2008-08-30
It occured to me later that taking to gummies was probably like stealing.
After a biology lesson comprising of mushrooms, mushrooms and more mushrooms, I decide to accompany Jingrong on an MRT ride to some strange, out-of-place area that she has to go to.
Curiously, the MRT directory tells me that there is a station at City Towers, a place situated conveniently outside my house. I decide that this would be easy for me to get home, and decide to get on the same train as Jingrong.
We spend the ride bantering as we usually do, and after the train passes by a Bukit Timah Station (yes, it was called that), we end up in Sembawang. I am utterly confused by the order of stations, but Jingrong kindly (unbelievable!) stops off at the next station with me to check the MRT directory again.
It occurs to me upon inspection that I should have dropped off at the Bukit Timah stop before Sembawang, and realize that I must have mixed up the MRT directory with the bus directory. I bid Jingrong goodbye as we go on our separate ways, and board the train heading backwards.
To my delight, I find a myriad of old seniors on the MRT, from Zelei to Linyu, all in JC uniform that leaves me unable to recognize them until I move closer. I tell them how much I miss them, and spend the rest of the ride talking. When my station draws near, I decide to ignore it and carry on for one more stop to catch up with them a little more.
I don't manage to hug them, but we agree to meet up soon, hopefully. I hop off the train and prepare to get on another one leading me back to Bukit Timah. However, my plans are foiled when I meet Yani, who tells me she has an intense craving for a particularl type of gummy which can be bought from a tiny vending machine for two dollars. It seems overly expensive to me, and I tell her straight out that she is crazy if she wants to waste money on that.
But beneath the little vending machine is a large transparent box packed to the brim with packaged gummies of much variety. I attempt to open the box and fail, but Yani amazingly manages to kick it open. Faced with so many choices, we take our time to pick out the kinds that we want. I get the gums that I want, but unfortunately, a little girl of no more than eight stops me, claiming that the gummies are hers. She insists that I follow her home to her mom and dad to apologize, and somehow I agree.
When I reach her house, Yani has mysteriously disappeared. Even more curious is the strong resemblance of her house to mine. Asides from a few slight differences in furnishing, everything seems the same. The photographs displayed seem like my own as well, but on closer inspection, morph into faces I am unfamiliar with.
The little girl disappears into her room, leaving me to explore the rest of the house. Halfway through my wandering, I come across an open door which leads to a balcony, where a man and a woman are sitting and watching the landscape, both engaged in conversation and laughing every now and then. In the midst of their talking, the man adjusts his position, turning slightly, and it is at this moment that I realize, to my utter horror, that this is Mr Jo's house. At this point he does not notice me, what with his back facing the door. Still, I decide to head back to the living room, and pray hard for the best.
After a while, the woman, whom I presume is his wife, walks out into the living room where I'm at. I smile at her as sweetly as I can, and explain my situation to her in brief. She smiles back, tells me it's fine, and disappears into the kitchen.
I feel better with one weight off my chest, but it is at this point that Mr Jo suddenly walks into the room as well. It's not everyday your student appears in your living room, and his jaw drops upon seeing me. I apologize hastily and tell him in my most placating voice that "It's a long story".
The last thing he says, while shaking his head in disbelief, is "You never fail to surprise me, Joy."
And then, I wake up.
inquisite at 10:37 a.m.