Into You

Why does trouble always follow me around? Do I have a "kick me" sign on my back or something? Men's Bathroom. Everyone here is so loud. I can even feel the bass of the loudspeaker hitting my chest. What is even about this club? The name was fishy. Who in the right mind names the club "The bar"? Isn't it already obvious? I can't see my friends because these people are blocking the way. How old are these people anyway? Are they kids? I thought kids weren't allowed in clubs. Am I too old? What the heck. I've been searching for my friends for nearly an hour or so. "Bulaga!" (Tagalog word for "Boo"). "Ay, kabayo ka!" (Oh, you horse!). I turned around and glared at my friend Rose. She's holding two glasses of whiskey in her hand. "Is this whiskey?" I asked. "Nope. Vodka." She drank about half of the alcohol inside the glass, winked at me, and shouted, "the harder you drink, the harder you get laid!" Oh no. Not again. "I'm not taking you home, Rose!" I shouted. The music here is blaring. "And I'm also not gonna drink this whiskey!" "It's Vodka!" She shouted back at me. "Whiskey or Vodka or whatever this is! Nope. Not drinking this demon-flavored drink." I despise alcohol. Call it emotional trauma or something. I just went to this club because they told me they spotted Carl here. "Chill out a bit, woman! Your high school crush is not here." She stood up and fixed her backless dress. "I'm gonna get more Vodka. You stay there and wait for Abby and Josie." Rose walked to the other side of the club to ask for more drinks. I thought he was here. This silly girl used his name to get me out of my house. Carl's my high school sweetheart, or he was. Things ended horribly and there wasn't any closure. Not that I'm hoping for it, though. I already accepted that that is what it is. It's been what? Like two or three years? Not sure if there's any closure needed. "Sure she's been like this for minutes." "You think she believed Rose?" I heard someone talking beside me, so I turned to check who was talking. "Surprise!" It was Abby and Josie. "Hey, guys! I missed you both!" We settled for a short group hug and they sat at another bar stool in front of me. There was a circular table in front of us and there were four bar stools. They sat on the other two, and we're currently waiting for Rose to come back here. "What have you two been doing these past few months?" I asked. "Ugh, you know, usual things. The work-home setup." Josie placed her hand on her chin and her elbow on the table. "I ended things with Joshua." "You what?!" Abby and I unexpectedly shouted at the same time. Joshua is Josie's high school sweetheart. It's like our circle of friends and our partner's circle of friends. wait, EX-PARTNERS, to be specific. "Yeah, nine years together and then he told me he fell out of love. It sucks, but I'm too busy to think about the breakup." Josie is the strongest one in our circle. She's not the emotional type, but I know she's being too hard on herself right now. "He doesn't deserve you anyway," I told her as I caressed her back. "You know we're always here for you, Jos." "Yeah, I know. But I'll feel that you're here for me if you drink with us." Josie smiled at me and winked. "This is not the time to be a party pooper, Kris." "You know what? She's right. Come drink with us boo-boo." Abby placed both of her palms on her chin and looked at me like she was asking me to say yes. "Okay, maybe a bit." "YES!" they both shouted. "Ooh, I sense victory is ours, girls." Rose came back with a bucket of ice and a big bottle of whatever that is. I don't even know the name of alcohol and I'm not much of a drinker. "Hey, sexy! We missed you!" They exchanged hugs for a bit and then sat on the bar stools. "How are you? Except for your club-hopping habits?" Josie and Abby were leaning over to hear Rose. The music is too loud for us to talk in our normal voices. "Well, to tell you what..." Rose leaned over to us. "... The hot bartender asked me out." "You clever beech," Abby reacted. "Did you ask if he has another friend?" "I'll tell you later. For now, let's drink to the night!" Rose looked at me, "and you're not going to have free passes." I sighed. "Do I have any other choice?" "Nope!" We drank alcohol to the fullest. I don't even like alcohol and I don't have a high tolerance for it. My friends are all drunk and so loud. I can't even feel my fingers. The alcohol was too much and I had, like, about seven or eight drinks. My friends already had 2 bottles of... What do you call it? Tamala? Takuna? Telifa? I'm pretty sure it starts with the letter T but I don't remember what it's called. As I was drinking, I noticed this weird guy looking at me suspiciously. Is he a kidnapper? Or is he a serial killer? Or worse, probably he's gonna t*****e me to death. Oh no, I had too much alcohol in my system, how am I gonna defend myself? "I'm gonna go to the bathroom!" I shouted, then rushed to the restroom. I'm currently in the bathroom for like, half an hour. I guess so. I lost track of time. I should head back to our table. As I opened the door, my blood went cold for a second. The guy who was looking at me intensely was at the side of the bathroom door! "Please don't kill me!" I crossed my arms to protect myself. "I think you're mistaken." The mysterious guy raised an eyebrow and walked past me. "Oh, one thing. You should get your eyes checked." He smirked and then completely went inside the bathroom. I walked back to the table where my friends were. That guy is a weird one. "Maria Kristina! Where have you been? We were worried to death!" Abby was about to cry while slapping my shoulders. The alcohol went through their heads. And to think they were heavy drinkers. Looks like I'll be taking these clumsy girls home. "Where's the bathroom?" Josie asked. "Go straight ahead, then turn right." "You sure?" "Yes? I used the bathroom earlier, right?" "Oh, yeah. Wait for me." "What time is it anyway?" I reached out for my phone in my bag, then I shook in disbelief. "It's just midnight?" "Hmm, what?" Rose, with her hair messed up, one eye open, holding a glass of alcohol. "Okay, that's it. No alcohol for you." I took the alcohol in her hand, helped her sit on the bar stool, and asked Abby to look out for her. "I'll be back, gonna get Josie." "Hurry back, Kris! Rose's a fighter when she's drunk." "That's why I asked you to take care of her." "Ugh. Okay!" I walked to the bathroom where I peed earlier. The weird thing is, the door was blue. Was it blue earlier? I really can't remember. It was occupied so I waited to see if it was Josie inside. The door opened and I was shocked. Like, literally. There was a man inside. I peeked a bit, and there were more! What in the actual heck is happening? I looked for a restroom symbol, and there you have it, folks. It has the symbol of an arrow or something. How was I even gonna know that it was the men's restroom?! I went back, and Josie was already there. "Where have you been?" she asked. "Restroom.." "Oh, about that Kris." "That was intentionally for men." "Guess you figured it out quickly," Josie cackled. "I'm so stupid." I went to the men's bathroom?!