�WOW! Nice tour bus,� I exclaimed. � It looks like an
ordinary bus.� I mused like an innocent kid.
�The camouflage!� Brad stated the reason.
I climbed up and Mike flicked the lights. Inside it I
found a house�well, the contents of an ordinary house,
I mean.
�Pretty cozy living room� I adored.
Chester sat on a cozy couch and slouched on it. I
roamed around some more. Joe darted to the kitchen
while the others carried their equipment towards an
inner part of the bus. I decided not to go there; I
don�t want to distract them. Instead, I just headed to
a little door at a corner which caught my attention a
while ago. I was about to open it when Mike scurried
at my front and blocked me, his arms spreading out.
�DON�T�EVER�OPEN�THIS�DOOR---!!� He exclaimed through
gritted teeth.
�toxic inside there.� I heard Joe declared beneath the
kitchen, with the sound of spoon hitting a glass or a
cup.
�That room�s a danger zone.� Brad followed as he went
out from the inner part of the bus.
�But�why is it?�� I asked, not getting what they mean.
�We�ve been telling Mike not to shit in there and yet
he doesn�t follow us..� Chester, listening to our
conversation, explained from the couch and turning his
head to us.
�This is�your CR?� I declared, yet I asked.
�By now it�s out of order, just because of Mike.� Rob
stated.
�C�mon guys, don�t embarrass me!� Mike blushed
obviously.
�Here. Have some�� Joe stepped out from the kitchen
and he handed me a glass of  lemonade.
�Hospitality, eh? How thoughtful of you.� I thanked
him as I took the cold drink.
�Bear with it---I mean, the taste might be awful.� Joe
turned away as I drank some. Chester and the others
were looking at me too.
�NO�it tasted good, thanks�� I declared. I heard a
faint sigh of relief from Joe. Mike also exhaled, as
if he�s also thrilled.
�I thought there�ll be another case of food poisoning
just because of Joe.� Chester stated from the couch. 
�Yeah. I mean, I�m not a good cook or something
similar� I�m only good at �finishing it off���  Joe
muttered, with a sigh at the pause. Chester laughed.
�He always �finish it off�,� Brad explained. �But
it�ll not be successful without Mike�s help.� He
raised a brow at Mike.
�Hehehe�I�m laughing� Mike sarcastically replied.
�But it�s true, though.� He turned to me.
Rob and Phoenix came back to us.
�Where should we start? We�re done already.� Phoenix
asked.
�Care to try somethin� native from this place?� I
asked out.
�We�d love to!� Brad declared with enthusiasm.
�Brad wants to discover somethin� new..,� Mike stated.
�And Mike also wanted to taste somethin� new.�
�Here he goes again, speaking in the third person.�
Rob said in dismay. 
�Where should we go?� Phoenix asked once again.
�Just�.mind if we go to street stalls first?� I asked.
�As you say.� Joe replied.
�HOP TO!� I declared as I plodded down to the door.
�Wow! I�m celebrating my fourteenth birthday in
advance on a weekend together with my favorite band. I
do have the luck!!� I thought excitedly.
I almost tripped to the carpet, yet Mike supported me
at an arm.
�Too excited, eh?� he stated with a smile.
�Yeah.. just terrifically happy!� I exclaimed and
jumped my way out the bus.

After some walkin�, we found a small stall at a corner
of a street. We entered and people looked up at
them�luckily none of them bleached their hair with any
other color and they dressed simply, or else�. Well, I
should say their heights caught their attention.
�Aren�t we popular in here?� Mike asked me in a
whisper.
�Uh oh, expect a downpour of fans�� Joe warned.
�Well, if you don�t act like a stranger then they
won�t� I whispered back. Mike, looking nervy, glanced
up from side to side like a shy little fellow. I eyed
him and he pretended he knew the place well. We found
a spot at a corner with seven chairs: three at each
sides and on at the center, and behind the center seat
was a nice large window. I sat at the center and the
others took their places randomly. At the right side,
Chester was just looking down, Rob was staring upwards
and Brad was swatting a fly at his bare arm. And at my
left side: Mike was still looking at his surroundings,
Phoenix was simply watching his band mate�s
expressions and Joe fished out his glasses and looked
up at the menu at the counter, trying to figure out
which foods are those.
�What is this place called?� Chester turned to me
after a few minutes of silence.
�This place�s called Carinderia in our language.� 
Joe looked at me startled: �Ca�rin�what?!� he asked,
rather confused. A loud �blag� stormed on his front.
�BRAD!!!� he exclaimed. Brad was banging on the table
trying to kill a fat fly.
�I think I can count the flies there as a past time.�
He stated, and he moaned as he squashed another fly at
his side. Rob and Chester looked at him sternly. He
stopped at once and mumbled �SORRY��
�Sorry, Mia�uh�he�s just�uh�you know�� 
 �Don�t be sorry. This place�s really dirty�and I know
you�re uncomfortable in here.�  I replied, cutting
Joe�s apology off.
�No, we�re not. We�re not annoyed by this place�� Mike
said.
�Right, Brad?� Phoenix eyed Brad once more.
�Oh, sorry. I was just overacting at that part�� he
apologized sincerely.
�OH, okay�,� I beamed a smile. � Anyway, this is
called a carinderia or a food stall in English.
�Ale��  I called out.
�What does that mean?� Rob asked in a soft voice.
�That means �Miss� in our language.� I replied.
The woman came and I ordered foods in our language,
Tagalog. And so many funny expressions came out at
that time. Chester was looking at me as if asking:
�What the hell is she talking about?!�. Mike was
twisting his face trying to get what I am saying. Joe
seemed interested to learn my language. Brad, Rob and
Phoenix were looking at the surroundings, especially
the people. When the woman walked away, Chester
stated: �I feel like I�m in Japan.�
Mike followed: � Yeah. Your language�s a bit complex.�
�No there�s a difference,� Joe cut off. �Japanese
people hardly speak English. They can.�
�I noticed that there are few people around here.�
Brad observed.
�Well, I don�t know about that matter.� I replied.
A few minutes later, our order came. I handed the
their share and they looked at it as if they are
trying to identify what foods are each. Moments later,
Joe spoke up:
�What�s this?� he raised a white fluffy round bread
together with the sauce wrapped in a separate plastic.
�That�s called siopao in our language.� I opened my
piece and bit onto it.
�Eat it. It�s not poison, don�t worry.� I assured
them.
Mike smiled and nodded at the others and got his
piece. Rob opened his. Joe bit onto it and munched for
a while. The others followed soon. We ate in silence.
�So, is there a case of poisoning?� I eyed each one of
them. Chester smiled back at me and continued.
�Hey! They looked cute eating siopao!� I eyed them
once more and pulled my camera out of my bag�
�Hey!� a flash made Joe halt. �What�s that?� He looked
up at me. 
�I just opened the window.� I pointed the one at my
back. He nodded and proceeded. I laughed inside. The
other people around are also looking at us. A few more
shots with the flash on, and comical expressions
showed up. Brad was rubbing his eyes. Mike was still
eating and looking at Rob�s  direction. Chester is
searching where the flash�s coming from with an
irritated look, and Phoenix was just laughing over his
expression. Rob was eating still. I took one picture
of each of them and I laughed at the thought that they
can�t figure out that it�s only me who�s taking their
pictures.
�Are you sure we�re not popular in here?!� Chester
asked, irritated.
�Some stalker�s taking pics.� Joe muttered.
They caught me chuckling.
�What�s so funny?� Brad looked up at me.
I, almost losing breath, replied: �N-none��I stuffed
my cam back at my bag, luckily they didn�t see it.
�Is everybody STILL okay? � I changed the topic.
�Yeah. I can�t believe that it�s tasty.� Phoenix
smiled.
�How about this one?� Mike asked about the sauce.
�Ya� mean you didn�t spread it over the filling.� I
interrogated and I laughed. The others chuckled.
�Why, is it needed?� Mike asked innocently.
�OPTIONAL� I forced an answer just to end the lunacy
Joe was still laughing hard over his mistake.
�This one?� Rob pointed at the soup.
�Lomi� Chinese brought it here thousands of years
ago.� I explained in a historical manner.
�You mean, you�re also a part Chinese?� Brad asked
with confusion.
�Yeah�actually, we�re HYBRIDS, mixtures of different
cultures� American, Hindi, Indian, Japanese�many
others. For an info, The Spaniards ruled among us for
over 300 years.�
�Oh�that�s why you absorbed their influences like
foods, traditions and others.� Mike got it and
explained for the others.
�Y�know, your history�s kinda interesting.� Chester
stated.
�OH, yeah. That�s why it�s hard to study OUR history,
lots of dates and stuff.� I muttered as I recalled
school tomorrow. I sipped the soup. Without
hesitation, the others followed suit.
�Heh�spicy!!� Joe exclaimed in a bit.
�Mexican style�� Phoenix replied.
�It�s just okay.� Chester said not tasting the
spiciness. Joe drank a glass of water.
�Where should we go next?� Phoenix asked. 
�Egg noodles�� Rob mumbled.
 I decided to take my camera, this time, without the
flash. I took some pictures of them while they�re
bowing down. Joe had a weird expression on his face.
He drank another glass of water.
�So, Mike. How old are you now?� I managed to ask.
��Fourteen.� He replied as a joke.
�He�s already fifty-two.� Brad replied.
�Eleven years---older than you.� Mike finally replied
seriously.
�Oh, he�s only three years old!� Joe smirked. 
I smiled also.
�Fourteen times eleven�� Chester asked as he sipped
the noodle.
�He�s already a zombie by that age!� Phoenix replied.
�Better figure it out yourself. These guys are
offerin� ya� wrong answers.� Mike drank a glass of
water.
�We�re always making fun of Mike,� Joe proudly stated
�Where�re the stalkers anyway?� Joe glanced about.
�How come there�re no more cam flashes?� Brad said in
a disappointed tone. He groaned.
I laughed a little.
�IT�S ME!!� I thought.
�Is ev�rybody done?� I asked.
�I don�t think I�ll have dinner.� Brad held his
stomach. I noticed that Joe drank another glass of
water.
�I already drank five because of that lomi!� he
exclaimed. Mike wiped his mouth with a tissue. 
I called out: �Miss, �Yung sukli po.�
�Eh?,� Chester exclaimed. � What does that mean?�
�I�m asking for our change.� I replied to him.
The woman came and gave us 65 pesos change for our
100-peso bill.
�You mean, it only cost 35 pesos for that meal?,�
Phoenix asked in disbelief. � Cheap...�
�Okay peeps, let�s go. I reckoned and we made our
exit. People were still looking at us�probably they�re
wondering what�s their relation to me,  with our VERY
far heights.