CONFESSION: TROY and KC Montero were once my next-door neighbors.

I lived in this quiet neighborhood just a block away from GMA and ABS-CBN, and celebrities were commonplace. On my way to school, I would pass by the gate near GMA and see Arnold Clavio or Ninna Castro parking their cars. On my way home, I would drop by the nearest supermarket and chance upon Kata Inocencio, with makeup and coiffed hair, queueing up to pay for groceries. Occasionally, I would chance upon hidden cameras from the "Wow Mali" crew, and I was careful lest I'd be the unfortunate prank victim caught on video.

Naturally, it wasn't surprising at all when two good-looking brothers moved into the empty townhouse overlooking my room.

My roommate Nicie, who was leaving for Australia that week, was getting teary eyed. "Troy and KC just moved in," she declared as though it were the end of the world, "and I won't be around to welcome them!"

My boyfriend smiled and said, "Don't worry, Nice, we'll e-mail you about our escapades with the Montero brothers."

That week, friends of my boyfriend started calling me, asking, "Is it true that KC and Troy just moved into your neighborhood?"

I said yes. "Unfortunately, I have only met the boy who keeps house for them. Apparently, the Montero brothers have very busy schedules that they come home after midnight, when I'm already asleep." Tough luck, but I promised to introduce them to my celebrity neighbors when I would have made their acquaintance.

The night before Nicie left for Australia, we planned a stake out. My boyfriend was out smoking at the front lawn, while I was keeping him company. Nicie was sitting on the pavement with her cousin Jason, occasionally stealing a puff from my boyfriend's cigarette (her parents disapproved of her smoking). At around 2 A.M., we saw Troy's vehicle coming. It slowed down as it approached their gate, and in a little while the boy came out carrying a trashbag, dumped it in our front lawn (horror of horrors!), opened the gate, and Troy's car drove into the garage. I was able to catch only a glimpse of Troy, who looked tired from, we presumed, a taping for his dance show (was that "Keep on Dancing"?).

"Shouldn't we check out their trash?" my boyfriend kidded. I told him to shut up, because I had no intention of scavenging through Troy Montero's garbage, not even with gloves on.

After Nicie left, it was only my boyfriend and I who would keep after-midnight vigils to catch a glimpse of the brothers. It wasn't so much because we were starstruck. (Because we weren't--I've worked beside G Toengi printing photos for a photography class, and even shared a bag of popcorn with Padilla half-sister during a Film 100 class. UP Mass Comm was replete with celebrities and feeling-celebrities.) Our lives seemed less interesting compared with theirs.

Occasionally, we would see an actress-singer (I'm not telling who) coming out of the gate, after a late-night visit. Oh, well, the brothers' sex lives didn't interest me at all.

I moved out of that place after a few months. I don't know if Troy and KC still live there. Not that I care. They weren't exactly friendly neighbors.

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