Where In The World Is Evan?

Today began like any other day, without a hint of the turmoil that was to come…

The local Irish pub, the Shamrock, had for some time been advertising a rugby game between a group of Chengdu locals and a visiting team from Guangzhou. Jon, being a former semi-professional rugby player, was of course keen to put up his hand. After our close 4th quarter loss to the visiting team everyone started making arrangements to head across town to the after party–held on the roof top of a 6 story apartment building.

Having arrived at the party late, I found Lisa already pissed with me, for spending most of the rugby match chatting to Anne. As Anne and I hadn’t properly spoken in a long time–we’d had a falling out almost two months earlier–I tried to explain to Lisa that she had nothing to be jealous about. Nonetheless she was mad, and being in no mood to spend all evening placating her, I sat down with some friends and had a drink.

As the evening wore on and the drinks ran out most of the party packed up and moved down to the Shamrock. Feeling rather hungry I left with Anne and a group of mutual friends, while Lisa went on to the Shamrock. After arriving at the Shamrock–a place that I’ve come to detest–some time later and finding it to be in usual poor form, we hopped in a cab and went to a night club across town. In retrospect this was the turning point in the night, when I left Lisa at the Shamrock, where she was happy to stay, and departed with Anne.

Having organised to meet Lisa around midnight at a bar where a friend of mine was playing a live set, I arrived back at the Shamrock shortly after 11:00 to check if Lisa was still there. As I later discovered she was there, but her face and body were covered by an Argentinean man–from the visiting Guangzhou team, no less–who was making out with her on the bonnet of a car. Walking straight past this scene without giving it a second glance I went inside. Not being able to find Lisa, and starting to feel uncomfortably sober, I grabbed Jon and convinced him to come back to my apartment to smoke some pot. As he was in the process of chatting up two Scandinavian girls it seemed only appropriate to being them along.

After getting back to my place and sitting down on the couch, one of the girls reached out and turned on my camera. As I was busy lighting a hash-pipe I didn’t notice what she was doing, and therefore didn’t consider the consequences of her seeing the last photos taken on that camera–Lisa and I had thoroughly documented an intimate night in! After the sudden shock of what she’d seen roused me from my pot induced stupor I realised that I was going to be late. Calling Lisa on Sandi’s mobile phone I discovered that she too was running late, and still at the Shamrock. Running out of my own apartment, leaving Jon and my housemate Richard to chat to the girls, I got a cab across town.

Upon meeting Lisa she provocatively announced everything that she’d done that evening–in what came across as an insecure act of petty revenge. Because I spoke to another girl she makes out with another guy!? After suppressing my initially anger at such behaviour, Lisa then led me back to the Shamrock and introduced me to the Argentinean guy, in such a manner as to imply that I should fight him to prove my feelings for her.

Not being in the mood for anything but sleep–I had to teach a 9:20 am class that morning–I simply turned around and walked away. Sergio returned to my apartment shortly after I did, and I regaled him with the events of the evening–particularly the camera story, which in light of Lisa’s behaviour suddenly seemed highly amusing. Unfortunately the security door to my apartment building was broken at the time, and Lisa was standing just outside my door, listening to most of our conversation. After hearing enough, she stormed inside grabbed her stuff, deleted all the photos on my camera and left without saying a word to me–like I’d been the one who cheated on her.

The world, however, can often be a very small place. After leaving my apartment Lisa got a taxi across town to the hostel where she usually stays in Chengdu. Upon arrival she found that the two girls sharing her doom were none other than the girls Jon and I had taken back to my apartment. I’m not sure who recognised whom first, but doubtless it was an awkward situation for everyone concerned.