NiCe StOrY~~~~~ (*^^*)v Friday, October 29, 2004
28tH OcT => Happy Berday Evon/CD >
-- Start --
Year: 2000
Kevin, in many ways, seems like a normal guy living out his secondary school life. He's in sec 3, in a prominent boy's school, had average results, and basically didn't have many enemies in school.
Unfortunately, he didn't have many friends either. He's very much a geek in every traditional sense - he never visited pubs, clubs or discos before. He goes home or to the library straight after school. Outside of academic concerns, he's on very good terms with most of the teaching staff in school. He spends most of his free time reading comics or using the computers - to him, Computers are his first and foremost love.
Still, something hurt inside. Probably the lack of true friendship - he never 'hang out' with his classmates, because he just doesn't find the reason to - he occassionally accompanies a few classmates for lan gaming sessions - and that's about it. Deep inside, he yearns close companionship - but on all fronts he looks self-sufficient.
Many of his classmates know of his less-than-stellar family background. He lost his mother right after birth (due to a divorce), his father was convicted before due to a minor offence, and his stepmother treated him badly. But it was all over now - his grandparents and relatives decided to bring him out of his previous family and take care of him. He slowly, learned that life was more than books, scoldings, and beatings.
Due to his upbringing, he never had any self-esteem. His stepmother had beaten him for little mistakes - forgetting to push in the chair after meals - dropslet of water left on the kitchen sink - wet taps after showers in the bathroom - all unreasonable beatings. All her criticisms are peppered with 'useless', 'shouldn't have let you live' and 'you're a disgrace'. Thus, Kevin, although normal, felt inferior to almost anyone he met in school.
Computers and the internet was the catalyst. The internet was a treasure trove of knowledge, a fountain of infinite depth - from it Kevin gleaned heaps of information about the world - and discovered he has a natural affinity for computers. Also, online chatting, and IRC, which has been denied from him for so long, opened up to him.
One evening, after having dinner, Kevin logged onto IRC, and into his frequent channel, #SPEED. he was a fan of the japanese girl-group. For a simple reason really, one of the singers resembled a girl he had a crush on in primary school. Still, the songs appealed to him and he was involved in many relaxing conversations in that channel.
He got to know many foreign SPEED fans too, and one of the first is an indonesian chap. He was a humourous individual, and his oft twisted views on life often made Kevin feel better, releasing his stress from school.
This evening, however, the indonesian chap messaged Kevin with uncommon urgency:
Hey Kev
Yeah?
I want to introduce someone to you - she's also a big fan of SPEED, and she lives in singapore too!
Ah, I see.
Go message jpopspeed! She's online now!
Uh, ok...
** opens a chat window with **
Um...hi there.
-long silence of 30-40 seconds-
Hi!
Hi, do you know ?
Yes, he is my friend - do you know him?
Yep, he's from indonesia...he wanted to introduce you to me.
-long silence again for 2 minutes-
Izzit? How did you know him?
I'm also a SPEED fan, and just met him online by chance..
By the way, I'm kevin, 15, currently studying in Maris Stella High. And you?
-LONG pause of 3 minutes with no reply-
At this point, Kevin switches over to Indo.
Hey, I don't think she wants to chat to me... she's not replying.
Really? Cannot be, she's very friendly, let me ask her.
I mean, you don't have to introduce her to me, since she's not keen on making friends...
Ah, rubbish, you just wait for her to reply.
** meanwhile, on the other window, Jpopspeed messages Indo **
Erm....Indo?
Yeah? How are you?
Do you know ?
Yeah, he's my friend. Why?
Why did you ask him to message me?...
Well, he's a good friend, you're a good friend, and since you 2 live in singapore, I thought it might be good to let you people know each other.
I see....but he doesn't seem to like to talk to me...he's not replying.
Really? Hmm, just wait, he will reply
At this point, as you readers will notice, that BOTH sides think that the OTHER person isn't replying. The reason shall be explained later...
Still, after awhile (and many pauses in between), they got to know each other. Kevin and Jpopspeed chatted online pretty often, every other day in fact, and Kevin felt at ease chatting to her. She always seem to know alot to respond to whatever Kevin has said - it was a joy to learn much more about SPEED, Japanese (she was learning japanese) and about live in mixed schools.
Kevin soon learnt that Jpopspeed's real name was Jasmine. She was a little reluctant to reveal it at first, and it made him wonder why. Still, it didn't matter. Kevin's admiration for Jasmine grew daily - she knew all the little details of the singers, and had an extensive collection of their imported albums. She was also an excellent student in school - something that Kevin couldn't boast of.
Very soon, less than 2 weeks after first chatting to each other, Kevin called Jasmine on the phone. The first 'hello' exchange was shocking to Kevin - the voice was so familiar, it sounded exactly as he had thought it would sound. Her voice is of smooth, mid-toned, methodious speaking, not at all high pitched or nervous. Still, first time speaking on the phone was a nerve wrecking experience for Kevin - he didn't know what to say, and ended up rattling lines of subtitles showing on TV. Still, hearing Jasmine's voice was of great joy to him.
Then, at the time, showing on TCS 8 was a Japanese Detective drama called Kindaichi. Out of ideas on what to say, Kevin decided to spontaneously 'dub' what the characters were speaking on tv to Jasmine over the phone. He replaced all the dead serious dialog with silly, often downright stupid sentences. Still, it made her chuckle, and they often chatted for over 3 hours every day.
One day, after school, Kevin logged on and found Jasmine on ICQ. So, he messaged her with the usual greetings...and a weird feeling suddenly struck him. Stupid ideas whirred in his mind. Maybe...he could ask her to be his girlfriend? You must be thinking know, what a silly question to ask. It was a silly question definitely, after all, they had barely known each other for a month. But...something in Kevin felt that it was right - it felt like a ball of yarn stuck in his throat unless he said them to Jasmine.
So...
Erm, Jasmine..
Yes?
I was...erm... wondering...
?
If....you could be...my girlfriend?
.....
-long 2 minute silence-
I mean, if you don't want to, you can tell me, its ok...I didn't mean to offend you...
No, its ok, give me some time to consider... maybe I'll call you later tonight to tell you what my choice is..
Ok, but whatever you do, don't be angry at me.
** Jpopspeed logs off **
The next few hours were torturous for Kevin. He kept replaying what he had typed to Jasmine - he wondered if he had upset her - blew the friendship - what if she never speaks to him again - she must think he's a pervert - a weirdo - to be asking her a question like that...
..he doesn't even know how she looks like!...
Later that evening, at 10:20 pm, the phone rang.
Erm...Kevin?
Jasmine! I'm sorry for what i've said this afternoon, I hope it didn't make you unhappy... i know it was a stupid request...you don't even know me well...
No, no, I'm not unhappy. It wasn't a stupid request...
I've thought over it...and..I think I can accept your request...
!!! You mean, you will...be..become my girlfriend?!?
Y-Yes..
(Too excited to talk or think properly) Ah... I mean...ok...thank you...
Its...erm...late now....you have school tomorrow, maybe you...erm...should sleep earlier?
I know....ok then, I'll talk to you some other day then.
**hangs up**
Thus, that night, after less than a month of knowing Jasmine, they became attached to each other.
-- End of Part 1 --
Dreams painted @
11:15 AM
