Chapter 6

I spotted my family's white Toyota Camry right away after I came down the stairs of the tuition center. Sighing, I trotted over and entered the front passenger seat. Mark was glaring at me. "What took you so long?", he asked.

"Told you already la, I needed to relieve myself," I said.

He checked his phone. "Shit la. Because of you I'm late already."

I noticed for the first time that Mark was wearing a slim-cut black shirt and slacks. His hair was propped up by so much wax that it looked like he was wearing a porcupine.

"You going clubbing?" I asked.

Mark didn't answer but focused on pulling the car out of the parking spot and onto the main road. After a while, I noticed that we were not on the route home.

"Wei, where you bringing me la?" I asked Mark.

"You made me late, so I have no choice but to bring you along."

"You siao ah? I don't want to get into trouble."

"Then don't get into trouble."

Dammit. I know that tone of voice. It's Mark's 'I'm the center of the world' voice. There's no arguing with him now. After a while, Mark steered us off the main road into a residential neighborhood with which I was unfamiliar. We came to a stop in front of a bungalow. Mark started texting on his phone. Then he glanced over at me and said, "Go sit in the back."

I didn't like his tone, so I replied, "Why don't you go sit in the back?" He smacked me at the back of my head. Grrrr. We glared at each other defiantly, unwilling to budge. The automatic gate of the bungalow slid open and out stepped a ravishing beauty. She was wearing a figure-hugging short white dress and matching stiletto heels. Her long permed hair was let down in long highlighted tresses. It took me a while to recognize her as Serena, my brother's girlfriend.

"Holy shit, Serena's hot!" I exclaimed without thinking. Mark launched himself at me with both hands. We struggled for a while until Serena opened the backseat door and glanced in at us, regarding me with surprise. Mark immediately straightened himself out and greeted her as she slid in while glaring at me as I ogled Serena's shapely legs. Oh fuck, her skirt is so short!

"Sorry, I had to go pick up my brother," Mark mumbled.

"It's okay," Serena replied, smiling at me."Hi John."

"Hi. Wow, you look great Serena," I replied.

"Thanks," she said, blushing.

Hah, beat him to it. I met my brother's glare with a smug grin.

"Are you coming with us, John?" Serena asked.

"Yes," I replied, at the same time Mark said, "no."

"Of course not, he's underage, they won't let him into the club," Mark said.

"We're underage too," Serena pointed out. "The age requirement is 21."

"Yeah, but he'll definitely get caught," Mark replied. "He's not even dressed right." He turned to me and said, "You can just hang out outside the club, go sit at a mamak place or something."

"Hmmm, let's just ask Leo, maybe he won't mind," said Serena.

Mark sighed audibly but did not offer a retort. Leo huh? I committed that name to memory. Whoever he is, it would seem he is higher up in the pecking order of my brother's social circle. As long as the sound of his name shuts Mark up, I'm totally interested to get to know him.

As we drove into town, I caught up with Serena. I knew her pretty well. She and Mark were actually classmates during secondary school but it was only after they went to college that they started being an item. After they started dating she would come over to our house fairly frequently, mostly to do assignments with Mark. She is a good-natured person, really pretty and upbeat. But tonight was the first time I got to glimpse her more daring side.

White panties. Sheer. I'm sure of it. The shortness of the tight little skirt left little to the imagination, especially when she crossed her legs. I might be holding up a conversation with her, but make no mistake, my mind is running through the likely scenarios my fingers will find their way behind her back. Sorry bro, I can't help it, besides, there is no harm in just imagining things. Right?

I'm only 16 and my family's on the conservative side so I’m totally new to the clubbing scene. This club looked new. It was located in an industrial area, seemingly converted out of a giant warehouse complex. The bright neon lights and flashing LCD screen boards lit up the night, a far cry from the dark dank atmosphere of the workshops and warehouses in the surroundings that were closed for the night.

The main entrance was choke full of people, gawky lengchais and lovely lengluis alike. Luxury cars were carefully parked in specially lighted spots to add to the cluster. Since we were only driving a Toyota, we just hang our heads low and rolled over to the parking lot behind the complex. We parked and got out of the car. Serena was already busy texting on her phone. And Mark was bent over, checking his porcupine hair in the side mirror.

At this point, I was starting to feel a little awkward. It’s obvious everyone here dresses to their nines. I’m in cargo shorts and a polo shirt, sporting flip-flops. I took a deep breath and reasoned to myself that no one is going to recognize me after tonight anyway. Besides, I am kind of curious about what goes on in places such as this. Fingers crossed that it is as decadent and hedonistic as I imagined it to be.

To my surprise, instead of heading around to the front, we headed straight towards the back of the building. Around the corner, there was a stairwell leading to the second floor with a door there lighted by a wall lamp. Seems kind of shady. I could see the hesitation on Mark’s face. He was always a stickler for rules. Serena checked her phone. “Should be the door up there,” she said. I could see she was a little nervous as well.

Me? Shit... I fucked my cousin. That’s a five-star taboo. What’s a little illegal entry to me? So I climbed up the stairs. The other two followed me eventually. However, I hesitated to open the door. Wouldn’t a place like this have some sort of security measure? If anyone could just waltz in through the back door, why doesn’t everyone do it?

Before any of us could act, the door opened by itself. A stocky and tall Indian guy, about my brother’s age, in a red shirt and white slacks, greeted us at the entrance with a smile.

“Finally la,” he said. “I thought you weren’t going to come.”

“Hi Leo,” Serena said.

“Sorry we’re late,” added Mark. “I had to fetch my brother from tuition,” He explained while motioning at me with his head. Leo seems surprised but he regarded me with a friendly smile. I waved a ‘hi’ at Leo with a wry smile. Leo broke into a laugh. “Okay, no problem. Just pray the police don’t plan to raid this place today,”

Well, that was reassuring. Leo motioned us to come in. As I passed the doorway, I immediately noticed the CCTV camera pointed directly at us from the corner of the room. Other than that, the room was rather empty save for some cartons of leaflets and other promotional materials left to gather dust.

We marched across to the next room. Inside, it was like a scene from a gangster movie. four burly men were seated around a table, cloaked in cigarette smoke. Wads of cash and playing cards littered the surface, illuminated only by a single light bulb lamp hanging directly above them. The men barely acknowledged us as we skittered across the room to the next door. I guess I just met the backdoor security.

Past the second door, we were greeted with the deafening thumps of what I assumed was music around here. It was dark, save for the swirling bits of colored lights around us. The dance floor was well lit though, as was the bar. Both sites were so choke full of people that I was amazed no one was passing out from lack of air.

We got to the open stairs to the ground level. Already, a bunch of glances was thrown my way, some of bemusement, others of confusion. Mark was probably hanging somewhere between embarrassment and revulsion. Leo seemed to take notice though. He came over and took a pair of gold-rimmed aviator shades from his front pocket and placed them on my head.

"There," he said. "Try to look a bit cockier and you'll fit right in." I exchanged glances with Serena. She laughed a little. On the way down I passed a mirror paneled pillar and saw what Leo meant. Even in a polo t-shirt and cargo shorts, I look like some rich brat who was above paying his dues to social norms. Chest puffed, I strutted on.

We joined a rowdy crowd hanging around five or six tables somewhere between the dance floor and the bar. I assumed they were college mates of my brother. They certainly look the age. Mark and Serena proceeded to mingle while I sat myself down at the table at the edge of the group and ogled out at the dance floor. Not like there was much to see anyway. Somehow it was harder to enjoy the view when it was a mess of writhing and waving limbs. For me, it was better if it was just one hot babe dancing.

Drinks started to flow and Mark and his friends seemed to loosen up almost immediately. There was a group of girls who seem to be part of Mark's college group but were also a clique of their own. There were about five of them and they had a table all to themselves. It was obvious who the queen bee of the group was. And by God, she was gorgeous. When I first noticed her, I had to do a double take. Then a triple. She wore a tight strapless short dress, all black. Her long lustrous straight hair flowed like a mane of silk past her shoulders. She was beautiful in the way movie stars or supermodels were beautiful. I had to do a fourth take just to make sure I wasn't looking at a beer ad.

The girls ordered cocktails, downed them classily, then rose to head over to the dance floor. Minutes later, Mark and several guys were only too eager to jump after them. Serena however, seemed to be more apprehensive. She remained seated with a few friends. Seeing that there was a vacant seat beside her, I went over to have a chat.

"You not going to dance?" I asked her, raising my voice over the music.

She shook her head. Even under the dim flickering lights, I could see that she was frowning.

"Who is this?" I hear someone ask. It was another girl seated on the other side of Serena.

"I'm John!" I proclaimed.

"He's Mark's younger brother," Serena explained. "This is Jessica," she introduced her friend.

We exchanged nods. I noticed Serena was glancing over at the dance floor, looking troubled.

"You sure you don't want to go up there?" I asked her.

Jessica answered for her, "She already told Mark she doesn't want to."

"Uh, okay," I said, thinking it was a lame excuse. Jessica then elbowed Serena and whispered something into her ear. Serena glanced at me, looking unsure.

"Okaaay," I said, feeling that something was rather off. "I'm gonna go hang out at the bar."

Quick as a cat, Jessica's hand shot out and caught mine. "Not so fast," she said. "We need to talk."

"Er..."

"Please John," Serena added. "There is something I must ask you."

Sheesh, I can't say no to a beauty. Plus Jessica was quite a cutie herself. I shrugged and nodded. The girls exchanged a few words and rose to their feet. Jessica turned to the guy on her other side and spoke to him for a few seconds. I guess that must be her date or her boyfriend. Just my luck. I was hoping she was single and this trip wouldn't be a complete waste. The girls led me further away from the dance floor, past some glass partitions to a corridor where the acoustics weren't an issue.

"So..." I said.

"First," Jessica said, "We need to know whose side will you take if it comes down between Mark and us."

"Uh..."

"Well?"

"What are you saying?"

"We need to know if we can trust you..."

I glanced at Serena. "I just need to know something about Mark," she said.

I sighed. "Okay fine, what do you want to know?"

"Has Mark been acting strange lately?" Jessica asked.

I shrugged. "Not that I'm aware."

"So no strange phone calls, messages, and anything like that?"

"I tend not to give a shit about what he does. Look, what is this about?"

"Well, we were just wondering if Mark has someone else on the side," Jessica replied.

"You mean he's cheating on you?" I asked Serena.

"I... I dunno," Serena replied. "I'm trying to find out."

I sighed again, but inwardly, I let out a chuckle. Here's my chance to play a hero.

"So you just need to look at his phone right?" I asked.

"I tried, but there is a pin code," Serena said.

The gears in my head were churning. "Wait here," I said.

Then I walked off, back the way we came, and straight to the dance floor.