Tuesday, October 21, 2008

shah alam-genting klang-ahyen-ara damansara; SWT!!

Finally, another Friday which symbolizes the excitement of rushing home and escaping from hostel, comes. As usual, Divwya, Khairil, and I, who can’t wait for Ms. Zuiraida to end her lesson, keeping an eye at the watch, hoping “11.00a.m.” comes faster. However, Khairil rebels us today. He has gone at 10am because he buys the 10.30a.m ticket. So once Ms Zuraida says, “Ok, that’s all for today, you may leave now,” I am rushing after Divywa and Farah because it seems to rain(actually is me who doesn’t want to procrastinate, even a second on Friday). Luckily, we manage to get a cab very quickly in this busy Friday afternoon. The cab driver seems to be understandable, he drives very quickly (but safely) to send us back to Akasia less than 3 minutes. I guess he knows I’m rushing, probably from my conspicuous impatient facial expression. After waving at the two of them in front of the gate, I rush straight to 5/205 to get my “baju kurung” changed and my packing readied, and then I am out again to get another cab to KTM. My destination for today isn’t Subang Jaya but KL Sentral because I have a "mission", which is to meet ahyen at Bank Simpanan Nasional to get the Yayasan Sarawak Incentive thing settled. The delay in reaching Ara Damansara doesn’t affect much because it's recoverable with the 500 bucks from BSN.

The KTM reaches on time, just few minutes after I reach Shah Alam station (or should I say I’ve fully conquered Friday's schedule due to the helpless and heedless waiting experiences? Absolutely, I am.) Doing nothing inside the KTM for 40 minutes will be killing me. Hence I start flipping through the half-way-read “Size 14 is not fat either”. I enjoy reading the novel so much as I find the storyline is getting more and more interesting as well as Mag Cabot’s style of writing. Without notice, I’m reaching KL Sentral. Only then I realize the brothers and sisters around me are still doing nothing since the KTM departs from Shah Alam Station. I guess I’ll never understand their views on boredom where I don’t find anything attracting outside the windows which they have been “appreciating” throughout this 40 minutes.

Getting me a touch n go is the ever best purchase since I came to KL especially when it comes to taking public transportations. I touch the card through the scanner and across the border very quickly, acting like a typical Lumpurian. Sometimes I even find myself getting closer to it due to my workaholic characteristic. I do the same thing when I arrive at LRT transit. So, I manage to squeeze into a train just few seconds before its door closes. I can’t find a seat but am eyeing at one every time it announces the arrival of next station. And lucky me, I get to sit down and continue catching up the page at where I stop just now.

Time really flies when your mind isn’t abandoned. I reach Wangsa Maju Station, as estimated, within 20 minutes. This is one thing good about LRT, always on time and frequent; most importantly, it accepts touch n go at all the lines, unlike KTM. I get a cab and toward Genting Klang without further delay because even though ahyen will forgive my procrastination, my stomach is already started to grumble. When everything seems to go as smoothly as I think (where I reach all the destinations on time and an additional 500 bucks is filling my purse very soon), I am so disappointed to look at the ‘closed’ sign at BSN’s entrance. With a long gun under his arm, the security guard affirms that the bank has really closed until 2.30pm. ("2.30pm"?! It's only 1p.m now!) All my excitement and anticipation fly away and my mood alters. It’s getting worse when I try to call ahyen to tell her about her wrong confirmation on that branch’s working time but she doesn’t answer any of the ten calls made!

Finally, she takes up the call but that is when I am looking her walking in different direction towards the bank after coming down from the bus. Her misdirection is forgivable but her ignorance of my previous calls isn’t. I blame her at the first spot we meet but I regret so much afterwards because it’s just a small matter of the disoperation of the bank which she has never expected too. I have not been meeting her for two weeks yet I’m here scolding her misjudgment down the street. Who am I to do this? I am responsible to it too, aren't me? When she doesn’t feel annoyed of my blaming but keeps quiet after all, I become guiltier. She’s my sister, where has my piety gone? Maybe this is something good with twins; we get along as usual very quickly and then go to Pizza Hut for lunch. However, I believe it’s the hunger which helps eliminate our unhappiness and build cooperation in seeking for food.

While waiting for the bank to reopen and for our meals to be served, we are chit-chatting over what we’ve done on the past few days. Although it’s just one week time, we have so many to talk on: our homework, stress, college mates, and also some craps. This has been a habit accustomed since we’re young, she’s my best friend and I’m hers. There’s nothing we can’t talk on, even to point out my dislike over her colorful dress and exaggerated facial expression. When the meals, two glasses of Pepsi, two bowls of mushroom soup, one small loaf of garlic bread, one plate of Aromatic Thai Spaghetti, and one small pan of Chicken Pizza, are finally served, we then get our tongues rested and our jaws and teeth operated to enjoy the repast in front. Dispersing cheese powder over the spaghetti, the pizza, the soup, and almost everything on the table, and then dipping the garlic bread into the soup, turning the fork on the spaghetti, cutting the pizza into pieces, getting the straw readied, and lastly sending them one by one into the mouth, I find myself situated in paradise, Pizza Hut’s are just too delicious to be tasted. I’ll probably say the same thing to McDonalds’ and KFC’s the next time they serve on time when I’m hungry.

After one and a half hour of sojourn at Pizza Hut, we walk over to BSN excitedly thinking of the 500 bucks each of us will get later. However, there's always a ‘however’ when I’m expecting something out of expect, we're totally mistaken of the changing system from Premium to Cash which actually takes 45 days to be effective! It means we’re getting our money only after 45 days after today! I’m so stunned and disappointed at the moment thinking of my whole day rushing from Shah Alam to Genting Klang just to get the money but it turns out nothing in return! The worst is I have only 5 bucks left in my purse and my twin’s the one who pays for the meal just now. Mournfully, the two of us signed on the premium and are forced to wait for another 45 days to claim our cash, and then step out of the bank to get a cab opposite the road. I’m heading towards LRT Station but she’s going back home, not following me back to Ara Damansara today because she has an appointment and a test coming up.

Signaling to left, the cab stops by the LRT Station. Unwillingly, I wave to her and then get down from the cab. I can barely see nostalgia on her face because she’s so good in covering her emotion off her face. Sigh. That’s our only meet for this weekend, how short, how pitiful, how prestigious. A quote from Elbert Hubbard comes straight into my mind while walking up the escalator and looking at her leaving, “No matter what you’ve done for yourself or humanity, if you can’t look back on having given love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished?”

No comments: