Curioser and curioser

A club opened last night in Malate, Manila, to which I was invited by the owner who is our client. A prominent political figure graced the opening along with a throng of bodyguards. He arrived 15 minutes after I did, which is about 10:00pm. Being the guest of the owner myself, I was close enough to shake the man's hand and possibly ask to have a picture taken with him. It seemed inappropriate, though, as he was obviously not there as a public figure. After a few seconds of chatting with some people, he went into the VIP room with the club owner and a few other guests. My friend commented, "The place has suddenly become dangerous, huh."

A Fil-Am girl who looks not older than 16 got my attention as she strutted to the bar where we were sitting. I overheard her inquiring about the drinks list and wondered if she's even had alcohol before. Later on, I saw her go in the VIP room followed by a fat gay guy with an LV backpack.

"Fifteen thousand," said my friend. It took a while to register that he was talking about the girl.
"That's cheap," I said, disbelieving. I thought the fresh faced girl must be worth twenty, at least. The term "slightly used" came to mind.

I went to the bathroom and when I got back to my stool, three more girls had just come out of the VIP room, followed by the same fat gay. I raised my eyebrows at my friend.

"There's some shady activity going on," he said in reply.
"Rejects?"
"Could be. They're ugly," he said as they passed by close enough for me to get a good look. They seemed ok to me. Very young and cute, unlike the girls you see in Makati. Students, most likely.
"What's wrong with them?" I said.
"They're fat. Arms are huge. And one of them is just plain ugly."
Ugh, I thought in disgust. They weren't even fat in my standards. That business is harsh.
"They'd be at least 10k, though," my friend admitted later on.

I wonder who the political figure picked in the end. I'm pretty confident that he didn't, actually, since he's going for Presidentiable. I'm sure the owner just tried to offer him everything he could without actually expecting him to oblige. I have faith in the guy being a morally erect man. Besides, he's not going to get anything out of it except for a big headache later on. Oh, the intrigue.