Back Then

Back Then, part 1- Reputation

6 January 1985

Back Then.
Reputation.
Overtakes.
All.

"Alliyah. Heard about Smurfs?" I whispered.

"They're releasing it here!" Alliyah replied excitedly.

"I've heard they are fruit coloured." Erin joined on my side.

"They're blue, idiot." Sarah grinned.

"Shut up guys. Prefects are staring at us." Lydia hissed from the front. Goody two shoes.

"Let them make noise. Just don't get involved with them." Yogi whispered.

Now that I think about it.
The friends you have now. Are the ones from universities. Some from secondary, but to me. The ones that stayed with me till now. Are the six animals I met from the the day our name got called in a freaking girl school.

Lydia
Yogita
Sarah
Erin
Alliyah
Shahnas

But of course our relationship started out really small. Like with a whip on our buttocks.

Back then, school was shit. Like literally. Prefects are everywhere during assembly. One mouth open with a whisper, you get whipped on the holy stage of destruction by "pig", Mrs. Fau Jee. (Is that how you spell it?)

It was back then. I've never wanted to be one of those shitty students. Those goody ol' two shoes. Just because prefect defined "awesome reputation".

"Nik Ai Min"
"Alliyah Lin"
"Erin Fiya"
"Sarah"
"Lydia Tasha."
"Yogita Narakes"
"Shahnas Fardlin."

"Lollipops." I grunted.

"It's your fault." Alliyah punched me as we stood up.

"You had to snort?" I hissed.

"Thanks a lot Nik." Erin rolled her eyes.

"I don't want to be your friend anymore." Sarah sniffed.

"All of you shut it for once." Lydia ordered. Dang. Bet she's pissed. We were all dragged to the front by seven prefects.

"I'm not talking to Nik." Shahnas stated. I rolled my eyes. You serious?

Yogita's already bawling her eyes out. I'm sorry.

Back then...bad reputation for you once you get called for the whip. Lydia understood that earlier than the six of us. Second was Yogi.

Why didn't we think of it earlier?

We were eight! What did you expect? Standard 2 back then, Had only two standards. And that means. Stay out of the seniors way, standard 1 stays out of your way.

"Why do you all think, your names were called?!" Spat pig eyeing me. Because I'm in her stupid math class.

I rolled my eyes.

"Nik. Don't you da-" Lydia stopped me a second late.

"You think?" I asked innocently. Yah. You might've think back then I was sassy and full of sarcasm but it was just really because I was that stupid....and fat. But if you think otherwise, then proceed reading.

"We are here to get whipped for not keeping quiet at our place." Lydia went up front.

"Well said." She smiled. "Bend down now. All of you."

*whack*

She started with Sarah. And stopped at me, the last one.

"I'll need 65 sentence of "I will keep my mouth shut, and I will not talk back." by today." She said before whipping me two times. Hard.

"I welcome anyone who talks to the front here."She smiled.

"No one? Good. DISMISSED." She screamed and let out a few of her disgustingly disgusting saliva on me.

"I think I'm bleeding." Yogi cried.

"You're not." I stated and grabbed my stuff. "It's just really red."

"How would you know?" Alliyah asked.

"Don't ask." I replied stupidly before arriving to class. Lydia and Sarah are in the next class. 2 Orchid.

"Yogita's crying really bad. Her good reputation among teachers are gone. She said." Alliyah stated.

"We're only standard 2. Face it. You can do loads to fix what you did to your reputation in this school by Standard 6." I replied and brought out my Mathematics text book from my second hand light brown bag.

"Yesterday's homework. Now."
I searched my bag. There was no. Exercise. Books.

"Lollipops." I muttered and faced up.

I saw pig smiling.

"So."

"Yes?"

"Stand up."

And that is how bad, kids with the same age as I, think my reputation is. Why? Did I mention I was really stupid? Yup. That's why. I also mentioned I was fat. Right? Yup. That's bad too.

Alliyah punched me all the way to cafeteria. It hurts really bad man. But she was the only friend I had back then. So I never bothered.

My lunch would usually be Nasi Lemak from the canteen. No. Not "fat rice". But yeah. I got really fat because I eat that every day. But if not nasi lemak, it's my mum's packed lunch in a pink lunch box and smurf water bottle. And that creates another world of goodness. Chicken Balls, cocktail sausages with tomato, fried rice with eggs, spaghetti carbonara , fried barbeque chicken, pizza and etc. Yeah. This is how. I identify. My fake friends. But yeah. I still gave them some of my food. They never noticed how kind I was but I still gave them. No matter how many times. They said the holy fuck word of all, "Fat".

Shakilla. She would usually come for the chicken balls. I remember. I think I made a list. Tangerina. She would usually come for the omelettes. Erin. She came for all. No offense. Sarah too. Alliyah. She's always with me so she's no exception back then.

It's because of my mum and her food, I got this little bit of good reputation. But like I acted earlier, reputation was no biggie to me.

Then there was bookshop. This place. Had all kinds of shit that interests all standard one, two and three. There's always five stones, colouring books, paper dolls, crossword puzzles. Plasticine.

Plasticine was the shit back then, man. Any kid who has all colours of that small container filled with plasticine has really good reputation. Among kids. Only. Teachers hate that stuff. Plasticine was 20 cents. 20 cents used to be your one ringgit. Bullshit? I know.

But anything is awesome. Back then. In Malaysia