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Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE: AVAIL

YNNA

While I'm inside the tricycle on our way home, I can't help but to feel nervous. I need to walk and talk properly so that my parents wouldn't notice that I'm drunk. They'll throw me out of the house, not just from our house but they'll throw me out of their lives once they knew that their almost perfect daughter drinks alcohol at a very young age.

(Tricycles are an indigenous form of the auto rickshaw and are a common means of public or private transportation in the Philippines.)

"Just drop me here! I'll just walk from here!" I shouted towards the tricycle driver before looking at my friends who looked like they'll pass out any minute now. 

We drank three bottles of The Bar pink. For us, that alcoholic liquor can make people fall asleep. Good thing, we ended those bottles early so we just waited for the sunset before we decided to go home.

(The Bar pink's an alcoholic beverage.)

"Hey, Ynna! Tell me when your parents declined your preposition again. I'll pay for your educational expenses!" Ali joked while her eyes' already blinking continuously. She's really drunk.

"Piece of sh─t. As if you can." I answered back before pulling her hair lightly that made her laugh.

When the tricycle driver dropped me, I paid for my ride. 

"Once you dropped them off, text me." I told him, he nodded as an assurance. 

Good thing, I knew him and he's been our service for a while now, every time we have a drinking session.

I walked towards our house. It's not actually far from where they dropped me, it's just a hundred meters away.

When I'm already in front of our house, I looked at it. The lights are still off so I mentally shouted "yes!" inside my head because that means, I'm the first one to arrive home. 

I carefully opened and closed the gate. And I also searched for the key on the shoe rack. And when I already found it, I immediately open the door to enter our house.

"CONGRATULATIONS YNNA!"

"Oh sh – wow!" 

I almost had a mini heart attack when I heard the explosion coming from the party popper in front of me. There are also balloons everywhere that says, "Congratulations, Ynna." 

They are all here so in the end, I need to act happy even though I'm not. But at least, the years of struggles I made to be on top of the class' already paid off. Seeing them proud of me, I guess it's worth it.

"Congratulations, Ynna!"

"Congrats, Ynna!"

"Congratulations, my dearest granddaughter!"

I need to sleep! F─ck, The Bar pink. Now, I need to deal with them until they decide to go home already. It's a long night, indeed.

"Where do you plan to study, Ynna? There's a lot of big universities in Manila, did you take CET (College Entrance Examination) there?" Aunt Badette asked, one of the most successful aunt that I have. 

They wanted me to be like her because according to them, she's perfect. That she never lied to her parents and she never disobeyed their orders. But in my own opinion, she made her life miserable as if she was a robot. 

I smiled before answering her question, "I really want to study in Aragon University."

(Aragon University is just a fictional name of a university.)

"That's far, you want to study in Baguio? Did they already knew about this? About your plan?" She asked again so I nodded before my face turned sour because I really can't make my parents approve my plans for college. I actually took an exam in Aragon University without my parents knowing.

(Baguio, on the Philippines' Luzon island, is a mountain town of universities and resorts. Called the "City of Pines," it's particularly popular in summer due to unusually cooler weather.)

How did I do that? Of course, I lied.

I was shocked when I saw my father walking towards me while I'm busy fixing the used plates and utensils.

"Are you really sure about your plan? Nothing can change your mind already?" He asked, I immediately nodded. 

I have a strong faith in my decisions. And I want to break free, break free from the chains that they made for me, the chains that my parents created for me.

I want to taste freedom. And I want to learn how to become independent. I lived almost all my life here in the province and I want to take my chances in a big city, a place far from home so I can be what I want to be and I can do what I really want to do. 

"Baguio's far from here, Ynna. I hope you understand that." My mother said.

I just sighed before looking away. So, why did they even open the topic if they don't want me to study there? If they don't approve the plans that I made for myself?

"But, I want to go in that university. Mom, I already did everything to get a full scholarship, to lessen the expenses. The only thing that I need right now is your approval for me to go." I answered.

I did everything to get the scholarship. I reviewed to ace the examinations and to maintain my top spot until the end of the school year. And, it'll all be a waste if they'll turn it down.

My mother met my gaze and I saw the sadness in her eyes. I looked away again, afraid that I'll loathe her even more because she's always against my plans. 

"Promise me that you'll graduate on time and you won't do unnecessary things." My father said that made my eyes widen.

"Are you letting me ─, Dad?" I can't put the right words because I'm still drunk and I'm so happy that I might burst in tears. 

He nodded slowly, I immediately pulled them into a hug. 

Summer vacation passed by like a blur. In a week, classes will officially start and I'm excited since I'm going to study in Aragon University with my friends! I already packed my things because later, I'll be travelling with Ali and Meg to Baguio.

"Are you sure that you'll be okay in there? That's far from here, Ynna." Mom asked me, I immediately nodded.

"Mom, don't worry too much. I'll assure you that I can make it, okay? I can handle myself." I answered before hugging her tight. 

After we talked about the do's and don'ts, I checked my Twitter to find a premium Spotify account seller because my account already expired. I need to avail a new account.

VERIFIED_SELLER:

SPOTIFY! NETFLIX! SPOTIFY! NETFLIX!

PREMIUM ACC SELLER, AVAIL FOR JUST 399 PESOS/ YEAR!

CHECK PINNED TWEET FOR PROOFS OF TRANSACTION.

LIMITED SLOTS ONLY! AVAIL NOW!

As I looked at the tweet, I checked out the account's profile as well as their pinned tweet for assurance and I saw their proofs of transactions. A lot of people already availed Spotify accounts from them and they also have a lot of followers.

"Maybe they're real sellers." I whispered to myself before sending them a direct message. 

ynnamoka: 

Hi. I want to avail a Spotify account. Reply, ASAP.

After a few minutes, the seller immediately replied. 

Good Morning, Ms. @/ynnamoka! The mode of payment will be through GCASH or PAYPAL. We guarantee you that after paying half of the payment, we'll give you the account and password. We'll be waiting for your response. Godbless!

I immediately replied that I'll pay through GCASH so they sent me their name. I looked at my GCASH wallet and when I saw that I still have money, I immediately paid for half and sent them a message.

ynnamoka:

I already paid half. 

They immediately sent me an account so I copied it and pasted on my notes before opening it in my Spotify app. It worked so I immediately thanked the seller before I saw them tweeted a proof of transaction mentioning me so I retweeted it to help their business. 

─

The protagonist's twitter account's ynnamoka (inamoka) is like a curse that Filipinos sometimes use. Nothing, I just felt like explaining. :)