and the next part of the story..

DY’s hands were in a level, indicating a standard benchmark that he was aiming for. And he should, Marie thought. She knew of few others who would go that extra distance in doing research for a certain topic. It was always DY, who seemed to have info on his fingertips. Something like computer memory. Always accessible…

There were so many likeable qualities about DY, but there was something about his social life, or his social manners, that didn’t got the attention of girls. Maybe he was always that little eccentric, a little bit off tangent when he was with others in a group. But he was always able to provide some kind of humour, no matter how esoteric, he would manage to get his jokes out half the time. Perhaps he should belong with intellectuals… he was always the serious type, and it didn’t occur to others that this was how DY ‘relax’, by thinking, or reading, or doing some other intellectual stuff. To others, the so called, method of relaxation was just surfing for fun on the Internet, or playing some cool games on the Xbox or Playstation. But DY didn’t have those. He just preferred to read and write. DY had been writing for quite a while now, the habit having originated from a need to record his ideas. And so he was, always slight off-beat, a little bit odd, but likeable all the same.

All this Marie thought. But there was something else too. He always that extra step ahead of others, because he knew his own way. He knew the road he was taking, while others were still lost in their deliberations. There was always that bit of an impulsive streak in him, to do the thing that he wants to do, no matter the consequence, JUST TO GET THERE. But most times, he was docile, just another friendly guy you wouldn’t mind having among your clique of friends. A little bit like Forrest Gump, in this respect, having that moral compass that wouldn’t budge. Maybe a smart version of Forrest Gump, to put it in a way. Maybe, just maybe, a Forrest Gump looking for his Jenny, no matter what Jenny became. A constant in a world of change…

But all DY was thinking of all this while, was, just, how beautiful Marie looked. Marie was wearing a tight short sleeved shirt, a V-neck that didn’t plunge too far down. It was in a pastel red, with some girl-feminine design befitting her age. She had some cleavage, but that was irrelevant. Her hair barely caressed her back, but it definitely went below the shoulder. Simple earrings, not too dangly, ending with what looked pearls. It was simple, nothing too gaudy, just everything that suited her. She was wearing a denim skirt that was layered and ended with many flares, no, not flares, that frilly lacey thingy that DY didn’t know the exact term for it. She was wearing heels with a low stiletto. Did you call them high heels? I dunno… he looked at himself and was a little bit ashamed. Compared to Marie, he was something like some other guy to be seen down the street. Even the other guys in his neighbourhood know how to dress better when you go to somewhere as full of style as Orchard Road. Just a jersey shirt he had bought from a clearance sale, white with orange and blue at the flanks, supposedly for ventilation. It was thin, but it was opaque enough that his slightly tanned body wasn’t visible. He was wearing his long Bermudas and it matched his long legs. And specs. He still wore specs in an era of contact lens. His misshapen feet, from a childhood accident, all too visible from his scandals. Perhaps the only thing that could barely be considered ‘style’ was a $130 swatch watch that he had gotten as a birthday present. But that thing of silver didn’t escape the DY’s rough use. The glass was cracked, and smeared with street paint. It wasn’t that DY didn’t appreciate the watch. He loved it. It was just…him, for him to treat things like that. The books that he had bought all had dog ears, victims of rough handling. There was hardly anything belonging to DY that wasn’t ill-treated, even his precious notebooks.

What are you looking at? Marie smiled.

Erm, you mind if I say this? I was just thinking, it seems that girls always know how to dress better than guys. Look at me, and look at yourself. I can feel this great difference. Aww, this is just crap…

Its alright lar. I was going out with my friends… and you were just out studying… hey, relax, its alright…

DY smiled a little… Even during prom… the girls always looked marvelous. I wouldn’t know what to dress for prom…

Marie laughed… some guys look good too, you know, I’ve seen some guys who really know how to dress…

Lucky them… looks like girls develop fashion maturity faster… haha… more laughter.

The night wasn’t getting any younger for the both of them. Oh! Look at the time now. I have to go now. You?

Oh, yar, guess I need to go too, then.

Going to the MRT?

Yar. Guess we’ll go together then…

And so, both of them walked together, side by side, their arms close by but not touching, and all there was between them was the charm of their friendship. But it didn’t end there actually.

DY, you’re a Christian rite?

Yar, I guess…

My church has an event this hols. Here. In her hands was an invitation postcard, or something like that. If you’re free, maybe you can come. I’m in it… hee…

(Oh God, thank You for not ending the meeting here…phew…!) hmm, I’ll go if I can (of course I’ll go, ‘cause you’re in it…) will I get to see you after the whole thing, like a meal or something?

I dunno, maybe…

(Oh God, thank You again, for not closing anything…) though he knew, most likely, there’s no chance at all of anything happening. DY was in a fix. He didn’t know whether to give this relationship a chance, or whether he should just innocently let it go, letting them stay as friends-platonic friendship or whatever crap it was described as.

And so he parted from her, as he saw her farewell from outside the train. Oh crap! I’m so stupid. I should’ve just stayed with her till her stop. Poor guy. He took out his handphone and entered the message.

“Hey Marie, thanks for the night. Would have been lonely having coffee alone. Enjoyed your company very much. Maybe we’ll meet again sometime? Take care and God bless…”

soon after, came the reply.

“Hiya! Same here, its been wonderful. Thanks to you too! Take care too! Goodnight!”

Marie had decided not to go too far down the road of intimate phrases. Her heart was light, almost fluttery as she looked forward to a goodnight’s rest… thus ended, this night of rekindled relationships…

I never intended a chapter 2 for gibbergibber, but since I got the ball rolling, might as well…

The previous chapter ended with DY and Marie safely home from their unintended meeting. The story follows them home, with both of them thinking about their lives so far…

DY is at home, relaxing by being brain dead watching some cartoon. He likes it this way. He switches the channel when its some cringing commercial. Here comes one. Switch. News. Headlines. Blah-blah, jabber-jabber-jabber. The newscaster is talking way fast. Though DY knows what the news is, he refuses to think about the news. He thinks he has lingered enough time on news. Switch. Bright colours, silly characters. He knows that it’s the right channel, and it’s the right cartoon. DY smiles. Its fun to act like an idiot sometimes. his hand reaches for a cup of water on his right. Sip. Sip again. Thirst gratified. Aarrh… what a holiday.
Marie is different. She is being studious, not quite the way you are thinking. Yes, she is poring over notes, but not exactly the notes you think it is. No, she is not poring over some scientific diagram, or some equation, mathematical or otherwise. No. there’s colour. The paper is of high quality acid-free paper. The pages on these ‘notes’ are sharp, that’s because they are brand new. And the binding is thick too. Woah… you’d think she’s trying to study a lot. Yes. At least that’s right. She’s being meticulous. She is doing transcription. Copying some of the stuff she’s reading into a little notebook. Drawing a little, writing a lot. She is now looking what looks barely like the symbol of infinity, though with straight lines joining to it. Straight lines, and perpendicular too. But the infinity symbol is only part of the image. There are points of convergence, meant for the lines to join together. And its 3-dimension. But not all the images are the same. Some have lines, while others depend on the power of adhesion. Ooh. They have curvature too. All of them, with no exception, the curvature is positive. Its convex. But only from one perspective. From the inside, you would see the converse, a concave surface. Lingerie. Marie is looking at kinky kooky sexy naughty bitchy lingerie. Her eyes are bewildered she has rarely seen such varieties of lingerie, of such colour, styles, and design.

.... till next time.. haha..