Ephemeral

Chapter 4

The unfamiliar atmosphere greeted us the moment we stepped in. I thought for a moment about returning to the car and just stay there until Olive and Wyatt are done. But no.. no, that would be so not cool. Absolutely not cool. So i continued walking behind Olive while scanning the big area, and I was right! Some people are sucking off eachothers faces everywhere. Huhu! But it isnt that messy as what i've thought. This isnt bad at all. Second by second, na notice ko na how good the music and ambiance is.

"Enjoying there?" Olive asked while glancing at me.

"Ano?"

"You're banging your head. Hiya ka pa eh.  I head bang mo pa yan."

Was i?

There are like ten pair of eyes ang nakasunod ng tingin saamin.

Are they seeing through me?

I lifted my chin up while internally chanting the words 'Fit in, Lala. Fit in' 'Dont act stupid!"

While busy with my chant may biglang umakbay saakin and i was so caught offguard that i literally jumped out. Si ate na nabangga ko gave me an irritated look.

"Woahh. Relax, Lala." Wyatt laughed.

Damn Wyatt! Akala ko kung sino ng lasing.

"There's our table." Nguso niya at umakbay ulit sa akin. "Kanina pa namin kayo hinihintay." Dagdag pa niya.

Namin?? So may iba kaming kasama?

"Is that Kelly?" Tanong ni Olive.

"Paano ko malalaman eh kayo naman nag imbita saakin dito."

"Baliw, hindi ikaw."

"Ahh, hindi ba?"

"Yes, that's her." Reply ni Wyatt.

But wait, are they talking about Kelly "The Chearleader" Miller? As I can recall, hindi siya masyadong like ni Olive. Uh-oh.

"Guys, this is Olivia and Laleh, Kelly and Max." Pagpapakilala ni Wyatt, pagkaupo namin.

"Navarette." Mahinang sambit ni Kelly na nasa kabilang side ng table.

"Miller." Sagot naman ni Olive.

"You knew eachother?" Tanong ni Wyatt kina Olive at Kelly. Alangan naman ako, diba?

"Unfortunately yes."  Sagot ni Olive while Kelly just gave a small smile.

Nagkwentuhan at tawanan lang kami buong oras. Although, i noticed there's really an invisible barrier between Olive and Kelly. Olive tend to cut off Kelly from the conversation. They even glance at eachother paminsan-minsan and I find it really curious. I also discovered that this Max guy is sooo babaero. Ang dami niya pong baong stories about sa mga babae niya. Hindi nauubosan like "you know this Claire' 'and oh Tricia' 'yes! That Brenda too..' and such. Im having weird expressions on my face everytime he talks. Aandd.. Kelly.  She's the revelation for me. She's so malambing. Opposite sa pag de-describe ni Olive sa kanya. There's this one moment where she talked to me about how she always notices me in the academy but was too shy to approach. "You're the type of person every girl wants to be bestfriends with. Ang swerte ni Olivia." I quote. Nakakatunaw lang ng heart. I dont even know why Olive doesnt like her?

"Let's dance." Sigaw ni Max. "I'm spotting a hottie at the dance floor."

"Kadiri ka talaga. I'm already thinking na may sakit ka." Kelly said with a disgusted look.

"Sabihin mo lang kung nagseselos ka, hindi naman ako madamot sa katawan ko."

"As if."

"You wanna dance?" Bulong ni Wyatt sa akin. Linayo ko ang mukha ko ng konti at nilingon siya.

"It's okay. You can all dance dito lang ako." I smiled.

"You're supposed to enjoy. Come on, Lala!" Aya ni Olive habang hinihila ako patayo.

But i insisted to refuse. Baka magmukha lang akong tanga doon. Di pa naman ako marunong sumayaw.

Pinilit pa nila ako, but then i told them na susunod ako, just to make them go away. Pinagmasdan ko lang silang masayang nagsasayawan.  Until I thought of something risky and reckless. Gusto ko itry iyon kasi ilang beses ko na narinig iyon kina Olive. And it sounds like theyre delicious. Kahit na nagusap na kami kanina about dito, there's nothing wrong naman in trying it on my own without anyones influence right? One try lang naman. Para naman may ma contribute din akong story, sa susunod na mag usap sila.

Tumungo na ako doon and sat on one of the high stools. I stared at the bartender and he stared back. Nag titigan lang talaga kami for a minute until he finally broke it. Ha!

"Yes maam?"

"Yes sir?" I questioned back. Not really knowing what to say.

"Uh, do you want anything?" He asked while nakataas ang kilay.

Baklang to.

Lumingon ako sa mga tao sa tabi ko and looked for something and faced him again.

"Can i have a shot of tequila?" Panggagaya ko helding my chin up, with matching flipping of hair.

"Ano po?"

Aish. Bingi ata eh.

"Tequila, kuya. Yun pong iniinom?" Sigaw ko.

"Anong tequila po?" He asked patiently.

"Bakit mo po tinatanong saakin, ako ba yung bartender?" sabi ko nang nakasimangot. "Hay nako, ano ba naman tong bar na to, nibartender nila di alam mga inuming binibenta." Bulong ko habang tinitignan ang kabuoan ng bar.

Aalis na sana ako nang may nagsalita.

"Miss, he's asking what tequila you want." The guy next to me said. "Is it Don Julio, Dos Unas, Tres-Quatro-Sinco, or what?"

Nu pinagsasabi nito?

May nakita siguro siya sa mukha ko kaya tumawa siya ng mahina.

"I think i get it." He mumbled. "Just get her anything."

And who does he think he is? Did I ask for his--

"Where's your company?" Tanong niya at linagok ang inumin niya. "Are you even allowed to drink?" Dagdag niya pa ng hindi nakatingin saakin.

Aba aba! Ano tingin niya sa akin 16 years old?

I scanned him up and down and up. He's wearing a black leather jacket and dark jeans. Despite the dim lighting of the club i can still see the structure of his face. And this one's a good looking guy, I can say. Hes got pointed nose, yes, and a perfect seemingly trimmed brows, and the jawline, it looks like a jawline of a mythological god woah and.. Oh my! His lips. His pouty lips..

Who's this creature?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yayy! That's it. Sino sa tingin niyo si mistery creature? Hahaha abangan!

Ps.
Kelly Miller is Sophia Señoron while Maxwell Mendoza to be decided. Any suggestions?