Smile when You are Sad

broadcasting student studying in Utar who hopes he can do better in his exam and hopes as insignificant as he is, he can find a job in a competitive media world so that he can buy a house for his mother in

Cameron

Highland

(my mum’s dream house). Anybody wants to help me achieve my goal, YOU are welcome……

     It was a cool still morning just as the sun rises, Andy wakes up to the sound of his alarm clock singing like a chorus of cockcrow. Just as he gets up his mother called out to him “Andy breakfast is ready, get yourself down here.” Andy replies his mother “Give me five minutes ma; I will be right downstairs with you.” Andy quickly changes his pajamas, to a set of attire he placed onto a small table beside his bed the night before. That attire consists of a blue plain t-shirt and a long pant. There’s a reason to why the attire seem so formal. You see Andy must have been among the luckiest person to ever live in this world. Through a few important contact he met while working as a production assistant and a TV station writer, he gets a chance today to do the thing he ever wanted since a kid that is to be a broadcaster.

   

     Andy walks step by step along the stairs that reach out to the dining hall. His lovely mother Emily in her forties had prepared fish omelet for his son. This was not the usual morning menu but ever since the SARS outbreak his mother, ever being health conscious, decided that it’s time for a change from chicken omelet to fish omelet instead. “Andy how’s your breakfast?” Emily asked her son, “Ma, you know I adored the food you cook but honestly the fish seems to have a certain soil smell.” Andy showing a weird looks on his face as though the food is strange; Emily then told her son that the fish is a fresh water fish. She couldn’t buy any saltwater fish because Ding the fishmonger had sold all of them earlier. “He promised to keep for me the next Monday I go to the market” Emily said to her son. After breakfast Andy said goodbye to his mum and always as a good boy he would not miss to say “Mummy I love you” followed by a kiss.

      

      Andy locks the house gate and proceeds to walk to the bus stop. There are a few people standing while waiting for the bus at the bus stop. Coincidentally Andy neighbor’s daughter Sarah was there, she works in an executive position in a company that’s not far from where Andy is working. After giving each other the normal “morning” greetings Andy asked Sarah where she is heading to? “Oh, I am going to work, I thought of driving but my sister needs to use the car so I’m taking the bus,” replied Sarah to Andy. In Andy’s heart Sarah, a girl that means so much to him, you see Sarah thoughtfulness of other people touches Andy’s heart so deep that he just has to love her. Andy promises himself optimistically that he will win her heart but first he must do well and succeed in his career and earn lots of money so he can take care of not just himself but also Sarah. “That one day she doesn’t have to work so hard and we will have a good life together as one” thought Andy to himself.

         

      The chat goes on between Andy and Sarah. Andy is about to ask Sarah out for a date at night, when the bus came and they had to board the bus. Andy, day dreaming about Sarah, accidentally slips a one dollar bill for a fifty cent ticket; he had forgotten that it’s not refundable. “Can I have my change back?” Andy asks the bus driver. All the bus driver did was to give him a stern annoyed look and pointed to the side of the machine where one dollar coins are to be collected. It states in capital letter “NO REFUND, PLEASE PREPARE ENOUGH CASH.” “Darn it. What can be done,” he thought. He can only get the ticket from the driver’s hand and walk to a place where he can sit. That is the left side of the two rows of long chairs that look like benches, which doesn’t even give enough space to properly place his legs in a comfortable position. Anyhow he prefers to sit near the bus window. Thankfully just when he is going to grumble to himself about how bad it is to start his day, Sarah sat beside him. That’s really quite a relief for him. Sarah turns to Andy and smile at him while looking straight into his eyes, Andy feels like flying into the blue sky when all of a sudden he feels his body moves toward Sarah. “No, this can’t be right!” Andy thought to himself. It’s not the time yet but it is too late to stop because whatever that causes Andy’s body to move is too strong to be controlled. In a split second his lip touches Sarah’s lips in what seem like a quick kiss. Sarah got a shock when that happened but she really couldn’t blame Andy. The bus tyre hit a large hole on the tar road and the impact was felt by the passengers. That does not usually happen but it is definitely an unusual day for the two of them.

   

    “Sorry Sarah, I am so…so sorry…I didn’t mean it” Andy with an apologetic face is now asking for Sarah’s forgiveness. “Never mind Andy, it is not really your fault,” replied Sarah with a smile and a blushed red face. “Sarah, I was thinking if it’s possible for you to go out with me tonight,” Andy’s voice changes into a braver manly tone. “Well yes. Why are you asking me out all of a sudden?” Sarah face looked perplex. “Well, first of all because I believe we are friends, I mean true friends and secondly I think you are the prettiest girl I have ever known,” Andy’s eyes and face still facing Sarah in a closer range. Instead of Andy hearing something positive, Sarah said nothing but just looked away. By then the bus reached their destination which is a triangle shaped bus stop that is near to where they both work. On the way walking down from the bus Andy can’t do anything but wonder why Sarah had acted this way. Maybe Sarah took it too sensitively or maybe Sarah thought it was a joke that should not be given attention. Anyway Andy decided to approach Sarah again to ask her out.

       “Good afternoon Andy” said Nurr who is running the company’s canteen. “Why are you looking so sad?” Nurr asks while scooping an ice cream flavor for Andy, as usual Andy doesn’t need to tell Nurr which flavor of ice cream to scoop which is vanilla chip. Nurr knows Andy’s taste, well one may question why, but why not ever since Andy works there. He frequents the canteen a lot and orders the same food most of the time. And except for special days like celebrating his colleague’s birthdays in the canteen. He would have his dessert, the ice cream, a different flavor. Nurr normally knows which day it was since everyone works there but today is different. “Nurr, I want a yam ice cream rather than the usual,” Andy told Nurr. “It’s nothing, it’s nothing really…” answered Andy with a small smile but the look in his face tell her he’s troubled. “Come on tell me, you know you can trust Nurr,” she tells Andy while giving him his ice cream, “I don’t know Nurr, I think I am confused…. you see I kind of like this girl…” before Andy can go further, Nurr teased “Oooh, so it’s about a girl huh? Tell me first: is she very pretty? How old is she? Where she is staying? Andy, surprised by how curious Nurr is about his life, thought “But she asked so many questions where should he start?”   “Well, Nurr, she means more than being pretty, who she really is within and everything… you know what I mean, don’t you?” Andy smiles at Nurr and walks away taking his cone shape ice cream and lick the cream of the ice which dripped down like drops of rain and melted nicely in Andy’s lip. All this brings memories of being like a kid again.

    He looks at his watch. It’s 1:30 p.m. There’s still half an hour left before its back to work time. He brings out his hand phone and thought of calling Sarah for a quick snack. Although he isn’t really hungry, he calls her and the phone rings but Sarah seem to be not answering. His big hint was because the phone didn’t has the usual voice stating “hi I am so and so, please leave a message” he switches off his hand phone and walks on back to work.

     Time goes through the motion in the clock which ticks from

2 p.m.

to

3 p.m.

between the intervals, he tries to focus more on his work but he can’t stop thinking about Sarah. Two hours later it’s time to go home. On his way home he meets Sarah who is also walking toward the bus stop. “Hi, I called you during lunch but you did not pick up, is everything ok? Look Sarah if I said something wrong I just want…”

    “But Andy I was actually…..” Sarah interjected. Andy being the nervous person he is didn’t give Sarah a chance to finish talking.  “Sarah please let me finish what I want to say, now where was I again….Oh I just want to say that I am sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

    “But Andy, I was in an emergency meeting with my boss. That’s why I didn’t reply your call,” Sarah interjected again. “Oh I see that’s what happened actually,” Andy’s face redden with a sign of embarrassment.  “That is okay, Andy. I just don’t want you to misunderstand me.” Andy looks up to Sarah as she explains further, “Andy, I know you are a good person. Honestly I have wanted to tell you for a long time now that I really do like you but I don’t know why every time I feel like committing my whole self to you I pull away.”  Sarah look so despaired with her own word that Andy places his hand on her shoulder. Then all of a sudden he holds both of Sarah hands, “Sarah, I don’t know what you have been through but I promise now and forever I will always be with you. I will look after you and we will go through this together…. No matter what it is, nor the distance, or where the sun rises and sets you know I’ll be there.”   Sarah’s face brightens up and she lets out a breath of relief. “You speak as though you imitate it from a song,” said Sarah and they both laugh. “Sarah, those words come deeply from my heart.” They are now looking at each other. “Sarah I think I don’t want our relationship to be confined to the usual way of courting. I want to be plain and simple and this is who I am, now would you Sarah Michelle Geller be my girlfriend,” Andy asked and Sarah grinned “Well if you really want me to be your girlfriend you better get my name right.” To that Andy jokingly replies Sarah “Ok, I’ll take that as a yes then but really what’s your name again…?” Sarah acting like she can’t stand Andy, gently slaps Andy on his shoulder.

    The bus came, and they boarded the bus. Only this time when the bus reaches the bus stop near their house, Andy holds Sarah hand. It must have been the most beautiful evening for them. They walk back to Sarah’s house first. Just as Andy is turning his face and going back to his house Sarah come forward and kisses Andy on the lips though it’s isn’t a long one. That is enough to send endorphins, the hormone that gives pleasure, into Andy’s brain. “That was hot, and it wasn’t hard wasn’t it” Andy said. “You bet it wasn’t,” answered Sarah walking back to her house in reverse motion with her face facing Andy as he turns back heading to his own house.

      And from the day onward Andy and Sarah hold each other hands wherever they go. Some people use different methods to symbolize their relationship, but for Andy and Sarah holding hands tell them what their relationship truly mean.

   

   

    

                                               All rights reserved 2007

                         The above storylines and characters are all fictional,

                          It should not involved anyone in real life in any

                                    Way that the writer may know.

                                       Originality is my Integrity

                              -Written by Daniel Sim Lim Beng-