Salvaged By His Posse

After five years, I finally saw the famed old man of Zouk I only read about before last night. He was right up there on the ladies-only podium on the Zouk dance floor doing his thing with his white gloves and his tacky old-school shades.

Just as it was my first time coming face to face with a legend of sorts, yesterday was also the first time in a long while that I had so much unpretentious fun at Zouk. Yet the great time I had at Zouk yesterday night was almost coincidental.

When Mr MT dropped me a text message some time last week "asking" me to support him at his faculty pageant preview at his faculty bash yesterday, I was quite honestly reluctant.

"Dude, your dilemma is not whether you should come. You just need to decide how many tickets you need," Mr MT persisted.

The pageant preview was so cringe-inducing I was ashamed that it was organised by NUS students. Suddenly, I felt vindicated that I only relented on my 5 year old anti-bash stance only because someone as close to me as Mr MT is on the pageant.

But the bunch of people I went to Zouk with, left soon after an ugly incident where I had to force a girl off this random guy she has leeched herself onto and pulled her out of Phuture.

So I was left loserish-ly all alone. It was only 1am, so I decided to go back in and look for Mr MT.

But I quickly realised that with him doing the social and having a companion of his own, taking his invitation to "join them" was akin to accepting an offer to a threesome. So I did the only decent thing to do and decided to leave and not be the proverbial lamp post.

Just as I was disappointedly contemplating the end of a less than satisfactory first night out in more than six months, I felt a hand around my shoulders.

"Go back so early for what? Come join me and get your money's worth. No girls tonight. Just a brother, brother thing tonight for us man."

I heaved a sigh of relief. It was my friend from army, JH. I knew he was going to be there with his posse of friends whom he knew since their secondary school and college days; but I did not think I would actually join him or his friends for that matter.

Actually, as JH later reminded, he also did not give me much time to think about the invitation. He just pulled me along and in the mish-mash yesterday at Phuture, going along was an easier option than trying to squeeze out of that place.

But for once, no regrets. Not at all.

I knew only one other guy in his five-guy clique, but they were quite a blast to hang out with simply because they let their hair down and just had good clean fun.

I had honestly forgotten how it is possible to have nice clean fun in such a place like Zouk.

Perhaps it is because I have only clubbed once with a different group of people - the other occasions were usually with the usual same old bunch. And on the one occasion I went with SY and P back then, it was an utter disaster.

Bar my maiden clubbing night at Expo on New Year's Eve 2000, I never really sensed this much fun and freedom that I had last night.

For once, I am not left alone because my posse was each individually occupied with trying to raba-raba some random hot chick they spotted on the dance floor. Or cosying up with a particular girl when we all came in a group.

Maybe it was quite hilarious seeing JH high and doing his drunken thing, but last night I realised for the upteen time that for me, clubbing is about the people I go with.

Perhaps it was just that it was Mambo Wednesday, where people just come out of their closets and do their synchronised dance moves and where the music is just right for a group's night out.

But whatever it was, when the lights came on at half past three yesterday, I was left hankering for more. It made me wished I had such friends who are able to just let their hair down and let live - appropriately.

Thanks JH...and your posse too.