that strict with them. Kung anong gusto nilang career in the future, support lang ang mga ito sa kanila. Kahit pa na sobrang taliwas ng kinuha nilang dalawa ni Yeri sa careers ng parents nila, it was all good. Wala silang narinig na kahit ano sa mga ito. That’s how cool her parents are.

“Naiihi ako.” Sabi ni Irene bigla. She’s really been holding it in for too long, dahil nga ayaw niya ring basagin yung katahimikan kanina.

“Sama ako, ate.” Sabi naman ni Joy sa kapatid.

“Ako din!” Wendy alternated glances between the sisters. She didn’t want to be left alone.

The three of them went and did their business in the loo. Naunang lumabas si Irene ng restroom. There’s this room the waiter was talking about and the door wasn’t closed fully.

“I said I didn’t want to do it.” Sagot ni Seulgi sa mommy niya. She really didn’t want to discuss this tonight since she’s really tired. After all the effort she did, ito lang ang sasapitin niya. There’s no justice in this, she thought.

“You will do it, whether you want it or not!” Sigaw ng mommy ni Seulgi.

“It’s about that, isn’t it?” Seulgi said before placing a smirk on her face. “Dahil nasa top ten sa bar exams yung anak sa labas ni dad, is that it?” She looked at how her mother become defenseless before her. “Three years ago, yung panganay naman, wasn’t he top six?” She continued as she scoffed with what she blurted out. “Gusto niyong lamangan ko sila just because your ego is hurt?” She shook her head.

One sharp nois