OUCH !

Having an upset stomach would always remind me of this incident. It was in 2003. That morning someone came to me with the news.

" Cikgu, your boys got into trouble again."

" Oh dear ! What is it this time ? "

" They were caught in the girls toilet ! "

What! This was beyond my wildest imagination! Since curiosity was overloading by then , I went to the classroom with the intention of digging out the truth from the two boys.

That class had been giving me some problems ever since it was handed to me. Adui !! There was a time when they nearly took the last breath out of me by jumping out of a corner and landed right before me with actions similar to that of the Superman,Spiderman, Batman  and some other superheroes that I could not identify ! Yea, they succeeded in making me scream out loud ! See, some students I got, back then.

Coming back to these two boys. I asked them, " Why on earth did you guys do that for? "

" Teacher," they said, " It just couldn't be helped. You just wont believe it. "

I doubled the size of my eyes and said , " Try me. "

According to these students, they were just coming back from the canteen when one of them had this strong urge to go.... where else .... He knew that he would not be able to make it to the boys' as he was in dire need to relief himself. He could not think of any better place than the girls' since it was just a few feet away. They did not dare to go into the teachers' even though it was nearer. Ahah ! To go into the teachers' would be suicidal ! He somehow managed to persuade the other boy to wait on him. Therefore, both went into the toilet and the boy got to do his " business ". After doing what he had to do, he came out of the cubicle with a sigh of relief only to find the school' guard standing near the door with both hands on his waist! The other friend ? He was already "half-dead" in fear ! They were then brought to the Principal's office but luckily they were dismissed with only a warning !

My ! My! I really had a good laugh that day !

TAKE CHARGE

I was particularly interested in how one of my students responded to my questions. We did a few speaking practices in class as I was preparing my students for their first assessment. I noticed that he was improving a lot compared to the first few practices he did earlier. I highlighted this to him and he seemed very happy with the good comments. Somehow, I felt like I needed to know more about his past as he had this “ Don’t do the same mistake !” look on his face whenever he did the practice. So I asked,

“Boy, where are you from?”

“Pahang, “ he said.

“And your former school? ”

“SMSxxxx. “

“Oh really, that’s one of the best in Malaysia!”

“ The school, yes, but not me..” he responded with a smile that seemed to me more of a sad than a happy one.

“ I did not do well last time la, teacher..” was his next response and that explained everything.

Thus, I did what I had to do as a teacher, what else but to share some experiences and thoughts with him.

“ Boy, the first thing that you need to do is to pull yourself up and let go of your disappointments and frustrations. Well, you are here now. That’s what matters most. Take it as a second chance for you to make your dreams come true. Familiarize yourself with the new life as a college student. You need to be aware of what you should and shouldn’t do; your priorities and responsibilities. If life is hard on you, just tell yourself that things will be okay once you get used to the routine.

Don’t ever, ever look back. Close all doors to the past. Open up your mind and heart to new experiences. Reach down inside and you will see that you are meant to be just the way you are. Always believe there is something in you that will make you stand out in the crowd. Therefore you must always be in control of the situation or in other words, take charge.

Besides that, you need to aim high, stand tall, think big and bold. Always believe in yourself that you are capable of making changes. Take the failures that you face as part of a big game. Tell yourself that you are being tested and what you need to do is to stay focused. Always remember that Allah swt works in miraculous ways. Everything happens for a reason and at its own time. So, never give up and never stop believing. Just move on because you could actually be on your way to win the game. With a little bit more of self -confidence and self-determination, at the end of the day, the trophy could be yours.

Just don’t mind what people say about you because some people often seem to have so much to say. Always remind yourself of your core business; you are here to pursue your dream. Never look down on yourself and never let people do that to you. Do not let these people ruin your decision and dream. Take charge !!! Ignore these people, just go out there, do your best and make your parents and this teacher of yours proud !

THE GIRL

She was different from the rest of us,

Living  her own world,

Against all comfort and love.

Grey light,

The colour of her luck,

Spouting through her longings,

Begging for sympathies,

Offering her shabby life.

Once,

She eased her steps and walked my way,

I could still remember,

The silent eyes,

How could I deny,

Her stitched smile.

I handed her a silver bread,

She took it with hands shaking,

And I could see,

Those  silent eyes, smiling.

One day,

In the morning mist,

I saw the girl,

Skipping and laughing,

Along the hardened  path,

With an ice cream in hand.

She crossed the road,

Eager to reach the end.

But careless gait,

Led her into misguided fate.

The girl,

Ice cream still in hand,

Surrounded by wishful hearts,

Leaving behind her weep,

To be the owner of a long peaceful sleep.

STALKERS

"Mom, Wan wants to talk to you," Adik  called out to me. I was outside helping Abang to pluck some mangoes.

“ Yes mother,” I spoke into the phone as I continued to watch Abang using his parang to clear the bountiful pandan trees.

“ Can you ask Man to come over and fix my porch lights ? It’s giving me problems again.” My mother’ s voice sounded a little tired and upset.

“Ok  Mother, Mr Fix-It-Right  will be on the way soon!”  I reassured her in the manner that always seemed to lift her mood.

We reached her house just moments later. After  fixing the porch  lights, Abang and I had a chat with my mother. After a while, we asked for an excuse to leave as earlier on, Abang had ordered pizza for dinner. We wanted to be home when the pizza boy arrived because we did not want the kids to deal with a stranger.  As we were driving home, we received a call from Adik. :

“Hurry up Mom ! The pizza boy is already here!”

“Alamak! That was fast! Please tell the boy we’ll be home in no time !”

When we reached home, I literally jumped out of the car and said sorry to the boy for keeping him waiting. The boy was not at all angry. Instead he smiled  and said these words which I feared most to hear wherever I go, “Hi teacher! Don’t you recognise me?”

Alamak, not again ! He was one of my former students from those years when I was still teaching in school!

The best part is, such an incident had happened to me so many times before. Let me see... Yes, almost everywhere I went I would find myself bumping into them. It seemed like they were everywhere; at the immigration office, food stalls, market, Gambang water park,  clothing stores,  Giant hypermarket, hospital and  even in public toilets !! Sabar je lah !! This is the "tragedy" of living your life as a teacher ! Ha ! Ha!  Just like you are being stalked by them all your life ! No wonder people came up with such Teacher Quotes  :

Most of us end up with no more than five or six people who remember us. Teachers have thousands of people who remember them for the rest of their lives.

(Andy Rooney)

Teachers don't impact for a year, but for a lifetime.

(Anonymous)

Guess, I just have to live with it !!

OCEAN DEEP

" Kak, I have something to share with you. "

" Ohh really? Sounds delicious, food eh ? "

" No lah kak, " she said in a low voice this time. Must be about something serious or else she would not have kept her voice that low. She looked me full in the face and then spilled everything out.

" Our friend, is in love." Okay, I knew whom she was talking about.

" That ' s good! Finally, love has come her way ," was my immediate response.

" But kak, the problem is, the man is already married."

" Oohh, that is so not happening.., " I took back my words.

" Tu lah kak, I find it hard to believe but that 's how it is now. Wait till you hear what the wife said to her. She was not at all angry. She was leaving it all to fate as she said there was nothing she could do."

" Well, what can you do when they are already very much in love, " I cut in, half choked by my own words.

" However, the wife did make a request. She asked him to postpone the wedding till next year as two of their children are sitting for major exams this year. "

Upon hearing that, I broke down and cried.

" There is no one before you my husband. Not even myself ". 
Perhaps these Japanese words of wisdom would be the best way to describe her feelings; of love and pain. This is indeed an act of nobility. She chooses to stay loyal and submissive to the husband even though she is deeply hurt. Her thoughts are all about seeing to his and the children' s well-being. Her feelings, as you can see come secondary . Hard to believe that she is willing to do all these for the husband. Her heart must have been made of gold.  MasyaAllah.

Now, let's put ourselves in her shoes, would you have done the same ? Or perhaps I should pose this question to that dear friend of ours ; 
 "Are you capable of letting go of your feelings for the sake of the woman's happiness ; just like what she is doing for you now ? "

What do you think the answer would be?
 
 (p.s. "A woman's heart is ocean deep ": a line  taken from the movie "Titanic". Nothing personal yea....)

DOWN THE SCHOOL LANE

I was busy marking the students' exercise books when a boy walked into the staff room and stood stiff beside me. From the corner of my eyes, I could see that the boy was looking directly at me. " Must be one of those who likes to wander around, " was my first thought. With a sigh, I put down my pen and turned to face him,

" What are you doing here ? Aren't you supposed to be in class now ?"

"Yes, but..., " came the reply.

" No buts, just go back to your class now, this very instant !!" I was already losing my patience.

" Sorry teacher but aren't you supposed to be in my class now? " He was so careful when he said this.

I quickly looked at my timetable and OMG !

So, there I was, suffering from moments of pure embarrassment before the eye of an innocent child !