Chapter 4 | Making Decisions I Might Regret

For the past week, I only went out kapag inaaya ako nila Ate Joy or Ate Yeri. Paminsan-minsan, si Ate Wendy naman yung sumusundo sa akin. Parang may rule silang tatlo sa turns ng paglabas kasama ako. Hindi naman ako nagrereklamo but it’s getting quite awkward on my end. Masyado ata nila akong bine-baby.

Two weeks. I’ve been staying here in the Philippines for two weeks. I actually don’t know what to do by myself kaya nagkukulong lang ako dito sa bahay. I don’t have friends whom I can actually call. I wasn’t particularly friendly in high school so I really just don’t know anyone.

I haven’t seen Winter in a week.

And I think it’s better this way. Nabawasan na rin yung heart palpitations ko. I don’t think I can focus well when Winter is around anyway. I get way too distracted.

I have decided. I’ll do my residency program in Baguio.

When I told Ate Irene about my decision, she was thrilled. Para siyang nanalo sa pustahan dahil dalawa lang naman talaga ang pinagpipilian ko. It was either here in Metro Manila with my uncle or in Baguio with Ate Irene.

Sabi pa ni Ate Seulgi, she found me a place to stay in the meantime since under construction ang bahay nila as of the moment. Napag-usapan namin yun last time. They were planning to expand to another floor with a new rooftop as well. May dalawang guestrooms yung bahay nila. One will be used by Ate Yeri and Ate Herin since they were the contractors of the project, while the other one will be turned into their office temporarily.

They said a good friend of theirs is looking for a renter. It seemed like a good deal for me. I didn’t want to burden them further at makipagsiksikan pa doon. They said sa kabilang bakod lang naman yung tutuluyan ko. I get to have my own room with its own cr.

I’m glad everything worked out fine. Susunduin daw ako ni Ate Seulgi in three days, together with my stuff so I can move in and settle before the start of my residency program. It isn’t a problem since hindi ko rin naman ginalaw yung boxes ko.

At dahil sobrang init ngayong araw, I decided to get myself something cold to drink. Hindi pa rin talaga ako nakaka-adjust sa init dito sa Manila. Isa rin yun sa mga factors why I decided it’s better to stay in Baguio.

When I arrived at the café, I ordered a matcha-flavored frappe. I decided to stay a bit para naman may change of ambiance ako. I sat near the window and put my Airpods on to listen to music. Today just seemed the perfect day to go outside.

The next thing I know, Winter was tapping me on the shoulder. I carefully took my Airpods out. Hindi ko naman siya iniiwasan talaga, pero parang ganun na nga. I stayed inside for a week, ordering food when the ates weren’t taking me out just so I won’t see Winter. The last