Chapter 26 | Stuck with U

Inayos ni Irene ang basang bimpo sa noo ni Seulgi. It seems like the fever isn’t going down any time soon. Medyo nag-aalala na rin siya since silang dalawa lang magkasama in this unfamiliar place.

“Seul, inom ka muna.” Ginising niya si Seulgi para uminom ng malamig na tubig. Drinking cold water might make the fever come down a bit. Buti na lang at napaka-high tech ng ref dito. It’s actually the same as the one they have at home. She wonders why there’s a good amount of furniture and appliances kahit wala namang nakatira dito.

Nagising naman si Seulgi, at sumandal sa headboard. Napansin niyang nahulog yung bimpo galing sa noo niya. “Anong oras na?” Tanong niya pagka-kuha ng baso at lumagok dito. Nangangati nga talaga yung lalamunan niya at napaka-bigat ng pakiramdam niya.

“Past four in the afternoon.” Dinama naman uli ni Irene yung noo ni Seulgi just to make sure.

“We should head back now.” Tipong babangon na si Seulgi nang pigilan siya ni Irene.

“We can’t.” Tipid na sagot ni Irene. Hindi niya rin alam kung anong pagpapaliwanag ang sasabihin niya kay Seulgi.

“What do you mean, we can’t?” Tanong ni Seulgi at inalis ang nakapulupot na comforter sa katawan niya. Napasinghap siya sa lamig. May sakit nga siya, tuluyan niyang napagtanto.

“Kasi, Seul -“ Nag-aalangan na sagot ni Irene. “I called dad to ask him what to give you since may lagnat ka. Tapos ang sabi niya, we have to stay here and quarantine. Dahil may symptoms ka raw ng kumakalat na coronavirus. Baka raw mag-lockdown sa Manila, probably mababalita na ‘to tonight. Nakatunog na si dad since naka-code blue daw sila.”

“Wow, that’s a lot to take in. Natulog lang ako, ang dami na agad happenings. What’s next? Magugunaw na ba ang mundo?” Pabirong sabi ni Seulgi kahit na sa loob niya ay kinakabahan siya.

“Kaya pala kita ginising kasi kailangan natin lumabas. We need groceries, clothes, medicine and cash. Can you drive? One hour away lang naman yung SM diba?”

Tumango si Seulgi. Mukhang pinag-isipan na ng maigi ni Irene yung mga gagawin nila.

“Sorry, Seul. Hindi na sana kita gigisingin kaso hindi ko kasi gamay yung sasakyan mo.” Sabi ni Irene. Kahit na labag sa loob niya na gisingin si Seulgi, ay hindi niya rin talaga alam kung paano makakarating doon sa mall. The last thing she wants is to get lost.

“No worries, Irene. I can drive.” Tuluyan nang bumangon si Seulgi sa kama. “Magbibihis lang ako.”

Lumabas naman si Irene ng kwarto. Siguro nga OA lang yung dad niya. Good for two weeks na groceries daw yung bilhin. Like wtf. Umupo siya sa sofa at nagsimulang gumawa ng listahan ng mga bibilhin nila. This is not the time to panic, sabi niya sa sarili. She needs to take charge dahil meron siyang alagain.

After five minutes or less, nakalabas na si Seulgi dala ang susi at phone niya. “May face masks pala tayo, binili ni Manong Robert.” She went to the counter in the kitchen at nakita yung face masks na katabi ng alcohol. She took two and handed Irene the other one.

Sabay silang lumabas ng bahay saka pumasok ng kotse.

“Seul, mali yung suot mo. Sa labas yung blue.” Tinuro ni Irene yung pagkakasuot niya. She knows this much dahil sa advanced ng readings niya na kahit undergraduate Biology student pa lang siya, she’s already covering medicine books. If the virus that’s going around is true, then Seulgi must be a suspected case dahil may symptoms siya nito. And the fact that they are together, means she could’ve gotten the virus too.

“Oh, okay.” Inayos naman ni Seulgi yung pagkakasuot niya. She wanted to know why the colored part should be outside but since she knows Irene is preparing to be a doctor, she just trusted her reason. If it were old Seulgi who didn’t know Irene this much, she would’ve questioned everything. Her curious mind is always like that.

They went to drive and arrived at the parking lot of the mall.

Una nilang pinuntahan ay yung pharmacy. Seulgi noticed how Irene rummaged through the stalls. At sa counter naman, kung anu-anong vitamins, supplements, ang nilagay ng kasama niya dito. May first aid kit box pang nalalaman si Irene. They really didn’t exchange much in conversation dahil mukhang seryoso si Irene, and Seulgi didn’t want to break that momentum.

They even got looks from other shoppers dahil siguro sa suot nilang face masks. Seulgi guesses that the public doesn’t know much about the virus yet. Alam niyang mataas ang katungkulan ng dad ni Irene sa ospital, so he probably knows stuff.

Napagkasunduan nilang magkita on the same spot after thirty minutes para makabili sila ng sari-sarili nilang damit. Ayaw rin kasi ni Seulgi na sabay silang bumili dahil matatagalan lang sila at magka-iba ang tastes nila sa damit. Isa pa, ayaw niya rin makasabay si Irene bumili ng underwear at baka magkatanungan pa sila ng size ng bra. Iniimagine niya pa lang, awkward na agad ang naiisip niya. She withdrew some cash and went on her way to buy her clothes.

Thirty minutes after, they met on the same spot at nagpunta sa parking lot to put their clothes inside the car. Ayaw na nila ng hassle because they need to buy a lot of food.

They went to the grocery and Seulgi noticed how organized Irene is. They went through every aisle and got what they needed. It is a very systematic way on doing the groceries. Nakalusot naman yung pringles, hello pa