Jackie & the Friday Lady.
Been climbing a lot of stairs in AMK the past week conducting sweaty surveys.

1.) The Cursed 8th Floor Prostitute. There we were on the storey with creepy corridors, pluckily pounding on a door that looked more forlorn than its neighbour, which had eviction notices all over it. 3 knocks and we were ready to go, but at the very last second the door creaked open. She peered out, a Chinese lady of indeterminate age, wrapped in a sarong, her buffed nails lightly fingering the cracked grills. "Yes," she breathed, and we hastily explained our purpose. "I'm cooking," whispered the apparition, her eyes misting, drawing herself into the gloom behind, "call me." "But we do not have your number!" S cried. "It's 9******," she sighed. "And how should we address you?" I said, as she almost vanished. "Jackie."

2.) The Archipelago Animal. Night, and we were on the last leg of the day's punishing round, rapping on the grills (those haunting wrought tendrils and halfopen buds!!). She came readily, a mismatch of sculpted Easter Island skull and a tiny, ballerina body. We were giving our spiel when she slipped down to the floor, and squatted in a position faintly feline, her head moving in harmonikke motion. Abruptly she stood up and returned with a fag, flicking that thinly nefarious thing between slender claws as she listened wide-eyed to our babble.
The next time we met her we saw tattoos, a lilac brassiere, jet thongs and a most natural walk. But she was not evil, we agreed.
"You cacap Melayu?"
"Sorry, no. You understand English?"
"A beet lah. You wait my hubby? Hubby Chinese."
"No need, this survey is for women."
"Ah? You wait hubby. He coming. Wait ah."
"No, thees for lady only. Lady only need do survey."
"Ah, lady. Ok lah, you come tomorrow lah."
The next day, within the den:
"You thirsty? Drink?"
"No, thanks, it's all right, really."
"Ok, you not thirsty. But I thirsty. I drink."

3.) Friday lady was absent, overseas, busy, and at long last snoring on her sofa, as we observed with some fascination. She trained her child to hide when strangers knocked.

4.) The canine couple were really rather friendly. Earthy, with two dogs and a couple of peculiar birds that perched on large trays without attempts at flight. Small dogs noisy and insecure. We stood before a particularly aggrieved specimen and watched it foam at the mouth. Ha. Large ones merely sniffed and carried on their mysterious, stately business.

5.) We broke the 8th-floor curse. Yayy. |