THAT FRIDAY NIGHT... in THE REALITY SOAP: AFTER DAD'S FUNERAL

Alright, this is so unlike Katy Perry song – but that night really did feel like a movie...

I arrived at De Hooi at past nine. I’d talked to Desi and Emily, two girls from the Fatmawati branch school, downstairs. Emily told me that Patrick was upstairs.

“Okay. Thanks, Em.”

I trudged upstairs, trying not to bump into people going downstairs.

“Hey, thanks so much for coming!” Patrick greeted me with a hug when he saw me. I returned the hug, feeling his thick beard graze against my cheek. “Good to see you!”

“Good to see you too,” I replied with a smile – and realised just how sad I sounded. I knew we’d started off badly two years ago – and it took us a while to have finally respected each other and become friends later on. We’ve been pretty good friends, although not close.

Patrick invited me to sit with his group of friends and so I did. There were a lot of talks, introductions, joking around, dancing, and drinks that night. There were new names and old familiar faces.

Before I got there, Girusi had asked me via WA if she could stay over at my place. I replied: “Okay, sure – but why?”

Girusi finally told me as we sat together at the corner of the bar:

“My ex is stalking me again.”

I’d nearly rolled my eyes. Oh, brother – not another rubbish, please! I know she had a rather ‘disturbing’ ex last year, but haven’t she learned from her mistakes?

Well, it’s not that I have no sympathy or else. Not only I’ve heard so many ‘unpleasant’ tales about her, but I’ve also seen how she is. I mean, if she thinks her ex is a jerk, then why stay friends with the guy at all?

All in all, she’s just a drama queen. Girusi is the kind of girl who acts like she’s all that – the top of the world. She’s such a prissy, nosy, and noisy princess. She thinks the world revolves around her. She thinks every guy (especially the cute ones) who talks to her has a thing for her.

Let’s just say that she’s not the kind of girl I can – and even want to – be friends with. Saying yes to her request that night was the worst mistake I’d regretted.

I tried mingling with as many people as possible that night. One of Patrick’s friends, Ally – an older-looking blonde woman – asked me:

“Are you from Australia?”

“Indonesia.” I grinned at her. Here we go again, I thought, feeling amused, people mistaking me for my copied accent.

I talked to Patrick’s other friends. I said hi to John (not Johnny ‘Scarface’ I’d met on Wednesday night. This John looks more like the younger version of Andrew McCarthy – so cute with sweet eyes.) I was impressed that he remembered me, even when we’d only met once.

Well, here’s what I’d seen that night: at first, Girusi was all over Patrick’s best friend Jared, flirting with him and all that. But then, when Gary came around – dancing with all his confidence and skills – she quickly switched her attention to him.

For the rest of the night, the duo were almost inseparable – sharing drinks, jokes, and dancing. Girusi was shamelessly clinging to Gary, circling her long, skinny arms around him possessively and resting her head on his broad shoulder – as if they were an item. He didn’t seem to mind, though (or perhaps he was already drunk. I know what guys are like.)

One girl asked me curiously: “Is that Gary’s girlfriend?”

“No.” I clenched my jaw, suddenly feeling sick at the sight in front of me. “Gary has a girlfriend from Colombia – and that girl knows it.”

“Oh.”

How dare she! At her ex’s farewell party? I had to look away in disgust. Then I distracted myself by talking to other people.

First of all, I’m no hypocrite. I like Gary too. He’s a gorgeous brunet, nice and friendly. He’s nice to everybody, even when he pretends to act cool sometimes.

But I have a strict policy for guys with girlfriends: a big no-no. Call me old-fashioned, but I’d be jealous as hell if another girl were obviously attracted to my boyfriend and tried to go after him. Yuck!

Ben showed up with his wife Rachel – and everyone admired her new tattoo. (A bluish-green peacock feather on her inner right arm.) Stu made funny faces at people, and some of his impersonations reminded me of that scary, beastly alien in “Predators”. I’d even taken a picture of him, giggling while Girusi looked disgusted. (What can I say? She’s just a regular chick!)

I talked to Alex and Tony B. too. Tony B. has always been the quiet one in the crowd, but that night he was quieter. He seemed to have a lot on his mind and need someone to talk to, so I sat with him longer.

As usual, Tony B. had plenty of stories that night. He always does whenever there are two of us at the same table. (I only get to see him once a week now, which is kind of sad. I’ve already considered him a father figure in my life now and I love him dearly for that.)

First, about his dearest girlfriend Risna. He’s missing her, but she’s been busy lately.

Then, about...Girusi, again. (Okay, what is it this time?) She’d called in sick twice. First on Wednesday. Then Tony B. got a tip about her showing up at Steph’s farewell dinner on the same Wednesday night, looking well. The second happened on Friday, before Tony B. finally saw her at Patrick’s farewell party – looking so well that she could drink, dance, and put her hands all over someone else’s boyfriend.

Not only stupid, she was being disrespectful to Tony B. Good, old Tony B. How could she? If she’d used at least half of her brain, she wouldn’t have had the nerve to show up at all that night.

That’s right; I was furious.

“I’m a little bit angry with her right now.”

“You should tell her that.” Just then, Girusi came over and I stepped back. I didn’t know what she was saying to him; the music was so loud and the crowd was noisy. She looked like she was going to cry, but I simply stared in disgust before turning away.

How utterly fake. It’s only a matter of ‘when’ before people will start noticing that about her and just stop paying attention. (Sadly, some guys are just pretty slow when it comes to understanding the real her – usually until it’s all way too late!)

Girusi did try to talk to me after that, but she just pissed me off even more. All she did was bitch about other people – random strangers I didn’t even know:

“See that girl in white over there?”

“Yeah, what about her?” I rolled my eyes.

“She’s a whore!”

“Well, what the fuck do I care?” I snorted and silently added, you nosy, hypocritical bitch!

She was shocked by my brash response, but I didn’t care. She deserved it.

I went back to talking to other people for distraction. Discussing politics with Alex. Saying hi to Scott. Laughing with a girl named Cherry. Standing on the ledge of the stool while shouting at Gary (I must’ve been pretty drunk already!) :

“Gary, look! I’m taller than you.”

“Nah.” The tall, muscular and handsome brunet shook his head – with his fag sticking out of his mouth.

“Yes, I am.” When Gary climbed on another ledge of the stool in front of me, I pretended to pout and sat down. He was still dancing when I said, “Okay, you win.”

Gary stepped down, we high-fived, and cracked up laughing. He even impressed me with a couple of smoke rings he blew out of his mouth.

Everything was fine, until – out of the blue – Girusi was walking past the crowd to my corner, followed by Patrick. She looked pissed.

“Stay away from me! I’m sick of you following me around like this!”

Oh, God. Not tonight, please, I silently pleaded as I backed away again. Some people were watching. Girusi was yelling at Patrick and pointing at his face while he was obviously trying to calm her down. No such luck.

I moved back closer to Tony B. and Alex, my irritation for Girusi’s overly dramatic attitude worsening, turning to annoyance and fury now. This was probably the worst part of the night, all thanks to her. I mean, where did she think we were – some lame, Hollywood movie set, where she was the starring role? I didn’t know what they were fighting about and I didn’t care who was right or wrong. Patrick had invited her despite the fact that they were exes. It was his last night in the city; he’d just wanted to part with everyone he knows in peace.

“I’m not sure I want to take her home with me,” I told Tony B. gloomily. He turned to me.

“On the contrary, I’d like you to do that.” Oh, God. No, why me? “Please. We all know how she is, but I think she’s going to need a friend after this. And you’re a much better friend than any of us now.”

I sighed. His smoky-blue eyes were hopeful, almost pleading. I thought: really? Even after she’d disrespected him? After she’d humiliated Patrick – the party host – in public like that?? Tony B. still cares about her???

“Please, do it for me,” he begged. “You’ve always said that some of us are already like a family to you.”

ONLY some, Tony, I’d wanted to say. That excludes HER. She cares about no one but herself.

“Alright.” I sighed. I gave up and shrugged. “Okay.”

“Thanks, I know you will.” He hugged me and kissed the top of my head. Oh, well. God bless you, Tony B. You know I’d do a lot for you.

I was still talking to Tony B. when someone put gentle hands on my shoulders from behind, swaying my body against the beat. I turned to see Gary and smiled at him.

“Hi.” I ended up dancing with him for distraction. (Of course, I kept my hands to myself!) Gary is a great dancer; I’m a two left-footed klutz. He was very confident; I was a bit self-conscious and embarrassed, but he didn’t seem to care much. We were enjoying it.

After that, we ended up playing “Five Questions You Should Lie To”, where you must answer each common question the opposite of the truth – just to test how drunk you really are. I think I’d answered all incorrectly (or ‘correctly’, according to the rule of the silly game, haha!), but I only remembered three out of five questions he’d asked me that night.

Gary: “What’s your name?”

Me: “Huh?”

Gary: “Are we speaking English right now?”

Me: “Is that even a language?” (pulls a straight face at him)

(Gary cracks up laughing and so do I.)

Me: “I’m sorry.”

Gary: “Have you played this game before?”

Me: “Yes.”

Gary: “Okay, no. No more games. That was an honest question.”

Me: “No.”

We had to stop the game when Alex suddenly tapped me on the shoulder.

“She’s waiting for you outside,” he said seriously. “She said she wanted to go home.”

“Okay, thanks.” I turned back to Gary. “Sorry, buddy. I’ve got to go.”

“Take care.” He bent down to give me a hug. Then I hugged Alex and Tony B. before exiting the bar.

When I found Girusi, she was sitting outside with Patrick. I walked up to them and said:”Are you ready to go?”

Patrick looked at me, his eyes red and bleary. “Could you give us some more time?”

“Oh.” I didn’t know how, but I could tell there was something frail in his eyes. I shrugged and walked away. “Okay.”

“Thanks,” he called out while I was walking away. I stood outside the door – far away from those two – for quite a while. It got so boring that I ended up talking to a blond guy who happened to go outside too, carrying a glass of Heineken.

“I hope you’re not taking the glass with you.” Okay, I didn’t know how and why that stupid line had come up. Maybe I was still drunk. But he turned to me and smiled.

“Nah,” he said with a bit of a twang. “I just need to get out for a while. The music’s too loud.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. He and I started talking about music. It turned out that his name was Jeremy – and he was from South Carolina.

He was cute. The bookish type because of his glasses, sort of like Dan Wilson from Semisonic or David Monahan when he appeared on “Dawson’s Creek”.

My conversation with Jeremy had got interrupted twice. First by Alex, who went out and was surprised when he found me. (He was going home, for sure.)

“You’re still here.”

I gestured at Girusi and Patrick, still sitting far away and arguing with each other. They were no longer yelling, thank God.

“Leave it,” Alex suggested. “It’s none of your concern.”

“I know.” I shrugged. “That’s why I’m standing here. Dude, I’m not eavesdropping.”

“That’s right, don’t. Just leave it,” Alex said again. “I mean, go home.”

“But I promised Tony I’d take her home with me after this.”

His eyes softened. “You’re a good friend,” he said before he hugged me. “Please remember that.”

“I only know how to be me.” I shrugged again. He smiled and hugged me again, this time longer and tighter.

“That’s why you deserve another hug.” After that, we said bye and Alex left to fetch for a cab home.

Tony went out to and saw me. He didn’t need to ask any questions or made any comments; he just stared at the still arguing duo. He gazed warmly and smiled at me.

“I’m only doing this for you,” I told him, “eventhough I care about both of them too.”

That was half the truth, actually. I do care about Patrick, somehow, but no longer care about Girusi. She’d done more than enough to ruin the rest of the night.

“You care about everybody.” This time, it was his turn to hug me close. He kissed the top of my head, something Dad had rarely done when he was still alive. “That’s why we love you.”

Then we said bye and Tony B. left too. I realised that Jeremy had been watching me. I smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

“That’s just me.”

“That is you.” He smiled as he used the tone of agreement in his voice. Then we went back to our conversation until his two friends – a girl and a guy – came out of the bar. After that, the four of us ended up talking and giggling together. Jeremy’s friends were Brandon – a brunet who spoke Indonesian and Arabic quite well – and an Indonesian girl named Ayu.

The three of them later said bye to me and went back inside. I caught a sight of Stu from the window, talking to the singer of the band at the bar tonight. I went back in.

“Stu!” The bald guy looked at me. “I’m going home soon, so see you when I see you.”

We hugged and he said: “We’ll always have Facebook, baby.”

We both laughed and went our separate ways. Stu returned upstairs and I went back outside – finding Girusi standing there and facing me.

Now what?

“I’m ready to go home.”

Good. I turned to Patrick – and had the sinking feeling in my gut the moment I saw him. He was sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest, hiding his face in his hands.

Oh, God. Please, no...

“Let me say goodbye to him first,” I told her and went to her ex before she could say anything. I didn’t care what she’d think of me or how he might react when I approached him. He’d invited me to his farewell party; I supposed saying goodbye properly was the least I could do.

“Hey, I’m going now,” I called him carefully. “Good luck with your new job, okay? Thanks for tonight.”

He just nodded a little; he didn’t even look up. Feeling a bit worried, I gently touched his wrist.

“Are you okay?”

“Not really.” At last, he looked up at me, even only for a while. This time, his eyes were really red. He was obviously crying.

Then Patrick hid his face again. I suddenly felt a growing lump in my throat as I hugged him lightly, placing my chin on his head.

“It’s okay.” I didn’t know why I said that. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

I left Patrick just like that. Girusi and I fetched a cab back to my rented room.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” she said on the way. “Thanks.”

“Don’t tell me anything and we’re even,” I replied curtly.

“Don’t worry. I don’t even want to.”

“Good.” The rest of the night had turned frosty between us. I didn’t care. All I wanted was for that night to end and to get rid of her as soon as possible.

She slept on the floor; I took the bed. (I’d already told her that I only had one bed and she said she didn’t care. Oh, well. Okay, so there.) I turned facing the wall so she wouldn’t have to see me cry, even in the dark. Why did I? I still don’t know. I’m not really sure. All I knew was that I couldn’t get the image of Patrick crying out of my head...

R.