I've found a friend who died for me

Hey all. 36ers, the following is a series which I usually do when my creative juices are flowing, or when I'm bored. It's called a day in the future, cos that's where it's set. Note goes out first though. The following is merely a work of fiction, and anything that happens relatable to events past or present are purely coincidental. Not all from 0836 are featured in Part One, but soon, there might be another similar version, with everyone. Seriously, it's all in the name of fun, so take it lightly. Everyone gets flamed slightly.

Here goes...

The year is 2018. I am 27 and have just returned from the UK, majoring in Broadcast Journalism. Upon my arrival back in Singapore, the first order of business is to attend that BBQ/gathering thing my class of 11 years ago planned.

Complaining about the heat, I drive around in my father's new Pontiac, listening to the latest offering from worldwide megastar, David Archuleta, serenading the whole car with his 9th Top 10 single in a row.

Suddenly, my nPhone rings and this voice whines out once again. "DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNN...". Replying with as little sarcasm as possible, I reply, "Hello Deanna. Glad to hear your helium inflated voice hasnt changed in the last seven years. What is it you require of me?" I then proceed to list out a list of activities that should never meet the light of day. (Editor note : This is a second level joke).

"Was wondering if you could pick me up from my house later....along with the usual gang...Bloody Aloysius was supposed to pick us up, but he went to perm his hair, the idiot...I'd appreciate it!"

I sigh. As usual, I've been called to be a backup plan.

"Okay. Where do you wait? Downstairs your apartment?" (Ed: Again, second level joke)

I end up waiting half an hour below her apartment, before I spot five giggly women apparently trying to run and act as if they're sorry that they're ridiculously late. As if I haven't seen that same rehearsed act thousands of times over the two years we were classmates. My jaw drops when I recognise Deanna, cos there's something significantly different about her. Well, two things.

Unable to resist the temptation, I quip,"What's that? Floatation devices? We're going to have a BBQ at Punggol 21, not swim in the freaking pond you know..."

Alongside her, is Clarissa, Ryna, Farzanah and Jasmine.

Upon graduation from college, it appears that Deanna was involved in a minor car accident. She used the opportunity to claim maximum insurance and spent 75% of it on facial reconstruction, amongst other things. After that Nip/Tuck, she ironically enough, appeared in TNP's New Face Award. Of course, she didn't win. But she definitely thought she did. After that, she became and still is the spokesmodel for Pedigree. Oh, and hearsay is that due to her new found fame as a bit-part calafaire actress, who is predominantly typecast as a screeching shrew, the number of blind people, I mean suitors chasing her, have apparently increased to such an extent, should they stand together in a crowd, they'd be able to take up more space than Pedra Branca. In her spare time, or what's left of it, she still finds time for her tennis, and well, it has become in the best interests of everyone that she doesn't play regularly, since the amount of noise decibels let out when she partakes in that activity beats that of a low flying Concorde. I mean tennis, by the way.

Farzanah hasn't changed one bit, I think to myself. Save for that shoulder length Britney Spears bob hairstyle. Which by the way, makes her look a little like Rihanna. To complete the transformation, she released a single on iTunes 19.0, together with an accompanying music video on MeTube. The single? Why it is of course, "Payung". (Ed note: Sigh, that's a hit and miss joke. Payung apparently is malay for "Umbrella". Get the joke now?)

Ryna and Jasmine are the hottest reality television stars around, having finished filming season six of Singapore's rendition of "The Simple Life". It has become almost legendary, how the two of them got the part. As the story goes, they went for the audition together and had to answer the same question, to which they answered similarly. The question was "What is the most bimbotic thing you have done?".

Jasmine: It was when my Maths teacher told me to draw graphs to scale, I took out a ruler and started to measure my Graphic Calculator. Or it could be when I thought hair extensions were meant to make my hair shorter. Or maybe, it could be when I accidentally fed my pet fish gummybears...

(Ed note: Joke. Second level. This will attract a WTF?!)

Ryna: It was when I decided to take up horse riding, and drank water chestnut everyday cos I thought I would grow taller. Oh, and when Jasmine did all that, and all I said was "That's hawt!"

Clarissa has started her very own fashion company, and has been very successful in bringing her own fashion line overseas. The line, aptly named C&Chow, is available in high end malls such as Orchard Ion and overseas, in places such as Sunset Boulevard. Because of her success, she has been labelled as Singapore's answer to Sarah Jessica Parker. I always privately think that it could be in part due to her love life.

When we finally reach the BBQ pit, we're already 45minutes late. This is ironic, as the last time we had a BBQ and I was about 45minutes late, some fireworks erupted. I mean this literally.

On the way, we stop to get drinks, as some sort of peace offering for our late arrival. Upon seeing us, Edna, Bliss, King and Farah walk over.

Edna has that signature Cheshire Cat grin on her face, which by the way has made her ironically enough, the new spokesmodel for Cesar. Like the Edna of old, she waves her hands animatedly, channeling her excitement at meeting us again. She is a living example that puberty can take place at 18, having had some exponential growth. She now stands at some 1.7m, which truth be told, is 40cm higher than at the start of our JC1 year.

Bliss has that usual half-smirk on her face. Yet, ever since she decided to enter and win Survivor Singapore: Riau Islands, she has gone for this unbelievable makeover, apparently sponsored by the producers of the show. Gone is the trademark floppy hair, replaced with long locks of auburn hair. Having had Lasik treatment, the old red and black glasses she wore has been reduced to a relic. Apparently, she's now a self-made millionaire, setting up her very own consultative company, Slackers Inc. All she does everyday, is give advice to people on how to do the least and still get good results. Talk about playing to one's strengths.

King Rachel is now Reverend King. She apparently now is the youngest head pastor ever, in charge of my old church, PLMC. So who said a person couldn't be both king and priest? And cos she makes trips to Third World countries very often, she's often looked upon affectionately as Mother Rachel.

Her close aide is of course Nicholas. Who by the way, is Father Nicholas to everyone now. (Ed note: LAUGH. If you don't get it, I'll add you into the Jasmine-Ryna conversation.) Over the course of the last decade, he has been involved in copious amounts of missionary work, spending a lot of time in faraway places such as Vienna, Venice and of course, in the Vatican City itself. Oh and I almost forgot, about the huge amount of missionary work he did in Virginia.

Farah lets out her trademark giggle which turns into a laugh. Wearing that usual hairband, and once again dolling up as a reporter, which she is in all actuality. In her free time, she is a celebrity impersonator, with her best impression being that of Queen Latifah, with the accompanying physique to boot.

Her shirt reads, "Let's give City another 10 trillion!", a notion I agree with, since Manchester City has tumbled through the divisions after the injection of funds from Abu Dhabi. First claiming to be able to pay 135million for Cristiano Ronaldo, the joke's on them now, as their owners dumped them to invest in Accrington Stanley, as "they would like to sponsor the rise of a brand new household name". In reality, we all know it was because City sucked and couldnt deliver any success despite Jose Mourinho being there for two years, after Mark Hughes got the sack midway through his first season.

Bliss gives me a hard slap on the back, which I've learnt to prepare for over the course of my JC1 year.

Daniel: Really. Haven't I told you I'd much prefer a simple "Hi"?

Bliss: Who cares, fatty?! (Farah and Edna laugh)

Daniel: Ugh, same shit, different day.

Suddenly, a deep booming voice calls out from behind. I freeze in horror, recognising the voice, but not the amount of decibels used. Slowly turning around, I find that my actions mirror someone watching "House of Wax".

Kelly: Hi! (He waves animatedly at us, giving his trademark ear-to-ear grin.)

(Ed note: I expect laughs for this, and you all know why)

Daniel: Uh....hi.

Kelly: What have you been up to lately? I've just graduated from the University of HOW, majoring in taxidermy. I've just gotten a job at the local Madame Tussaud's and is starting work soon. I'm so excited about it!!!

Daniel: Uh...ok...chill. (Privately, I'm rather relieved that some part of him hasnt changed, though the excitement in his voice chills me somewhat)

Kelly: Hey, did I mention that SokYi and I are together? We've been together for five years, and well, we're enjoying each other's company!!! (Ed note: I'm gonna get killed for this.) (Revised Ed note: I'm so sure I'm gonna get slapped and killed and hung from the gallows for this)

Daniel: Uh...ok...good for you. By the way, glad to know that those voice projection classes and social skills classes you took have paid off...I'll be waiting for your invitation.

Of course, that last line was said with sarcasm dripping from every word.

Kelly: Hey, did I mention that me and Aloysius go for a drink at our favourite pub, "Goldfingers" every Friday? We do this so as to capitalize on TGIF Friday prices, and oh of course, because of the one single solitary fact that Aloysius is my best friend in the whole wide world! You're welcome to join us if you want!

Daniel: Uh...And risk usurping Aloysius' place as your best friend in the whole wide world? Nah.

Striding forward 10 paces, I'm suddenly driven to rub my left shoulder. This is in part due of a sudden jolt of pain, and cos I see someone that reminds me very much of a famous literary figure. Bliss nudges me, and I nod curtly to said person.

Daniel: Hi Eunice.

Eunice: Hi, nice to see you again! (At this point, my eyes bulge in shock, as that line is accompanied by a radiant smile)

Daniel: Oh right, and what have you been up to?

Eunice: Oh, I've just completed a course in hospice care, will start work soon, I feel so strongly about helping others and helping people in their last days...and my husband and I just adopted our third child from Nepal. Our first child was adopted from Mongolia, and the second from Chechnya...

Daniel: I feel like saying out loud...take off that disguise and prove to me you aren't Angelina Jolie in disguise...Damn my habit to think things out loud!

Eunice whines. Privately, I'm glad that something has not changed about her. But that's just me.

(Ed note: Again, I'd like to reiterate, no hard feelings to anyone, all this is merely fiction)

Midway through the dinner, as we're catching up, we see three individuals walking towards us. ZhenHao, Zen and Yida make their appearance.

ZhenHao has really changed over the last few years. Now a teacher after failing to make the grade to play on the Singapore Slingers team (cos he was a little too slow) which is the only professional basketball team in Singapore, he has developed a look that is a hybrid of our previous teachers, MsV and MrS. By that, I mean he talks in a slow, roundabout way that pisses his students off, while being a Liverpool-spouting, chest-beating teacher who still proclaims that Liverpool are the best club in the world even though they haven't won the league title in 28 years. Who by the way, have been reduced to bragging about being the club that "beat the United scum on lil' Dimmy's debut day thanks to Wesley and Ryan". Talk about past glories and has-beens...

After passing out (Ed note: No pun intended. Really.) from the army, Zen has emerged as a good author, penning self-help books such as "How to give advice and not tell people what to do" and "I'm a fighter, so sue me!!". He has stuck to his decision from seven years ago, to leave his fringe long and grow a ponytail. And apparently, he has started a metal band with Aloysius as the electric guitar player. He, of course, is the harsh vocalist.

Yida, of course, has surprised no one. He's managed to, in the space of 7 years, get into a car accident that warranted plastic surgery to repair his facial features, get that plastic surgery, and still managed to win Mr Singapore, complete with the added title of "Mr Always Smile". His day job is a fashion model, working campaigns for Calvin Klein Singapore and even Clarissa's C&Chow male casual wear line. Word has it that his face is now insured for 20million. No idea about his butt though.

Another one that is modelling for C&Chow, is of course, Sihan. Her other claim to fame was that she worked her way up, and is now Head of Operations, of Tong Garden. In the last decade, she has introduced healthier tidbits, benefitting couch potatoes like c'est moi everywhere. But she has not changed one bit, with that trademark baseball cap and jacket appearing everywhere she goes.

At this point of time, amidst the laughter and the stories being traded, we spot a few people in the dark night ambling towards us.

~ End of Part One ~ Who are those people? What has become of the rest of 0836? Am I gonna get flamed and killed badly by people whom I've flamed here? Find out all this in the second instalment of "A day in..."

Alrights. That was a rather lame attempt at a teaser trailer. I'm tired. I'm signing off for now. Check back for updates and possibly Part Two, where more or less, everyone will get profiled or at least mentioned. Comments and opinions are appreciated, leave a tag or a message.

Dan.

Hey all. Have been doing some thinking over the last few days. Coupled with some sleep deprivation due to bloody Econs, I'm here to air some views, update my blog, and keep my minimal readership happy. To paraphrase The Noose, "7 readers and counting..."

I've been spending a lot of time with Weishen/Dylan lately, studying, playing badminton, pool, entertaining Mr Ler with him. He asked a very good question today, in his typical fat fat cute cute fashion, "How come we so close now, four years like never so close leh...". Don't blame me for the bad English, it's literally translated. And as he would gladly proclaim, he's the one who passed GP, so who am I to critique his usage of vocabulary?

And I realise, to me, he represented what I miss most. Nan Chiau High. Not the bloody school, but the people that played various roles from time to time, over the last four years. I remember last year, prom night (AW SHUT UP, to those thinking something else), walking around the school before it started, and after prom, going around shaking hands and giving hugs to those who had played such an integral role in my growing up.

Cos it was at that time, I realised, there was no turning back. At that moment, marked the full stop at the end of four long wonderful topsy-turvy years. I may say the memories encased in the four years are still with me, but the people who made those memories all that special, aren't.

I miss calling people "ORH KIE", "AH KWA", "HUMJI"...

I miss the camaraderie we always had, having fun, and really, making the lyrics of that Avenue Q song really apply, "Sitting in the computer lab, 4am before the final paper is due, cursing the world that I didn't start sooner, and seeing the rest of my class there too..."

I miss the days of yore that I could go back, and the only thing on my mind was what excuse to best give for not handing in work the next day, and making sure my excuse didnt clash with others.

Most of all, I miss the people. The very different types of people. There was the pleated girl, the sister, the brothers, the jokers and above all, the friends.

It's common nowadays to think that going through secondary school without a more-than-platonic relationship is a waste of time and something to be pitied. I beg to differ. Any time of the day, if I had the choice between a string of relationships, and the various kinds of friendships, I'd choose the latter, always.

As I prepare to take the Promos, it's seems like just yesterday, we bid each other fond farewells, promising to keep in touch with blurry visions. The memories of our last year still remain fresh as ever, binding our lives together so that we can say, "I was in the same secondary school as (insert name here), we had the time of our lives".

I wanna go back to last year, where all I worried about periodically, was how to get this girl/fly off my back (xD), washing myself from shit that hit the fan, getting into meaningless petty arguments, and oh yeah. Preparing for O's.

I wanna go back to the time, the very moment outside the hall after prom (again, SHUT UP), cos I realise, there are so many people that I never thanked sincerely enough, and let them just walk away.

I wanna go back and not undo my mistakes, but rather, relive the memories which once bitter and frustrating, have now turned sweet and fond. =)

I wanna be a part of Batch 4 again.

I wanna be a part of 4 FARMERS.

I wish that one day, just for fun, we can all put on our uniforms, sit in those same classrooms that we did, and for one more day, enjoy all the camaraderie we had, once again.

For one more day, enjoy each other's company.

For one more day, tell each other finally and sincerly, what they meant to you.

I wish.

Maybe it's this sudden wave of nostalgia, but I've come to realise, the best friends I have, are those who stood by me in four years, in more ways than one. The best brothers, comrades, are those who really, live together, die together, bad boys for life.

To my squad 4... I now ask for your permission, to alter that one pledge that I made with you.

"We laughed together, we cried together, shared weal and woe together. Friends for life."