Wedding Dinner (Short story)
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First post and first try in writing something. Looking forward to all comments...hopefully nice 1s...
The hall darkens as ¡¥Unchained Melody¡¦ starts playing over the background. Rays of light seep in as the main door is opened. Smoke filled the room as the silhouette of a man and a woman appears and approached the stage. Applause emerged from all four corners as the couple cuts the wedding cake. Clearly, tears are forming from the eyes of the couple. A most memorable night for the couple, but to Zhilong, it¡¦s just another thirty dollars.
Zhilong has been working in the service line for one whole month. He is but a waiter; one of many in the ¡¥Banquet Waiters' list. He just completed his secondary education and is currently waiting for doomsday. In that meantime, he though, why not make some money? And so he is here labouring his youth away. He used to be tall and skinny, and people called him ¡¥chopstick¡¦. But else he started working, he noticed the amount of food his mother forced on him is getting lesser, an evidence of his increasing mass. Once spotting side parting on his head, due to peer pressure, he decided to part it centrally, however his friends are still unsatisfied, so finally he decided to go ¡¥botak¡¦.
And here he is, heading to the service lane behind the hall with a bucket of dry ice, which is more smoke then ice now. And as he enters, he only notices the chaos. Lots of greenhorn tonight, blur as he was a month ago. He grab the first dish and get into line, he cannot help but notice the guy behind him, still struggling to remember the ¡¥Welcome¡¦ speech. That irritating song, the one from ¡¥Beauty and the Beast¡¦ plays over the stereo as one by one, the waiters marched out in rhythm with the song. And as he reenters the hall, he forced a smile onto his face.
Dish by dish goes by and two hours have passed by. Zhilong rejoined his partner for the night for one last dish. Balancing two large dessert bowls on the oval tray, he struggles as he goes by the narrow passage of tables and chairs. Jasmine, whose hair reminds Zhilong very much of instant noodles, has already arranged the bowls neatly. And as he removes the cover from the giant dessert bowls, Jasmine tapped him on the shoulder, whispering to him, ¡¥Where are the ladles?¡¦
He launched into a walk-sprint towards the service lane. Slow service means extra scolding after the event. In his rush, he knocked into someone, a girl, judging by the long hair. She crush onto the floor with a loud ¡¥thump!¡¦ A sudden coldness goes down his spill thinking of the dressing down that will come his way later. He offered an apology and extended his hand to help her up. And as they come level, Zhilong¡¦s eye locked onto hers. A pair of hazel-coloured eyes, which are hazy at the same time, attached to an oval face, pretty tanned in complexion. Her hair lining her face, black, silky and beyond her shoulder. The hazy eyes sharpened, and she opened her mouth. ¡¥Stop staring at me!¡¦ she screamed before giving him a jab in the feet with her high-heels. -
hey pretty good, seems pretty fast paced.
will be looking out for more pls!!
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Hmm Hmm....feels good to read something here again...
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This story oso got scream, but it is the different type of scream from u know who
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Nice story. Reminds me of the last time i was a waiter at banquet, but i'll choose Kenny G's "wedding song" instead of "unchained melody"
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Continue.......
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another lov story ar...?
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*take out peanut and milo and wait for continuation...*
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Time to process on with the story... This is my first try at writing something longer then a normal compo, I'm a newbie at this game... so... give pointers hor...
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After a hard day¡¦s work, Zhilong finally got home. Home is a 4-room HDB floor located in the Town of Bukit Panjang. He opened the front door and noticed his mother sitting on the sofa, waiting for him to return. His mother has not sleep yet, waiting for him. She just reached forty-five, age has clearly catch up with her, the wrinkles on her face counting the hardship she went through to take care of the family. Her hair a graying mass, quite unusual for someone her age.
His mother is a housewife. Giving up her promising job as a sales manager to take care of her family. She never regretted her decision, her husband never disappointed her, neither her two sons. She called Zhilong her beautiful accident. Her pregnancy comes about during the high point of her career, she was rising up fast in the company and the management has marked her for greater things to come. At the same time, she was at a low point in her married life. Her husband was having an affair, partly due to her neglecting him and his needs.
She never really wanted a baby at that time, but she refused to take away an innocent life. She also hoped that the baby would save her marriage. It did. After birth, she gave up her job and take cares of the household full-time. She never regretted her decision; her husband never disappointed her again. And her two sons bring her only joy and praise.
He walked to his room, a messy affair of books and clothes. His father have fall asleep for quite some times and his mother just joined him. His brother, Zhihao, is in dreamland too. School have just started and Zhihao is in Sec 2. He sat on his bed, she is one brutal girl, leaving him with a red and swollen feet. He collapsed flat on his bed, soon he fall asleep too. A smile is clearly forming on his face, having a sweet dream, perhaps a wet one, perhaps of her.
Zhilong faces the monitor of his computer, pondering about his next step. The jab is not a good reason for revenge, neither is the scolding from the manager. But the jabber is a good enough reason to pursuit. Finally he decided to search for her on the net, through the IRC (Internet Relay Chat).
¡¥Will the gal who stepped on a waiter at Mr and Mrs Eng Yang Huat¡¦s wedding plz msg me?¡¦ reads his message which was posted at five minutes interval on a few channels.
The abuse came quick and brutal. People calling him a ¡¥lamer¡¦ and being a ¡¥despo¡¦. People telling him that he will never find her on IRC. People asking him to stop dreaming. But he continue his little net search, every private message a ray of hope. He sits there staring at the monitor like a scarecrow for the whole day, not moving an inch except to urinate. He waited and waited, but what he is waiting for never came. Finally at eleven O¡¦clock he decided to recharge himself. He left the computer on to continue his little message and fell asleep on his bed. -
besides the grammar, i think the story is flowing thru very nicely. hope to read more!
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wow...
*waiting patiently for the continuation* -
The net search ended on the same day it started. Not a single new lead was found, but the modem is clearly overworked. It refused to connect the next day and Zhilong have to call in the computer doctors. A burnt chip they told him, and he paid fifty big ones for a new one. His wallet is empty like his stomach at noon. His mother is out shopping and not making lunch today, so he hurries off to the shopping centre one street away from his home.
Like an excited boy, Zhilong moved briskly towards the Plaza. Messaging his friends along the way, not a care in the world. Then he saw her, in a blue pinafore walking up Lompang Road towards the Plaza too! Her silky black in a ponytail secured by a pink band swinging with each step she takes. He was sure it is her, the eyes tell. Shaking with fear and enthusiasm, he quickens his pace and moves towards her. From behind he tapped her on the shoulder.
She twisted around, arms outstretched. Giving him a forceful push on the chest. He tumbles backward, into an uncovered drain. The skin on his right shin ripped apart upon contact with the drain. Blood floods out of it in rhythm with the beating of his heart. His face turns white when he saw the mess and he let out a weak howl. He turns his eyes away from the wound; the view is unbearable. At that very moment, he just wants his mother.
¡¥I¡¦m sorry¡Khere let me help.¡¦ Her hand reaches out for his, and with a jerk, she pulled him up and out of the drain.
Bloody as he is, he broke into a sprint towards the Plaza, knowing a clinic would definitely be in there. He feels no pain, only a goal in mind, to get himself stitched up. He rushed into the Plaza from the side entrance, the crowd parts like the red sea when they saw his red shin. Standing in the center of the lobby, a survey of the building was made. ¡¥CLINIC¡¦ reads the sign on the fourth flood. He dashed up, running on the escalator. On the fourth floor he saw the sign in full. ¡¥CLINIC¡¦ is the heading, ¡¥For Women¡¦ reads the sub-heading in fine print, all on a pink board.
Grabbing a passerby, he found that there is a clinic on the first floor, near the side-entrance; where he came from. He hurried down again, shouting, ¡¥Emergency!
Emergency!¡¦ along the way down. ¡¥Can I help you?¡¦ asked the nurse at the counter. Zhilong only carries his leg up to show her.
On the bed Zhilong laid, dyeing the white sheet red with his blood. He took out his phone and notice the absence of his wallet. First he called his mother, to inform him of his little disaster. Next he ringed his boss, informing him to cancel all his bookings of the week to work. Then he just lay there, feeling the needle go through his skin, with each stitches a little shock go down his leg and the numbness increases.
He hobbled out of the ¡¥Operation Theater¡¦ into the waiting area. His mother has paid for the stitches. In her hand, she holds his wallet. ¡¥She left this for you.¡¦ her mother passed the wallet to him along with a note. -
erm, how the gal know he's in which clinic? anyway, when the gal pick him up from the drain nvr sent him to hospital? Hehe, the story still good lah.
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no more le?
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hey! great story! how old are you??
good flow in story! very interesting to read.
everything is fine except for some grammar mistakes here and there.
do continue writing! (^_^) -
School work kills, so took a break from my hobby. My 1-week break just arrived so figure I can put in a few hours to write abit more. Btw I'm 17. So i guess my next chap would be up soon...I hope!
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gogogogogo!!
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It's quite realistic.. Not over exaggerating.. Nicely written..
Btw, is this a true life story of yours?
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I did work in banquet before...But no pretty gals stepped on me!
I fall into a drain before...But nobody pushed me...I was smsing!
I did search for sum1 from the net before...but I consider myself a better searcher.
Wat I wrote is a combination of life and fantasy...for I never step into any relationship before! -
He unfolds the note, a strange feeling swell up inside him, a combination of nervousness and fear. Hoping for the best, yet preparing for the worst. Perhaps she will leave her number for him, maybe even her address! But, his hopes are like far-away dreams as he closes his eyes, a desire to read what is written, yet a fear to view them. Finally, he opens his eyes. On a piece of torn foolscap paper runs the curvy and smooth writings of a girl he fancy.
‘Sorry for the push…But why are you stalking me??????? You look kinda familiar, have we met before?! Was that the reason you tail me for? Anyway…I hope you recover soon!! If you need me to pay the medical fee…drop me a msg at 9XXXXXXX…maybe we can discuss it… Anyway I’m Xue Si =)’
His eyes lit up with every word he read, by the end of the note a smile was breaking out on his face. The smile reflecting but a tiny portion of the joy he feels within. A joy he experienced for the first time in his life, a certain fuzzy feeling. He removes his mobile phone from the charger and lay on his bed, taking care not to hit the freshly-stitched wounds. At least he will have stories to tell when he collects his results.
A few clicks of the buttons is all he needs to get to the ‘Write Messages’ option of the phone, but the contents take ages to fill. Starting with ‘Hello’ is too common, ‘Wassup’ sounds too punk, how about a foreign greeting? Should short-forms be used? Or just plain simple English? All this races through his mind, as his finger dances on the keypad. Erasing and rewriting the message over and over again. Each message better then the previous one, he felt.
‘Hi Xue Si! I’m the unlucky guy u pushed into the drain. I’m alrite now. Do you remember stepping on a certain waiter at a wedding dinner? If you do, he’s me! =)’
The writing is not as hard as he thought it would, and he manage to do it all in one message with enough space to insert a smiley. Next comes the sending, and he hesitated as hundreds of ‘What if?’ questions pop up in his mind. ‘Head to send, Tail not to’, he told himself and he flipped a coin. ‘Tail’ says the coin, and he flipped it a few more times , until the coin showed ‘Head’. -
not bad...good try...post more pls...i would like to read more of these things...
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Time seen to pass by slower then usual, when you are waiting for someone. A second feels like a minute, and a minute like an hour. And as Zhilong sat there waiting for her to arrive, he grew more anxious and impatient. That night they had a fun time messaging each other; at least it was fun for him. They arranged to meet at Lot 1Â’s Macdonald for Xue Si to pass him the medical fee, and Zhilong was hoping to ask her out for a movie straightaway. So here he is, 4 days later, waiting for her to arrive. She is already 17 minutes late, and have not replied to the message Zhilong sent her.
Maybe she is just late, maybe she met an accident! Or maybe she just decided to make a fool of him and make him wait for nothing. His thoughts got wilder as the wait got longer. ‘Maybe I should just go home,’ he told himself. But he decided against it, for he believes his maiden will arrive. After 20 minutes of waiting, his phone rang. The name flashing on the screen is that of who he is waiting for. He picks it up instantly, ‘Hello?’
‘Hey! Sorry for not replying to your messages, was having training just now. It just ended and I’m rushing over now. If you can wait, I would be over in like 45 minutes? Would that be all right with you?’ the voice at the other end asked.
‘Yeah, I got the time. No problem, see you later then! Bye.’ he answered before hanging up.
A message was received almost instantly from her, ‘Hey…hungry! Mind buying me sum bites? A chzburger meal would be great! Thanks…’
It was almost 7 in the evening by then, and he was feeling hungry himself. So a queue he joined, buying for himself, a double cheeseburger meal (Upsized of course!) and a cheeseburger meal for his hungry maiden. The place was quite crowded by the time he got the food, lucky for him; he already got himself a place.
Then he noticed the ponytail with the pink band, a blue pinafore in the sea of greens and purple uniforms. He waved to her, she responded with a smile and moved towards him. The joy printed across his face as he sees his maiden with an empty stomach again. He hopes that this meeting would go by without any bodily injuries. He greeted him with a weak hello and could not remove his eyes from her. She greeted him with a smile and asked, ‘Where’s my burger?’