After the rain

Chili

  It's raining again.

  Hey, it's the rainy season, isn't it?

  That means the national exams are coming soon.

  Splash. Splash.

  Splish splash.

  Splish splish splash.

  Can you hear it? It's crashing down on my ears like broken glass. Oh I see lightning. Oh I hear thunder. The storm is drawing near. The lightning and thunder were 3 seconds apart.

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  The birds were singing while we were doing another test. They didn't stop. They refused to, as though they were mocking us for no apparent reason. It's as if the harsh sunlight and broken air conditioning wasn't enough. To me at that time, it seemed like life just kept me alive because it wanted to see me suffer.

  But that's okay, right? Because I'll have the last laugh in the end. 

  The classroom froze, it's temperature dropped. Kinetic movement was at its bare minimum. The only vibration from the classroom was the incessant clicking of pens.

  Everyone was vibrating a little in their fixed places. There was little room for mobility.

  The birds chirped again, breaking the stillness of the air around us. It was distracting, and distractions must be eliminated. Nature was unpredictable. That's why our ancestors built an iron fortress, to keep out the chaos of nature.

  Every moment, our white blood cells are fighting viruses and bacteria that try to attack us.

  Someone sneezed. I guess his white blood cells lost.

  From the white blood cell to my country. From my eyes to the Milky Way. From my existence to the universe.

  Could you see me shining from there? Because that's my dream. And I know it seems foolish but a little light in the dark universe won't hurt, right?

  'Times up!'

  We handed in our papers and melted into liquids.

——————————————————————————————————————

  I found Skye sitting alone in the canteen. Jenni and Daniel were spending some quality time together again but they came to us eventually. Something in their eyes told me they were more than friends but not yet lovers. It made sense because love could not thrive in such an environment.

  'Hi, where are your friends?'

  She ignored me. Then she got up and left. 

  Hey wait, why do you always leave? Why won't you let me help you?

  I bought a bowl of Ban Mian. I took my chopsticks and added a lot of chili. I would've bought a bottle of water if I hadn't forgotten my wallet and if I had remembered my water bottle, I wouldn't have needed to buy that. Anyways I didn't buy it.

  I found Skye chewing on some nuggets. Kiddy food.

  I had no idea where Jenni was but Daniel was probably buying some food. It was just me and Skye. Just us and the lonely read table in the corner of the canteen. Moments later, we were surrounded by a group of girls painted in blue and white. Their ties were like ropes, strangling Skye. Their faces were blank and their eyes, they were made of nitrogen.

  'Heard you got retained, how does it feel?'

  She smirked.

  'Hey Len, at least you're the top in econs, what are you doing with-'

  'Could you stop, please,' I intervened.

  All the girls merged into one. One beautiful, intelligent and charming girl. A girl so mesmerizing she could blow anything, anyone away. Anyone except me.

  Skye was somewhat bashful. Actually, at that point in time, I did not know. I could not read that strange expression on her face. It was red, definitely red, but it was white as well. Or was it blue? No it was a rainbow. It was ambivalence.

  'Ahhh, what a nice guy! Skye aren't you too lucky to have a smart guy like him!'

  It then dawned on me. The only thing that determined your status and how you got treated by others was your academic success. If you fell behind, you'd be picked on. If you made a single mistake, you would suffer for it, would you not? That was how the world worked.

  I got picked on when I flunked econs. Skye got picked on when she was retained. The only reason why I was bullied when I was in primary school was jealousy. It was either pride or jealousy. If you were too high up the ladder, they'd become jealous. If you were too low, they'd become prideful. In the end, staying in the middle made you the most popular. 

  Jenni was in the middle.

  'Hey girls, lets not bother Mr Econs, okay? Or I'll punch you!'

  Luke's booming voice and presence overshadowed the girls. 

  They could not act prideful when they were fearful. So they left. Luke left too.

  I finally settled down and took a bite of my Ban Mian. The chili was really strong. I must've put too much. But nevertheless I persevered.

  The sensation did not die. It multiplied with every bite. It got so bad that my nose was dripping from the spice.

  And I could only finish half the bowl.

  'I'm hungry,' Skye said.

  'Can I have that?' she pointed to my bowl of noodles.

  Sure.

  She finished the other half. Daniel came back with his food 5 minutes before our break would end. The queue for his rice was really long. In addition we had a test before and we were released late.

  'Len, wait for me, thanks.'

   5 minutes later, we were back in class waiting for our chemistry Teacher to arrive.

   On the whiteboard, I saw the following words scribbled in ink.

   'Countdown to nationals: 16 days'