The Public Stunt

Episode 31: Jared & Quentin

From the outside of the club, the loud booming system is prominent. Napayakap pa ako kay Jarren sabay sabi ng, "ganito pala sa UK. Maingay. Mausok. Puno ng pangarap--"

Jarren cut me off with his most stressful facepalm while laughing, "baby, can you please just stop acting as if you are a main character in the movies?"

Natawa na lang din ako. Ewan ko ba, teh! Iba kasi talaga ang feels nung nandito na ako sa Notting Hill. 'Yung tipong para bang may K ako na mag-drama, mag-feeling main character. Gan'on!

Hinawakan ni Jarren ang kamay ko nang makapasok na kami sa loob ng club. Halos mabingi ako sa lakas ng tugtugin, the DJ is getting wild from the main stage. He is having a sexy dance with a blondie. Hinila ako ni Jarren sa second floor kung sa matatagpuan ang mga table. Sa ilalim niyon ay mapapanood ang dagat ng nagsasayawang mga tao. Siguro kapag may amats na ako, baka mag-dive na lang ako sa kanila at magligalig sa kakasayaw! Pero wala pa kasi akong tama ngayon, nahihirapan pa akong mag-english! Mamaya kayo sa akin kapag may passport na ako sa inyo! Isang laklak lang 'to ng alak, laban na!

"Meet my friends," Jarren said after pulling one seat for me, "this is Jared," he pointed out to the guy with red mullet hairstyle. The next guy he pointed has a clean blonde brush up hairstyle, "then this is Quentin." They looked so opposite to each other. The former is badboy looking while the latter looks like a good boy who always go to church every Sunday.

Pero bwiset naman, Jarren! Sabi nang wala pa akong passport sa mga foreingers hangga't hindi pa ako nakakalaklak ng alak! Bakit ngayon mo pa pinakilala, pwedeng mamaya na lang kapag may amats na ako?!

"Uhm... hello," was all that I said while waving my hands at them.

"Nice meeting you finally, Fyang!" Jared beamed. He even raised his fist and we had bro fists. "We have heard a lot of amazing things about you from Jarren. This guys is definitely whipped for you!" Binangga niya ang braso kay Jarren habang tumatawa nang malakas. Nakitawa na lang din ako para hindi ma-OP ang tao na 'to, teh!

"Indeed, Fyang. Don't you know that he cried so much on us from a video call when you wanted to break up with him?" Quentin added with a louder laugh.

"Stop with that, dude!" Jarren hushed them while widening his eyes. "I told you I want you guys to meet her, not to throw me under the bus and reveal all of my shits tonight!"

Natawa na lang uli ako habang pinaniningkitan siya ng mga mata. Gusto ko sanang dumagdag sa pang-aalaska sa kanya nung dalawa. Gusto ko sanang sabihin na patay na patay talaga siya sa akin! Kaso paano ba ang translation n'on? He's double dead for me? HUH?! Hindi, teh! I-co-close na lang ang mouth ng babae!

Dahil nga as a quiet and mysterious girl muna ang atake ko for today's vidyow! Minabuti ko na lang na uminom ng alak habang ang tatlong ekalal ay busy sa pagchichikahan. Ni hindi ako maka-relate, bakla! 'Yung accent ni Jarren, nakakaya ko pa eh! Pero 'yung sa dalawa? Ay, sabog talaga ang utak ko! Hindi ko na sila maintindihan talaga. Akala ko, nasa UK lang ako. Bakit parang nasa Planetang Namek na yata ako?!

"Dude! flowerovlove is not here, she's in the USA. Kinda busy with her tour," Jared said before he drunk on his glass.

"Right, sayang. Hindi siya na-meet ni Sofia," Jarren answered and I squinted my eyes at him. Bakit biglang nagtagalog naman ang isang 'to?

"Onga, eh. Sayang, may next time pa naman!" Quentin added and my jaw dropped to the floor.

Pero hindi ko na kinaya pa nang si Jared uli ang nagsalita, "totoo, mga pre!"

"Nagtatagalog naman pala kayo?!" Ang bulyaw ko na lang talaga! "Mga bakla kayo, na-stress ako kakainom dito ng alak para masabayan ko na kayo sa kaka-english niyo, mga Pinoy lang din naman pala kayo!"

The three laughed hard and I scowled at them. Doon lang nila sinabi na kanina pa pala nila ako pinag-ti-trip-an! Mga gago 'to, ah!

"Grabe, solid par! Ikaw na ikaw talaga 'yung nakikita namin sa TV na LT kapag na-ba-badtrip!" Tawang-tawa si Jared habang pumapalakpak pa!

"Bakit, feeling mo ba mukha akong AI sa personal?!"

Nagtawanan na naman silang tatlo!

"Pre, congrats. You got the diva," Quentin gestured his hands with this purr hand sign.

Jarren just smiled at me as if I am the most gorgeous girl in the whole wide world, "indeed. And I am so lucky to have her. This diva is mine." He winked at me at hindi ko napigilan ang mapangiti. Hinampas ko na lang siya para kunwari, naiinis ako! Pero ang totoo, teh, baka magiba ko 'tong buong club dahil sa kilig na nadarama!

To be honest, Jared and Quentin is a vibe! No wonder why naging ka-close sila ni Jarren. Maganda silang makisama, medyo gago lang sa part na na-prank nila ako pero oks silang dalawa. Whenever they feel like na parang out of place na ako sa topic nila, one of them is always diverting the topic that I can relate. They even introduced me to some of their friends at the club. Iniwan namin ni Quentin si Jared and Jarren para sumayaw sa dance floor.

"It's nice to see Jarren to smile finally because of a girl," Quentin has to whisper those words dahil hindi na kami magkarinigan dahil sa lakas ng tugtog ng music.

"Why?" I responded, I also have to whisper on his ears, "sa lalaki ba siya nag-smile dati?"

"Crazy!" He laughed so hard then he whispered at me again, "the last girl that he introduced to us is a freak! She scandalized him here in Notting Hill. That is the reason why he has no choice but to live in the Philippines to escape from that scandal."

Kumunot ang noo ko. Walang na-kwento sa akin si Jarren about his ex-- and I never got the chance to open that topic to him because I am the jelous type. But hearing everything from Quentin, bigla akong na-curious.

"But don't think about it too much, what important right now is that you, guys, are happy," Quentin concluded before he danced again. Matapos ay nagpaalam siya sa akin saglit, mukhang may nakita yatang kakilala.

Binabaha pa rin naman ng mga katanungan ang utak ko. Minabuti ko na lang na magpunta sa comfort room to comfort myself-- chariz! Medyo na-haggard kasi ako sa pagsayaw! I had to retouch my make-up. Pero nang makalabas na ako sa cubicle, a girl is staring at me from the mirror. Minabuti kong 'wag siyang intindihin kasi baka ngayon lang siya nakakita ng maganda--chariz! 

Nagsimula akong mag-retouch ng make-up pero na-ba-bother na talaga ako sa paraan kung papaano niya akong tingnan. Hindi ko napigilan ang sarili. Nilapag ko ang lipstick at tiningnan siya.

"Is there something wrong, Miss?" I tried hard not to sound harsh, I mentally reminded myself that I am not on my country.

Pero mukhang sinusubok ako ng pagkakataon ng mag-crossed arms ang babae. Then she rolled her eyes at me, "so, you are Jarren's new girlfriend or should I say, next victim?"

I blinked for a couple of times. Trying hard to read what she is trying to say... but my mind is diverted to the fact that she knows Jarren.

"Girl, be careful with him. You might end up looking like a mess. Just like what he did to my friend a few years ago," she continued, now applying lipstick while staring at herself from the mirror.

"What are you trying to say, just go straight to the point," I heaved an exasperated sigh.

"Nothing, just playing the role of a concerned woman to my fellow woman," she put her lipstick on her pouch then stared at me straight to the eyes, "he's a walking time bomb. He probably going to just use you for a while then just like a time bomb, he is going to leave you alone-- injured from how painful he exploded. Sadly, the friend of mine, which is happened to be his ex, is too soft to accept everything he did."

Natigilan ako.

Nawalan ng hangin ang mga baga ko.

I swallowed hard when I saw some sadness on her eyes when she continued, "he is the reason why she committed suicide."

At tuluyan na akong na-istatwa mula sa kinatatayuan. Unti-unti, naramdaman ko kung papaanong tila ba naging marupok ang mga tuhod ko, muntik na akong mawalan ng balanse ngunit mabuti na lang ay agad akong napahawak sa tiles ng sink...