SUCH IS LIFE

SYIFA

He looked at the pictures he had taken on his date with Farhah. Then, he suddenly remembered something. The final exams of the first semester were only a few days away. Out of desperation more than anything, he went to Farhah's chat, and typed in a long apology, thinking of how much they had been together, and how she was the first person he had actual plans with. He was about to hit send, when a notification popped up. It was his mother. She asked him if he wanted to call as it had been a while since she had heard his voice. Izz's father also wanted to check up on his son.

"Hello. How are things going?" Rina asked enthusiastically.

"Nice," Izz replied, feigning enthusiasm.

"You don't sound nice. Studies, is it? Roommates? Your girl?" Rina asked, detecting Izz's masquerade straight away, being the mother she was.

"As a man, we have a natural sense of duty; the want to serve is something God has put in all of us," Riza chimed in. "But that doesn't mean we have to put ourselves. We matter. You matter. Be picky. Don't settle for mediocre. Have standards".

"Just call us whenever you need anything, okay? We may not know your situation, but trust us, we've been your age too," Rina assured.

"Why do we make mistakes, Izz?" Riza suddenly inquired.

Izz had no answer. Riza then answered it for him. "So that we can teach ourselves, and the people after us to not make the same mistakes".

Izz thanked his parents, and for the first time in his life, at least as far as he can remember, he told his parents that he loved them. Izz's eyes were baggy from all the crying, but his parents had revived him.

Izz felt a bit better, but his heart wasn't truly healed. Not yet. Everything reminded him of his failures. The sight of girls and boys sitting next to each other in the examination hall, though it was nothing romantic, triggered his memories, which at this point had morphed from happy to depressing. The sight of girls and boys eating together reminded him of all the money he had spent, and how it was all for nothing.

The final exams itself went by horribly. Izz hadn't a clue of what the exams wanted, not what he wrote down. After the exams ended, Izz saw droves of couples going out, celebrating. He wanted all that, but it was beyond his reach. Perhaps, it was beyond what he deserved as well.

Even after the exams, during the semester break, his friends had to keep him together and ensure that he stayed alright. The group would come to Izz's house almost every day, just to make sure that he wouldn't dwell too much in his grief. It truly was the lowest point in his life. Fortunately, bit by bit, he regained his spirit and will to live. His parents and friends made sure of that.

"You deserve better," Mimi said, almost crying herself.

"We all think so," Alisya added.

"She doesn't know what she's missing!" Aniq exclaimed, hyping Izz up. Wafi even massaged Izz's arms, noting the muscle on it.

"She was in the wrong. The only wrong thing you did, was picking her. It was a mistake. She was a mistake," Hani said.

"Yeah. Come on, we may be technically adults now, but ice cream is always nice," Haziq suggested. With that said, the group went to buy a large box of ice cream and took turns scooping. When it was almost done, Wafi and Aniq bickered among themselves on who deserved to lick the box cream. Sneakily, Aleesya managed to snatch it before them, claiming the box for herself. Aniq and Wafi could only sigh and drop their shoulders.

As the semester break came to an end, Izz prepared for the dawn of a new semester. He vowed that this time, things would be different. He would study properly, not be so desperate and become more productive overall. "New semester new me, eh?" Riza teased, seeing his son full of vigour, something he hadn't seen in a while. "Just do your best. That is the best anyone can do," Rina encouraged.