"look! that cloud looks like a cotton candy! and that cloud
looks like a cotton candy
and that cloud looks like a cotton candy..."
today was a blur of exhausting events,
surprising, random and just plain sweaty.
and it started from last night.
a phone call
I picked up my phone as the stinging
buzz of guitar and bass played.
---my ringtone, Say (Half Past Nine) by Hot Chelle Rae.
"Hey, Fred." I greeted brightly to my friend on the other line.
"Hai Ash," she said, "hey...how'd you know it's me?"
"I got caller ID."
"Oh. Well," I can tell she was smiling, "did Vad tell you what's your job for SRM tomorrow?"
SRM = Sidang Redaksi Majalah aka Editorial Board.
"Um, no. She didn't. What we're doing tomorrow?"
"We will have to jaga," (take care), "of the money tomorrow."
In my head, the July Issue of MAD (Make A Difference, our monthly school mag)
popped in my head.
"Oh. We're selling the issue tomorrow?"
"No. This isn't MAD. It's cotton candy."
I pressed my lips together: okay.
"Err...what's the cotton candy for?"
"To sell."
"Yeah, and why are we selling it tomorrow?"
I did not get why we need to sell those in school. Odd.
"For Sukan Carnival."
Sukan Carnival = Sports Carnival.
"Wait. That's tomorrow???"
"Yeah Ash." She's smiling again. I understand that.
"Oh Fred! Thank gosh you're telling me. I so forgot that it's tomorrow!"
"It's okay."
"I would've been in my bus and on my way to school tomorrow if you hadn't called me!"
"Hahaha. It's fine."
I began asking her the time we need to arrive and when the event will end.
So yes. I was a little mad at myself that it slipped off my mind.
I was about to get an epic rip for being the only one in school tomorrow.
Thank you Fred.
So my job is to find 25 bucks in changes. No problem.
a problem
Because of this late notice, I found out my mum was sick.
My Mum is like Superwoman. She hardly gets sick.
And when she's laying in bed and say that all parts of her body hurts,
that's bad.
So i just requested that if she didn't feel fine the next day,
I won't come to the Sports Carnival.
My Mum just asked me to get ready and see if she could make it.
I planned to woke up at 5.30 am (an hour earlier than normal)
and indulge myself for a longer shut-eye :)
I started by my sister's alarm at 4.30 am
(or earlier. That stupid phone sometimes wakes me
up, intentionally or not, around 4.27 am. I want my 3 minutes back).
My sister asked me to get up since i was the one that wakes up first.
I sleepily said that i'm waking at 5.30 am. Silence. I snuggled back in.
I heard the TV opened. Oh, right. It was probably my Dad.
The 2010 World Cup Finals.
Spain v Netherlands.
As a harmony-seeking observer, I don't really pick sides.
Either of them winning this nice Cup to drink from would be fine for me.
I was curious who won.
a disturbance
My brothers woke up and there was some measurable noise outside.
One of my brother opened the door and looked in.
"Eh. Why is Shiqin not up? It's over four-thirty already."
I didn't bother to answer him.
"She's waking up at five-thirty!" my sister shouted, annoyed.
"Oh." Door closes.
A few minutes later...
Door opens. "Spain won."
"Ughhhh." We both moaned from the pillow. Door closes.
I can truly recall but i think i slept because when i woke up,
my sister is already dressed in her uniform.
Door opens.
"Why is Shiqin still sleeping?" the same brother asked.
"Haiyah!" My sister snapped,
"She's waking up at five-thirty! Why do you have to ask that so many times?"
Door closes.
Thanks, Sis.
At five-thirty, I woke up at the sound of my alarm.
"Go to hell!" I shouted to my pillow (indicating my brother).
I chatted with my sister for a while and before entering the bathroom,
I checked in my Mum's bedroom.
"Hey, Ma. You okay?"
She still looked pretty sick.
I thought to myself : well, even if she's not going to send me,
at least i should bathe first.
My sister already left for school when I was done.
Again, i checked in with my Mum.
I asked if she was okay to send me. She lay there for a while.
Later, she got up and went into the bathroom.
I went away to eat breakfast. I find my brother watching TV.
His school didn't have any classes because they had a concert last Saturday.
Whatever. My school did, it was even on a Sunday, and we hadn't any holidays.
So. After eating my breakfast, my Dad went out from his bedroom.
Looking at me with sleepy eyes
(the World Cup Finals was from 2.30 am till about 5 am. Whoa),
he asked me : why're you here?
"Oh. I have Sports Carnival today. I need to go to Stadium Likas."
He turned and shuffled away to the bathroom.
Nice.
I was up to put my plates back to the kitchen when my Dad was back,
he asked me : who's going to send you?
"Umm..uh...Mama but she's..."
I left that sentence hanging cause she was already in the kitchen, fully dressed.
My Dad shuffled away.
I arrived at the parking lot of Likas' Dorm.
that's where we annually gather to get our attendance ticked.
i tried to find my class line
(the shortest one, I swear. So many of my classmates are prefects.),
and it was proving to be a challenge. One of my prefect friend indicate where it was located.
It really was the shortest line.
I sat down and my awesomely best friend spotted me.
We chatted the whole way while the teachers were trying to get us to listen.
The people who are not applied to any sports event is to attend
a mandatory aerobics exercise. It sounds lame but it's fun to see the teachers doing it ;)
I was not going because i have that SRM duty.
Fred came later on to tell that we'll hang around there for a while to wait
for the cotton-candy person.
When the aerobics are dismissed, I said goodbye to my friends,
"Sorry. Need to wait for the cotton candy man."
In my entire life, I thought I would never have to say that sentence.
We waited for this cotton candy person.
(I was told that it wasn't a 'cotton candy man',
it was a 'cotton candy woman'.)
"I guess we need to wait for that cotton-candy woman."
Again, not a sentence I thought I need to ever say.
About five to ten minutes later, it came.
(it was a cotton candy woman.)
We (Bren, Fred and I) started to sell it.
a tree.
The thing about the cotton candy is that we have
to carry it around in a large, black plastic bag.
So when we tried to sell it to a friend from afar,
"Hey! You want cotton candy?"
"That's cotton candy? I thought you guys were carrying thrash!"
We have a good laugh at that.
the cotton candy in a thrash bag.
a random occurrence
When the idea of going to the hockey teams was introduced,
I was a little scruple by the long walk we have to make.
But we walked to there anyways.
some cotton candy clouds along the walk.
While we were walking along the road,
carring the plastic bag and holding up cotton candy to sell,
a car stopped right beside us.
Huh?
We stopped dead in our steps and stared at it.
Inside, there was a man with black glasses on.
He was practically guffawing at us.
He had his hand cover over his mouth and laughed.
What the? Offending much?
What's wrong with some teenagers selling some cotton candy?
I gave him a wtf-are-you-looking-at?-have-you-never-saw-this-before? look
and we began walking again, complaining "what's the matter with that guy?"
A few moments later (it stopped a long while as we walked, indignantly, away),
I heard it's engine.
"Okay, when it passes, don't look at the driver." I said.
"Not planning to." Fred said (I think).
The car passed by and I only saw the back.
Buh-bye.
a drizzle-fuh-dizzel
When we came to the hockey, it was perfectly during half-time
and a teacher of mines (a very cheeky one)
opened the sprinkler-hose
(more like jet hose) to the grass-carpet field.
When we walked pass by, he sprayed it on us.
It was like light drizzle but we still squealed and laughed.
it was pretty cool that we came during that time.
the man in the cowboy hat and yellow shirt was the teacher that sprayed us.
We sold some cotton candy (they need sugar rush!) to the hockey players
and sat ourselves down to watch the game continue.
It was an excuse to have a break.
(Have a Break, Have a
After about 12 minutes watching the game,
we headed back to our bags and to the Stadium Likas.
the walk (to remember) to the stadium.
We split up to our respected Sport Houses.
Mines Comet---the Yellow House.
I sat at the back, looking over the sea of yellow.
I don't spot any of my friends there.
But i was fine with that. i like to think to myself.
go comet go comet go!
the results were announced
(but for added anxiety, the Overall House Winner was not).
it was teemed with normalcy and i thought to myself that
this was going to be the second-last time i could do this.
i enjoyed myself in its atmosphere, though how average it maybe.
something i caught while 'thinking to myself'.
I stayed in silence for i don't know how long
until the all the prizes (cheap medals) was given.
I hesitantly called my Mum to pick me up.
She was at her shop in Donggongon (about 20++ km from there)
and she said she had promised to 'meet up with a member' soon.
See? Superwoman.
I said fine. She could go meet her member. I'll just wait for her there.
(Not saying that my Mum is neglecting me.
There was an open restaurant at the Stadium.)
I waited with some of my friends.
When it was left me and a friend, I suggested that
we lepak (hang out) at the restaurant.
We have some good conversations :)
I didn't have a lot of quality time with her lately.
a surprising find
After purchasing a Pepsi Twist
(not that I'm no Cola fan but I haven't
drink this bad boy for a long time),
we agreed to went up to the VIP spot
and enjoy this amazing breeze
that was happening today from up there.
When we got there, I spotted a handphone.
My friend and I checked it out for awhile.
We were not going to steal it. No.
But we were trying to figure out who was the owner.
Around that time, my Mum called and told me she was waiting for me.
First things first.
We searched downstairs near the entrance for
Sister (a real Sister. She's in our school).
We located her and told her about the phone.
She asked where we found it.
We told her.
She wanted to know exactly where we found it.
I said I needed to go and left my friend to show
her where we located it.
a conclusion
I spotted my Mum's red Bighorn outside.
And I hopped in.
As she told me about how this member of hers
was acquainting her to a Datin that lived at the
exclusive and strictly-only-for-the-VVIP-worthy
Sutera Harbour Residence
(so exclusive that it was my first time hearing a
residential area at Sutera Harbour),
I drank my Pepsi.
And plot my devious revenge to the man-in-the-car-who-laughs-at-teenagers-selling-cotton-candy.
