Ride on Time

Chapter 129

The temple was really peaceful, Mitsuo couldn't help but go around with his notebook and pencil to note the details down. He even got himself a blessed thread which the priest tied around his wrist while chanting.
"My first one, do they give this in every temple?" Mitsuo asked. "Your wrists has a lot more than just one."
"Depends on the temple, some are based on gender," Shree shrugged. "Like different gender, different colour and wrist."
Mitsuo nodded. "Fascinating."
"Let's sit down before going home," Shree said and smirked at the notebook in his hand. "We have to sit down in a temple. Must."
"Right, right," Mitsuo nodded, writing everything down. "This temple really is peaceful. I can't imagine it being isolated and abandoned."
Shree shrugged. "That's how it was before."
They decided to leave the temple and walk all the way back to their car. They had to walk past Shruti's house again and noticed that the Honda Jazz was gone.
"He went home, I think," Vasu said, motioning towards the driveway.
"Good, none of them seemed to like his presence," Mitsuo frowned. "Not even me though this was the first time I've met him."
"And you lost it," Shree chuckled. "I don't blame you, some people are just that bad."
Mitsuo nodded. "I'm glad you understood. But doesn't this just further prove that...?"
"You torture me in literature class!" Vasu suddenly exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at him. "For years, your books have been in my syllabus. SPM, STPM, all of it!"
Mitsuo stared at him for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter. The others laughed too before getting into the car to go home.

Mitsuo continued writing his findings in that new notebook of his. His glass pen moved swiftly across the page, writing one Japanese character after another. He frowned slightly and put the pen down on the tear-drop shaped rest, taking a break as if to consider something.
His mind was still in a muddle, still unable to wrap itself around everything that was going on. Mitsuo was still unclear at why he lunged at Siddharth like that, when that wasn't even something he would do. What drove him to snap like that?
Mitsuo shrugged to himself and picked up his pen again to continue writing. Anyone who couldn't understand the language would assume that it was a list of Japanese poems when it was actually a journal of investigative findings. He couldn't help smirk to himself as he thought of Shree's reaction if she would ever find out about what she was doing.
Mitsuo finally finished after writing out six whole pages of vertical scripture and closed the book after making sure the ink had dried. He wiped the twisted glass nib of his pen with wet tissue and put it away in its case before taking his phone out to decide what he could have for dinner.
There were so many to choose from, all of which stating to be the best in PJ. Mitsuo didn't know if he should choose Indian food, Chinese food, or Malay food since there was at least ten choices of each.
In the end, he texted Shree.
What you want?

Not sure...
What do you recommend?

Indian Malay or Chinese?

Whichever

There was a pause before Shree texted a reply.
Ok...
Then you want rice, soup or me?

You?!

*mee
Darn...
I meant mee noodles
AUTOCORRECT

Oh...

For a second, he actually thought that was an option and quickly shook his head before replying to the messages.
How about noodles?
Rice seems too heavy
It's too hot for soup...
What do you suggest on noodles?

Noodles...
What kinda noodles?
Chinese or Malay or Indian?
Mitsuo frowned. It went right back to page one. He sighed and typed out a reply.
Not sure
It's up to you

You want wet or dry?

Wet?

Ok then Chinese
Spicy or not spicy?

Spicy

Ok.
There's a shop in Old Town that sells Pan Mee
And then she proceeded to give him the directions he needed to get there.
But be warned!
That noodles is EXTRA SPICY!
You have been warned...
Mitsuo laughed at that message but wondered how spicy the Pan Mee was at the same time. In the end, he just shrugged and got ready to go right there to buy the Pan Mee.
The shop was just across the bus terminal in Old Town in Section 2's side. Mitsuo had trouble ordering but Shree suggested that he tried dry Pan Mee and not the soup kind.
"And I want spicy," Mitsuo added, almost sinisterly. "Extra spicy."
The shopkeeper gave him a strange look but nodded. "Got sauce."
Mitsuo nodded, excited and at the same time fearful. He rubbed his hands together as he waited for his Pan Mee to be packed. He decided to take a little walk once it was done, going over to the convenience store across the street, on the border of Section 1, to get some cold milk just in case the noodles backfired. After all, Shree did make quite an emphasis.
So he made his way back towards the bus stop but stopped short upon noticing that he was near Old Town's branch of Secret Ingredient. Mitsuo made his way in and got himself his favourite Dewey Blue Boba before making his way to the bus terminal across the street using the flyover.

The Pan Mee was still warm when Mitsuo returned to his room, radiating a delicious savoury scent. He decided to flaunt once again on a video call with his parents as he sat down to eat.
"It's freezing here!" Akiko complained, wrapped in a thick comforter as she sat beside her husband. "Mitsu, it's been snowing nonstop."
"Well, there isn't a single snowflake here," Mitsuo remarked as he unpacked his Pan Mee. "It's actually quite hot here. Like summer, but not as bad."
"Oh wow..." Hiroshi nodded as he slurped up his cup of instant noodles. "Also, what are you having? Looks good!"
"Nika told me that it's called Pan Mee," Mitsuo shrugged, pouring the noodles into a plastic bowl. "Mee means noodles, apparently. She also warned me that it would be spicy but I'm not sure. This is my first time trying it."
"Be careful, Mitsuo, or you might end up like how we did in Disneyland," Akiko chuckled. "Go easy on the spicy, okay?"
"Sure, I will," Mitsuo said but proceeded to squeeze in the entire packet of spicy paste onto his noodles, his mouth watering as he did. "I'll go easy on it, don't worry."
There were two kinds of sauce. The first one was a thick paste while the second was a watery liquid with chilli seeds and smelled like lime juice. He didn't care and just dumped the entire thing into the bowl, mixing it with his chopsticks as he spoke to his parents.
"Aren't you guys gonna eat anything besides a cup of instant noodles?" Mitsuo asked picking up a long and thick flat noodle with his chopsticks. "And even that, I only see Dad eating."
"We actually ate earlier, your Dad suddenly got hungry," Akiko stated, shifting the blankets slightly. "Anyway, how is it?"
Mitsuo shrugged. "Itadakimasu." He said and slurped up the long and thick noodle, his eyes immediately popping out of his head in surprise. He chewed it up and swallowed it before speaking. "Oh gosh... she wasn't kidding! It really is spicy!"
To their surprise, Mitsuo went on to stuff his face with more of the noodles together with some sliced mushrooms and anchovies.
"Mitsu, slow down!" Hiroshi gasped, nearly dropping his instant noodles. "Eat slowly, don't stuff your mouth like that."
Mitsuo took a break and sipped his cold boba tea. "This is really good, Dad. You guys should try this."
"Are you sure it's not gonna... backfire?" Akiko remarked. "Like you know what I mean... backfire..."
"Yeah, fire at the back, I know," Mitsuo nodded. "I'm actually used to it at this point."
"Oh my god..." Akiko worriedly said. "Hiro-kun... we have lost our son..."
Mitsuo swallowed his mouthful before speaking. "What do you mean?"
"Our son is usually very careful with what he eats, avoids anything that might lead to discomfort or diarrhoea," Akiko smirked. "And now? You're worse than us, Mitsu."
"To be fair, I've only gotten diarrhoea once, and I've been living here for more than a month now," Mitsuo remarked, picking up more noodles. "There's a lot of herbs and spices in Malaysian dishes that promotes digestion." He shrugged.
"Just don't get yourself in any trouble with your gut," Hiroshi snorted. "Isn't that right, Aki-chan?"
Akiko nodded, laughing.