15 Years Ago, How It All Started...

AT HOME:

"Tahniah! Awak telah ditawarkan biasiswa TM untuk melanjutkan pelajaran ke Jepun untuk kursus kejuruteraan telekomunikasi"

"Huhh??!! Jepun?? Tapi saya tak mintak pun pergi Jepun masa interview!"

"Takde ke? Rasanye ada, kalau tak, kami takde la masukkan nama awak dalam senarai pelajar2 ke Jepun"

Damnit!! When did I ever mention Japan during the interview? That would be the last place I'd ever want to go. Kalau UK or US tu, logik la jugak. Hmm... hentam la labu. Maybe it'll be a start of a new adventure? I hope so.

***
AT TTC MARANG:

Good God! All these talks and lectures are such a bore!! Bla bla bla... I hear nothing. Hmm... let's see how others are faring. OMG... that guy is literally sleeping with his head bobbing to and fro! Hahahhaha... Woww... didn't realize that there are soooo many eye candies among us. Must check them out :P

***

I'm so bored, I could die! Alamak... my specs are blurry. Must ask Farah for her specs' wipes. Camna pulak nak cakap when she's way behind me. Ohh... I'll pass a note to her.

"Farah, can I please have one of your specs' wipes? My stinky breath just won't do it. By the way, the guy on your right is MIGHTY cute! Any idea what's his name?"

Neatly folded with Farah's name written on it, the note was passed to her. I turned around and smiled at her nudging for her wipes that was clearly laying on the table. To my ultimate horror, she passed the note that was meant for her to the guy across the aisle on her rightafter reading it! FCUK!! Die la like this!!!... Eh wait, why is that guy smiling macam kerang busuk je?

***

"Farah!!! Giler kau pass note to that mamat! Malu aku okay!"

"Alahh... takpe. Kau kan nak tau nama dia. Nanti I'm sure dia bagitau kat kau. Sure dia syok ada orang kata dia cute hehehhe"

Pengsan!!!....

***

"Liza... kau dah stock up gula2 tak? Karang gerenti boring and ngantuk punye lecture. Dah la malam2 camni, perut kenyang pulak tuh"

"Dah..."

"Eh Nora... that cute guy is alone over there la. Pegi la say hie ;)", nudged Farah.

"Hahhh! Crazy!! I don't even know his name"

"His name is Bard", winked Amani.

Aiseyy... must I? Okay la. No harm in saying hie, I suppose...

***

"Hie Bard... Makan sweets sorang2 je?"

"Eh hie! Oh you nak ke?"

Errr... apalah mamat nih... lagi mau tanya.

"Here you go"

"Thanks! Banyak stock sweets you. Mesti tak larat nak dengar lecture banyak2 nih."

"Yupp... I makan sweets tak nak bagi mengantuk. You Nora right?!"

"Err... yes (by this time, my face was so red, I could feel it burning). Eh okay la. Gotta go. My friends tengah tunggu I. Talk to you later".

"Okay... "

Ya Allah... Malunya aku!! Tuhan saja yang tahu. But why am I humming and skipping?? hehheheh...

***

It's obligatory for all scholars to exercise in the evening. Most guys would opt to play soccer while the gals would play netball. Very secular like that. However, for the rest of us who doesn't mind mixing and matching, we'd play volleyball, tennis or ping pong, whichever tickles our fancies.

"Hie Bard... didn't know you play tennis. Dah lama ke main?"

"Boleh la. I dulu selalu main kat sekolah"

"Ohhh... wakil sekolah la nih? :)"

"Takde lah. Main for fun je. I heard you dulu main basketball".

"Yupp. But now I'm taking a break. Penat la dulu main non-stop masa kat sekolah. Now I main sumer games for fun. Eh jom ambik gambar".

"Okay. Jap, I carik orang to take our picture".

What started out as a picture of just the two of us, ended up as a group ;P Haiiyaaa... kacau daun betul la...


***

AT UTMKL:

"Nora, birthday you kan hari ni?!"

"Yes (sambil senyum2 kambing, wakakakka...), camna you tahu?"

"I pasang spy ;). Anyway, here's something for you. Hope you'll like it. Malam ni kita keluar dinner kay. I belanja"(Oh wow... is this a date?)

"Ohh okay but lambat sikit boleh tak? I dah promise nak belanja my classmates makan cake. Kita go out after that ye for supper :)"

"No prob. Nanti I tunggu. Eh wait, can I snap a picture with you?"

"Oh okay. Let me get my camera first ya..." (Hatiku sudah berbunga2 lalalalal... hehehhe...)

***

I guess, if it was meant to be, it was meant to be. From that day onwards, we were inseparable except when it comes to sleeping arrangements, of course. We were put in the same watch at Outward Bound School, Lumut where we started being serious with each other. We just sort of click and the chemistry that passed between us was undeniable. I fell hard for this guy, really hard eventhough I knew we were going to face a long distance relationship for two years but I persevered.

The day he flew off to UK was the hardest and saddest day of my life (then :P). It was pretty hard maintaining a long distance relationship at that time. There were no internet so I had to rely heavily on the snail mail. I was a regular at the post office, sending off scores of letters, tapes, pictures and gifts of sorts. Once in a blue moon would I give him a call when missing him would become unbearable, with every call lasting not more than five minutes as they were mighty costly.

B came back for summer hols a year later. I was esctatic. I couldn't wait to see him but when I met him at the airport, I got the cold shoulder treatment. Why? Why is he doing this to me?

Turns out, he wanted to break off with me. I was shattered. My world came crumbling down. The main reason; he just couldn't bear with the long distance thingy. Whenever he misses me, it hurts him badly. He doesn't know how to deal with it.

Despite the many, many pleas and pleading, he wouldn't change his mind. He never even asked how I felt about it but I finally caved in. And so we broke it off.

That was the bleakest night, ever. I went back to my room all bawled out. I couldn't stop crying. In fact, I cried myself to sleep. Despite the many consolations from my roomies Along, Liza and Lin, nothing could mend this broken heart of mine. At that time, Cake's 'I Will Survive' became my best friend, played on a death loop.

For ten days, I was miserable and they say, misery loves company. It was a weekend, the weekend that we were supposed to go on a date but instead was spent cooped up in my room at my parents'. I was in no mood at all to even get out of my room let alone go out with friends despite the many invites that I got, all in the name of cheering me up.

"Noresh, jom aa keluar tengok wayang", Arai called.

"Malas la. Not in the mood".

"Jom la. Buat apa kau dok berkurung dalam bilik. Not good. Kau tengah sedih2, entah Bard tengah seronok2 dengan orang lain".

"Yeah... whatever. I don't care. Biar la dia nak buat apa pun. Kitorang kan dah BO".

"Alaahhh... jom la Noresh. Aku belanja kau. Tak bagus la kau monyok nangis sorang2 dalam bilik".

"Sape lagi pegi?"

"Aku, Hamdi, Along, Mail etc."

After much delibaration my part and persuading on Arai's part, I agreed. Who knows, a good laugh with friends might do me some good.

Half an hour later, I got a phone call from of all the person, it had to be B!

"Are you going out?"

"Why?"

"Saje tanya. Are you?"

Truthfully, I was so relieved to hear his voice. I missed him so much.

"Yes. Are you?"

"Yes. Can we meet?"

"Why? I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with me anymore??"

"Well, I was wrong. Forgive me? I miss you..."

Okay... by this time I was a mush. I cried and cried and said things that weren't really comprehensible to him. All I remembered was saying, okay. I'll meet you.

Fast forward, I went the extra mile to make our relationship really work. He had another year to go at Scotland while I was still stuck at home. We wrote, called, wrote, called till it was time for him to finally come home.

A-Level results came out and both of us got unexpected results. Instead of flying off to UK, we were sent to different colleges locally. I, on the other hand, opted to quit TM and joined B and the others in the ADP program in Shah Alam privately.

From there onwards, I made sure that we were always together. I wasn't going to take any chances. No way, after what had happened. I was tired of long distance relationship and so did he. We applied to all the same universities in the States. Alhamdulillah, we got admitted into all the Unis that we chose. We finally picked Purdue as our final destination and I am glad we did. I had the best time of my life there spent with the person whom I love most.

TO BE CONTINUED...