Glorified Version of A Stranger

Written on 9/23/2006 – 5:30 pm | by keysinunez.com | 841 Views

Droplets of rain were beginning to spatter on the streets as he made his way to the agreed meeting place. He was reluctant to go primarily because he wasn’t crazy about the band that was playing that night, but, he wanted to meet her. He had waited two long weeks just to be able to meet her.

As he approached the entrance of the venue, he saw that the place wasn’t really that big. He had an impression that the place was spacious since he’d pass by it once a day when he lived in the north. He stood in front of the entrance and assessed the place. It was in an odd location, situated beside a river, right under a gigantic billboard space for advertisements. There wasn’t enough space for a parking area since it was right beside the highway. The place was mostly made of wood and glass, but it was air-conditioned to protect the occupants from the dust and the pollution of everyday traffic. He gingerly stepped in line so that he could purchase tickets for the event.

As the doors were opened for him, he saw that the place was already packed. Smoke from the fog-machine flooded the place. The band wasn’t there yet, no one was setting up the band equipment. The crowd was anxiously awaiting their arrival. He milled around as he tried to look for Kat. She said that they were sitting somewhere in front of the stage. Goodie. There already was a throng of twenty-something girls waiting to cheer the band on. He made his way somewhere to the back where he could observe the crowd more. There were probably around a hundred people inside. Almost eighty of them were female.

All the good ones are probably taken too, he thought.

He looked around for the fire exit. He found only two: Behind the stage and the entrance at the side.

Not good, he thought.

He focused his eyes on the stage area. The walls were made of glass panels slanting to meet at the top, forming a triangle. The stage was really small, not allowing the band to totally move around, but it was well lit.

Before he left his little sanctuary at the back, he sent Kat an SMS saying that he was already in the place. He walked around trying to find them. He had to admit, he was getting kinda giddy at the thought of actually meeting her friend. He stopped and sighed. He was getting worked up just thinking about it. Already, beads of sweat formed on his forehead. His shirt was starting to stick to his back. He wanted to bail out and go home.

I’m acting like a damned fag, he thought.

He looked around once more and tried to find them. He fished his ridiculous prehistoric gadget from his pocket and saw that Kat had already replied to his SMS. They were at the left side of the stage.

He made his way to their general location and was surprised to meet Liz. They chatted around a bit until he told her that he had a rendezvous with Kat and her friends. She laughed and pointed where they were sitting.

Ano ka ba? Ayun siya oh, she said pointing to them.

He craned his neck for a better look. Sure enough, there they were sitting and waiting for the band.

From where he was standing, he couldn’t get a good look at the person that Kat was going to introduce to him. He saw that there were three of them. Of course Kat was looking fab as always. Daisy was sitting on her right side, Ginger on her left side. Daisy was wearing a striped shirt, and had a pink sling bag. She was sporting short hair and was wearing glasses. Already, he had the impression that she was the brainy type. Ginger was wearing a white blouse. She had long hair, fair skin and had a twinkle in her eyes. As expected, she was really attractive.

He felt his heart pounding as he looked at Ginger. Liz laughed at him and offered to SMS Kat to tell her that he was there already. He stammered and told her that he wasn’t ready yet. He just continued to look at the three, Ginger especially, from afar.

A few minutes later, Kat looked in their direction. Liz saw this and pointed to him. All three heads moved to his direction. He quickly smiled and blushed as their eyes met. Kat motioned for him to come over.

OMG she’s smiling at you, you dork, he said to himself.

He blushed and motioned that he’d be there in a bit. He was actually making a fool of himself standing there, looking at them, and wearing an idiotic smile.

Move it already, he said to himself again.

Giddy, blushing, fumbling idiotically, heart pounding, he made his way to them.

When he was finally in front of them, he smiled sheepishly as Kat introduced her friends to him. Kat demanded that they shake hands and smile at each other. Daisy didn’t bother but Ginger held out her hand. He shook her hand hoping that his wasn’t cold and clammy or sweaty. The two exchanged smiles followed by an awkward silence. Kat tried to break the ice, demanding that Ginger and Daisy talk to him. He blushed even more as they consciously smiled.

After about forty-five minutes of waiting, the band arrived. Kat was excited as the roadies setup their equipment. He, on the other hand, couldn’t stop looking at her, absorbing all her details.

She was kinda tall, long hair flowing, shining as the lights hit them. She had smooth fair skin. He glanced at her hands and saw that they were beautiful. She had long delicate candle-like fingers and exquisitely trimmed nails. Her eyes were expressive and sparkled every time she had a thought. She had beautiful thin lips, pink as the pale rose in his dreams. She had stunningly arched eyebrows that made you cringe if she raises one.

It actually took the band forty-five more minutes to setup and fix the equipment. When they finally played, the already dwindling excitement of the crowd surged past all levels. Boys, girls, fags, everyone was all screams and chants. The place was filling up by the minute. In the middle of the gig, the crowd number almost doubled. Everyone was getting really sweaty.

The cameramen were up and about, taking shots of the band playing, and the jumping and chanting mob. They were informed that the gig was being televised live all over the country. This added to the insanely high excitement of the crowd.

He tried to talk to her during the band’s performance. Daisy and Kat were standing, watching the band perform while they sat together and spoke. It was all really small talk, about the band and how she loved them in the past, about his musical preferences, about the bands that they liked.

It felt really good to talk to her. Somehow, he felt drawn to her, attracted probably by her beauty, intrigued by the capacity of her understanding, captivated by the allure of getting to know her personally. He couldn’t fathom the feeling. It wasn’t butterflies in the stomach. He felt that he was being tickled into knowing her more, understanding her, explaining the consequences of her actions.

Yes, he liked her, he was sure of it. He knew that this wasn’t just the like that he felt with others. He felt that it was different with her. Finding the one was his main objective. He had been hurt many times before. He was even devastated once. He felt that there was no point in moving on. He became cynical, sarcastic, and pessimistic. He felt incapable of loving again, until he met her. This was why he felt different. He knew that it was too early to tell because they had only met once, but the feeling was different. He was just determined to get to know her more.

Almost eleven original songs, and eight cover songs later, the band thanked the crowd and left. He saw that everyone had a smile on their faces. He was wearing one as well, not because he liked the band, but because he liked her.

They ended up, having a few bottles of beer together, chatting and getting to know each other better. Several times he caught himself looking at her and observing her every expression, her every gesture, her every reaction.

O, ikaw na maghatid kay Ginger ha? Alagaan at ingatan mo yan, Kat told him.

Together they walked to the place where they could get a cab. He wanted to hold her hand but he didn’t dare simply because he acknowledged the fact that it was too premature. He decided that would be patient this time, that he would try his best to win her, that he would take the risk again. He promised himself that if this worked out, this would be the last. He wanted it to be the last. He was tired of playing games. He wanted the real thing.

After dropping her at her place and saying the customary farewells, he went home wearing a silly grin. He lay down on his bed, thinking of the night’s encouter, and how happy he was at the result. He frowned at the dorkness of his actions back in the bar, but smiled again as he thought of her. He envisioned her smiling face, all pretty and attractive, and then he slept the sleep of sleeps.

Tags: life love passion prose risks short story

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