Chapter 6. Bar Girl Routine.
A Bar Girl's world. Fatal Accident. Olav the irrepressible. The girls' first payday. Amor meets shabu. Girlie has a happy encounter.
By the end of her first week at Talent Spot, Blen was well on the way to developing a personal stage image, and by incorporating elements of performance, had established her niche in the bar. When customers entered, she would move to the front of the stage and flamboyantly wave both outstretched arms up and down to attract their attention, then make the BJ sign, and point towards the booth. When Mama signalled, she would drop her camisole and dance directly opposite the indicated customers, in choreographed manoeuvres, using her thong and the bar poles as effective props. Though business was slow, her assiduous soliciting had interested two or three customers sufficiently each evening to result in trips to the booth, and her raunchy displays kept bums fixed in seats for a second or third drink.
Her performance in the Wet-T contest had impressed Blen on the mental map of desirable girls, which many locals kept in their heads, and with her, the route to Talent Spot. Following the rush of custom on Monday night, rumours had filtered through the ex-pat community, who had little to do but play pool and gossip, of this pretty and biddable young oralist at Talent Spot, who tried to hypnotise her customers. Some, not content to recycle this fun to relate piece of tittle-tattle, decided to form their own opinion. Consequently, Blen had spent much of the week bringing contentment to the sunset years the proactive pensioners of Angeles City.
Blen calculated that she was earning about 1250p in commission and salary, and this ensured she began each shift motivated and enthusiastic. She was able to pay her daily living expenses out of her miscellaneous tips. She was even getting return customers already. On Friday night, Mr Hirohito greeted Blen like an old friend.
Blen was no longer worried about credit. In fact, she was confident enough to buy more costumes from Mama's catalogue, and was positively looking forward to sending an impressive remittance to her sister at the end of her first fifteen days when her salary and commission would be paid. Amor, whose credit was much greater, was doing less well. Although more sexually experienced than Blen, she did not have a stage presence.
Some girls catch the attention of customers by verbal assault, some by outrageous exuberance, some, like Blen, were natural exhibitionists who thrilled in nakedly exposing their teenage charm for consumption by hungry eyes. Amor did not have a strategy that came naturally to her, and tended to fade into the background. If she found herself 'one-on-one' with a customer, her attractions - and she was quite as pretty as Blen - were quickly appreciated, but such occasions were rare in the bar, where all the girls competed keenly for each customer's attention. Apart from one bar-fine, she was averaging 50 pesos a day from ladies drinks earned when a customer would buy drinks for a group of girls and she happened to be in the group, or when a customer rang the bell and bought all the girls a drink. To pay her rent and interest she would need 4800p, and then another 1500p for food. She was on track to come up short, and would need another six bar-fines just to break even on the month. That, with no money remitted home. Six bar-fines seemed unlikely.
Life had settled into a routine of nights in the bar, and days in the lady-house relaxing and recuperating. Girlie held her own in the competition for clients, and was occasionally away on bar-fine, so it was Blen and Amor who found themselves constant companions and confidants at the bar and lady-house. Blen paid for all Amor's food to make things a little easier for her.
Amor could see the possibilities of prosperity, but her credit seemed always to move fulfilment beyond her grasp. However, she loved her new life. The lady-house was comfortable and companionable. There was always interesting conversation to be had. Vendors, knowing that the girls had spending power, would frequently call to demonstrate the tempting trinkets they had for sale. The girls, who had been out on bar-fine, would return with tales of their customers; how nice or awful they were, how good they were in bed, or how disappointing, and especially, how well they tipped. Amor compared the comfort and fun of her present life with the arduousness of her life a few weeks before, labouring in the fields under the hot sun all day for several bowls of rice, returning home tired and dirty at dusk, to fall asleep on a mat on the floor. By contrast, dancing to her favourite music in an air-conditioned environment, then sitting and talking with her friends did not seem like work at all. Sleeping on a sprung mattress was a new and pleasurable experience, as was having leisure time to sit and watch television. The girl-talk was upbeat, and always fascinating. In the province, talk was of how bad life would be, now the talk was of how good. She could also see things coming right for the other girls.
Girlie was earning enough money to clear her credit in a few months. Blen would clear hers on her first payday, and send money home. Precious was doing best of all. She had started referring to Klaus, not as her customer, but as her boyfriend. He had told her he would return to see her again, in a few months. But, for Amor, the heavy burden of her debt cast a very dark shadow over her future.
As the experienced girls discussed their customers, it became clear that the worst put down was that he was "Cheap Charlie". Of course, the bar-fine was an all-inclusive fee, but the girls always tried to give something more than a fuck measured in pesos.
Most customers came simply to gorge on enough sex to last them through the sex famine that awaited them at home for the rest of the year. They lacked a biddable or affordable companion in their own country, and for a brief period wanted to enjoy the warmth of a soft body laid against theirs, and the gentle grasp of a velvet vagina on their dicks, in place of their familiar, coarse hand. But, when a girl provided the full 'girlfriend experience' and not just the hooker experience sometimes available back home, but the full 'fantasy girlfriend experience', love and lust combined; then giving the girl only her trike fare home, or worse, nothing, as a tip, made the girls very angry. Appreciation, crystallised as a generous tip, recognised the girls' special effort, and absolved the customer of many minor faults.
On Friday, shortly after the sun had ceased to climb in the sky, Precious finally returned to take up her bed at the lady-house. She came bearing bags of booty - gifts bought for her by Klaus while in Puerto Galera - and small gifts she bought for her friends. This was her first real experience of the lady-house and the girls she would live and work with. Customers being so scarce, during the day, the lady-house was crowded with its full complement of boarders. Then, at night, the six roommates would lie in an orderly row across the bed.
Having paid the trike driver, Precious smiled at the girls sitting on a rank of chairs placed outside the lady-house. Some she had seen at Talent Spot, but owning to her customer appeal she had not had the opportunity to become acquainted with them. She made a tentative entrance into the living room. Amor, who was sitting with Blen watching television, shrieked her name, and a noisy rush to embrace ensued.
Amor took her hand, and led her back outside. "Come and meet our roommates."
"This is our kababata, Precious," she told the row of seated girls.
Amor then introduced them individually, concluding, "... and Anabel and Marivic are our roommates, the other girls are in the front bedroom."
Pleasantries were exchanged, then the four girls returned inside and showed Precious up to their bedroom. Amor gave her the key to her locker, and they squatted on the bed. Precious opened her bags and handed a Puerto Galera T-shirt to each of her friends. Then she pulled out beachwear, jeans, shorts and costume jewellery, which Klaus had lavished on her.
"Tell us about Klaus," pleaded Amor, "What is he like?"
"He is available, he is a single guy, he has his house in Germany and his job is from the government."
Amor clasped herself with delight.
