Ang Lexicon ni Alexi para kay Alex

Oo

Oo

noun

: malas mo, ikaw ang natipuhan ko 

One of the coolest thing that happened to (emphasis: my) college life was hanging-out with friends in places that were 2 hours away from home. (traffic included) Naalala mo ba yung kwento kong deprived ako nuong high school? Well, not that I actually love socializing way back then. Gusto ko lang kasi dati pumunta sa bahay ng classmate kong taga-Navotas, pero sabi ni Dad malayo daw 'yon. Mom was paranoid as she wasn't familiar with the place; 'di tuloy niya ko pinayagan. Now, that I'm a grown up (hah!), pwedeng-pwede na. (except that I still have my curfew)

One night, we went to this bar owned by Charlie's uncle and managed by his brother, Chase. Sobrang memorable. First time ko lang kasing pumunta sa ganuong lugar. I'm really not fond of drinking, ayaw ko nga rin ng ambiance sa mga bar based sa nakikita ko sa TV, pero in fairness duon, mas kumportable sa pakiramdam.

May live bands, spoken words, open mic kaya hindi parang typical club na pagpasok mo, puro sayawan. It was more like an artist's den, if I should say, pero bar parin na may counter at nag-iinuman din ang mga tao. (the others were clearly busy flirting with each other)

This is where I first met Chase, and my initial reaction was: He's quite attractive. (like Charlie) Pero hindi sila magkamukha ng kapatid niya. Chase is the rugged type. Bagay sa kanya ang unshaven look.

"Free drinks for my brother's friends," he told the waiter and the bartender.

"'Wag kang masyadong iinom, ha? Baka malasing ka," Bulong mo sa'kin.

"Yes, Dad," I said after I rolled my eyes.

At nagsimula na ang kwentuhan natin kasama si Chase pagkaupo niya sa tabi ni Char.

"Soon this will be Charlie's," sabi niya sa'tin, sabay akbay niya sa kapatid niya. "I'm managing this place for now, pagka-graduate niya, sa kanya na."

"Oh?" I heard Jas reacted.

Charlie was silent. He didn't look so happy about it. He smiled, pero halatang peke.

"Bakit naman? 'Di ba ipinamana sa'yo ng Ninong mo 'to?" You asked Chase. "Kinwento kasi ni Char dati."

"Dahil walang anak si Ninong, sa'kin niya dapat ipapamana pero ayoko. So, kay Charlie na lang. Sakto HRM naman din siya. I know he could take care of this place better and.. I prefer to pursue my passion in hair-cutting. In the future, I'm planning to open my own salon."

Meron kasing cliché na yung mga naggugupit ng buhok ay karaniwang bading. Pero si Chase, mukha namang walang bahid.
Tumingin ka sa'kin na biglang parang may naisip. It was a B1 and B2 moment.

"And.. I'm not gay," he said with a laugh. "Alam kong iisipin niyo 'yan. All of my friends asked if I'm gay, when I told them my plan."

We laughed, an awkward kind of laugh. Sana hindi naman siya na-offend.

Chase stopped talking when this group took the stage and the vocalist started to talk on the microphone. Charlie told us they were his former bandmates, mga kakilala din ng kuya niya. They sing various types of genre, OPM man o foreign songs. (Parang Asan si Crispin?) I noticed a few familiar faces, yuong nasa birthday party ni Charlie. (One of them was Edge)