I had a twin brother for a night

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It had rained all day but I didn't have to drag my proletariat ass to work because I had a party thing planned out for the night. I decided to go "geeky" for the night because we can't wear jeans to work and because "geeky" is what I sometimes am. My good friend had invited me for the launch of their magazine at Embassy so I wanted to support him and his new job as Business Manager, at the same time, perhaps find a way to mingle with all those people I don't know but see very often on the internet or on the papers. Fine ... "geeky" is what I am all the time.

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The party was a great! The music was enticing and danceable, the bar was open till around 11 so I had myself a light beer and some rum coke. Joeboy came in early and he introduced me to some of his friends, one of them was Twin. I felt consciouss when he asked me what I do for a living, I mean, in some ways it still hits me how under-achieverly my work is and how I have this need to keep justifying what I do. (Blame my middle child complex.) But he was nice about it and didn't seem to be judgmental. It's all my head I guess, the way I make a fuss over what I do with my life. So under the disco balls and pink-purple sequin strands hanging from the ceiling, there I was with Joeboy, Twin, and other friends enjoying a nice drink, conversing wittily, and shivering our asses off because the aircon was at full blast and blowing against my semi-fit dark magenta shirt. The last few things I remember him telling me was that he knows most of the people there and that he has a very high tolerance for alcohol. Although I was thoroughly enjoying the conversation, had I stayed there any longer, I would've caused myself a grand mal seizure. I needed more oxygen in my brain and being there felt like being caught in a high society gathering in the tundra.

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From the entrance, I watched as the club filled up with people, some celebrities, and title holders of the Miss Earth beauty pageant ( L-O-L) At this point, I was beside one of the tarpaulins thawing off my hands and butt with the heat coming from the spotlights. (L-O-L) After the toast, some pictures, and a few more drinks, we found one of Joeboy's friends already feeling nauseous so they decided to bring him home and left me there in the club. It was uncomfortable because not only did I not know anyone there, I felt a bit socially retarded for not knowing how to know anyone there.

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In a few minutes, I received a call from Joeboy telling me that Twin wasn't feeling well too and that it would be a huge favor if I can check up on him. It was 2 am already and they turned the lights on in the club. The party's officially over. I found him sitting down alone on the front steps, wasted alright and with a bottle of water in his hands. I sat beside him on the faux grass mat that covered the steps (just imagine how much water seeped through that and how much water seeped through my tree-trunk brown pants). To say the least, it was uncomfortable. But, I had a job to do and Twin was apologizing profusely for having lost his control over alcohol. He rested his head on my shoulder. I kept a soft slouch so that his head wouldn't fall off. It was still raining and we were getting wet. I had him lie on my lap because he was slowly slipping away. My arms cradled and patted his maroon sweater; he was already passed out by then. The rain gradually painted my glasses with its transparent droplets and I had the sense to bring out the hand napkins I kept in my pocket to cover his face. All we needed then was a faint Tango rhythm in the background and the mellow scene would've been perfect for a movie like Wong Kar-Wai's Happy Together or something.

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I swear, I'm such a sucker for poetic scenes. I didn't even notice how scarcely the people left in the area. After a few minutes, my friends arrive and they find me with a guy's face nestled on my lap. They smile teasingly and tell me we look good together. Matching shirts, matching pants, matching shoes, matching skin color. It was hilarious in a way. The editor-in-cheif accompanied Twin to a cab afterwards. We went our own separate way to Buendia.

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We were the last people to leave earth last night and these are my ruminations of fraternity.

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