by: Alan K. Caña
We call them the Boom-Town Rats because they're led by Aimee , a small 19 year old girl who stands less than 5 feet tall. A friend of mine once called her his cute little stuffed toy and another one called her his beautiful and sexy pygmy.
She's got a lovely face with skin so soft like a child's. She smells like a child too. She uses baby cologne and baby powder to smell fresh. She wears her hair long reaching as low as her buttocks. She wears the shortest of shorts.
Everyone agrees that she's a sexy little rat. A rat who makes a living from the goodies of the drunken men seeking pleasure from the night.
She was the first girl I met in that place. There were no other customers when I came because I was there early.She sat beside me and said she won't be ordering anything, just wanted to talk. I told her I don't have much money, she smiled and said, "It doesn't matter". We talked.
She told me about her Grandpa and how he gets mad at her for screwing around. She told me about her attempted suicide at sixteen. She told me many things, sad stories and amusing tales. I listened as she babbled on - entertained! Then she asked me to sing. I gave her five pesos and a song title, I sang Sandra by Barry Manilow and she sang a Tagalog song.
Then new customers came pouring in. I was a little drunk, so I told her to go and find someone she might spend the night with. She said she's waiting for her sugar daddy.When her "daddy" came,she kissed me lightly on the cheek and asked for my name and I told her. She thanked me and walked towards him.
As I am writing this, I cant help feeling awkwardly amused of myself. The story Im telling seems like something cut right out from a Tagalog movie, with me as the main character. So unoriginal, but nevertheless true!
Anyway, that short encounter became the starting point of a friendship. A friendship that has led me to meet more girls like her and the people who frequent the place, and the proprietor who owns it.
I became an insider. their friend and confidante. I was a participant-observer and I learned many things - lots of them!
When I came back a few days later, Aimee introduced me to three of her friends, Jesselyn, Juliet and Myrna. All of them wore sexy shorts and tightly fitted Tees. Jesselyn has a mole near her nose at the left side of her cheek. She's a little taller than the rest. She told me she's married and has a three year old child. She's twenty one.
Juliet was about five feet and 2 inches tall,with long hair. She has this habit of nitpicking her hair. A friend said that he'll never go out with this girl cause she seem to be infested with lice. This girl sings well with a husky voice. Her sugar daddy is a policeman from the nearby city in the south. She's twenty. And she's the niece of a very good friend of mine who happens to be a nun.
Myrna was different. She's fair-skinned and looked very ordinary. But when she sits beside a guy one easily sense that shes got this appeal. Perhaps shes got a high pheromone level in her because she attracts many admirers. She's nineteen and three months pregnant.
Are they prostitutes?..I don't really know, I did not care to ask any of them. But this is what they do: They enter a videoke bar and befriends customers and if they "table" them, they ask for lady's drinks", they ask for money to pay to sing in the videoke, and if the going gets good they received tips from their friends who as time goes by will become their sugar daddies.
If they find out that there are no moneyed customers in this hang-out, they send for their friend the habal-habal (motorcycle) driver to take them to the city of Naga or to some other bar. But they usually come back at Twelve midnight at their regular hang-out, here in Minglanilla.
Yes, here in the usually quite place of our hometown.
Right in the middle of Boom-Town Minglanilla - where Aimee and the Boom-Town Rats roam!
As I am writing this, I cant help feeling awkwardly amused of myself. The story Im telling seems like something cut right out from a Tagalog movie, with me as the main character. So unoriginal, but nevertheless true!
Anyway, that short encounter became the starting point of a friendship. A friendship that has led me to meet more girls like her and the people who frequent the place, and the proprietor who owns it.
I became an insider. their friend and confidante. I was a participant-observer and I learned many things - lots of them!
When I came back a few days later, Aimee introduced me to three of her friends, Jesselyn, Juliet and Myrna. All of them wore sexy shorts and tightly fitted Tees. Jesselyn has a mole near her nose at the left side of her cheek. She's a little taller than the rest. She told me she's married and has a three year old child. She's twenty one.
Juliet was about five feet and 2 inches tall,with long hair. She has this habit of nitpicking her hair. A friend said that he'll never go out with this girl cause she seem to be infested with lice. This girl sings well with a husky voice. Her sugar daddy is a policeman from the nearby city in the south. She's twenty. And she's the niece of a very good friend of mine who happens to be a nun.
Myrna was different. She's fair-skinned and looked very ordinary. But when she sits beside a guy one easily sense that shes got this appeal. Perhaps shes got a high pheromone level in her because she attracts many admirers. She's nineteen and three months pregnant.
Are they prostitutes?..I don't really know, I did not care to ask any of them. But this is what they do: They enter a videoke bar and befriends customers and if they "table" them, they ask for lady's drinks", they ask for money to pay to sing in the videoke, and if the going gets good they received tips from their friends who as time goes by will become their sugar daddies.
If they find out that there are no moneyed customers in this hang-out, they send for their friend the habal-habal (motorcycle) driver to take them to the city of Naga or to some other bar. But they usually come back at Twelve midnight at their regular hang-out, here in Minglanilla.
Yes, here in the usually quite place of our hometown.
Right in the middle of Boom-Town Minglanilla - where Aimee and the Boom-Town Rats roam!
No comments:
Post a Comment