Kabanata 6
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"Stop the car." I calmly said to him. I don't want to shout for he's my boss. Kailangan ko pa rin siyang irespeto doon. Hindi ko naman inaasahan na sa bar pala kami pupunta. It would be better if we're going to the restaurant or something, but it's club.
A place where I don't want to go. Ni-isa hindi ko pa nasubukang tumapak sa club at wala din akong balak na sumubok. "I don't want to go to the club. Ihinto mo nalang ang sasakyan." dugtong ko.
Hindi ito nagpatinag sa aking sinabi at pinagpatuloy niya lang ang kanyang pagmamaneho. Walang expresyon ang kanyang mukha at tila ba hindi niya naririnig ang aking sinasabi.
Humugot ako ng malakas na hininga. "Ihinto mo itong sasakyan!" pasigaw ko na itong sinasabi sa kanya ngunit hindi pa rin ito nagpatinag sa akin. He doesn't care about what I've said to him. Nagbingi-bingihan lang ito at heto naman ako mukhang tangang kinakausap ko ang hangin.
Ni-isang sagot mula sa kanya wala akong natanggap. Hindi ako mapakali sa aking kinaupuan. Silence is in between us right now. What he's up to? Owning me?
"There's no turning back." narinig kong utal niya sa akin.
"What do you need from me? Nagtatrabaho ako sa kumpanya ng matino." sagot ko. "And what's the meaning of this?" tanong ko sa kanya at napangiti lang siya sa akin.
"I already said it to you. I don't need to explain it again." he said it with authority. He stopped the car and he looked on me. "Let's have fun. I don't have any bad intentions to you." he said.
Sinamaan ko lang siya ng tingin. "I don't want to have fun inside the club. I want to go home now." sagot ko. "It's better to sleep than to hang out with drunk people especially with bad people like you who have a bad intentions to me." I said that makes him smile. It isn't funny at all. I said it seriously. Do I look like a joker or something?
"Bad people like me?" nakangiti niyang tanong sa akin. "I'm not a bad people. I'm a business man who protects my own reputation for the sake of the company. I do play fire and do you want to know me?" tanong niya.
"Then what?" tanging na-sambit ko habang hinihintay kong bumuka ang kanyang labi. "I'm not interested to you and I respect you as my boss and I don't want to respect you in person." nasabi ko nalang sa kanya.
"Even if you're not interested in my life, I still want to tell you—"
"I'm not interested."
"I don't do love, I play it" aniya at agad ko nalang iniwas ang aking tingin sa kanya saka bahagyang napalunok sa kanyang sinabi.
He don't do love, but he play? Anyway, I'm not expecting him to do love just like what he did to the woman in his office. A manwhore isn't it?
"I'm not interested feed your thirsty of life." I said. "There's too many woman in the club. Go find and own one of them. I don't care about it. It's not my business. Just don't mess my life, will you?"
"I'm not messing your life. I just want to hang out with you. Can't you get it?" aniya.
"But I'm not interested to you."
"But I'm interested to you." he said.
DJ's throbbling music I've heard when we enter inside the club. Laser green and red lights rotates in the middle of the dance floor. So this could be what club is? A people dancing like penguins and zombies.
I saw drunk people flirting with some girls. May nakikita pa akong isang lalaking nakaupo habang pinaupo niya din sa kanyang hita ang isang babae. May naghahalikan pa, they don't care about people around them.
God. That's why I don't want to be here in the club. I'm too ignorant when it comes to this, but this is my life. I can do whatever I want where no one can dictate me. This is kind of bullshit.
Wala na akong kawala pa nandito na ako sa club. Wala akong ideya kung ano ang gagawin namin dito. I don't want to drink alcohol. Even if he forced me to do so, hindi pa rin ako iinom. Mas mabuting uminom nalang ako ng chuckie, yakult or juice than to that alcoholic drinks. It may be childish for some, but I don't care.
I was born in a conservative family. Where hanging and going out in the night is prohibited. They don't want me to have a boyfriend in teenage days. Parang lahat nalang ng aking ginagawa ay hindi pwede. Pero ngayon, legal na ako. I can do what I want. A boyfriend thing and so on. I can drink alcohol if I want to, pero mas pinili kong hindi uminom.
Napaupo si Gustav sa isang sofa. Napaupo na rin ako sa kanyang tabi. Kumuha siya ng isang alak sa center table and drink it. While he's just watching he's friend. If I'm not mistaken about his name, he's Urian. Urian has a woman in his lap, kissing it like there's no tomorrow. Hindi niya nararamdaman ang aming presensiya kaya ipinagpatuloy niya lang ang kanyang ginawa.
All I could do is to looked into another direction so I cannot see them kissing. God. I could just see human kissing in the movies, not in person. Now I could see it personally in front with my two virgin eyes.
"Are you done?" he asked Urian. Ibinalik ko ang tingin kay Urian. Nakita kong may ibinulong siya sa babae at ilang sandali pa ay kumaway na ito sa kanya. "You're playing with dirty woman again." said Gustav.
Urian smiled to Gustav. Kinuha niya rin ang isang alak mula sa center table saka napaupo ito ulit ng maayos. "It's not you're business Gustav. It's my happiness." sagot nito. Is that his happiness playing with woman? Paano nalang kayo kung may HIV ang magagamit niya?
"And you're with Zhan? So you're playing with woman again?" pabalik na tanong ni Urian sa kanya. Napabaling pa siya sa akin habang ibinalik niya rin ito kay Gustav. I don't know exactly what I am doing here. Uupo lang dito at makikinig sa kanilang pinag-uusapan?
Mas mabuting natulog nalang ako sa mga oras na ito.
"Atleast, hindi mga babaeng bayaran." sagot ni Gustav sa akin.
"Let's mind our own businesses anyway." sagot ni Urian sa kanya.
"Want some drink Zhan?" alok niya sa akin ng alak ngunit agad din akong napailing sa kanya.
"No. Thank you." sagot ko nalang sa kanya.
"Okay." aniya at uminom ng alak pagkatapos ay inilapag niya ito sa center table. "You're beautiful Zhan. At sigurado naman akong may boyfriend ka na."
Napailing ako muli sa kanya. "I don't have one. I never experienced having a boyfriend. May mga nagtatangkang manligaw sa akin ngunit hindi ko sinagot dahil strikto ang aking pamilya." paliwanag ko.
"Seriously? You're like a model." aniya habang pinagmasdan niya pa ang aking katawan. "Perfectly shaped body at sigurado akong maraming naghahabol sa 'yong mga lalaki."
Napangiti nalang ako sa kanyang sinabi.
"Stop looking at her." saway ni Gustav kay Urian.
Ibinalik ni Urian ang tingin kay Gustav. "I know what you mean about it Gustav. Don't worry, I have my own." sagot nito. Kinuha ni Urian muli ni Urian ang alak sa center table sabay tayo mula sa kanyang pagkakaupo. "Wait." aniya at umalis mula sa amin.
Tanging kami nalang dalawa ni Gustav ang natitirang nandito. Ilang sandali pa ay naramdaman ko ang kanyang kamay na inilagay niya sa aking balik hudyat para mapabalik ako sa kanya ng tingin.
"You said, you don't have a boyfriend?" narinig kong sabi niya sa akin.
"Then what?" iritado kong tanong.
"Nothing." he said. "I don't want you to have one cause you're mine from now on." he said. Hindi ako makapaniwala sa kanyang sinabi sa akin. Did he just said it?
My heart.
+TheDarkProphecy