Some of my popular classmates had asked me to spend the afternoon with them. I had weighed the options of heading home and hanging out with them carefully. I soon came to the conclusion that I should go out with them. They were after all the popular students and I had always wanted to be with them outside of the school compound. Little did I know that this decision would change my life.
We had had so much fun and I lost track of time. We played our favourite games at the arcade in Tampines Mall and even went for dinner at Ramen-tei. A small outing such as that was completely harmless, or so I thought. When I reached home, I saw my parents pacing about in the living room. Their faces seemed to carry a flurry of emotions - they seemed angry, lost, pained and worried. "Now, where have you been, young man?" my father asked.
I could not think immediately of a valid response. Should I tell him the truth or just tell a lie to cover everything up? Well, what my parents did not know would not hurt them, I had thought. "I had had to do a class project," I replied. "A class project? Till so late at night?" questioned my mother. I just told my parents that it was due the next day and that we had to complete it. "Well, okay, son. But next time, give us a call when you're coming home late," advised my father.
The next day, my classmates once again tempted me with another outing. I was flattered. They had actually liked my company. I telephoned my father lying to him that I was going to a remedial lesson in school. He acknowledged that unquestioningly and I was only too happy to be let off that lightly. I was going to have another great outing.
To cover my tracks, I just gave my school work to my parents telling them that I did it during remedial lesson. Soon I began to have "remedial lessons" every day of the week. It was a good time, being one of the popular ones, going to the arcade for hours and not facing any consequences. This gradually became a way of life but instead of my academic results going up with my "remedial lessons", my grades deteriorated drastically. This spelt the end of my carefree but irresponsible life.
Concerned, my parents decided to speak to my form teacher. "My son should be getting better results with all the four-hour remedial lessons," said my father to my form teacher. "The only problem is, your son is never there during that four hours," my teacher rebutted, matter-of-factly. They gave me a grave stare that seemed to last an eternity. I felt cornered. I wished I were an ostrich. I would like to hide my head in a hole I could find in the ground somewhere. Clearly my carefree life was over. I had to tell the truth.
The whole time I had thought that I was in control but instead the influence of my classmates were really in control of me. My classmates' parents were also notified of their "remedial lesson" misadventures. Before I knew it, every one of the culprits was apprehended and everything was back to normal. This served as a good lesson for me that what was good for me might not always be the best for me. [575 words]
No comments:
Post a Comment