The Ugly Side of Beauty

Chapter Three: Chocolate

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“Lim Lina?” the teacher called and then he sighed. “Oh, Chocolate ke?” his eyes darted to the right side of the class and I looked as well, along with all the other students. There was a girl who was asleep and the kids around her jostled her.

“Chocolate! Teacher is calling you la!” they tried to wake her up.

Her knees jerked upwards and slammed into the bottom of her desk which slammed up onto her chin and her head snapped backwards. Her eyes flew open and her hands went to her chin.

“Ow!” she exclaimed. She rubbed her chin. “I’m here, I’m here.”

The whole class erupted into laughter while I wondered what ‘la’ meant.

“Hey budak ni. Nape asyik tidur kat sekolah?” Cikgu Amir sighed. I looked to Tom for an explanation.

“Hey, this kid. Why does she always sleep in school?” he translated obligingly. I nodded in understanding.

“Because I’m sleepy, so I sleep.” She grinned at the Cikgu. She put her head back on her desk and closed her eyes again. Cikgu Amir looked like he wanted to say something more but thought the better of it and moved on.

“Her name is Chocolate?” I asked Tom. He grinned and peeked at her before looking back at me.

“No, her name is Lim Lina, but she’s so obsessed with chocolates that everyone started calling her ‘Chocolate’ two years ago and it stuck.” He explained.

“And she gets to sleep in class?” I wondered flatly. Crap, I probably sounded jealous or something.

“Well, the teachers have given up on waking her. She hands in her homework and passes her tests, so they can’t really say anything. She even scored straight A’s before.” Tom looked at Chocolate again. “I guess she’s one of those types.” He smiled at me and I looked away. I realised that it had already become a habit to look away when he smiled.

“She can’t speak Malay?” I asked him.

He chuckled. “She can if she wants to. She can even speak Chinese if she wants to, but she prefers to speak English.”

I nodded. “I see.”

“Okay, class.” Cikgu Amir called once he was finished with the attendance. “Since today is the first day, and there are some new faces, let’s all introduce ourselves. Start from that side, say your name, hobby and ambition.”

Oh, no. My fear came back to me in full force as I watch them stand up one by one. My hands started shaking and I twisted them together. They felt cold and clammy. Why was it that Cikgu’s English suddenly became okay?

Tom stood up. “My name is Thomson Lee. My hobby is…” he looked upwards, thinking. “…watching movies, I guess. My ambition is to be a surgeon.”

I had a difficult time keeping my jaw from touching the floor. The kids were all high achievers, it seemed. Most of them were into the medical or engineering field. Or maybe it was just the kids in this class.

“It’s your turn.” Tom reminded me as he sat down. I froze up, completely unable to move. The kids around me started chanting my name. At first I thought they were taunting me, but then when I saw their smiles, I realised that they were encouraging me.

Slowly, I stood. “My name is Lorelei D’Vina. My hobby is…” I paused. What was my hobby? What did I like doing in my free time? “I have no hobby, and no ambition.” I sat down quickly.