The plant in question was Vanda Pachara Delight. The problem was my friend tooks some unfortunate pictures that made the spike *look* like it came out right by the new inch-long leaf. Someone saw the picture, told him it was terminal and he panicked. I saw the plant yesterday and discovered the inflorescence emerged from below the third leaf axil. At least this was an infomative discussion.

Thank you Yew. I suspected that it was not a frequent occurrence because whenever I google an orchid issue, if it is a genuine problem someone has already asked the question here on OrchidTalk.