*The City Slickers

Jac Bizkit

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Weekends in Sunway could be summed up in a word: Diverse. At times, it could be so boring the silence envelops your mind and you wish the two days would pass by quickly so that school could start, saving every modicum of whatever sanity is left. Sometimes, the 48 hours is filled to the brim with fun; too fun in fact that the hours disappear before your very eyes, making you wish the weekend never ended. At most times, it was the former that most of Sunway's Mixed experienced. And with Hans Basil no longer within the same accomodation location as Nick Ivans and John Bow, chances were high he would continue living life in solitude, while Nick and John would be living it up in Palmville. Well, not everything goes according to plan, does it?

Ever since his return to Sunway, Hans had found it extremely difficult to readjust, not helped by John Bow's cold shoulder attitude. With Katy Perry's hit song 'Hot N Cold' being the theme of their current friendship, Hans tried his best at comprehending the result of his return, his closest friends now mere course mates, his studies deteriorating. While the good-natured side in him told him to push on, the dark side threatened to release itself yet again. History was not on Hans' side though, with the last time him releasing it ending up with humble pie on his face. Maybe this time might just be different. Maybe.

Research Paper, the single work in the course weakening probably every student in Sunway. John Bow was no exception. After hearing of Hans' completion of the Introduction, he vowed to start, returning to his hometown given the extended weekend courtesy of a festive holiday. For once, he avoided the numerous distractions that knocked his door. But yet, he still lacked the edge needed in getting started, and ended up building sandcastles in the air.

With John gone for the weekend, Nick Ivans was having one of the most torrid weekends ever- alone, sans internet or cable television. After days of being complicit with John in giving Hans the cold treatment, he decided to u-turn, calling for the latter to save him from ultimate boredom. But it seems what goes around comes around, as Nick found out the hard way.

Angie Flo put her turbulent days behind her as she hosted a rager for her Sunway friends, with Sanya Dival, Sue Anne, Diane Shine and Hans amongst those invited and present. Nick was too, but he was bounded by IELTS restrictions. The party took time to settle, and once it did, fun flowed endlessly, as did the beer. As with any party, games involving drinking took centrestage as the alcohol lightened the mood and the revellers let loose, albeit still in a respectable manner. Amidst the partying, Sanya's constant asking for Nick bewildered Hans, wondering if the duo had re-lit last year's snuffed flame. But it didn't bother him too much though. With Nick sulking at home, Hans was having a blast over at Angie's. Whoever saw this coming?

After the party ceased, Hans, Diane, Sue, Shayne and Michelle departed for 1 U, where they hit the arcade and reignited their tween years, except for Hans who had never felt comfortable in one. For him, it was fun enough watching the others enjoying themselves. What was not though was receiving text messages from a desperate Nick, who was being consumed by boredom. Hans' mind was in two places, but ultimately he decided that he had to put himself first at times, and that was exactly what he did, remaining with the other 4 arcaders, leaving Nick to bond with the silence in the Palmville Paradise.

Once the gaming had stopped, it was time for dinner, and the 5 friends made a pit stop to the Curve, definitely a change of Sunway's mundane scene. Indulging in the extremely sumptuous food that Sunway could not offer was something the five enjoyed thoroughly, a distinct contrast to the dinner Nick was having at the banal Rock Cafe with Jac Bizkit, a close hometown friend of John and Dan Wise. Indulgence in the Curve did not just apply to the food, as Hans may have appointed himself a new apprentice, after Nick, in a certain pernicious activity. Can this "apprentice" maintain the image upheld all these months? Or would the new activity get caught on camera and shed black light on the apprentice's image?

Well, one activity did get caught on camera, something so shocking that if ever revealed could potentially cause detriment to two individuals' social statuses in college. And in these technology-savvy world, what the camera catches soon ends up on the internet. But the two individuals need not worry though, for the pictures and videos did not end up anywhere on the worldwide web. They were only seen with other eyes.