Eulalia

Chapter 16: Ecstacy

Chapter 16: Ecstacy

I knew from the beginning that my decision would not sit well with Sandara.
I just had no idea how supposedly furious she was being at the moment. It was
the day after I told Jordan and already, my trusted roommate told Sandara and
maybe Vivien, too. However, maybe Vivien didn't care too much about my
situation or maybe Vivien was too busy with her job or her boyfriend. Whatever
the case was, I was forced to sit down for lunch with Sandara and Jordan. At first, I
thought I could handle these two since I was more afraid of Vivien than these two.
I was wrong. Sandara was not taking any of this well.
“Bricey, you can't give up,” she asserted.
I sighed. “I've already made my decision...”
“No, you just can't,” Sandara continued. “Giving up now is too sad.”
“I know you like Eulalia and I together-”
“It has nothing to do with that!”
Trying hard not to show the disbelief on my face, I said, “I don't see any
other reason then...”
Sandara groaned loudly, obviously annoyed at how slow and inflexible I was
being. As for Jordan, he was sitting there and eating his sandwich. It was a tasty-
looking sandwich, but then again, I was hungry as hell and Sandara was not
letting me touch my food until I explained everything to her from the beginning.
This could take a while. At least, on the bright side, Sandara wasn't eating either.
“Listen,” said Sandara, calming down slightly. “If you give up now, what was
all that work up to now for? Isn't it just wasteful?”
“Isn't it also just wasteful to continue when nothing will come out of it?” I
retorted.
“You don't know that until you try.”
I shook my head. “I tried already.”
“And it's working!”
“No, it's not,” I said firmly. “She might recognize me by face now. We might
have a nice chat now and again. But the main problem still stands- she doesn't
give a damn about me.” Sandara was about to say something, but I ignored her
and continued, “If I were to disappear tomorrow and never come back again, it
won't affect her at all.”
“I'm sure if you left, she wouldn't celebrate.”
“Of course she wouldn't celebrate,” I sighed. “She wouldn't even notice in
the first place.”
“That's a little cruel to say about Lally, don't you think?”
I was getting impatient with these questions. “That's Eulalia for you.”
“That's not Lally,” Sandara argued. She smacked Jordan on the shoulder.
“Say something!”
“I didn't want to interrupt,” Jordan said with a sweet smile.
Sandara glared at him. “Jordan!”
“Please tell her she's being unreasonable,” I said to Jordan.
“Jordan,” Sandara repeated in a threatening voice.
 “Honestly,” said Jordan, looking back and forth between Sandara and I. He
was using such a calm voice that I knew he was going to be neutral. “Neither of
you have a clear perception of Eulalia at all. I can't say I know her all that well
either, but I can relate to her on some level. And I think that's what she needs the
most- people not forcing their perception of who she is on her.”
How in the world was I supposed to argue against that?
“Even so,” said Sandara in a tired voice. “That's not the main issue here.”
“What is the main issue again?” I asked, still annoyed at her.
“Jordan,” Sandara said, ignoring me on purpose. “Don't you think Brice is
being overdramatic about what Lally said to him? Should he really give up
because of that?”
“Oh,” I said, understanding now. “That.”
Jordan finished his sandwich and said, “It's because of his flawed view on
Eulalia that pushed him this far in the first place.” Jordan tossed me an
understanding look. “But no, I'm not siding with Sandara on this one, Brice. It's up
to you what you want to do. It's neither my time and place to interfere.”
“What?” cried Sandara, shocked. “You are willing to interfere with Vivien's
affairs, but not Brice's?”
“It's different,” Jordan stated.
“How?”
Should I be glad that Sandara had turned on Jordan now? I shrugged and
watched this play out.
“Vivien got punched once, Sandara,” Jordan said. “Her life might be in
danger.”
“She seems fine recently and yet, you still follow her closely.”
“I'm worried, that's all.”
“Aren't you worried about Lally and Brice as well?”
Jordan sighed. “Unlike Vivien, Eulalia knows what she's doing.”
“You can't trust her to always be like that,” said Sandara softly. “Especially
when she's attracted to someone like Etchi.”
“You can't help who you fall in love with.”
Those words stung me for some reason. I thought of her out of nowhere.
Actually, speaking of her, Eulalia was the only person on this campus I even
mentioned her to. Now, it all felt ridiculous to me for even talking about
something so personal to someone who didn't give a crap. Out of everyone here,
why must it be Eulalia who I shared so much of myself with? Why did I force her to
try to get to know me better? Why did I want to get to know her better? No. It was
all confusing and I shouldn't go back on my words. No more Eulalia for me
anymore.
Anyways, I managed to head back to the dorms on my own since Sandara
and Jordan had more they wanted to say to each other about various events
relating back to their high school days. I didn't want to stick around when there
was a high chance of Sandara chewing me out right after Jordan. I was tired of it
all, too. I knew I wasn't allowed to just walk away from this Eulalia business after
all the time I invested in it, but I didn't think it would turn out like this either.
As I walked back to my room, I thought it over once more. With this
decision, nothing would change really. If Eulalia happened to be there with the
rest of my friends, so be it. I would take it like a man. Otherwise, I would treat her
like any other person living under the same roof. We would bump into each other
from time to time. Maybe exchange a hello, but that would be the end of it. Eulalia
wasn't going to take over my life anymore. I wasn't going to think about her
constantly. That wasn't the point of college anyways. I had to keep my grades
up...
“Price.”
I tried to smile at the older girl. “Hello Casey.”
The RA lifted a fine brow at me after she reached the bottom of the stairs.
“Good luck. You'll need it with this bunch.”
It took me a few seconds to realize that she was wishing me luck. Casey
didn't wish people luck, especially not me without a good reason for it. Suspicious,
I asked her about it. Of course, she laughed loudly and threw a lollipop in her
mouth. For a second, I thought she ignored me, bu instead, she went up to me
with a smirk on her face.
“Greene-Greene didn't tell you?”
“If he did, I wouldn't be asking, would I?”
Casey allowed a short laugh. “Oh, the miscommunications...”
“What's going on?”
“I'll be gone all day tomorrow,” said Casey proudly. “Concert and all.”
“With Rosenthal?” I asked immeidiately.
“That's right, hot shot.”
“Why did you change your mind suddenly?”
Casey shrugged. “After Thursday, I realized what a fucking moron I was. If
this douche bag was going to throw money at me, I might as well take it. It's not
like he needs it.” I gaped at her in disbelief. “Besides, I like the band. He knows
my taste well.”
“But...”
“Hating him doesn't work,” said Casey, counting off her fingers. “Ignoring
him doesn't work. Being passive aggressive ain't doing shit. I'll just go along with
his little schemes and show him how illogical it is for us to be together.”
“You can't leave this place unsupervised,” I managed at last.
“One more day of partying for these morons won't hurt.”
“Wait,” I interrupted. “Does this mean after this Saturday you'll be back to
normal?”
“That's right. No strings attached.”
“Really?” I asked, too happy to contain myself.
“Let Greene-Greene have his little party,” Casey said. “Then, it'll be back to
hell!”
“You know,” I said, sighing. “You're only doing this because Jordan said
something, didn't he?”
“He asked me directly.”
“I knew it.”
Casey beamed and patted me on the shoulder. “Take care of the place while
I'm gone, Price. You're the only person I can count on.” Casey tightened her grip
on my shoulder. “Don't let me down.”
Without waiting for my answer, Casey whistled and went on her merry way. I
knew it. She didn't even give me a choice in the matter. I was beginning to believe
that I was going to become the next RA no matter what my opinion was on the
subject. Casey was going to make sure I was going to replace her. This was my
gut feeling at the moment. Since when was my life not mine anymore? I blamed
Eulalia and went on my way before I ran into anyone else I didn't want to talk to.
Unfortunately for me, I happened to bump into Lizzie, who lived on our floor
and often disappeared for long periods of time during the day doing who know
what. The reason why I especially remembered Lizzie was because she was
caught reading a magazine on how to make her chest bigger during Eulalia's fun
photo capturing times. Lizzie chatted with Jordan a couple of times outside our
room so she knew both Jordan and I by name.
“Brice, thank God you're back,” Lizzie said, greeting me.
“Hey. What's up?” I asked casually.
“Long story short, I need to the do the laundry ASAP and I don't have money
on me.”
I sighed. “Now?”
“Yes. Now.”
“How inconvenient.”
“I'll pay you back. I promise.”
“Fine,” I said, putting my room key away. “But don't make a habit of this.”
Lizzie gave me a generous smile. “I won't.”
Picking up the laundry basket she had with her, Lizzie and I made our way to
the laundry room. There was practically no one there during this time of the day
so Lizzie and I went about our business. Lizzie knew how to do everything so all I
had to do was give her the money. Sadly enough, Lizzie didn't want to wait for her
laundry by herself so she started this small chat with me. I assumed through my
responses that she understood I wasn't really interested in anything that had to
do with economics so she switched topics to something I wasn't ready to talk to
her with either.
“You know Vivien Landry, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah. She's my friend.”
“Is it true that she went to a Catholic private high school?”
It took me a few seconds to remember, but I had a surprisingly good
memory when it came to random facts like this. Didn't Vivien introduce herself
and her school early in the school year?
“I don't know if she went to a Catholic school, but she definitely went to a
private high school.”
“Hey Brice,” said Lizzie, scooting closer to me. We were sitting in front of the
washing machines. She had this frown on her face. “Don't you think it's a little
strange that Vivien is doing work study when her parents paid for her to go to
private school?”
“Honestly, I never thought about it.”
“Logically, her parents should be able to afford her way through university,
too.”
I sighed. “USC isn't the cheapest school around though, not when she's
middle class.”
“Vivien is middle class?” Lizzie asked, shocked.
“That's what she told me, at least.”
“And you believe her?”
I frowned. “I don't see why I shouldn't.”
 “I don't know,” said Lizzie, throwing her head back. “Vivien bugs me. She's
like a walking contradiction. A lot of things about her doesn't make sense.”
“Really...”
Honestly, I had been so focused on Eulalia and Etchi these past few days
that I stopped caring for Vivien for the most part. Why did Lizzie have to bring up
the Vivien issue again? I was already working on not caring about Eulalia
anymore. Maybe I should add Vivien to that list. If I had cared about Vivien as
much as I cared for Eulalia the past couple of months, I would have an even
bigger headache now. Vivien always seemed to get into more trouble than I could
keep track of and I didn't even know her that well.
“For example, if she's so meek and shy,” Lizzie continued. “How is she able
to go out with all these upperclassmen? It doesn't make sense to me.”
“I know why.”
Hearing the familiar voice, the two of us turned over to see Xara coming in
with her own laundry basket. Today, Xara was adorned in a long, frizzly black
dress. She even wore black gloves and black ribbons in her hair. I was shocked to
see her here because I assumed a rich girl like her didn't have to do the laundry
like us commoners. At the sight of Xara, Lizzie got up and greeted her. They
exchanged a couple of pleasant lines before Lizzie left. I assumed Lizzie wanted
me to sit here and wait for her laundry to be done with. What a nice guy I was
being today.
“So,” I said, unable to hold my curiosity after Lizzie left already. “Why?”
“Oh,” said Xara, remembering. “It's because upperclassmen always target
the easy freshmen girls.”
“I should have known.”
“You should.”
I glanced at her laundry. “Aren't you going to do your laundry?”
“Once I figure it out,” said Xara, sighing.
“You don't know how?”
“This is my first time.”
“How did you manage all the other times?”
“I hired someone to do it.”
As expected. “And what happened to that person?”
“Down with the flu,” said Xara in the most uncaring voice I had ever heard.
“How unproductive.”
I managed to smile and picked up her basket. “Nice. I'll help.”
“Oh, thank you, Brice.”
Since I was going to be stuck here for another half an hour, I might as well
help Xara. It might help me in the long run since she was pretty influential around
here. Besides that, did I mention that Xara was extremely attractive? She might
have pale skin due to her lack of exposure to the sun, but otherwise, Xara was
well-rounded in all areas. Besides, I had left a pretty solid impression on her so far
so I didn't want to mess up.
“Sit,” Xara ordered after I was done loading her clothes and letting the
machine take over. I accepted her invitation and sat down next to her. I noticed
she was sitting on a piece of black cloth. “I'm surprised you're not in class.”
“Oh, I don't have class until an hour later.”
“That's nice.”
 “Actually, about that,” I said. I turned to her. “You never seem to go to any
classes at all.”
“You noticed...”
“You rarely seem to leave your room, that's why.”
Xara allowed a soft giggle. “I only have one real class very early in the
morning. The rest are online.”
“That explains it,” I nodded. “I've never taken an online class before.”
“Me neither,” she said immediately. I gave her a long look. She smiled
sweetly, as if she were guilty of something. “Etchi takes them for me. I pay him
to.”
“That's cheating,” I said the obvious.
“Who cares,” she giggled in amusement.
I couldn't help but smile at her. “You're actually a lot less cold than I imagine
you to be.”
“Well, people who show themselves easily to strangers are fools.”
At the way she stuck up her nose at that line, I managed to laugh as well
and said, “Since when were we friends?”
“Since you became Etchi's friend,” she said without hesitation.
“Is that so?” I asked, being more bold than usual.
“I'm afraid so.”
Maybe it was the fact that I was just feeling nice to everyone today. Maybe it
had something to do with me not figuring out what to do with Eulalia every single
hour of the day. Or maybe, just maybe, this came out of just me not locking
myself up in my room all the damn time. Whatever it was, so far, it appeared that
I had no problem whatsoever talking to Xara. She was actually easier to talk to
than I first imagined her to be. Then again, she readily accepted me as her friend.
Sure, it was thanks to Etchi, but I had to admit it was sort of a pleasant feeling to
be accepted by someone else.
“I should apologize, then,” I said.
“For?”
“For assuming things between you and Etchi.”
Xara blinked at me. “Whatever you're assuming about us, you're probably
right.”
How honest. “So you and Etchi really-”
“That's right,” she said, taking out a cigarette and lighting it without a care
in the world. I watched her, not knowing what to say. At last, she smiled and
added, “Thanks for existing.”
I turned to her at her sudden words. “Etchi once told me that, too.”
“When?”
“When I first met him.”
“I got that line from him.”
“Really.”
Xara nodded. “I don't know about him, but I really mean it.”
“Why?” I asked, too curious for my own good.
“Because I have finally found someone who I can talk about Etchi to,” said
Xara, taking the cigarette out and staring at the washing machines thoughtfully.
“Sandara hates him. I see most other girls as my rivals for Etchi. I can't talk about
him to any of them. It really sucks.”
 “That's probably true,” I agreed.
“But you're male and Etchi's first friend here,” Xara beamed. “I feel like I can
be friends with you.”
“Is it really that simple?”
“Etchi picked you for a reason,” she continued. I sighed at the thought of
being chosen. “I don't think it's ever that simple with someone like him.”
“So I guess you come along with the Etchi friendship package, huh?”
Xara giggled and nodded. “I guess you can put it that way.”
Since we were already on this topic, I might as well confirmed what I
suspected from the very beginning. This was my chance since she was in a
relatively good mood. Also, I should try to word it in a way that wouldn't offend
her.
“I'm sorry if this is too personl-”
“Go on?”
“But,” I hesitated. “Do you like Etchi?”
Blinking in surprise at me, Xara said, “Need that be asked?” I didn't say
anything because I didn't know what to say next. “I thought it was obvious
myself.”
“Yeah...”
“He probably knows it, too,” said Xara happily. “It's good to have everything
out in the open.”
Thanks to her answer, I felt braver than I did a few minutes ago. Xara was
unexpectedly easy to talk to despite my first impression of her. As long as it had
to do with Etchi, she didn't seem to mind revealing anything really. I could make
use of this somehow. Maybe it was my chance to get back at Etchi once and for
all. Maybe. I had to think this through first.
“Just out of curiosity,” I said casually, thinking of Eulalia again. “What would
you do if the person you like happen to like someone else?”
“Shoot her,” Xara said with an innocent expression on her face. I must have
shown my thoughts on my face because she laughed out loud at me and refuted
quickly, “Just kidding.”
Eventually, Lizzie came back to retrieve her laundry and thanked me for
watching them for her. I reminded her that she should try to pay me back next
week at the very least. Agreeing hastily, she left in a hurry once more. I could only
assume that she didn't want to stick around with Xara here. A couple of other
students who went in the laundry room within hour did the same. I assumed they
were a bit scared of Xara since she appeared intimidating on the outside. This was
the power of the Rosenthal family.
“I'll be on my way now,” I indicated at the door.
“Sure,” Xara said.
“Do you know what to do afterwards?”
Xara gave me a blank look. “I hope so.”
“Text Etchi,” I said. “He should know.”
“Oh, good idea,” said the dark-haired girl. “If it's me, he'll answer.”
“Quite the obedient one, that Etchi.”
“He's actually very rebellious,” said Xara with that soft smile on her face. I
didn't say anything since I didn't know what I was trying to say in the first place.
“The only reason why he listens to me is because I pay his tuition.”
 I nodded. “Yeah. I heard that before.”
“I don't mind that type of relationship, though,” she continued, clasping her
hands together. “As long as I get to see him often, I don't mind him using me one
bit.”
“I don't think it's only that,” I said. Why was I saying this? Why was I helping
Etchi? “From the way he talks about you, Etchi sees you more than just a
paycheck.”
Xara picked up her head. “Really?”
“If it's just a job,” I continued even though I was inwardly slapping myself.
“He wouldn't have told you so much about himself. That's what I think.”
“Everytone needs an outlet sometimes,” Xara said suddenly. She sighed.
“And I'm that outlet.”
“It's not necessarily a bad thing,” I countered. “It just proves how close you
two are.”
“Thanks, Brice,” said Xara right when the washer stopped. She got up to her
feet and glanced at me. “Let's have more discussions about Etchi next time! I
need an outlet, too!”
I managed another laugh. “Yeah. It's cool with me.”
On my way to class, I had to wave back to a hyper Amber who returned to
the dorms. I swear that girl was not going to stop bothering me any time soon.
Why was it that the girls I want to bother me rarely do and the ones I don't care
about do... all the time? In any case, since there was no one to talk to on this
lonely walk, my mind immediately went back to Eulalia. I was thankful that today
was Friday. Friday was the only school day of the week when Eulalia and I didn't
share any breaks so we wouldn't see each other until dinnertime and even then, it
wasn't guaranteed that we would eat at the same time. In other words, unless I
really went out of my way to see her, I wasn't going to accidentally bump into her
like I did with Xara and Lizzie earlier. This was perfect.
After class, I decided to stay behind and discuss some future plans with my
professor. One, I had been wanting to ask him a couple of important questions.
Two, this way, I didn't have to meet up with Jordan and the girls at all. Then, soon
enough, it would be time for me to stay over at Etchi's room since we agreed to
eat dinner and study together today. I decided this early this morning and Etchi
agreed to it because we studied on Fridays together anyways. The only difference
was that it would be in his room and I would eat dinner in there. See how clever I
was? There was no way I would see Eulalia today unless Etchi suddenly invited her
and there was no way in hell he would. If there was one thing Etchi and I had in
common, we didn't like the sight of either of us with her.
Today, Etchi had loud rap music in some other language I did not recognize.
He managed to sing along with it so I could only assume it was Korean or
something similar. Anyways, I minded my own business and concentrated on my
work instead. Etchi was right. If I tried hard to not think of anything except my
studies, everything else drowned easily, including that nonsense in the
background I did not understand. Besides, this was the best time to not think of
anything at all other than the information I had to absorb before me.
Maybe it was because I was focusing on the words in front of me so much
that I didn't even notice Etchi was standing right behind me until I looked up for
the time. I nearly bumped my elbow against the table at him giving me this
interrogating look. Frowning, I told him to at least say something.
“You're acting strange today,” he said.
I sighed. “Don't say that like you know for sure.”
“You didn't whine about the music.”
“I am learning to adjust.”
“You? Adjusting?” Etchi chortled. “When do you adjust for the sake of other
people?”
I glared at him. “I don't want to fight with you.”
“Because you suck at arguments.”
“No,” I corrected. “Because I don't have time for this.”
“What's wrong with you?” asked Etchi directly, lowering his voice.
“Nothing's wrong.”
“I can tell something is up your ass,” he said, lifting a brow. “You didn't bitch
as usual and you didn't mention Eulalia at all today.”
Just hearing her name from his lips pained my heart. Even though I wanted
more than anything to leave the room, I instead decided to calm down and stare
at my book instead. I didn't want to have eye contact with him. The sight of him
this close to me was enough to set off certain events I didn't want to think about
at the moment.
“You don't fucking PMS,” Etchi continued. “Why don't you just tell me?”
“Why do you care?” I asked under my breath.
“Jordan would ask the same thing in my shoes.”
I could not win with him. “I just want to get this studying over with so I can
go back.”
“Does this have anything to do with me ditching you yesterday?” Etchi
asked immediately.
“No.”
Etchi did not look convinced. “Was going on a date alone with Casey that
bad?”
“It has nothing to do with Casey.”
“Of course not.”
He agreed with me? “What?”
“It's my own way of hoping it wasn't Eulalia for once,” said Etchi, glancing
away.
“My world doesn't revolve around Eulalia,” I stated clearly.
“You sure about that?” he asked incredulously. “You could have fooled me.”
“You love her, right?” I asked, avoiding his obvious trap of making fun of me.
Etchi confirmed. “And... she loves you, right?”
Etchi blinked at me. “Why are you asking me this? Shouldn't you be asking
her that?”
“Like she would answer me.”
“It depends on her mood really.”
I sighed. “Her mood?”
“Never mind that,” Etchi said quickly. “Do you really want me to answer
your question?”
“Why wouldn't you?” I returned it back at him.
“It might hurt a bit.”
“Or it might not.”
 Etchi grinned generously at me. “I'm not Eulalia. I don't know whether she
truly loves me or not. But-” Etchi grabbed the chair nearby and sat down on it
backwards. “I am her most important person.”
“Most important person,” I repeated.
“How do I know this?” Etchi asked. I assumed it was hypothetical so I waited
for him to answer it. “Because in Eulalia's world, there are not a lot of inhabitants
so the odds are in my favor.”
I didn't say anything. I couldn't disagree with him. There were a lot of people
Eulalia did not care for, judging by what happened with that stalker incident a
while ago. According to that, there were not that many names she could
remember in the first place. Instead, there was only a select few she took the
effort to know the name of. These people were those she cared enough about to
talk to and enjoy the presence of. Otherwise, everyone else was simply too
troublesome for her. That was how I looked at it. Now, from that small number,
wouldn't it be fair to say she weighed Etchi above the rest of us? Yes, it all made
sense. Why would there be a reason for me to feel hurt in the first place?
“I got it,” I said at last.
“You really are acting strange today,” Etchi observed me from top to
bottom.
“It's probably the lack of sleep.”
“Get used to it,” he said coldly. “That's what schools are for.”
I managed to smile. “I know that.”
“Act like your normal self,” said Etchi, smiling at me. “Or else I'll be forced to
help you.”
“Your act of kindness is probably in the form I don't want,” I said in a
humorless voice.
“That's better,” Etchi encouraged. “Nag me like you always do.”
“I don't nag.”
“Oh hell no. You nag constantly.”
I scowled. “You should stop assuming stuff about others.”
“See?” Etchi pointed. “You're nagging again.”
“This is nagging?”
“That's nagging.”
Suddenly, Etchi's point brought me back to the Botanica Gardens downtown
from last week. If I recalled correctly, I managed to forget the events that took
place there. I didn't want to remember it so I pushed it away. However, with
Etchi's words, I managed to remember most of the exchange between Eulalia and
I from that day in detail. In the back of my mind somewhere, I always
remembered. It had dictated a lot of my actions so far. How astonishing. I didn't
even notice it until now.
“You've been lying to me,” I said at least.
Etchi was obviously lost without the context. “Lying to you?”
“About you and Eulalia being twins.”
“Oh, that,” he said in a more serious voice. “What about it?”
“That was an excuse, wasn't it?”
“An excuse for?”
“For knowing too much about Eulalia.”
Even though I expected him to deny it, he let out a short laugh and said,
“Since nothing I can say will change your mind anyways, what do you think
actually happened?”
Thanks to his nagging comment, I figured out that even though Etchi didn't
mind me criticizing him, Eulalia never cared for it. She actually might dislike it
very much. This fundamental difference made me notice and understand how
different Eulalia and Etchi are. They weren't twin-like at all, therefore Etchi's
remark about them being twins was nothing but an excuse.
Anyways, I hadn't thought the story out that far yet, but I was getting better
at saying whatever came to mind and somehow making it work. I could try it
again.
“You and Eulalia pretend not to know each other,” I said. “But then, you
can't keep your big mouth shut about her so you might as well make up a lie to
me to cover your tracks.”
“And why do you think Eulalia and I pretend not to know each other?” he
asked, giving me a sideway look with that fake innocent expression on his face.
I frowned since I couldn't think of anything. “I'm not sure...”
For a while, I went back to my studying and Etchi began checking his phone.
He was probably making sure he wouldn't be late for Xara. It was Friday after all.
At the back of my mind, I wondered how Xara really felt about Eulalia. Did the two
girls even know each other? Did they know they like the same person?
I stopped myself from thinking of Eulalia again and closed my book. It was
almost time for Etchi to leave anyways. I had to get some sleep myself, too,
because I was supposedly taking over for Casey for a while tomorrow evening. I
might as well rest and regain my lost energy from the previous night.
“If there was one trait from you that I wanted to adapt for myself,” I said,
putting my book away. Etchi looked up at me. “It was your blunt honesty.”
“You mean all the shit I spew?”
“But now, I don't know anymore,” I said under my breath. “After that lie.”
“I lie all the time,” Etchi said calmly. “I tell my clients I love them all the
time.”
“You can't compare your friends to your clients.”
“You lie to me, too,” Etchi remarked. “I can tell. You don't have to put me on
the spot like this.”
I lowered my eyes. “Our whole friendship is a lie, then.”
“That's kind of harsh, don't you think?”
“Have you forgotten?” I asked and paused for a few seconds. He was giving
me his full attention at least. “We started this out of your need for a study partner
and my need to get Eulalia to notice me.” I lowered my voice considerably.
“Neither of this has any more meaning.”
“What do you-”
“And I'm beginning to think that there's more to this story than you simply
needing a partner.”
A sudden smirk played on his lips. “You can't make a claim like that without
proof.”
“I don't have proof,” I stated. “It's just a gut feeling.”
“So, let me get this straight,” Etchi said, walking over and leaning against
the opposite wall. “Your instincts are telling you that me wanting to be your friend
is not that simple?”
 “Is it ever that simple with you?”
“It's not a gut feeling, then,” he mused. “It's based on what you know of my
personality.”
“You can say that,” I played along with him. “So, why did you pick me of all
people?”
“Oh, Brice,” said Etchi with a smirk. “Trying to pull information out of me
again.”
“Just tell me,” I said impatiently.
“No, I don't think so, darling,” Etchi said playfully, doing this on purpose.
“You'll fucking get on my case for this one.”
“I won't.”
Etchi scoffed it off. “No fucking way. I'm not taking that chance.”
“I'm already mad at you since it sounds bad,” I said.
“Well, I don't want to make it worse.”
“Tell me already, Etchi.”
“Let's walk back. I'll spill.”
On our walk back to my dorm, the sky was already pitch black. It was a bit
chilly due to the cold weather. Of course, that didn't affect me as much as it did
Etchi. Then again, I had way more body fat than that skinny playboy tagging along
beside me. Etchi was minding his own business for the most part by playing with
his breath, which could be seen under this weather. I grew impatient again.
“Unless you'll tell me your real reason,” I started. “I'll always consider this
friendship a lie.”
“You're right.”
“Of course I'm right,” I said automatically until I realized what he said.
“About what?”
“It's a lie,” said Etchi smoothly, grinning. I was stunned so Etchi continued,
“Or at least the foundation of our friendship is.”
I stared blankly at him, stopping in my tracks. “Etchi. We're talking seriously
here.”
“Shit,” said Etchi, continuing faster without me. “I need to get there pronto.”
“How is it a lie?” I asked and chased after him.
“Because-”
The moment he stopped in his sentence and in his tracks, I knew I wasn't
going to hear the answer any time soon. I didn't know whether the world like to
fuck with me or something, but the person I was avoiding all day happened to be
heading back to the dorm through the same door. My entire body shook at the
sight of her for some reason. My heart clenched up and I had to distract myself
observing her appearance to calm myself down. Today, Eulalia was dressed in a
long-sleeved, dark red shirt. It was oversized as usual. The unusual part was that
she was also wearing thick black leggings. I didn't think she owned anything like
that. Chances were they belonged to Vivien., then Anyways, my guess was that
today was too cold for her to dress in her usual clothes. Wait. This was not
working...
“You should go inside before you catch a cold,” said Etchi under his breath.
Eulalia glanced at the bowl in her hands before she muttered, “I already
know that...”
“Good.”
 “Need some ATP...”
“You usually get tired earlier than this.”
Maybe it was my imagination, but I thought I saw Eulalia glanced at me
before she said, “Casey sent me on an errand and I wanted to do it today.”
“Well,” said Etchi, turning away from her. “I'll be heading back now.”
“Etchi,” I frowned. “But what about Xa-”
“Give her my regards,” said Etchi quickly, interrupting me. “Say something
came up.”
“Good night.”
At those words from Eulalia, Etchi whirled and met Eulalia's eyes. His eyes
were wide open, as if fearful of something unknown. The other girl calmly gazed
back at him. I didn't understand what was going on between the two of them, but
it wasn't long before Eulalia had enough of this. Besides, she was freezing so she
started on her way again in the opposite direction.
“G-Good night!” cried Etchi, a bit too forcefully.
I blinked at him. Was Etchi... flustered? Was that even possible?
Hearing this, Eulalia stopped in her tracks and said, “Ecstacy.”
Maybe it was some kind of code between the two of them because Etchi
understood exactly what she meant and returned it, “Ecstacy, Eulalia.”
“Etchi, wait up,” I followed him instead of her.
“I'm going back to the hotel,” he stated.
“What kind of excuse am I supposed to tell Xara?” I asked, grabbing a hold
of his sleeve to stop him from leaving. “And why am I telling her this excuse in the
first place?”
“I don't think it's tasteful to go to Master Xara right now.”
“When is it ever tasteful?”
“Well, shit,” said Etchi, laughing at me. “Good luck with Master Xara.”
What a great friend you were being, Etchi. First, he had to go and tell me the
foundation of our friendship was a big lie. Now, he had to leave me to deal with
Xara just because he was not brave enough to face her so soon after talking to
Eulalia. This was like the Casey incident again. I wondered more than ever if this
was the reason why Etchi kept avoiding Eulalia before. Could it be that having
feelings for Eulalia and handling his job at the same time made Etchi feel guilty?
As I headed over to Sandara's room, I told myself that I did not feel bad for Etchi
one bit. He deserved it. He chose this lifestyle for himself. He had no one to blame
other than him.
I reached Sandara's room in no time and I knocked on the door. There was
really no reason left for me to be friends with Etchi, now that I had given up on
Eulalia. In the end, the two of us were basically using each other for our own
means. We called it “friendship” because it was more convenient that way. But at
the moment, this friendship was bothersome to us both. We were both too closely
tied to Eulalia and every time I saaw him with Eulalia, I had this sick feeling in my
stomach. I was almost certain he felt the same way when I was with her. It
couldn't be helped. If one of us had to back out, it was obviously me.
When Xara opened the door, her face was full of happiness. But at the sight
of me, it fell so fast that I felt mildly insulted. This was before I recovered at the
thought that I was no Etchi. I was no Jordan either. I was nothing more than
boring, old Brice. However, this boring Brice was relatively good at studying so I
forced a smile at her.
“How's your online courses going?”
Xara glanced away. “Slowly.”
“I'll help you for now,” I said in a friendly manner. “Etchi might swing by
later.”
Although disappointed, Xara shook it off and replied, “It's fine. Thank you.”
A while ago, Etchi once said out loud in his usual blunt and rude manner
that I wasn't a nice guy. I only seemed like a nice guy because I was either too
passive or the situation was convenient for me. Now that I had time to think about
it, he was right. I wasn't helping Xara because I wanted her to pass her class or
anything. I wasn't even helping Xara because I was making up for Etchi ditching
her last minute. Hell, I could have guessed I wasn't a good friend either.
The real reason was simple. I didn't have to go back to my room and deal a
second night of excruciating pain so soon. The longer I put it off... the better... And
eventually, the day would come when I could completely move on from that tiny
girl who offered me some ripe ovaries some time ago.