Chapter Three - The Party

Here, we learn more about Alex and Marie and what their minds are capable of.

 

Somehow, I was able to get through that class. All I needed was a mix of my imagination and a steel-clad determination not to fall asleep.

 

There were no other classes for the day since it was the first of the school year. They were probably still just warming us up for whatever tortures they have in store for us. Sort of a calm before the storm thing.

 

We were dismissed at around noon. Lunch at the congested cafeteria was chaotic as usual. The familiar aroma of the sickening blend of cured meat, fried fish and an assortment of broths and stews made me wonder if the health inspectors ever inspected our school's cafeteria. In the past, there have been incidences of diarrhea and amoeba among the students. Unfortunately, the sucker was not among the. Maybe his digestive system is already used to eating garbage.

 

Before Marie and I decided to pick from the wonderful fungi-ridden plates, we took our seats in one of the square tables in the cafeteria. It was really warm then. Marie's temples had strands of hair sticking to them. Right after sitting down, she was fanning herself with her hands, as if that will do anything.

 

“Why can't our school get air conditioning? Damn it, it's like hell on earth,” she moaned. She already started unbuttoning the top button of her uniform, exposing her fair, creamy skin beneath it. Se is thin. She's one of the fortunate girls her age who can eat anything they want: carbs, fatty foods, and more carbs. Then she'd sneeze and five pounds would literally, magically melt away.

 

“Well, it's so students would sweat like pigs at around twelve noon, just when the sun is right above this God-forsaken school. That way, kids can eat anything they want and not get fat because they're already sweating it out as they eat. It's for everyone's sake, so no one gets obese,” I said.

 

“Oh my God,” she said, staring right at the door.

 

I followed her gaze. Glory Dalide was there at the threshold, looking so prim and proper in her white uniform.

 

“ Hey Alex,” she exclaimed, looking right at us. Then, to our horror, she started walking towards us.

 

“No! Is she sitting here? She can't sit with us,” mouthed Marie.

 

“Is it too late to pretend we didn't see her?” I replied.

 

“So, how are you two doing?” asked Glory.

 

“Fine. Actually, we were done eating already. You can have this table. We have to go look for Cristie anyway. I have to get a copy of her notes,” I said. Looking over at Marie, she got the hint. She took her bag, put it over her shoulder and stood up.

 

“It's too bad we could not sit down and talk to each other. We have a lot of things to talk about. I have so much to tell you, especially about the...” Glory raised her eyebrows and we got what she was about to say.

“Yeah, well, we'll talk about it some other time, all right? See you around,” said Marie with a smile. That was it. The conversation is over.

 

Glory used to be our friend. Ugh. Yes, we used to be friends with that girl and her thick, curly hair and gaping pores. Whenever exams loom, however, her pores seem to close and her untamed hair does not seem to be as unruly and we can tolerate sitting beside her and looking over at her paper and copying from her. That girl is smart enough to compensate for her looks but her social retardation will kill her.

 

It was Marie's birthday, March of last school year, just prior to finals. Some of our friends were invited to their house for a simple dinner since her parents were away and they already celebrated the night before. AJ Caratao, Marissa Duerme, Clare Pangan, Harry Loren, Elmer Go, Jefferson Tan... the cool people whom we liked were invited. Well, they're not really our friends but they were the certified party people in out classroom.

 

At that time, we had to invite Glory. She was obviously not one of the party goers but we had to. Marie and I had an agreement that whenever exams are around the corner, we would not be so exclusive with the people we hang with and we'd get a secondary gain from it.

 

We though Glory would know her place. She didn't. Unknowingly to us, it was Glory's first invitation to a house party among her college classmates. It would have been all right if she acted silently like she usually did. But she didn't.

 

Right after dinner, Marie brought out the cocktails we made ourselves. I think we served Dirty Dishwater. Anyway, maybe we put too much gin in it in spite of the fact that we have a virgin among us.

 

Being her first time, Glory wanted to be cool. It was glass after glass after glass after glass. No one really paid attention to her. There were side glances and questions of “Does she know how drink?” but no one really tried to stop her. When the cocktail ran out, Marie thought it's time for some heavy drinking so she brought out the beer.

 

Glory was already tipsy by that time and she drank two whole bottles like it was like water. “Would you like a bathroom break?” asked Clare. She thought Glory drank too much that she should have peed at least once by now. Glory was squinting her eyes already. Concerned, Elmer asked, “Are you all right?” His face was close enough to smell Glory's breath. Out of nowhere, Glory slapped him hard.

 

Then, what followed was a lot of shouting, Glory's shouting. She was singing “phenylalanine, phenylalanine, phenylalanine,” while walking back and forth from the living room to the kitchen over and over again. It was so pathetic, like a five year old kid vying for attention after her baby sister was born

 

Everyone tried to hush her but to no avail. Eventually we just ignored her.

 

Then, we noticed she was crying over at the corner. “Oh my Jesus... bipolar much?” whispered an exasperated Marie.

 

I walked over to Glory. God, she had a really fruity breath. “Why are you crying?” I asked.

 

“It's the.. first time... I was invited to a party. And you, of all people, treated me like I was a friend and here I am, behaving like this and ruining your good time. God Alex, I'm so sorry,” she sobbed.

 

Oh. So she noticed?

 

“Glory, you have nothing to be ashamed of. People get drunk all the time. This was your first time so it's quite understandable. I understand Glory, and I will still be your friend after this,” I smiled and I never knew I could act like this.

 

“Really? Oh, thank you. I'm so ashamed, if...”

 

“Don't bother apologizing. If you want, you could still go back”

 

“Would they want me to?” she looked over my shoulder. Obviously she was referring to the others.

 

“Of course they would. Why not? You're a terrific person. Just sit there and don't go slapping around other people.”

 

I led her back to her chair. Everyone was smiling at her. I think Glory thought this was a sign of being welcomed. No, it was something else. Something more of like pity, exasperation and cold disgust.

 

“Marie, please come with me in the kitchen for a moment,” I sad after helping Glory sit down. Marie frowned at me. She had her thighs all over AJ's lap and was flirting away. Sorry Marie, you won't get laid tonight.

 

“What is it now?” she asked. We were standing in the middle of their kitchen.

 

“Obviously, Glory cannot come home,” I said. “She has to stay here for the night,”

 

“Then we'll bring her home,”

 

“No. You want her mom to see her like that? Glory, the glory of their family, all wasted like that? It would me humiliating for her to go home in that state. We'll drive her home tomorrow morning.

 

“We have no guest room, she's not sleeping in my room.”

 

“No. She is sleeping in your room.”

 

Marie looked at me dumbfounded. Her eyes and mouth forming a nice triangle of O's on her face.

 

“Since when have you been worried about Glory? I thought we were just using our friendship with her until the finals end? Oh, are we doing charity work now? Reaching out to the socially incapacitated?” Marie asked.

 

“No. I figured, we can have fun with her,” and the evil smile spread over my face. It was my signature evil smile with the smile only stretching the right muscles of my face. The sparkle in my eyes said most of what is in my head.

 

“What do you have in mind, my little Lucifer?” and obviously, Marie was in the mood for a little fun on her bedroom's behalf.

 

“Glory ruined your dinner party,”

 

“Yes,”

 

“And to just simply ignore her after school is not punishment enough. Plus, we can't toss her away like a used napkin until the exams are over,”

 

“Yes,”

 

“She's a virgin, right?”

 

“Yes,” and the evil smile spread across Marie's face as well. Hers was more of a grin with all teeth bared.

 

“Do you still have that horny horn dog of a neighbor?”

 

“Yes, but...”

 

“But what?”

 

“Isn't that rape?”

 

“It's only rape if the one being raped knows she's being raped, honey,”

 

“Are you saying we'd drug her?”

 

“Yes,” it was my turn to say this word now. “Does your mother still have her melatonin pills to help her sleep?”

 

“Yes. How much should we give?”

 

“Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone in our body. Even in large doses, it won't have any adverse reaction on her. Remember the lecture? Even a dose of 5 grams is safe.”

 

“Okay, I'll go get a 5-gram pill,” and she started to leave for the stairs.

 

“No... we don't just want her to fall asleep. We want her to not easily wake up. Give her two of those babies.”

 

Marie came down two minutes later. She handed two white pills over. Two of these and Glory would lose her special place. While Marie was upstairs, I had enough time to make one glass of Dirty Dishwater. Yes, we definitely served Dirty Dishwater that night. We crushed the two pills and reentered the living room.

 

“We were getting ready to leave. We'll take her home with us,” said Elmer. Glory was sleeping on a couch, slumped with legs crossed.

 

“We're so sorry this had to happen,” said Clare. “But what were you thinking, inviting Glory here and all that? I did not even know you guys were friends.”

 

“Oh, we're not. It's more of like a community outreach program,” I said.

 

“Well, it looks like you reached out for more than you can handle,” said AJ. “Look at her, she's a mess.”

 

“We'll get her all cleaned up then bring her to bed,” said Marie. The drugged cocktail in her hands was really cool judging by the moisture on it.

 

“Good luck with that.”

 

Everyone left.

 

“Perfect. We are alone. God is smiling at us,” Marie said. “Shall we wake her up and make her drink?”

 

“Yeah, let's do that,” I replied. Then something came to me. Something I overlooked. “when will your parents get home?”

 

“Oh, don't worry. They're out of town, celebrating the night of celebration they had when they had me. Ugh. It's disgusting really. Who would've thought they'd still have libido in them?”

 

“So we are alone for sure?”

 

“YES!”

 

“Okay, wake her up,”

 

Marie approached Glory. “Hey Glory... wake up, it's time for school.” I cannot stop giggling. We are so evil!

 

“Huh?” oh Glory is still alive.

 

“Everyone left. You'll be sleeping here.”

 

“Okay,” then she nodded her head forward, ready to fall asleep again.

 

“Wake her up. Make her drink it in your room. I'm not carrying her,” I said.

 

Marie rolled her eyes. “Glory, wake up. You can still walk, can you?”

 

“Yeah,”

 

“Okay, then walk up to my room. It's the first door to your left when you reach the top pf the stairs. Come on, we'll help you.”

 

So, with Glory's right arm over my shoulder, I helped her out of the chair and up the stairs. Marie was only two steps behind.

 

“I'm really sorry guys,” murmured Glory.

 

“I told you a while ago, Glory, that there's no need for apologies.”

 

“I'm really, really sorry.”

 

“No need for that.”

 

Then, we finally reached the top of the landing. With minimal effort, we put her to bed. Well, more like I tossed her onto the bed.

 

“Here, drink this,” said Marie, handing over the cocktail she has been holding all this time.

 

“I can't. I won't. I already drank too much,” Glory replied.

 

“You have to drink this one. It will make you sleep better.”

 

And so, Glory took it from Marie's hands and drank in an instant. In thirty seconds, the big glass' contents were gone.

 

One, two, three... I was counting until Glory could fall back to sleep. Eight, nine, ten... out like a rock.

 

“Okay, let's go get my poor neighbor to have sex with her,” Marie said this like she was telling me to add sugar to her coffee.

 

“Not yet. We have to wait until the drug is absorbed. Give it about thirty minutes.”

 

“Do you think my neighbor will have sex with her?”

 

“Marie, that Justin guy will f**k with anyone.”

 

Justin has been Marie's neighbor for ten years. When they were kids, when Marie just moved in to this neighborhood, she and Justin instantly became friends. However, right when they both hit puberty, all the crazy hormones ruined this wonderful bosom friendship.

 

Justin would grab Marie's growing breasts out of nowhere and it hurt. Plus, he started talking about sex whenever Marie is around. It got so disgusting that he showed Marie his dick once. “I was just showing you my peach fuzz. I grew one already,” he said, bragging about his single pubic hair. One time, while walking home from school, Justin caught up to her and was insisting that she come with him to his room. Marie declined. Now, Marie noticed a steady stream of girls going in and out of Justin's house when his parents are not around. They're not all pretty. Some, he obviously just picked up from the streets.

 

“Phone Justin, now,” I said.

 

Marie obediently did so. This is what I love most about her. Whenever we're doing something bad, she is always game.

 

“Hello Justin. This is Marie,” I heard her say on the telephone in the hallway. I didn't bother listening to them. I was left with Glory inside the room. Her pulse rate is sixty six beats per minute. Respirations at eighteen per minute. Perfect. She's not dead. Looking at her, she could've been pretty if not for the pores and bushy hair. She has a healthy body too. It's just that right now, she's chickenshit.

 

“Well, he's up for it. But I said we'll pay him,” said Marie as she walked in.

 

“How much?”

 

“Five hundred.”

 

“For that price, we should be allowed to video the both of them.”

 

Marie looked at me with judgmental eyes. Oh, no. Her conscience is still intact. She's backing out.

 

“I'll go get my digicam,”

 

All right. She's no chicken after all. The doorbell rang and I went to get it. I let Justin in.

 

“So, where is this b***h?”

 

Upstairs, first room to the left,” I replied.

 

He walked up the stairs ahead of me. He was tall for his age, good looking in a rough way but the perversion of his soul oozed out from the pores of his skin. That smell. It's so familiar. Then it hit me. That's the smell of dried cum. Then I knew this guy is perfect for the job.

 

As he went inside the room, Marie slipped out. She walked past him, totally avoiding his gaze then she said, “We'll pay you when it is done.” Then, the door was closed.

 

“What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be videotaping them?”

 

“Do you think he'd do her if he was being videotaped? I don't think so. He still has a brain, he'd most likely play safe. I mean, what we're doing here is still rape.”

 

“It's not rape if the one...”

 

“Yeah I know... if the one being raped doesn't know she's getting raped. Still, I'm scared. What if she waked up? For crying out loud, she didn't do anything to us anyway.”

 

“Are you backing down now?”

 

A moment's hesitation then, “No.”

 

“Good girl.”

 

She was looking at the bedroom door. We were standing outside for one minute then we heard the squeaking of the bedsprings under the combined weight of Justin and Glory.

 

I broke the silence.

 

“We are doing this not just for minimal revenge for what she did at your party. We're doing this because it's fun. This world gives you two choices. You are either a prey or predator. You either conquer or follow. I do not want to be a victim so I step on them beforehand. You?”

 

“I'm not a victim either.”

 

“Good. It's nice to hear that there are some people in this world who still have guts.”

 

We waited outside for ten whole minutes. By the time Justin stepped outside, he was all sweaty.

We gave him the money before he could ask for it and then he promptly went out, casting a dirty look at Marie, the one that says “I'll be back for you.”

 

We entered the room and Glory was lying on the bed in just her underwear. The smell of semen permeated the air.

 

“I have to get new sheets,” said Marie.

 

“Well, it's over. Not much fun though. We didn't get a video.”

 

“Oh yes we did.”

 

Marie walked over to her study desk two feet away from her bed on which she propped several stuffed toys. She reached into the small pile of animals and pulled out the camcorder.

 

“That's my girl,” I said.

 

“You think she'd know what happened to her?”

 

“The gamble is part of the fun.”

 

We slept in the living room that night. When we woke up, it was already nine am. We walked upstairs to find Glory sitting up on bed. She looked at us with big eyes and said, “Thanks for letting me sleep over. Don't worry, you can go back to sleep. You both looked tired. I'll go show myself out.”

 

And that was the last time we let Glory speak to us outside the classroom. It was not much fun. She didn't even complain of pelvic pain. She didn't even notice the coin-sized stain she left on Marie's sheets.

 

“You think she figured out what we did to her?” Marie asked me, waking me up from my reverie, as we were walking away from the canteen.

 

 

“No,” a simple answer to a simple question.

 

“She said she wanted to talk to us.”

 

“Dear, lots of people want to talk to us or be seen talking to us.”

 

We left the school to have lunch in the Italian restaurant we both love so much. The garbage served by the canteen cannot compare to the penne pasta we're both enjoying right now.