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The Moment- 4
“EXPELLED? What do you mean, EXPELLED!”
Just as Jason was having a shouting match with his former class mentor, Cheryl too, was engaged in a similar one with her father. Or, to be more precise, with the principal of her school.
“That’s all i can do in my position to protect him, Cheryl! For goodness sake, can’t you just be more mature for once, and think with your head? The Board of Directors are going to file a police report if I don’t expel Jason! And who says he cannot reapply again?” her father retorted, getting tired of his daughter’s tantrums. A moment of silence ensued between father and daughter, before it was broken by Cheryl’s quiet sobbing. Sigh…
“Oh daddy… I’m so sorry…” she sobbed, as she looked up at her father. There were more ‘worry lines’ on his forehead; his hair seemed to be grayer than usual, and he simply looked more tired and fatigued than normal. Daddy must be undergoing lotsa stress now… and instead of helping him relax, I’m alleviating his blood pressure with Jason’s problems… Regretting her initial outburst, Cheryl went forward to give her father a hug, something which she hadn’t done for a very long time. Ok, whenever she needed extra allowance.
“It’s alright, darling…” he mumbled. As the school bell rang, Cherly broke free of her father’s embrace.
“I gotta rush for my lessons now, Dad! See you in awhile!”
As Cheryl exited from the Principal’s office and headed towards her classroom, she glanced at the basketball court below her, a habit that she always partook whenever walking along the school’s hallways. As students around her rushed to their respective classrooms, she spied a familiar figure walking towards the school’s main gate in a hurry. Isn’t that Jason? Where is he going? I thought he was expelled? Whipping out her handphone, she dialed a number that was, by now, so firmly etched in her mind already.
“Dear? Where are you going in such a hurry?”
“Cheryl? Don’t bother about me anymore, just pretend that I never existed, just pretend I’m that good-for-nothing loser that I once was!”
Click.
*
Shit!
Cheryl shoved her handphone into her skirt’s pocket carelessly as she flew down the staircase leading towards the basketball court, taking the stairs two at a time. By the time she reached the basetball court, she was already breathless. Ignoring the pain at her side, she looked around. Where would he go during such a time? Cheryl knew the arcade was definitely out; they didn’t allow students into the arcade during school hours. Which means that left only two possible options- back home, or the playground at the housing estate nearby. Making a decision, she dashed across the road, not looking whether there was any incoming traffic or not.
*
Jason looked at his cell phone in dismay. Dead battery at a time like this? There was still so much he wanted to tell Cheryl; how much he loved her, how much he wanted to remain as her boyfriend, as her guardian angel. But deep down, he knew that the two of them were impossible. She was the daughter of the school’s principal. He, however, was the son of a single mother who worked odd jobs. How could they ever be together?
Brushing away tears, Jason sighed. As he reached into his pocket for a cig, nothing came out. Oh yeah. I threw the cigarette pack at Terence. Sighing heavily once again, he began to make his way to the provision shop nearby. As he prepared to cross the road, he heard a shout from behind him.
“JASON!”
Jason turned around; he saw Cheryl running across the road. What he saw in addition, to her girlfriend running across the road, made his blood run cold. A speeding car that was headed towards Cheryl.
“NOOOO!!!!!” he shouted, as he dashed towards Cheryl.
A loud ‘BANG’ reverberated in the otherwise tranquil neighbourhood.
Not too far away, Cheryl’s dad heard the bang. Fearing for the worst, he hurried out of his school.
但是我存在着我一直存在着,
和你一起的照片仍在我的手机上贴着, 爱会永远永远你说的 离开我的时候却没舍不得… Labels: The Moment |
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| nicky ♥ 9:28 PM |
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“But I don’t wanna go home yet!” Cheryl whined, as she tugged at her boyfriend’s uniform for the umpteenth time that evening. Jason simply sighed heavily, as he took another drag at the Marlboro Light he was smoking. He ruffled Cheryl’s hair playfully, which made her turn sideways towards him. Jason gave his girlfriend her favourite ‘Jason grin’, as she termed it.
“What?” he asked simply. To his horror, Cheryl’s eyes were filled with tears. Oh shit. She’s crying! Quickly stubbing his Marlboro on the pavement, he enveloped Cheryl in a tight embrace, as he whispered sweet words of comfort into her ears.
Hush hush. I’ll always be with you, no matter what, ok? No matter what other people say, what happens to us in the future, I’ll always be there for you; I’ll be your protector, I’ll be your guardian angel and protect you from all kinds of enemies, from all-
Jason’s words of reassurance were cut short by Cheryl’s kiss. Just a simple one- their lips touched each others’; soon, his tongue was trying to gain access to her mouth. Cheryl relented after a few moments- she knew that Jason relished each occasion they kissed, for it was not every time that they did so. Jason’s hands, which were wrapped around her body, now started to explore downwards, to her waist, to her-
“Hey kid! This is a public place! Mind your actions, will ya?”
The comment came from somewhere behind Cheryl. Blushing red with embarrassment, she broke free from Jason’s embrace immediately. Noticing the look of dismay on her boyfriend’s face, she smiled slightly and held his hand tightly.
“Promise me you’ll never let go of me in the future, no matter what happens?”
“Never.”
Jason thought that he would never, never ever grow tired of the perfection that was Cheryl Lim. How wrong he was.
*
The basketball court of the sports complex in Jason’s school was always deserted in the mornings before school started for the day. He had always gone there to practice his shooting every day, before getting his morning nicotine fix. This morning, however, Jason simply sat on the benches and smoked away. Before long, footsteps could be heard approaching him from behind.
“I heard that you got expelled.” The quiet voice stated simply.
Jason didn’t need to turn around to know the identity of the speaker.
“What do you want, Terence? Haven’t you interfered in my life enough?”
“One of these days, Jason, your temper and your attitude towards life is gonna get you into trouble.”
“And why do you care? It’s MY own life, it’s my own future! No one has the right to control it!”
“Your parents will-“
“Shut up about my parents when you barely know them!” Jason screamed, as he threw the cigarette pack on the floor in front of his former class mentor, before storming off.Labels: The Moment |
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| nicky ♥ 12:57 PM |
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The Moment- 2 “You what?!” “Cheryl! Come on, I have done him a great favour by not referring him to the police already! According to the law, I’m supposed to, in addition to expelling Jason, refer him to the police for… for what he has done to you!” “…” “Just stay at home until I get back, ok?” “Whatever, dad, whatever.” Cheryl’s dad sighed as he put down the phone. Ever since his vice-principal had stumbled upon Jason and his daughter- both very much naked- in a classroom together and reported the matter, Cheryl’s dad had come under much pressure from the school’s Board of Directors; although the common thing was to expel the parties involved and get the police to conduct a thorough investigation, the Board of Directors weren’t senile despite their age. They knew that if matters get blown out of proportion, it could be detrimental for the school’s reputation- this could, in turn, lead to lower student enrolments. As such, Cheryl’s dad, being the school’s principal, acted as he should. He had gone according to his school’s rules and regulations and expelled Jason, although he hadn’t gone so far as to make an official police investigation. After all, Cheryl is still his daughter. What happened to that sweet, angelic little girl that I once knew…? Cheryl muttered a swear word as she shoved her handphone into her imitation handbag- bought at Bugis Village for a mere $23- furiously. She tried dialing Jason’s handphone number; the line was engaged. “God-damn it. Where on earth is he?” she thought, as she reached his voicemail for the umpteenth time. As Cheryl looked at the neo-print that she took with Jason, an idea struck in her mind. Snapping her handbag shut, she rushed out of her Sixth Avenue terrace house. Love. It makes even the most intelligent person, the cleverest and smartest person on Earth, dumb sometimes. The arcade at the basement level of the Bugis Junction shopping complex wasn’t too crowded at that time of the day- it was only in the early hours of the afternoon, and most school students weren’t allowed entry yet. Cheryl looked around for her blonde haired, roguish-looking, cigarette-smoking boyfriend; she spotted him almost immediately. He was shooting hoops at the basketball machine- and missing the target for most of his shots. “Darling.” She called out. Perhaps it was the din in the arcade that was too noisy for him to hear. Or maybe Jason was pretending not to hear her. Either way, he ignored Cheryl. She sighed, and walked over beside him. “Darling. Darling!” she shouted, pulling at his uniform, which was, by now, tucked out in the most untidy fashion. His bag was strewn without much care, on the floor beside him. A half-empty pack of cigarettes was placed on the basketball machine, his anime-designed lighter placed beside it. He ignored her continuous tugging, and continued throwing the basketballs, each shot getting further and further away from the hoop that he was supposed to be aiming at. Cheryl didn’t stop at her relentless tugging. What happens when you find out that you stand to lose every thing in the name of love? Jason stood in front of the basketball machine, not moving, even as the machine flashed the words ‘Game Over’ repeatedly. Without warning, he turned abruptly sideways, and hugged Cheryl tightly. “Cheryl!” he muttered, as he teared openly. “Darling…” she whispered, patting her boyfriend softly on his shoulder. Despite his rough looking exterior, Cheryl knew that Jason, like all the other sixteen year olds his age, was just a softie beneath his tough exterior. Sometimes, it just takes a little bit of TLC to iron out everything. Labels: The Moment |
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| nicky ♥ 4:41 PM |
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The Moment- 1
Jason took a glance at the iron-wrought gates, perhaps a second longer than he had wanted to. After all, it would be the last time when he would walk through those gates for a very long time. Scenes from his past flashed in his mind like a silent movie as he traced the intricate designs on the gate; the many mornings when he had clambered over it hurriedly to the point of almost tearing his uniform in a bid to escape detention for being late; the equally numerous afternoons when he had, along with his gang of friends, clambered over it once again, this time, in the opposite direction, with their Discipline Master hot on their heels. Brushing away the solitary tear that had started to form and threatened to flow down his cheek, Jason adjusted his uniform, and walked slowly towards the Grand Hall, taking in all of the sights and sounds of his surroundings. The sounds of his juniors enjoying their time kicking a soccer ball in the pitch, the slightly pungent odour of the ammonia coming from the laboratories just to the right of him, the feeling of the wind as it blew against his cheeks, his face and his entire body. It just wasn’t fair. Everything didn’t have to end like that. Not when everything was just starting to be alright! “Sit down, Jason. The principal will call you in shortly.” The receptionist informed him, as Jason took a seat outside the room. The receptionist looked at Jason sadly, and sighed loudly. He looked up at her; a face of pity and worry was all over her otherwise attractive face. Jason knew what was going through her mind; it was what everyone said about him, all his parents, his aunts, his uncles, his cousins, everyone. How can such a promising young child be reduced to such a sorry state today? “Jason, the principal is ready to see you now.” To the receptionist, it sounded almost routine. To Jason, it was a death sentence. Despite his cool and roguish exterior, Jason’s interior was just like any other sixteen year old in his school, frightened, worried, confused, and of course, ever-searching for his true identity; for what he was going to become in the future. That is, if he still had a future after everything. Love can be kind, like the guardian angel that watches above us, silent in whatever is being done. Love can also be merciless and evil, like the devil who kills without mercy. Nothing had changed in the principal’s office since Jason’s previous visit. That occasion, he had been caught fighting in the classroom with another student from a neighbouring class; the reason, as Jason so wittily put it, was because we had our own differences. Now, he was being brought in for a totally different reason. Even Jason himself wished he hadn’t been so careless; he wished he hadn’t been so naïve, so stupid, so foolish. “Jason. How many times have you been here already, since the start of the school term?” “Six, sir.” “On what grounds?” “Two times for fighting, three times cos of defiancy, once for truancy.” The principal sighed. He was getting too tired for all these problem kids already. But this time, Jason had gone too far. “Do you have any idea what the consequences would be for what you’ve done?” Jason did not reply this time. All his witty remarks; all his well-thought out excuses would not work this time. Sighing heavily once again, the principal continued. “Jason. You were caught with Cheryl in a classroom last night, and you were both naked! Do you seriously have ANY idea on what you guys were up to?!” “Sir, we were just having fun-“ “Fun can be carried out in other ways, other methods! I knew you are young; you are just reaching puberty, but this, this is simply ridiculous!” “Sir, I can explain, it was the alcohol-“ “I don’t want to listen to your excuses anymore!” “Sir, please, just one more chance-“ “Jason, as of now, you are officially not a student of my school.” Labels: The Moment |
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| nicky ♥ 11:54 PM |
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