And so it is, the 2nd of January, in the year 2007. Man, its a special day isn't it? School normally starts on this day, but thanks to a quirk on the calendar, we all get an extra day off. Speaking of opening days, its been 11 years to the day since I met my first best friend. Apprehensive little critters we were then, paired up by the form teacher (whose name I have, sadly, forgotten). She struggled that day, as she always does on opening day, with bawling six year olds, or with little children who would take a wrong turn and end up in the wrong classroom. She tried to make it girls on one side, and boys on the other, but gave up when she remembered she was dealing with little kids who still went "EEEEEEEEEEUW!" when presented with the notion of holding hands with a member of the opposite sex. So it was then, that a chubby fellow stood next to me, and as our form teacher marched us off to the classroom, the uneasiness sank in. Away from the concourse we went, away from our parents, and into the bowels of classroom hell. Tears down the cheeks of a few of the kids, including my chubby friend. Tried to comfort him I did, but it didn't work. The nice form teacher had to step in, and make the Sun shine again for my friend. Although I didn't manage to make him feel better that day, he and I quickly became the best of friends. Inseparable really. The two of us, and a little band of little tyros; Si Rong, Dhayalan, Haziq, just to name a few. We played, we laughed, we fought, we competed, but we were best friends, and that was all that mattered.Then we began to grow up. As time passed our differences began to pull us apart. He went his way, I went mine. A dispute made it worse, and enemies the two of us became. Saddness filled my heart, for I had lost my best friend, but pride stopped me from saying sorry, and patching things up. And so it continued, for over a year or two, a cold war, an iron curtain.Till the day we collected our PSLE results, we didn't speak much. Then, on that day, his Mom and my Mom met, and began to chat. His Mom, magnanimous as she is (bless her), first extended the olive branch, and all was well again. We shook hands, our enmity extinguished, friends again we were.We went to different schools, and I saw him only sporadically after that. On the bus too, for his school was down the road from mine. But bus meetings are terrible for catching up, and so we never got to talk much. So little time, but whenever I looked back, I remembered fondly our friendship, and hoped in my heart of hearts that he was doing well, that his family was doing well. Then the posting results came out. And to TP I went. Lo, and behold! Guess who I saw at Orientation? My best friend of course! We exchanged contacts, talked abit about family and what had been happening in our lives. We began to talk again, more frequently now, and sometimes, almost as if we were back in primary school, when all was right. My, my, haven't we come a long way now my friend? Thank you for being my buddy, for cheering me up when I was sad, for giving me help when I needed it. To 11 years (12 by your reckoning) of friendship! Cheers, Chiaw Khim, cheers!
i heard the crickets at 6:07 pm
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