The Confrontation

Stories about my supahfriends – Jolas (Part III)

We all said a silent prayer when Jolas headed for the door.  But before going out, he turned around and gave us all a mischievous wink.  The cocky bastard. 

We endured the longest wait in our college life that night.  We all feared for him.  Was he going to be kicked out?  Will he be able to get out of this one?  In the past few weeks preceding his ’93arrest’94, his stature in our room has already reached legendary proportions.

Gaining weight without meal money?  Eluding the bulldog for so long?  Are you fucking kidding me?

As far as everyone in the room is concerned, Jolas is a God.

After the longest 15 minutes ever, Jolas came back.  His eyes were red.  He had with him a bag of groceries.  And he was smiling like the devil.  We were all bursting with questions. 

What happened?

Why were you crying?

Did she kick you out?

He just smiled.  After we calmed down, he coolly went to his bed and told us everything. He said he put on an award-winning performance.  When the bulldog asked for his delayed rent money, he said he pretended to break down, spilling his guts out to our landlady.  He told her everything, how his parents did not send him his allowance for two months, and how if it wasn’92t for his desire to graduate, he would’92ve packed his bags long ago and headed home to the islands and just, of course, plant camote.

 

He said the landlady was so touched with his story that she cried as well (although bawled was the word he used).  Apparently the landlady also had a son his age, but instead of finishing his degree, the son went off and married a dancer in a cabaret.

As for the bag of groceries, Jolas said they were freely given by our landlady to tide him over until his allowance arrives.  Imagine that. 

*On hindsight, I think Jolas did breakdown.  No matter how jaded we may have become in the face of everyday adversities, each of us in that room were just babes trying to be brave in the midst of the big bad city.  Jolas had it the worst.  He may have suppressed his hurts in front of us, but in front of our landlady, he must have seen a mother figure and let loose the flood of emotions that he had imprisoned for so long.

Up Next – Narciso, Boy Wonder