2. Womanizer.

"Let's finish it, Ma'am. After this, take medicine." Marra was still kneeling in front of the wheelchair occupied by Lauren, her mother.

Holding the plate and spoon, she was busy feeding her mother her daily medication and getting some rest.

Marra placed the cutlery in a bucket with a pile of clothes that she would dry and then got a glass of water and some medicine for Lauren.

"You're smart. You're the best," Marra praised after Lauren swallowed all the medicine and water. "Now you need to rest in your room. Let's go there."

She pushed the wheelchair into the modest rental house they had lived in for almost two years, with only one room, a small kitchen, bathroom, living room, and courtyard. Marra often rested in the living room on a sofa because she was used to it. It was no longer a problem for her.

Lauren had had schizophrenia for years, and her husband had run away from the responsibility, leaving Marra alone to care for her mother with patience.

If Marra were working, she would go with Lauren with Aunt Romel, who lived next door. After all, Lauren had nothing to do except sit in a wheelchair or lie on the bed, and the woman never made a sound. She was busy staring blankly without focusing on anything.

After pulling up the blanket, Marra cleaned Lauren's dirty cutlery before drying her wet clothes in the yard. Just as she placed the bucket in the bathroom, a ringing cell phone called from the living room. Marra positioned it near the television.

"Luke? Do I have to work today?" Marra wondered, picking up the phone. "Hello, do I have to leave on my day off?" She sat down on the sofa.

"No, it's not like that. I called you because I wanted to offer you something, you like money, so you should accept this offer, Marra."

"What offer?"

"Didn't you used to be a DJ?"

"Yes, then?"

"My friend, the owner of the 24Night club, needs you. Can you come there? I'm sure he'll pay you handsomely for your work, Marra."

"24Night?" Marra remembered something, and she was pretty familiar with the name of the discotheque.

"Yes, how? You can do it. I recommended your name to him before calling anyway, so you should come tonight."

"Alright, I'll try."

"Good luck." The call ended, and Marra lay down on the sofa.

***

"Luke said I should just go straight up to the third floor because that's where Matthew's office is," Marra muttered after getting off the jeepney and jostling with the other passengers. It was often tedious, but what the heck, she didn't have her vehicle.

The girl carried her backpack as she walked down the sidewalk. In the distance, a large marquee with sparkling lights highlighted the name of 24Night Club. Marra only had to cross the street and arrive. This wasn't Marra's first time at a new workplace, so she was used to being confident even if she didn't know what to expect.

The girl found a lot of vehicles in the large parking lot, human visitors with their nightly appearance quite arousing to the opposite sex. This was no stranger to the nightlife. Marra moved on, ignoring the men whistling at her, and took out her ID to show it to the two guards at the front.

"Little girl, are you sure you came to this place?" asked the man with the thin mustache in front of Marra. After glancing at the guest's ID card, he looked directly at the petite girl.

"Yes." Marra began to wonder about the man's thoughts. "Am I not of legal age to enter?"

"Yes, old enough." The man returned Marra's ID card. "It's just that I think girls like you are better off going to the movies to watch movies."

Marra smiled. "Tonight, my work is inside the building, and I must meet Matthew."

"Mr. Matt?"

Marra nodded. "Yes, I heard he needs a replacement disk jockey. I'll do it."

"Are you capable?"

"Of course. Can I come in now?"

The guard stepped aside. "Good luck. Watch your step. There's a lot of crowds."

Marra nodded; she stepped into 24Night for the first time. Just passing through the main door, the thick smell of alcohol greeted her breathing. Her appearance was certainly not sexy like most women of the night. She only wore jeans and a rainbow hoodie, the girl who always looked cute and was often considered a child.

"Third floor, third floor, let's go to the third floor." It was the only sentence that kept coming from Marra's lips as she passed by the many people, the long barista table filled with several humans. It turned out that the altar for disk jockeys was empty, so the dance floor area was deserted.

Marra hurriedly approached the stairs to the third floor after asking a barista, she moved fast enough while ducking her head that she accidentally bumped into someone's burly arm and fell to the bottom among the other patrons, but they passed her by.

Marra looked up to find an outstretched hand, and she remained standing without accepting it. When she looked up, she found the face of someone who felt familiar until Marra fell silent for a while.

"Are you alright?" A heavy and hoarse voice disturbed Marra's ears.

"Ah, I'm fine. Sorry for nudging you. I was in a hurry." Marra stepped aside, but for a moment, she stopped and turned her head to watch the back of a black T-shirt that was roomy enough to hold. Its arms and neck, covered with tattoos, began to move away, disappearing among the crowd of visitors. "I feel like I've seen him before. Is this deja vu?" Marra nodded, and she continued to walk towards the other stairs.

***

Despite wearing only a hoodie and jeans, Marra confidently performed on the unique altar for disk jockeys. The sound of music echoing from the speakers made many 24Night visitors go crazy on the dance floor area.

Marra's action looks energetic. She also smiles broadly and dances quite agile, with headphones attached to her head. Several times her hands touch the turntable when accelerating the tempo of the music and changing the pitch to sound more harmonious.

She could divide her focus at the moment, and it didn't matter that other people thought of her as a child because of her petite body and adorable face. They didn't know that Marra could do so many things like now.

Round lights full of glittering lights swirled on the room's ceiling, the dark atmosphere further immersing many people in their activities.

Matthew had just come downstairs; as he took a sip of his cigarette, he approached some close friends who were customers of his nightclub. They sat in a row on a long sofa among other neatly arranged sofas.

"Matt, since when do you employ children? Is that legal?" asked Jamie as Matthew sat beside him. Several shot glasses, bottles of alcohol, a pack of cigarettes complete with lighter, and an ashtray lay on the table surface.

"Who?" Matthew's forehead furrowed. "You know my place would close down if I hired a minor, so who are you talking about?" He was confused.

"Her." Using a chin gesture, Jamie pointed to a disk jockey performing. "She's a kid, isn't she? Can't you find another replacement for Leah? Your place is closing down soon." He snorted, then gulped down the contents of the sloki glass.

Matthew looked at Marra and laughed. "Are you serious?"

"What's Matt laughing at?" Jose and Denis had just joined us.

"I don't think we'll be able to come here again sooner or later," Jamie said.

"Really? Why?" Jose looked at Jamie and Matthew in turn. "What's wrong, Matt?" He nudged his shoulder.

"Jamie accused me of child labor." Matthew was still laughing.

"Jose, you saw who replaced Leah."

"Leah?" Jose looked at the DJ's altar, and he was immediately transfixed when he found Marra there. Denis did the same, and their expressions were the same.

"I was right, wasn't I? Matt shouldn't be like this, even if he needs a job, not in a place like this," Jamie advised.

"Wait a minute." Matthew pressed his cigarette butt into the ashtray. The man's laughter had disappeared like smoke. "The girl is over 21. What are you worried about? She's petite, she's–"

"Adorable," Jose commented, still watching Marra without pause.

"Right, she's adorable. Jamie, do you remember Luke?" Matthew asked.

"The pizza delivery guy?"

"Right, the girl's name is Marra. She was a pizza delivery girl at Luke's place, and Luke himself recommended her to me. She's not a kid, and she's a hard worker." Matthew tried to break all of Jamie's doubts.

"Matt's right. She's a pizza delivery person. He was waiting for the rain to stop at Racher Art the other day," Jose said, nudging Denis. "I was right, wasn't I?"

Denis nodded, his gaze momentarily shifting from Marra to Jamie, then back again.

"So, the girl's a pizza delivery girl and a DJ?" Jamie nodded, his gaze now shifting to admiration for Marra. "Does she have a hard life out there?"

"Maybe." Matthew moved on. "I have to take care of something. Leave my little girl alone so he can hold out until Leah gets back." He stepped aside.

"Matt is acting like a possessive father."

"True," Jose said, "but I like that girl's act." He smiled, remembering his first impression of Marra at Racher Art, and then moved on. "I think I'll go down to the dance floor to appreciate her persistence in dancing and turn up the music." He stepped aside energetically.

"What was that? Did Jose like it?"

"I don't know." Denis leaned back, pulling his cell phone from his pants pocket while replying to a few chats. The man's eyes repeatedly glanced at Marra as if hypnotized.

"You don't have a date tonight?" asked Jamie.

"Martha will be here soon."

Jamie chuckled. He patted Denis on the shoulder. "Looks like your handsome face is the belle of the ball until all the women approach easily. I'm still very jealous of you. Could you share one or... two, maybe?" A smirk appeared. He was sure Denis understood his words.

"That's easy, and I'll talk to them when I'm done." He smiled and moved on, and Denis was already well known as a womanizer among his friends, who could doubt the man's charms–every woman could easily throw themselves into Denis' bed and willingly spend their money on him. Denis Arthur Racher's money was flowing.

***