My Krung Krung Bae

MY KRUNG KRUNG BAE – Chapter 1 Crazy for"Louco"   Aljon Bautista How can this world feel so lonely with its over seven billion earthlings in it? I had this thought when I heard one of my classmates at the university talk about me being weird. An oddball, he said. Like every start of the semester, our department would organize a small welcome party for the first years and transferees. I go to a university here in my province. I always wanted to work as a social worker so I figured Psychology would be a good fit for me so that’s what I took. This year, we would be welcoming a little less than fifty first years. Yeah, compared to the other faculties, ours is pretty small. It’s the smallest not only within the social science division but also in the whole campus. I had been excited to welcome the freshmen because I just love meeting new faces. It’s scary sometimes but it’s also exciting. The evening of the gathering, I left my apartment wearing silver and mint green checkered shorts that were below knee length and fastened by a brown belt. I wore an oversized long sleeved floral shirt on top of a thin yellow t-shirt. My shoes were mismatched—black and white and my socks—yellow and green. I completed my outfit with a clip-on drop silver earring on my left ear and kept the black stud my grandmother gave me on my right. I arrived at the venue fifteen minutes past the agreed time. I was immediately scolded by our current chairperson. Her eyes narrowed at me as I entered the bistro. I grinned and told her I had to walk and on my way a rude orange cat crossed my path and I waited ten minutes before I resumed walking. “I wanted to make sure the furball crossed safely,” I said as I fluttered my eyes. She blinked at me a few times before she sighed and waved me off so she could welcome the other latecomers to the party. “There he is!” one my classmates, Jen, bubbly as ever, greeted me as I approached the table where the other third years sat. They put together several tables to seat some freshmen with us. “Your hair is so blue!” Oh yeah. I had it died earlier. A couple of months ago, it was bright green. “Hey, pipz!” I greeted as I flopped down on my seat. I began pointing at each new face and introduced myself, extending a hand to shake theirs with a giggle to each one of them. “Now I get why you’re called the oddball?” one freshman said to which I gasped and acted surprised. It’s nothing new to me. How did she know about that so fast? Somebody is a tattle tale! “I’m an oddball? Weh? Why?” I asked in exaggerated manner, making a wave out of my body as I leaned over the table to meet her face to face. She laughed and pushed my forehead. “You’re funny!” Hm. I like this kid “Ow!” I rubbed the back of head where someone flicked me. I turned around and saw our chairperson, giving me that eye that said ‘stop harassing the fresh meats’. I grinned at her and sat back down. Our table was the loudest right from the start. Jen and I kept it that way until I had to leave and use the bathroom. When I came back and turn the corner to get to our table, I heard one of my classmates say something that downright hurt me. Ugh. Why does my heart have to be dramatically sensitive when I get a little bit of beer flushed into my system? “Aljon? He’s so weird. He’s a clown! Does he do that on purpose? And his fashion sense, geez. He’s like an alien. And I heard he’s gay. Ew! That’s even worse. An oddball and gay. What a bad combination. He should really change and fit in so we don’t feel uncomfortable around him.” True, I tend to be different. Okay, maybe too different from them. I didn’t used to put much thought into it but my sense of fashion is not everyone’s cup of tea. My habits, too. Maybe even my mannerisms. Oh, hell. Why do I care about that? And so what if I’m gay. I’m still human. An alien? Really?! Then again, I was more hurt when that classmate of mine said I should change and try to fit in. That hurt, you know. I was taught by my late grandmother to embrace my uniqueness should I turn to like and do things a little bit different than others. I miss her. She passed away four years and as far as I know, she’s my only living relative left so now I’m all alone. Even more so when the people around me think I’m an alien or something. Forget about this social gathering. I should just go home and drink alone. If I stayed with them, I would just feel worse knowing some pair of eyes are boring holes in me telling me to change! Ah, stupid beer. I texted our chairperson that I was going to home because I didn’t feel well which was not a lie. I was really not feeling well from that verbal attack. Walking home, I passed by a convenience store and decided to buy myself some beer. There’s this new one that was becoming very popular. Louco. How fitting… I’ll be louco for this Louco. Chez! That would be bad. Or would it? I quickly went inside and bought a six pack before heading home. I drank a can while sitting in my balcony. The stars and the moon were so bright that it made me feel like wishing. Thinking about what I heard earlier, I wished to be somewhere else where me being an oddball is embraced. No drama. Just silliness and craziness with no harm done to others. I would be like a weird but happy occurrence. I laughed at myself thinking I probably didn’t make sense. But oh well. “Grandma, your beloved oddball of a grandson just wished to the moon. Hope you’re doing well wherever you are. I love you!” I grinned at the big bright ball of satellite and soon I fell asleep with an empty can of Louco in my hand.