Oyogitai

Yesterday night, after our tuition we hung out with Toshi as usual. It’s almost a weekly ritual, except that that would be his last. When he arrived by Wai Hong’s mum’s car, he sat down and told us almost immediately that when he leaves Malaysia, he might cry.

I think I might as well, but I’m finding it so hard to do just that lately. I’ve grown so attached to this guy, and… somehow I think anyone I will be hosting this December (if all goes well) will not be as interesting as him. I honestly can’t explain why I’m thinking that way.

After Suet Li and Jon left, Heng Li joined our table with Shawn, me and Toshi. The night feels a bit dull, and it rained, and we went to Shawn’s house for shelter while his entire family was inside, save for his sleeping parents. We laugh a lot, again, at this link, watched some videos and pictures on Shawn’s PC, and finally went back at 10.30pm.

Today, it had been raining almost the entire morning. Merdeka celebrations were largely ignored as we had to sit in the corridors, and some of us hid behind the wall of the staircase of our block, cutting off effectively all sounds emanating from the speakers.

Toshi was on a mission to get people to sign on his Koperasi-bought fan, and I got him to sign on my bag. He was a bit disappointed he couldn’t get Heng Li, Shawn and Geok Leng (who were all absent) to sign on it, so after writing today’s date on the fan, he erased it to make way for tomorrow, when hopefully all three would be present. It’s the usual way to get memories marked and engraved onto something, if there isn’t any memory-recorder. I dwell on these memories occasionally when times are toughest, smile to myself and move on.

I wonder why I actually bother going to school lately. Syllabus for almost every subject was almost completed, and there seems little point to go. When I think of classmates with their heads bent over their revision books, then only I feel compelled to do so.

We went to eat at Tien Tien Fatt for lunch after a quick decision (it was still drizzling): Toshi, Wai Hong, me, Andy, Kai Shen, Sze Tah, Daniel, Teck Seng and Fang Chyuan. After Sze Tah informed us that at ECC you can’t enter with school uniform, we went to Jon’s house (who was on the way to meet us at Tien Tien) to borrow some clothes—only four, as Andy didn’t want to join us at the cafe, Fang Chyuan and Teck Seng went back to school, and both Daniel and Toshi already wore an extra T-shirt inside.

We made our way to ECC via the monsoon drain near Ryui Bynn’s house, as it was quicker (and more dangerous), but it was fun in a way. I had to get Daniel’s help to get me down as further impact on my right foot will definitely damage it on the long run—I still can’t run, nor jump.

We were all set to play some first-person shooters until the man at the counter told us that there were only 3 PCs available, and they don’t even have CS. Wtf. The fact that only 3 PCs were available when there are many vacant PCs meant that most of their PCs are down—stupid cybercafe.

So Jon went back, and we were all debating whether to play baseball or basketball next. As we were still standing there and were about to leave, Daniel came out with a brilliant idea and shouted, “SWIMMING!” Hell yeah, our eyes lit up save for Kai Shen and Sze Tah.

We went to Court 8, and phoned Eugene on the way there to join us. We also went up to Suet Li’s house to borrow a plastic ball to play with, but in the end we borrowed two boards.

Having not swam for more than a year, we played, splashed and jumped about like a bunch of naive, boyish kids who only learnt what “swimming pool” is. (We only wore our school pants.) Kai Shen and Sze Tah steadfastedly refused to swim, so we had them snap photos for us (and plenty of videos on Suet’s cam, when WH’s cam ran out of battery).

Both Kai Shen and Sze Tah soon joined us, after repeated tries of trying to throw them inside the pool.

Apart from jumping in and out of the pool (and getting water into my nose), we tried to make a human tower/pyramid in the pool, as per Toshi’s suggestion, and me, being probably the lightest among the rest, was supposed to be the sole top. We tried this more than three times but still couldn’t get it to work, as my right foot was still weak and I couldn’t stress it more than the pressure it was supposed to handle. My right foot missed both Kai Shen and Wai Hong’s combined arms—for some reason, I just couldn’t stand properly on top.

So the tower collapsed repeatedly into the pool, and at one point I heard my trousers tear in the middle. >__> And I accidentally kicked some of the ‘base’ people’s heads—Daniel, Toshi, and maybe Eugene.

We played around like mad, as if it was after SPM, and for once I actually left all worries behind for that hour plus we played. We finally had to leave, as WH and Toshi had to depart for a dinner at KL with other youth exchangees, and Eugene had to as well. We swam from 3 something till 4.20pm.

Toshi, WH and I climbed over the fence/gate which was nearer to our homes. And went back.

Few mini-highlights/interesting points of today:

- Toshi said he might be visiting Malaysia again the next, next, next year (which he asked me how to say that particular phrase properly: next three years).

- Wei Kee told me before we left for BM at the hot sauna room, while searching for Add Maths Project-related stuffs on the net, she stumbled onto my (old) blog and saw something about getting all correct for a particular Add Maths test, which was this year at CY Tan’s tuition. lol.

- He might be staying alone in Japan in the future, so we’re welcome to be “hosted” by him at his future apartment should we go there.

- Toshi was darned hilarious when he uttered “fucking” many times throughout the day, associating it with the drain area and Wai Hong, among other things (light-heartedly meant, of course).

I’m feeling completely exhausted right now, since it’s my first physical exercise (if it can be considered one) for the longest freaking time, especially ever since my foot injury, which doesn’t seem to be healing fully.

And at the same time, I’m feeling the pang of missing Toshi already, who had been lighting up my days. A pang of slight sadness, pining for someone you’re missing dearly. It has a depressing effect.

But, as I told him earlier when we talked about not seeing each other again, and the great distance between Japan and Malaysia, we still have e-mail. And I have his.