When Moses parted the Red Sea thousands of years ago, the miraculous act could have signified a great disparity in modern times-sexism, any apropos of blasphemy removed. Debates have raged over certain stereotypes-females are bad drivers, men are insensitive and emotionless, men are smarter than women, females are more prudent and the list is practically endless. Such division has led to a double-standard, where unfair advantages are handed out to one of the two sexes. While this commonly occurs in offices, traces of this are present elsewhere too. Whether it is as extreme is another matter altogether.
Just under a week had passed since Sanya Dival and Hans Basil's messy break-up, and it seems the mentality "one cannot be friends with their exes" is holding true, at least for Hans. Amazing how his attitude towards one can change in an instant, from loving and passionate to nonchalant and at times, tactlessly cold. While they dated, Hans showered Sanya with attention, love and warmth. Now, ignorance is bliss for him as he chooses his friends over hers, the mandatory greeting the only words shared between them. Is this the end for the two? Judging from Sanya's direct approach, where she straighforwardly announced a make-up is not on the cards, it looks as though the end has indeed arrived. Unless Hans plans to charm his way back into her heart and light up more than her life.
Boys vs Girls. Girls vs Boys. There are times when the battle of the sexes emerge in a very subtle, yet conspicuous way. Lunch has usually been a gathering between friends, whenever they could make it. Yet, for the first time, the 'sex' card was played, albeit unintentionally. Diane Shine had planned to join Hans, John Bow, Nick Ivans, Sue Anne and Dan Wise for the usual. But her new BFF, Angie Flo hijacked her plans and offered a trip to Sunway Pyramid for a supposed Girls Day Out. Diane agreed, forsaking her lunch date with the others and causing a mini chain reaction. In the end, Sue felt compelled to oblige, and parted ways with the guys. Just a mere one-off event, or a subtle display of feminist strength to tip the power-struggle in their favour?
Another aspect of tipping some sort of advantage in one's favour was Hans' reliance on Sue. The pair were the only ones within the 'C-Clique' not well versed with the supposed common language. Hans could draw comfort from the knowledge of that fact, but it seems when Sue got in and Hans went out, so did her reliability.
Sanya wasn't the only one feeling Hans' indifference. Nick felt it too. Perhaps Sue did as well. While she had always stuck by Hans, she now had her own voice, and her own opinions. Hans may have been affected by the language until it caused his change in attitude, but Sue was not going down the same path. She was never gonna deny herself fun just because Hans denied his.
Letting down her hair on her last night in Sunway, she decided to club with her girlfriends. Seems Hans was no longer a factor in her decision-making process. Then again, an outsider never has a say in anything.
Secrets are never kept long. Anywhere. Hans had weaved and manouvered, schemed and acted his way through until the first holidays of the semester had dawned. Unfortunately, he flawed his own secret by virtue of his own carelessness. With Angie now in the know, Hans had to do everything in his power to ensure the cat was not let out of the bag a second time. He stuck to it initially, but soon he betrayed himself.
The last night spent as roommates turned sour as Hans revealed his shocking secret to a completely unsuspecting John, whose response was one of shock and disbelief. Knowing Hans' planned had failed the first time, he hoped it would the second. Sadly for him, he'll only discover if it was fact or fiction when break ends and semester restarts.
The last day of school before the week-long holiday and festivities was surprisingly subdued and quiet, perhaps dissemination of Hans' secret a causing factor. Angie got emotional, her last interaction with Hans being a simple hug. John's coping mechanism was that of plain ignorance. Sue soon caught wind of the news, and the words "I hate you" aimed at Hans flew off, dripping with anger and hatred. Obviously the news was not received well with anyone. But they should be hopeful. Just. And Hans should scale down from cloud nine. Because, as Angie thoughtfully pointed out, all plans that Hans makes never ever work out. Will his streak continue? Or will he manage to break the trend for once?
From the looks of it, it seems the signs seem to point to the former. His exit from Sunway was peppered with problems of all sorts- from missing a train due to crowd issues, subsequent trains being delayed and services stopped. In the end, he managed a way out, and returned home, just like Sue, John, Nick and Diane. Time will tell if all plans made would materialise, and if one's absence from the social scene would be felt.
It seems the holidays are not welcomed by all, with a division of opinions and emotions. Hans Basil could not wait for it enough, while Nick Ivans wanted it to end even before it started, such was his desire for college due to the ability to meet and hang out with his friends. Diane shared the same sentiments, expressing the fact that she would miss her friends, though she did not mind the holidays. For the rest, the holidays represented a time to rest and recuperate, catch up with family and celebrate their respective festivals. Once the holidays end though, things would never be the same again. That, is certain. What would change though, is not.
No comments:
Post a Comment