Can a cool kid and an uncool kid be friends? 

I met Laurie on my way to Thailand. We were sitting next to each other on the bus from Siem Reap to Bangkok. 

She was 25 years old from Australia. She had a nose piercing and lots of beaded and braided bracelets. I had a lot of sunburn and mosquito bites. 

We were talking about general stuff most backpackers normally talk about; Where we were from, where we were heading to, what were the best moments of the trip so far, etc. 

“So where are you staying tonight?” I asked her. I was wondering how to find accommodation in Bangkok that night. 

“Actually, I have no plan.” She said. “Would you like to share a room with me?”

It was a kind of a bold offer considering the fact that we have known each other for only 6 hours or so. But she seemed to be a responsible person, and it seemed to be a good offer to save some money. 

So we ended up in a twin room in a small hotel in Khaosan Road. I was happy to get a spacious room after travelling solo for almost a week. I wanted to stretch my legs (Oh, 9 hours of coach trip on a bumpy road!!), take a shower and relax. 

But Laurie asked me the most unanticipated question. 

“Hey, would you like to go for a dance?”

“…A dance?”

“Yeah, I heard there is this nice club nearby.”

“Oh, a nightclub…”

To be honest, I have never been to a club before then. I knew what kind of place it was, and many of my university classmates said they enjoyed going there. But it seemed to be a place where cool people go, and I didn’t think I would fit in that situation.

“Uh… I don’t know, I’m kinda tired. I would take a shower and write a journal.”

“Come on, it’s still early in the evening. Why don’t you celebrate your arrival in Bangkok?”

She was right. I wanted to explore the city, but it was getting dark. It seemed to be safer to go out with her. Also, I wanted to hang out with the new friend a little longer.

“Okay, but I wouldn’t stay in the club too long. I might be coming back early.” 

“Or you will dance the night away,” she winked. 

But there was one problem. I didn’t plan to go clubbing during this trip, so my wardrobe was not suited for a night out. The only (relatively clean) clothes I could find were a plain black T-shirt and short pants. 

Laurie wore a colourful tie-dye halter-neck cami and short-shorts, which revealed her beautiful body shape and some tattoos on her back. She put on some mascara and lipstick and changed sneakers to high-heeled sandals. I didn’t even have cosmetics at all.  

Feeling underdressed and unattractive as a cow, I followed Laurie to this nightclub. It was located underground, and about half of the crowd seemed to be tourists or expats. 

Laurie and I ordered drinks, but before even we started drinking, a guy approached us (technically to Laurie), and started asking questions. I was tired of shouting out to explain very basic information about myself, so I pretended I didn’t speak English much. 

Laurie, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying the situation. She left her bottle of beer and went to the dance floor with the guy. I felt misplaced and looked at the cool people dancing. 

Standing in the corner of the dark floor, I was wondering if we were destined to be either one of two types of people; cool people or not-so-cool people. I wanted to be a cool kid, but I felt awkward to dance with strangers. I wouldn’t enjoy putting too much effort into hair and makeup. Trying hard to fit in among those cool people seemed to be uncool. 

“Hey, where are you from? Would you like to dance?”

Another guy was talking to me, but I was already feeling too exhausted to dance in that stuffy place. I said no to him, and went back to the hotel straight.

It was back in 2003. I haven’t been to nightclubs after that. (The only exception was the Webster Hall in New York – but that is another story).  I probably wouldn’t be going in the future either. But I’m thankful to Laurie for inviting me to the world of cool kids one time.