Stage One and a Leaf in the Keyhole (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: April 26, 1999

Keith Wants a Night Out

When the time arrived to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday night I was given a call by Keith who wanted to know if we would like to head out to Parramatta RSL Club which is where the wedding party was headed. Still a tad sleepy I told him to ring Ralf and arrange it with him but to my knowledge he was too apprehensive about calling Ralf, too much pride. Waking myself up soon after that call I prepared myself as we had arranged for 10:30 p.m. to be our departure.

While having something to eat and clothing myself with some apparel I received another call by Keith. This time around he wanted to get picked up by Ralf so with that I passed the message to Ralf and within minutes he was over my house.

The place where Ralf wanted to head was some pub atmosphere club called ‘Stage One’. From the onset of our night I knew that the club would be a disaster and the night itself wouldn’t bestow much complacency. The idea that Shawn, Keith, Ralf and I were headed out to a nightclub together after such a long time was appealing but I knew egos would clash during the night.

Ralf Drives to Stage One

Shawn was the first to be picked up and Keith was the last to be picked up when Ralf departed. There were no flaws in our drive to ‘Stage One’ which I think is near Peakhurst. Ralf even took the toll-way and unlike the past, he didn’t ask anyone for petrol money or toll money. This change of perception when it comes to having people pay their passenger way has changed. When Ralf started driving again it emerged with him but I feel that Ace’s notion changed Ralf’s perception and sparked these more sensible outings.

Before Ralf picked any of us up, he noted to me on the phone that he bet his money on Ralf having a breakdown for the night. Ralf has a knack for asserting his authority and making himself look potent in front of friends. As Keith noted, Ralf has to have the better TV, the better car, the better system and he has to be better than everyone else. Thus, abusive outrage from Ralf’s mouth was a certainty to Keith’s premonition and he didn’t let his hunch down.

A Pub Pretending to Be a Club

My first impressions upon arriving were that the pub atmosphere certainly wouldn’t be to my liking. Turning into the car-park at the back of the small club it didn’t look any bigger than the bottom area of my house but it did seem to have some life as we looked through the second floor windows from the parking lot. The night did have a fair chill in the light breeze but it didn’t bother me too much as we jumped out of the car.

I’m sure Keith and Shawn had the same intentional thoughts about the club when we walked to the entrance and then inside. Looking no larger than Ettamogah Pub and having the same sort of format I didn’t appreciate what I had seen.

I should have known that because it was a pub and because it was free admission I should have dressed down but to what? The dancefloor must have had a total of twenty people dancing and although it was better than some of my other endeavors with Ralf, it wasn’t too far off. Ralf has a tendency to pick the worst possible outings when it involves nightclubs and I give him some respect to the fact that he had to choose a nightclub that was free admission but ‘Waves’ would have been fifty times better.

Standing Around With an Ape

Content that we had arrived at a later time than usual of 11:30 p.m. I was glad that Ralf noted earlier he couldn’t stay too late. Grabbing himself a drink, we stood around looking at the dancefloor and hearing the older music they were playing.

Looking around at the regular crowd I noticed most of the women appeared to be good looking but also bordered on the likes of being sluts. That didn’t bother me at all but it didn’t aid my thought at the time because I knew I didn’t want to head out for a dance. Whenever a crowd is pumping is when I will head out and dance. I don’t like having space around me where it feels like eyes are prying at me.

These last couple of visits to a nightclub with Ralf have really plummeted my confidence to even get up and dance anymore because he always picks the shittest and most desolate clubs. To dance is to dance by yourself and to have a monkey doing jerky attempts at 70’s break-dancing next to you instead of just bopping to the beat, that’s gotta have some effect mentally. And to think that my extra outings with Ralf to a nightclub would be beneficial in the times the majority outings were drying out. Wrong was I to ever think I could have fun with just me and Ralf, an arrogant and an ape.

The Honeycomb Blonde

The only benefit to my coursing mind for the night was the sight of a most divinely beautiful young lady. Of course, she had blonde hair but oh, how straight and refined it was. Being a honeycomb blonde I certainly could taste the honey satisfaction trickling through my mind. Her body was gorgeously slender, her hips, her well-proportioned breasts, beautiful white smile and a young but beauty-aged face.

By the bronzed wealth of her face, I figured her to be a two or three years older than me despite her youthful appearance and for most of the night she sat with her older friends. There was a time on the dancefloor where the four of us were dancing and she was dancing right near me in her group.

Earlier in the night she had noticed me (While walking to hug some guy and give him a friendship kiss) and I feel that she wanted to have me notice her but I wasn’t confident. For the whole time our group was dancing I didn’t shift attention away from the group and when I did I stared into the distance.

If I am to meet women or at least have them see me as approachable I have to drop the conscious attitude and break into forbiddance of self-conscious acts. Without that confidence I will still be lonely on the dancefloor and like it already has, it will affect me outside of the club scene. Fret not, I will find my groove again and use it deservingly.

Watching From a Barstool

While Ralf and the rest of them had a beer I decided to make my way to a barstool table. Ralf and the rest of them followed along and for half the night this is where we sat. Overlooking the dancefloor I spotted some Arabic or Greek looking guy that was dancing by himself and like a loner. Having no real rhythm to his loose foot placements his finger clicking off beat and swaying his hands with ballistic rivalry.

It seemed at least an hour was spent around the table, talking to each other and making the best of our uncanny night. The little group on the dancefloor was picking up a fraction so Ralf jumped on with an eager Shawn. Both Keith and kept seated as he got himself a drink of water.

Speaking of water, the blonde was my type as she was drinking water as opposed to liquor and she didn’t smoke for the whole night. Purity was the case and I love purity in girls, I had it at one stage. Twenty minutes past as both Ralf and Shawn headed off the dancefloor.

As they did a little fight started between this tall Samoan and some other guy that hotfooted his way outside. I could sense that Keith wanted to head onto the dancefloor as well, he was only waiting for a good string of songs to arrive. Making my way to the toilet I heard the ‘Jackie’ song beginning and I knew that Keith would feel the vibe right about then.

Taking a couple of minutes in the bathroom, I made my way back outside to notice they had disappeared from the table. Evident as it was, I casually walked past the crowd that was mostly dressed casually and looked for the trio. Soon enough I found them and that’s when I began to dance with them for a couple of songs.

Dancing Only to Not Be Alone

Stepping onto the dancefloor only because I didn’t want to stand by myself like a loner I enjoyed it as well as I could, hoping no one was looking at me and thinking “What’s he doing here all dressed up, this isn’t the City”. When we had finished dancing and the song selection started going downhill we jumped off the floor and made our way to the bar.

Fresh Air Out the Front

Keith was urging for us to head outside and as Ralf was standing at the bar without a clue I made the effort to head back and inform him of where we were headed. Deciding to be pig-headed about the whole ordeal he made up some excuse of not being able to drink outside so he sat inside by himself while we walked to the front entrance.

Chat soon began about the night and how Ralf cannot pick a decent club. The concept to head back home convicted Keith’s mind as he didn’t want to step back into the club. Within a couple of minutes Ralf made his way out and a barrier was placed between what Ralf wanted to do and what the rest of us wanted to achieve. “What are you’s doing out here” Ralf inquired and running around the truth we uttered “Just getting some fresh air”. Ralf knew that we were attempting to head home without actually saying it and we knew that Ralf knew but no one was making anything known.

Sneaking Off to the Car

Ralf was consistently asking “So what are we doing” every couple of minutes and as he walked into the corner to urinate Keith started walking to the car and Shawn followed. Hiding myself in a little doorway, I was soon noticed but I too started walking to the car. “Where are you’s going” he shouted out but none of us turned around to answer him figuring he would get the point. Deciding to up his aggression when Shawn leant on the car he yelled out “Don’t even think about it.”

Shawn took out a leaf and placed it in the keyhole for the boot to stir Ralf up and that he did. “Don’t you even think about it,” he shouted out of the bellows of his stomach. Hurriedly pacing towards his car he was drawn to the excitement just as I had arrived. Shawn had a good little laugh but Ralf wasn’t laughing at the fact that we were trying to take over the night because he presumed himself the boss.

Freezing Outside the Car

Being his car, I knew we were going to have to persuade him to get home but it was 1:30 a.m. and he did want to leave early but he just wanted to be conceited about the whole ordeal. Starting to get a fair bit cold while a spark of conversation happened here and there I asked Ralf if he could open the car door so I could sit inside. This was answered with his arrogance, he didn’t want to open the door.

“You’re going to let me stand out here and freeze when you could easily open that door” I questioned and his answer was just as cold as how I felt. Ralf was being pig-headed because we were betraying his choice of clubs and wanting to stay there but eventually, we had to get home. Keith was toying with the idea of walking to the station and catching a train but I knew I wouldn’t last too long in the cold. Eventually Ralf gave into us but he made it out as if he was in control by saying, “Oh, I want to go home now anyway” so we left.