Tristan is a college senior taking up Psychology. He is detached and lonely because he feels as if something is missing in his life. He can't bear to be around most people even if he wanted to. It makes him seem anti-social but he gets anxious and has panic attacks when he's around a lot of people.
He's in a classroom. The professor is talking about ethics. He can't bear to listen and sit still. He starts to shift in his seat. His professor looks at him but doesn't say anything. Tristan looks at his palms that are lying on the table in front of him. He starts to take deep breaths. The professor calls out his name. He doesn't like being called in class. He only recites when it is absolutely necessary. Someone behind him snickers.
"Tristan!"
The professor raises his voice and asks what's wrong. Tristan shakes his head. Soon, his entire body begins to shake. People are looking in his direction.
"Mr. De Leon!"
Tristan immediately stands up. The girl on his right laughs. He's getting pretty nervous at this point. He heads for the door.
"If you leave this room, there will be serious consequences, Mr. De Leon!"
He didn't care. He got to the parking lot, turned on his car's engine, and sped off. He finally arrived in his luxurious condominium in Makati. He parked his car and turned off the engine. He's out of breath. He realized he's been holding his breath for far too long. Now he's panting as he got out of the car. He walked briskly towards the main entrance of the condominium. The lady at the concierge greets him but he says nothing.
"Good afternoon, Sir Tristan."
He keeps his head down as he walks towards the elevator. The elevator is taking too long which is very unusual. His heart starts to raise and beads of sweat began to form on his forehead. He checks his watch. He has no idea why he's in such a hurry when he's already home. The ding of the elevator resonates throughout the entire lobby. He is startled. The door opens and he presses the number 5. He leans on the wall and began to take short breaths. When the elevator reached his floor, he repeatedly pressed the open button. He got out of the elevator of got his house keys from the back pocket of his jeans. He fumbles looking for the correct key and accidentally drops the set of keys. He picks it up and the door to his unit opens. It's his mother.
"Anak, bat ka namumutla?"
He just looks at her. There is silence. He is breathing heavily. His mother tries to touch his face but he steps back. He lowers his head and grunts and enters the door the same time his mom moves aside.
"Tristan, anak, yung gamot mo nasa bedside table mo na."
He stops in his tracks as his mom talks. When she finishes, he began to walk again, heading towards his room. His room is plain. A bed in the middle and nothing but a clock on his wall. He likes it this way. No fuss. Nothing. He grabs the pills from his bedside table and drinks it. He removes his shoes and lies down on top of the duvet on his bed. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. When he wakes up it is half past 3 in the morning. He calculates how long he has slept. 9 hours. He walks towards his window to see if she's still standing in the street outside.
She's there.
There's this beautiful girl standing outside a gas station. He's been watching her for the past few weeks. He'd watch her get picked up by random cars. On some nights, no one picks her up. He doesn't like talking to people but this girl interested him. His meds were working just fine because he didn't feel anxious. He actually felt very confident, which is rare for him. He walks out of his room and out of his house. He heads down to the lobby and walks out of the condominium. He headed towards the gas station to meet the girl. He doesn't hesitate.
"Hi," he says.
"1000," she says.
"Can I pay you after?"
"No."
"Pwedeng half now, half later?"
"You can't compel a creditor to accept a partial payment."
"Excuse me?"
"It's the law on obligations."
He handed her a thousand peso bill. He hails a cab and they both get in.
"Manong, magdrive ka lang. Ikaw na bahala kung saan mo gusto pumunta," he says.
"Kaya't ko mapan ti balay mi," the driver says.
Tristan doesn't mind the driver.
"You seem pretty smart if you know what the law is regarding obligations," he says.
"Well, I'm an educated girl."
"But why do you do this?"
"Why not? It's the easiest way to earn money."
"Fair point."
"So, saan tayo pupunta?"
"Gusto ko lang makipag-usap."
"What do you want to know?"
"Why don't you just get a regular job like everybody else?"
"Do you think I'm like everybody else?"
He laughs.
"I think you were once a privileged girl. You used to think that people can look past your pretty face but you came to accept that your gift is also a curse. You started sleeping around with people who gave you attention and this is where it got you."
"You got me pegged, huh?"
"I'm a psych major."
"More like a major psycho."
The driver began to slow down. "Boss, okay lang magpagasulina muna ako?"
"Sige lang, ho."
Tristan at this point is fuming. He doesn't realize his meds are wearing off. He can't believe that this girl just called him a psycho. He admits to himself that there's something wrong with him but he doesn't believe he's a psychopath.
He gets out of the cab and forces the girl to come with him. She protests but he pulls her violently.
"Don't forget I pay you. Now you're obliged to do what I paid you to do."
She gets out of the cab and follows him to the bathroom. In the bathroom he began to hit her when she got down on her knees. She yelped. Everything went black after and when things got clearer, he realized that he had just strangled the girl to death. People were knocking on the door. They must have heard the girl scream. His heart is beating extremely fast. His face is pale. He is sweating. He opens the door because he can't bear to hear the banging any longer.
"Hinold-up niya ako!"
He then began to run as fast as he could. He realizes someone is running after him. It's the cab driver. The cab driver gained on him pushed him on the ground and began punching him. Tristan blacked out.
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