I was still half asleep but decided to explore who had entered the apartment. I stood up and looked in the mirror and to my shock noticed that I was still half naked. In a slight panic I started to look through my suitcase for something to wear.
I didn't get time to get dressed. A fierce looking girl dressed in jeans and black top and white cap covering her long black hair entered the boy's bedroom. I tried to act casually, she looked at me from top to bottom but didn't blink once.
"Hi I am Jane, I assume you have joined the Makati transfer?"
I felt like an absolute dork standing in front of her like this. I stumbled "yes...yes. Nice to meet you. My name is Stan, I arrived a couple of hours ago and decided to sleep"
Jane wanted to ask a question but was interrupted by the sound of the front door falling back into its lock. Another person had arrived. Jane didn't hesitate and shouted, "We are here!"
I was still not fully awake but at that moment I would have preferred that Jane had given me the opportunity to get dressed.
As I looked through the hallway, I saw another girl entering the boys room. "Hi to you, my name is Daisy. Have you both been here for a long time already?" she said with a big smile and looking as me with a slight frowned eyebrow.
My first impression of Daisy was excellent, she was bubble, stunning looks and more importantly she seemed to understand quickly that I felt uncomfortable introducing myself to them in my underwear.
She said, "Nice to meet you Stan" and looked at Jane before continuing "Let's let this poor boy sleep a few more hours shall we, he looks like he just woke up"
Jane said "Yes of course let's find our bedroom"
Daisy and Jane left the boys room and I jumped back into my bed. I smiled as I understood that both Jane and Daisy were both interesting characters. This promised much good for the upcoming weeks or even months.
I woke up again after a couple of hours and felt much better. I got dressed and went to the toilet, I noticed that there were 2 other suitcases in front of the boys room. I also heard people talking and laughing in the kitchen.
I refreshed myself and decided to have a look what all the commotion was about.
As I walked through the hallway into the kitchen Daisy instantly shouted: "And here is number 1!" to the other 5 people in the Kitchen. I looked around and instantly understood that the Makati Transfer was now fully booked. It seemed like a happy bunch of people trying to get to know each other. There were a few 6 packs of beers on top of the kitchen bench and Jane had prepared some snacks.
The 2 other guys came over to me and introduced themselves as "Dan" and "Miki", my new roomies. I showed them the boy's room, they were as impressed as I was.
As we sat down Dan said "Apparently we are on cooking duty but Sir Stan, I have decided to give you a free pass tonight as. I came prepared today and I handle it. Just remember Stan, u owe me for this one!". We both smiled and I was more than happy to oblige given I had no clue what to cook or where to get groceries combined with the fact I hardly had not exchanged money yet had limited pesos.
Dan continued "We have a lot to talk about Stan and Miki, let's settle in first"
I noticed that Dan was a uber confident operator and started cooking as he owned the kitchen.
As I was drinking my first Filipino Beer, I realised I still had not introduced myself to the third girl in the house.
I walked over and extended my hand. She instantly said, "What took you so long #1!" we both smiled. She introduced herself as Lin Shu, she looked different but also full of fire, her mouth was speaking at a amazing speed and she had a slight accent which at times made it hard for me to understand. A lovely girl though. Later in the evening she explained that she was raised in the Chinese language as half of her family is Chinese.
Miki and Daisy finished setting up the table and we were all eagerly awaiting to taste Dan's fried rice with chicken skewers.
The food looked and tasted excellent, the chicken skewers with sate sauce combined with a big plate of fried rice was exactly what I needed after a day of minimal food intake.
Miki decided that it was time for a toast. "To the Makati Transfer, may we all achieve what we set out to achieve and" he smiled "To our first meal prepared by Dan!"
Something in me wondered what the 5 other roommates had answered on the last question of the application form.
I was not alone, Lin Shu tried to steer the conversation to this topic out of curiosity. In the end though we made a pact that we would only reveal the answer to this highly personal question on the day of our departure, whenever that might be.
I thought about my answer while taking a sip from my beer. I looked at Lin and turned my head to Jane before looking at Daisy and I wondered .....would any of these 3 women be able to let me love again?
