I just feel so totally weird today.. Besides the fact that it's a Sunday, which means it's the start of the week tmr (the horror!!!) there's just this weird feeling that keeps bugging me.. >.<

Maybe it's just that I haven't really gotten round to doing homework.. Or revising, for that matter.. (In case you were just wondering what's the big deal.. Well I have the dreaded Os this year..)

So that weird feeling should be guilt.. Yeah, guilt I suppose.

Oh, but enough of that.

The other day we (Frida, Tessa, Jonathan, Wister and myself) won the inter-class debate preliminary rounds and so we'll be going on to the quarter-finals.. It was a walkover actually, so I can't say I'm very pleased about that. Another thing that I am not quite happy about is also the fact that we are actually continuing with this debate thing.. I had sorta hoped that we'd lose or something so I had no need to get involved any longer..

Oh well, call me selfish if you must, but I so totally did not want to get involved with the debate.. I told Mrs Pereira that, but noo.. she wouldn't listen, so I became the reserve speaker... who still has to participate in all the talks and discussions... Sorta like the understudy in a play or something, who has to learn all the parts so she can take over if anyone goes down or something. But I digress. I actually didn't want to be on the team because I discovered that I can't speak in front of an audience.

Sure, I can yak all the time in the presence of friends and buds alike, but put me in front of the class and my confidence promptly dissolves, and crumbles to dust at my feet. Great. The very last thing I need is for something like this to happen during debate. Besides the confidence annihilated thing, I also blush fire-engine red. *gasp* Which sucks like hell. Because, i mean puh-leeze, a person's skin can only be this <========> thick.. so the dastardly betrayal of my blood vessels shows promptly on my face. And just last week, I discovered that I can actually stammer. Not quite the repetition of words kinda stammer, but I was speaking in Chinese right, and all the words just ran themselves together so I spoke kind of incoherently. God, the EMBARRASSMENT!!!

And I read the papers this morning and they were saying something about social phobia..

Around the corner he turned, and he saw her again, as he had expected to. She was dressed simply, as she usually was, in a pink blouse and white skirt. He smiled. Pink and white, pink and white. She just looked so cute, girly and mature, all rolled into one. His dream girl, definitely. With a last look in her direction, he left, whistling a tune as he strolled down the pavement.

Around the corner she turned, and sighed. What with kids these days? Littering all over the place without the slightest feeling of guilt. Bums. Useless bums all of them. She grimaced as she bent over to pick up an empty soft drink can, and put it into the supermarket trolley she was pushing, already half-full with crushed aluminum cans. Straightening her aching back, she shook her head in defeat, then continued her way down the dark alley.

Around the corner, he peeked at her from between his fingers. She was reading… again. What else did she do besides that? Oh, maybe just read, and read some more? Infuriating how she just didn’t want to pay attention to him. His little fists clenched behind his back, and he marched over to the girl. She was sitting on a swing, her legs dangling in the air as she lost herself in the book of fairytales on her knees. He marched right over, and yanked one of her shoes off, a pink-ribboned little sandal that fit snugly in his small sweaty palm. With nary a glance at him, she just continued reading her book, one white-socked foot dangling in the air. He stomped his feet, a sign to show that he was angry, but still she ignored him. Fine… He thought, and tossed the pretty shoe into the bushes.

Around the corner she strutted, a proud figure in her tight black stretch dress which hugged her hips and accentuated every curve of her body. She was aware of the attention passers-by showed her, and was proud of it… Not. In fact, she hated the attention. It was just the packaging they were paying attention to, the lycra which was stretched tight over her svelte body. They wouldn’t look at her this way if she was wearing baggy pants that sagged and huge shirts stained with breakfast. She gave an undignified little snort as she passed another pair of eyes brimming over with male adoration.

Around the corner he danced, oblivious to the world around him. He spun around, and swung his hips in time with the music. One, two, three, four. The music blared from the player perched on his shoulder, a mad thundering beat that shook him right down to his soul. One, two, three, four…

Around the corner he turned, and he saw her, as he had expected to. This time however, she was wearing a light blue babydoll dress, and stood facing him, instead of across the road as she usually was. He tilted his head in surprise as she bounded up, and stopped right in front of him. “Hi…” She whispered softly as she looked straight into his eyes and gave him a radiant smile.

Around the corner she turned, and sighed. This sigh, though, was a happy one, a bit indistinguishable under the scratchy hoarse overtones of her aged vocals, but nevertheless a happy one. For once, just for once, the entire alley was free of the rubbish which usually littered it, and was empty. Pleasant looking even. She sighed again. No more cans to collect then… A smile flickered around the downturns of her wrinkled mouth.

Around the corner he peeked at her between his fingers. She was still reading, thank goodness. She could get really violent when provoked, and he had learned that the hard way. As he was about to dodge back into the safety of the house, suddenly he heard his name being called, and he spun around. There she was, the little pink girl in her little pink dress in her little pink shoes, walking towards him. Where was her book? Oh dear oh dear, if she was that bad when she was ignoring him, what would happen to him if she wasn’t? He almost turned to run, but he heard the tap tap of her little shoes on the asphalt, and immediately he knew. I’m so dead. He got to his knees, and huddled himself into a ball, thinking that perhaps her little fists can’t reach his face if he hid it well. Tap tap. She was getting closer! Tap tap. “ARGGGHHH!!!” The little boy got to his feet and practically sprinted into the house, while she just stood there. I come in peace? She pursed her lips in annoyance.

Around the corner she strutted, a proud figure in her tight black stretch dress which hugged her hips and accentuated every curve of her body. Helloooo Nurse!!! Some boys across the street hooted and yelled as she stepped into their line of vision. “THAT, is the last straw.” She gritted her teeth. She’d heard so much catcalls while walking. Enough for this lifetime at least. The next time she wore this little, was when she was about to go to bed. She whirled around, and glared at the cameramen. “Can we wrap this up yet?”

Around the corner he danced, oblivious to the world around him. He closed his eyes, and gyrated to the pounding of the beat. One, two, three, four. He felt something bump him, and he opened his eyes in surprise. There, in front of him, was a girl, dressed in grunge like he was, and she was moving in time to the music, swinging, turning, spinning… He laughed, and joined her in their dance.

Around every corner, every mysterious turn in life, lies a surprise just waiting to be uncovered. Have you uncovered yours yet?