T1W8 JOURNAL

Chantel's mother was one of the most difficult people to please. She is as changeable as the weather and can really confuse Chantel when she is trying to second-guess her. One time, Chantel enraged her by taking up a job at a disco to earn to pocket money during the holidays.

To Chantel, her mother never seemed to be an innately conservative person. In fact, she was always dressed fashionably with hair immaculately coiffured. She knew that Chantel was an avid dancer and enjoyed her nights out at the disco. So Chantel thought it would be perfectly fine with her if she had a job as a waitress at a disco.

However when she realized what Chantel had got herself into, her mother literally blew her top. She went into a diatribe about how good girls never work at such places with unsavoury characters. To quell her mother’s incessant nagging, Chantel promised her mother that she will quit the job if ever possible. She planned to talk to her manager if she could quit but she did not keep her hopes high.

True enough, Chantel found out from her manager that if she were to quit, she had to compensate a sum of $500 as stated in the contract she had signed. Chantel knew that was not going to happen. Chantel was left with no other choice but to work for a month before she could leave the job. She did whatever she could to try to appease her mother but to no avail.

Despite such tortuous efforts to accommodate to her mother which were deemed abortive, her mother still gave her virtual hell for the next month or so till she finally resigned after serving her 1-month job.

The cold war was well over.

T1W7 JOURNAL

Ezekiel read the news report with great interest. He mused over the key sentences- " The traveller had a large sum of money but no passport. He seemed to be suffering from a loss of memory.."- as a plan began to form in his cunning mind. Ezekiel was never one who let a good chance to make money go without doing anything about it. He rubbed his hands with glee, thinking up ways to hoax the poor traveller of his money. Finally he decided on the best plan for his greed and sat back relishing the thought of things he could do with the money.

The next day, Ezekiel made his way to the hospital where the traveller was recuperating after the freak car accident that had robbed him of his memory. He found the troubled man sitting up on his bed, looking ruefully out of the window. For a moment, Ezekiel was struck by the sorrow that emanated from the man, but caught himself just in time. In his plan, there was no room for any sympathy. He had to be cruel in order to get what he wanted. With that, he stiffened his back and went on to perpetrate the hoax.

Walking into the room with a loud chuckle, Ezekiel approached the man with great confidence and said, "Hello, Paul! I'm so relieved that you're all right. I rushed as soon as I heard.". He reached out and grasped the man's hand in his with great sincerity , obviously taking the man by surprise. The man swallowed and stared at Ezekiel.

"Paul? Am I Paul?" he questioned in utter disbelief.

Ezekiel was ready for this. He fluently launched into the impeccable story that he had concocted the night before and gave the man not only his name but an address, history and even purpose as well. He reminded 'Paul' that they were business partners and that they had come to Singapore together to invest in a company. He also told him that the money in the suitcase had to be brought to the lawyer's office latest by 6pm that very day or they would lose a great sum of money. At the point of time, Ezekiel's confident manner and urgent tone had already succeeded in convincing the gullible man. 'Paul' nodded agreeably and told Ezekiel that he would pass him the money.

Ezekiel was rapturous. It had gone so much easier than he had anticipated. The man was as credulous as a baby, never doubting Ezekiel's claims. In fact, he looked so grateful that he had an identity that he was ready to give him anything. Ezekiel felt a sudden pang of guilt as the man's trusting eyes gazed at him. Ezekiel found himself turning away, unable to quell the sense of discomfort that had engulfed him. Upon receiving the suitcase, he quickly left on the pretext of needing to rush to the lawyer's office.

Once outside the room. he breathed much easily. But the feeling of guilt did not subside. Instead, he kept visualizing the look of gratitude and trust on the man's face in his mind. He tried to dismiss it but he could not. He was almost beside himself with agony when he approached the exit of the hospital. Eager to leave the hospital grounds, he ran towards it. The blaze of the sunlight greeted him in the open and almost blinded him, causing him to stumble. Ezekiel heard sharp screech. He could only feel immense pain. As he fell onto the vehicle's bonnet, Ezekiel could only remember one thing - the traveller's face.

T1W6 JOURNAL

Cupidity had got the better of me.

The New Year's party was saturated with frenzy and excitement.

"How about an Absinthe for you Sir?" asked the bartender.

"Okay.." I agreed although unsure of what that was exactly.

It had been a long night but I had enjoyed myself.

My eyelids were already feeling heavy and I wanted to doze off. Then, an old man in his sixties came up to me and asked me if I was selling the ring on my left hand's index finger.

It was a present from one my friends and I was sure it was one of those really ordinary diamond rings you would find easily. I pondered on his motive as I sipped my Absinthe but I came up with nothing.

"Why would you want my ring? I mean it is so common!" I asked doubtfully.

"I have no ulterior motive. Well, I find it beautiful so I wanted to get it for wife." He replied without batting an eyelid.

Well it seemed that he wasn't lying and it was purely for altruistic reasons so why not. I thought while paying cursory attention to him and his hidden motive.

And out of complete temerity, I greedily agreed to his irresistible deal of 3000 dollars.

We settled that we would deal tomorrow noon outside the deserted supermarket just a couple of blocks away. Well, I didn't exactly agree it was more of him choosing the location and asking me to meet there.

Well, the next day came faster than I thought and there I was waiting for the unnamed man to appear.

True enough he arrived, slightly tardy, with an envelope in his arms.

"You sure about this?" I asked him.

Who in the right mind would buy this mediocre diamond ring for 3000 dollars? He must be up to something. But I assured myself that this was nothing like a scam. However, this was the complete antithesis of me. I was the safe, cautious and wary type not this greedy looking-out-for-free gains person.

"Very." He answered firmly.

I hesitated in removing the diamond ring. As he rushed him, I slowly took it off my index finger.

Then came the hit. I couldn't remember exactly what happen. But I was hit on the back and I fell unconscious.

I was robbed of not only my ring but also other valuables like my wallet. I also received a stay at the hospital to recover from my wounds.

Well, I should have seen it coming. There really is no free lunch in this world.

T1W5 JOURNAL

I always thought that my neighbour, Mr Lim was a paragon of patience and empathy.
However, I was wrong.

It started from a casual greeting which meant no harm at all.

"Hi!" I said cheerfully.
"Mind your own businiess an go away, you little scatterbrain." he declaimed furiously.

I was both angered and amazed by his display of asperity. On a normal day, he was the approachable and happy-go-lucky type of person that you would want to meet but today wasn't one of those days.

Not only did he hurled some vile epithets at me but he was barely even apolgetic about what he had done.

T1W4 JOURNAL

The noise nettled the teacher, Mrs Lim, who was conducting a lesson next door. Such overt acts of disregard and inconsideration for others was intolerable, especially for Mrs Lim herself.
Mrs Lim approached the class to cease the havoc. As Mrs Lim entered the classroom, students scurried past one another back to their seats. In her habitual stentorian tone, Mrs Lim chided the tactless students who disrupted her lesson. The daunted students remained silent for the rest of the period.