Turning 2.0 Season 3 Chapter 5 : Headlines [Friendship Never Ends] (Spice Girls)

Previously:
In Turning 2.0 Season 1, I exposed a bit of my teenage life and told you how in the mids of drowning, two hands reached into the muddy water and pulled me out. Until today, I am still holding on to both of those hands. The first hand is the hand of my teacher. Perhaps that is one of the reason why I want to become a teach because I realized that a teacher's role is not only to teach but to inspire and save. The second hand is the hand of my friend. Each and every friend I encounter has brought out the best in me. I shall introduce you to one of those friends in this chapter again.

"The past will always be there. And the past will never change. The only thing we can do is try and change the present for a better future. The only thing we can do is try to enjoy the present and find a silver lining in everything we encounter. Blessing in disguise, as some might say. I am counting my blessings everyday"

Kuching
August 2007

I have been very blessed to keep running into people that keeps me going with a smile on my face. Most of these people are people I am proud to call my friends (this is the reason why I am very particular about who I call a friend and who I call an acquaintance. I rather have only 3 friends on my friends list if it meant that these three friends are the ones that stands by me through thick and thin rather than have an army of friends that is ready to desert base when push comes to shove. Luckily though, I have more than three friends. Fingers crossed. I think I have more than three friends. LOL) Before this, we have heard about Jia Hsien with his forgiving and pure heart. We have heard about Mahayuddin with his saving hand. We have also heard about Dominic with his beautiful soul. Not forgeting Muz with his calm and assuring attitude. Then we have Ihsan, Iman and Nor. The three that never ever makes me feel like I am alone while walking on this earth. There were more people in my life that I am proud to call friends. The trip back to Kuching this time just expanded that list. This time around I rekindle with an old friend. The one friend that I have never thought I would grow so close to during this trip back to Kuching. Running into him was sort of a coincidence. Or as I would like to call it, serendipity.

When I went back to Kuching this time, I have every intention of meeting Jerry Leslie Chin. I knew him since I was 13. It was one day, on the way back from the shopping mall near way I stay, after I crossed the field near my house, I saw a familiar boy playing outside a red gate. As I moved closer, it was my schoolmate that teased me near the bus stand everyday after school. He was annoying, talkative and abbrasive. (Does those three adjectives remind you of someone you know?) In other words, he was just like me. So I went to greet him and the next thing you know, I was visiting his house almost everyday since then.

He did not know this but knowing him probably held me together as home used to be hell and for once, returning home seemed like something that is fun and warm as I know that I have a neighbor's house that I can go to to laugh everything off. For two years, I laughed. I giggled. I was happy at home. However the one thing that I always appreciated Jerry for is his friendship. His unconditional friendship. I still remember borrowing RM 25 from him to participate in a red crescent camp. Although RM 25 sounds like a really small amount of cash but for me, it was really big at that time. I could not pay him back at one go. So what I did was I paid him back little by little. RM 1 at a time to be exact. And you know what, he never ever once complained. (Well, he did but not in an evil "Pay Me Back Now" way but more of a joking way) At that point, it did not seem like a big deal for me but now I realized that it was a big deal. And I will always remember that and all the other sweet things he did for me.

I even got to know his family very well. His annoying little sister and his kind parents. I always loved the atmosphere of his house. I love my family but sometimes my family is just way too exciting. It's like a rollercoaster ride. The kind that if you are not careful, your seatbelt might just break and you're sent flying across the sky. So being at his house, I feel safe. It's like a little sanctuary. Within those two years, we grew really close to each other. At least, until the day I moved away.

Coming back to Kuching this time, I knew I wanted to meet Jerry but I didn’t know how and when. I didn’t have his contact information. One day, I told my mum I was going to get myself something from the shops outside. Instead, my heart told me to drive to Jerry’s house. So after a 20 minutes drive, I arrived at Jerry’s neighbourhood (my old neighbourhood). I missed the first turning and had to take the other way around. As I slowly approached his house, I noticed that noone was home. As my mum needed to use the car, I had no time to wait for him. At least I knew I tried to rekindle with him. It was that moment as I was driving past his house that a white car arrived. It was his mother. I greeted her and she asked me to go into her house. Luckily I missed the turning, I said to myself. Or else I would have just drove pass by his house, realized that noone was home and drove away and completely missed his mother.

As I walked into his house with his mother (I know what you’re thinking. This isn’t a scene from a cheap porno movie, mind you), I sat and the mother began updating me on Jerry. As it turned out, Jerry dropped out of college and was working a watch shop as salesman. He had been mixing around with the wrong crowd. Although that didn’t surprised me as I realized it could have just been anyone who could have walked down the path Jerry took. Even I would have if I didn’t have friends who were always there to catch me when I fall. Upon hearing his story, I realized now that this was my time to be a friend. He did his part and now is my turn.

As I began to go out with Jerry (with Cait as well of course), I began to understand his situation better. He was still a good kid. Still as bright as ever. And still as foul mouthed as ever (if he were to be a film star, I bet the censorship department will need to hire part timers to do all the job) . But he was matured. He knew the road he was heading and he himself knew how dangerous it was. But as I heard his reasons, it became clear to me that it was due to all the past he was holding on. While I had a great high school life, he led a miserable one. He was bullied in his class and I was too busy minding my own business to notice it. It was that moment I realized I failed as a friend. But hey, one wrong doesn’t make me a failure. I would try harder this time around. Throughout my two months there, I spent almost every night with him. We played ‘share our stories’ game.

The more we talked to each other, the more I realized how difficult life was for him. But I reminded him one thing. The one thing that I learnt through my own life experiences. Education might do you no good if you do not utilize it but if you truly put it to good use, education could change your life. I told him to continue schooling and tried learning as much as he could in school. As it turned out, he knew that already. LOL. Told you he was smart. Although I could not do much for him, all I could do was what Dominic did for me. I listened. For the first time in my life, I listened. And that seemed to be enough.

And that was what we did all the time, we sat, we talked and we laughed. It was the same routine. Never got bored with it and never grew tired of it. Sometimes, it doesn't take something big to change someone's life. Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of patience and listening (something i need to work on). Jerry, if you are reading this, you're one of the greatest person I've ever met. But there are still heights that you have never reached before of which you could. So do your best, try your best and be your best. If you need support, you know where to look for me, buddy.

Coming Up ON Turning 2.0 End Year Special
After 5 chapters, it's time to take a break. It's new year after all right. Hehehehe. So on December 31st, I am going to have a special post. I will try to write it in a way that doesn't spoil the plot of the remainding 6 chapters of Turning 2.0 which is really the juicy part but at the same time, make sure that it is memorable enough. So hold on tight.