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It was two o'clock in the afternoon. I was heading towards the bus station with
Mohan after Mrs Wong's extra class. The sun was beating mercilessly on my back
and I could feel my sweat trickling down my
spine. I have often wished that my mother would allow me to ride a motorcycle to
school. She says that I am not ready but we both know that she is terrified that
a car would knock me down. When I reached the bus station, it was nearly empty
except for a handful of boys. Mohan and I strode to a bench near the
stationmaster's office. I could feel the tension on my shoulders as the straps
of my school bag ate into my shoulders. "Where is the bus?" I sighed to myself.
An elderly woman came and asked me where I was going. She started a conversation
but gave up after my monosyllabic answers.
Suddenly, someone shouted and I saw a bus swerve into the station. I got up,
thankful for the chance to escape from the woman. It was Mohan's bus. The group
of boys were jostling each other to get into
the bus. "Masuk! Masuk!" shouted the conductor but nobody seemed to be
moving. The black fumes made me nauseous. All of a sudden, people started
appearing from all directions to board their bus. In no time, the passengers
were packed like sardines in the bus. It started to move, leaving some
unfortunate passengers behind. I waved at Mohan when I noticed him dangling on
the steps of the bus. The bus swerved out of the station again. It left another
trail of black smoke.
I decided to go to Panjang's ice stall nearby. The iced sugarcane juice
soothed my parched throat as I sipped
slowly, all the while keeping an eye out for the bus. Then I saw the bus heading
towards the station. I paid for my drinks. "See you tomorrow," I waved to
Panjang.
Once more, the crowd began to swell near the bus. I noticed that the elderly
woman was being shoved around by the boys. She started hitting them with her
umbrella. Then, I saw Raja, my classmate at the back of the bus. I hurled my bag
through the window and he caught it. By the time I got into the bus, it had
already started moving. I got into my seat and told myself that I must really
try to convince my mother about the motorcycle again. |
