Years ago in a far away town, I was hanging out one evening with some friends. We were in RSU having teh tarik and pisang goreng with brown sugar MSG and chili dip. Then she came walking by our table, heading home I think. My friends started uttering words of praise towards the girl among themselves, like most male Malay college students would always do. But I didn’t notice her. I was busy figuring out how the fuck to use my newly bought Phillips Savvy dual band. Yes, my first ever mobile phone that spitted out enough radiation to burn my ears every time I talk more than 4 minutes. A friend shoved my shoulder and said, “Look at that, man! Look at that if you are really, really not gay!”. I turned to look and saw her back. It was ok, nothing fascinating. As I was lowering my sight, she gave a glimpse that I’m pretty sure connected directly to my eyes. She smiled. One tap of my hand on the table shook everyone and said it all.
*****
I forced Suffian, her classmate to give her 5 pieces of Fizzy Cola candy every now and then. “Tell her it’s from a secret admirer”, I said. At first Suffian was reluctant. Maybe he thought that pimping was not the right career path for him, but it proved him wrong in his latter days. The candy saga became a routine and went on for 2 and a half months. I never asked Suffian for her reactions. I just give.
One day, the convenient store inside campus was out of Fizzy Cola. I was devastated. No other candy can replace the prominent role of Fizzy Cola. I gave a long thought. Then I decided to go with Cloud 9, a pretty huge step at that time. As usual I hunted down Suffian for the customary fix. He too was surprised with the change of candy. “Are you going to the next level?” he asked. “From stalking to being a man, with balls?” he added. “Maybe” I mumbled.
Later that afternoon, I was in front of the main hall, reading the notice board. It’s funny how I never realized that the university has so many activities and events organized. “Snooker Competition”, interesting. Well, maybe if I came to class often, I should have known about it earlier. I was done reading the wall when I saw Suffian and his classmates in the distance. Just finished class I assume. At the same time I saw her coming out from the main door. To my surprise, for the first time, I saw him doing the transaction. From inside his pocket, he handed her the Cloud 9 candy. Then for the second time I saw her smile. Suddenly, Suffian pointed his finger towards the main hall. To be specific, towards me. I trembled. What should I do? I saw her coming towards me. What should I say? Ahh! 5 years in an all boys residential school surely didn’t help at all. Sweat began to drip from my temples.
“So, you’re the secret admirer that’s been giving me candies all this while?” she asked.
“Errr, yes” I replied.
“I guess it’s not a secret anymore. Thanks.” she continued with a smile.
“You’re w-w-welcome” I stuttered.
She turned and started to walk away. Within a few moments I held her arms before she got too far. She was surprised. “Errr, can I have your number?” I asked. “Of course you can” she replied, again, with a smile.
*****
I just stood there, watching her walk through the gates towards her housing area. Slowly, her shadows began to fade. My heart was finally beating in its normal rate. I got her number. I needed a cigarette. When my hand reached inside the pocket, I felt something odd. It’s not my cigarette, nor my lighter, nor my keys. It was a fucking last piece of Fizzy Cola from I don’t know when. It was a sign! Without thinking further, I ran! I ran towards her, wherever she was. I ran!
Panting and sweating, after a prompt search finally I saw her. Still, modishly walking. I controlled my breath and stepped beside her. “Can I walk you home?” I started with sweat starting to dampen my shirt. It was a terribly hot afternoon. “Well, I would love you to, but I’m already in front of my house” she answered, surprised at first but with a little tone of disappointment at the end. “In that case, if you don’t mind, I would like to ask you for a little stroll before I walk you back home again” I continued, hoping for the best. “I don’t mind that at all…” she replied.
I pulled out the last piece of Fizzy Cola and offered it to her. She took it. We smiled at each other and began our short walk.
29 comments
Comments feed for this article
February 19, 2008 at 8:12 pm
dA
sweetness!
February 19, 2008 at 8:21 pm
ayyub
yeah, i guess. but the walk was definitely SHORT.
February 19, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Naz
awww.. swwweet!
February 19, 2008 at 11:31 pm
thegulagula
and i’m gonna add to that:
shweeetttt………. ^___^
jarang saya baca a romantic story from the guy’s point of view. =)
February 20, 2008 at 12:07 am
ayyub
errr… 🙂
so nak tanya, ada apa yang tak kena dengan guy’s point of view?
February 20, 2008 at 12:50 am
muspie
hihihi…macam iklan!
kat melaka makan pisang goreng mmg macam tu..hanya d melaka sahaja specifically RSU…well, whr was exactly her home again? depan mmu ke apa? apsal too SHORT
February 20, 2008 at 9:08 am
ayyub
why too short? err… maybe we are destined to be with other people…
February 20, 2008 at 12:49 pm
thegulagula
there’s nothing wrong with a guy’s p.o.v. 😛 syok…
slalu baca the girl’s, bosan gak! ^____^
February 20, 2008 at 10:47 pm
thegulagula
there’s nothing wrong with a guy’s p.o.v.
since i rarely read one, bila baca rasa cam sweet sangat… =)
rasa cam cloud 9…
February 21, 2008 at 8:56 am
dA
sweets,
maybe u rase sweet because it’s ayyub’s p.o.v?
😀
February 21, 2008 at 11:17 am
ayyub
hmmm… Am I sensing a bit of jealousy here? 🙂
February 21, 2008 at 11:54 pm
ayyub
hm.. i guess not.
February 22, 2008 at 11:35 am
dA
jealousy from whom?
February 22, 2008 at 11:58 am
ayyub
oh nothing. i was just exercising my misinterpreting routine…
February 22, 2008 at 2:36 pm
dA
oh ok.
February 26, 2008 at 3:01 pm
calel
ayyub… is this you ayyub????
February 26, 2008 at 3:02 pm
calelXIBT
ayyub… XIBT????
February 26, 2008 at 3:06 pm
ayyub
yes… who else? calel TMRND…. hehehe…
February 26, 2008 at 3:33 pm
calel
‘bengong’ you ayyub. A superb writing talent I sense in you and a master story teller you are. Untill now, I’m dwelling on why did you pursue on IT. Maybe that’s why IT is ‘tepu’. You have a bright future my youglings…
February 26, 2008 at 4:08 pm
ayyub
well, i must say the same to you too. u were once a good painter. but what we are doing now pays our bills, dont you agree?
February 26, 2008 at 4:19 pm
calel
Agree, but I’m not like you where you came from a rich family. Otherwise, I just fly to France and paint naked woman. You should highly considered to not waste your talent in just writing in blog.
February 26, 2008 at 4:24 pm
ayyub
hahaha. i’m considering you as just being funny calel…
February 26, 2008 at 4:53 pm
calel
yes I admit… the part of painting a naked woman is just my expression of being funny. “NOOOOOOTTTT”
February 27, 2008 at 2:24 am
Countess
ohhh…ada unsur-unsur ke arah romantis. i like your style!..hehehe
February 27, 2008 at 8:04 am
ayyub
thank you all…
March 17, 2008 at 6:04 pm
nini
sungguh menusuk~
March 18, 2008 at 8:07 pm
ayyub
nini, ingat the “scanning” incident at bukit beruang post office? hmmm…
March 24, 2008 at 7:34 pm
nini
mana mungkin ku lupa~ dekat bcb kot aku rasa.. camane leh kantoi aku pun tak tau hehe
March 24, 2008 at 9:29 pm
ayyub
you scanned her, she told me. as simple as that.