Thursday, February 26, 2009

*The Midnight Show

Every year is littered with significant days. From the beginning, there is New Year's Day, where resolutions are made but rarely fulfilled. Recently passed was Valentine's Day, love basking in the spotlight for couples to admire each other's adoration. National Day marks the independence of a country, while there are days of religious pertinence in lieu of the diverse religions in the world. For the happily married, there could be a wedding anniversary. But for every single being in the world, there is one day that contains significance to them- their birthdays. The day that could bring joy or sorrow, that yet another year has passed, and another cycle of ageing is complete. But being one year older does not necessarily constitute to a year's worth of intelligence gained though.

Angie Flo and Hans Basil were masters of surprises. Last year witnessed the shock birthday surprise thrown for John Bow, who was completely unsuspecting. This year, albeit in lighter fashion, the recepient of the surprise was Sue Anne. This time it was tad different as it was not her real birthday, and there were more surprise planners courtesy of Theo Oscar and Diane Shine. The surprise party went well, as the celebrations continued late into the night. But Sue was about to learn a painful lesson on her real birthday.

Prior to her birthday, Nick Ivans, Sue, Diane and Hans had developed a new study plan, whereby they would congregate at the college foyer and study together. Initial sceptical of the success rate, the plan worked well and became integrated into their nightly routine, as Nick and Diane found their nights more interesting and Hans could finally pick up some momentum after struggling since semester 2 started. On top of that, they gained a new friend by virtue of Diane- Cheez Kenzo. His friendly nature soon endured the others to him as he joined in the nightly study routine.

Sue had the misfortune of enduring being insinuated "dumb" after a report stating that high heels were linked to low IQ, and her predilection for heels did not help. And she further substantiated that report after suffering a fall on the eve of her birthday which resulted in a blemish on her supermodel legs. First warning- heeded?
After another study session in the foyer, the four friends headed to the bus stop outside the hostel where they engaged in conversation amidst supper and music. Midnight came and gone, and Sue's birthday arrived- in continuous terrible fashion. She somehow failed to spot a bag of water on the bench, sat on it, and ended up wetting her behind. Uncomfortable start to her 19th year. Putting the mini traumatic experience behind her, the conversations continued, where one of Hans' dark secrets was accidentally revealed to the other three, one even John Bow was not aware of. Judging from the reaction of his friends, it seemed the secret was safe with them. But surely he can't be a hundred percent confident though, especially not after last weekend's crazy occurences were disseminated less than a day it happened. This after it was solemnly agreed not to be revealed.

For several days, John, Sue and Hans suffered the agony of being picked on by the Econs lecturer Pat Riba. Once seen as a nice lecturer by the trio, she seemd to have turned into an evil monster this semester, having it for them. And the fact that they cannot save themselves by answering her questions just made it all the more worse. And of course, in line with the past 'tragic' events, the bad streak had to continue, with Sue again being picked on by the lecturer. Seems like her birthday was turning into a living nightmare. And as if dealing with the confusion regarding Dan Wise was not enough, a certain Mr Mysterious looked to have annoyed himself into her life, adding more to her woes. One semester she had it all going for her, and the next, everything is taken back and re-worked. Maybe the small birthday lunch with Diane, Angie and Hans after class eased her pain slightly. Maybe.

As the end of yet another week approached, things were heating up, especially with 'Boho Night' on the cards. Hans and Sue had been looking forward to it particularly after the many failed attempts, with the last successful night carried out last year. And this night was in danger of failing again, but Mitch DJ and Ana managed to salvage the situation.
AC had always been the venue of the weekend, where all happening students and young adults patronize to showcase their pool skills. Sue, Hans and Nick engaged in several rounds before Diane came along together with her friend Shawn and another. Lack of punctuality threatened to call off 'Boho Night', but Sue managed to convince Hans to stay and wait for the duo, while Nick set for home citing his undesirability to drink and party. But not before he disclosed a disturbing fact to Hans, who was bewildered beyond comprehension at the words that escaped his friends' mouth.

Once Mitch and Ana arrived, the fun amplified, and their latecoming was deemed void. Supplying the beverages, the duo together with the other 5 then left AC for Rock Cafe to start gorging themselves silly on alcohol and games. It started slow due to unexpected circumstances-the usually subservient workers suddenly turning offensive and uncooperative, but Shawn managed to set things right. And once he did, the true fun began, with typical antics on display and controversial questions asked. But the highlight had to be Sue Anne turning drunk while everyone else was still sober. Shrieks of "I'm so dizzy!", "Everything's spinning!" and "I'm not drunk!" echoed into the night sky as Hans, Mitch and Diane had to assist the newly turned 19 year old manoeuvre her way around. Things finally got less hectic once Sue evacuated some consumption before heading back, and managed to reach home safely, though not efficiently.

As morning grew on and light threatened to break the darkness, Hans, Diane and Shawn headed back to their respective hostels, glad that another weekend was here. But in Sunway, weekends was usually an excuse for partying, clubbing, hanging out-basically everything but studying. As the assignements start streaming in and the workload start piling up, judging from the current state of things, chances are the pile would increase faster than it is cleared. One can only hope Sunway's Mixed learn to prioritize properly, but they can be forgiven for not doing so, given the current circumstances some are in. With so many issues pinching at these individuals, one does wonder if college life is the most fun phase of a person's life after all.

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