it was the 30th of Jan,
a day before Manying's big day.

it all began from the morning,
she was in Black.

w dark coloured accesories.
she thought "why am i so dull today?"
but "oh well," she left the house.

things went well as per normal,
until wendy came over "Manying and Felicia, Yen Yen wants t see you in her office"
the girls went, without realising this walk t the office room is going t change their lives at work.
in a negative way.

YenYen was this beautiful and nice manager whom manying has always admired.
she greeted w a smile before delivering the message "we had a meeting this morning, and have decided that we needed only two temp staffs."
(there were three temp staffs around)

felicia and manying exchanged looks,
both hoping that the person to go was KimKee.

before YenYen continued
"manying, thanks for your help, you've been doing great. the reason we are keeping felicia is that she's been w us since some time ago."

"and felicia, we still need your help. do you think you can stay till the end of March? "

felicia gave the hardest stare and agreed w most unwillingness.

while manying nodded in agreement.

"and the reason we keep kimkee is bcos we are thinking of a permanent seat for her, it's definitely not that you've performed badly, in fact, you've done a lot; the mails have all alrd been sent out right? yea, thankew for helping us w it."

after such long speech, she finally realised she has just got terminated from her contract
-instead of the extension that she'd expected.

the girls left the room w utter disappointment yet w total helplessness.

it was bad, because her contract was supposed t end on the 31st,
but since it was her day, she's long planned t be on leave that day.
so technically speaking, this day itself was her last day of work.

the atmosphere changed.
it became, weird.

then, manying's phone rang.
the ID read 'yuri sg'.
in her excitement of seeing her best friend on the other line,
she almost forgot about the unhappy atmosphere that filled the air.

she answered it in the most delightful manner "HELLO YURI !!!!"
"MANYINGG!!!! "
"omg, im telling you, i have t meet my guardian tmr morning, and i had planned t spend the entire day w you before gg home t get my luggage and head t the airport immediately."
"yar, that was what you 'had planned' what's the plan now?"
"but you knw what? .................................................... and i'll have t leave at 4 plus 5 in the evening"

she had a more than valid reason which even if it wasnt, manying would have accepted it gracefully, -all for yuri.
on top of it, spending her birthday w yuri was alrd more than what she's asked for.
moreover this time, she understood that yuri had no choice.

they had a good long chat where manying hid in the filling area, trying t create a scene of 'the handphone rang while she was filing'
anyw, it was her last day, who cares ?!

lunch time approached.

felicia's mom came over, and heard of the news of her leaving,
"do you want t work? i work out for you."
"yes! i want!! t be in this area so i can be w ferps."
"ok, i work out and let you knw."
"thankeww auntyy."

she then got a call from cheryl who wants t meet her.
manying saw cheryl's face from afar, it was not her usual self nor look.

cheryl gave her somethg.
"what's this for?"
"what's the day tmr?"
"my birthday! "
she was all smiles while cheryl remained solemn all the while and picking up calls that she answered w not much appeal.

finally she told her "do you knw what happened?"
"what?"
"you knw david? he passed away."
"car accident, i think"

manying didnt utter a word,
just stood shocked and teary.

"im gg t the wake later, do you wanna come?"
" where? what time? how are you gg?"

"anyw, i received a bad news earlier on. i got sacked."
"want not? i have this job, but i myself aint confirm either, its at california fitness, ten per hr."
"oh yes please!! "
.
.
.
.

they got the details and decided t pay their respect for this fellow classmate of theirs,
-two years for manying, and four years for cheryl.

manying walked dazedly t Han's restaurant where muriel and she were supposed t meet.

while waiting for muriel, she called up connie who was also a friend of David.
connie wasnt aware of the news either, and was woken by unexpectedness.

manying couldnt rlly take it, just rubbing her head from time t time t get the situation right.

muriel was the first person she broke all the terrible news to.

they queued while she spoke.
they ordered two identical sets of linguine and sat down w the order tab.

the first linguine came, w all other dishes, only short of one more main course.
manying gave muriel the linguine while she wasnt rlly in the mood of having.

they waited for more than 5minutes after muriel had started eating.

manying went t the counter and pressed for her order.
"wait, wait, it's coming"

she went back t her seat.
and poured out her sourness.
another 5minutes went by,
a waitress came asking "is your order all here?"
"nope, we have one more main course"
"olright, i'll ask the kitchen for it."

the order didnt arrive despite pressing and asking for countless times even after that.
until muriel was done w eating.
"now, muriel, im gonna get fierce, dont get frightened."

she brought muriel t the counter, cut the queue, slamed the tab on the counter,
and raised her voice " sorry, ive ordered this half an hour ago, but it still hasnt arrived, i no longer want it now, how are you gonna compensate me for that ?! "

the China Chinese worker looked up, IGNORED HER, and continued serving another customer.
man, was she fuming.
then a plate of dish just got out from the cook, the China Chinese said " here, it's coming."
manying glared at her
" I DONT WANT IT ANYMORE NOW."

china chinese pointed t another woman, indicating her t go attend t her.
without a single sense of guilt.

the woman asked anxiously, "here it is, its ready, its ready."
"LUNCH TIME'S OVER. I HAVE T BE BACK."

"what about taking it away? i'll pack it up for you?"

she didnt reply, until muriel came in "can we exchange it for some pastries?"
"you have 9.80, what pastries would you like?"
"cakes"

manying simmered down, and they picked a few slices of cakes.
on handing the cakes, the woman explained "im rlly sorry about it, but our manager has been away, and those staffs are new here, it's busy at lunchtime so they could have got the orders wrong, we are sorry, sorry. "

manying got back t the office,
ferps gave the sadest look manying had ever seen on that cheerful face of hers.
despite understanding how she feels t be left alone after she leaves, manying still had t break the news t her, about David, and that she had t take a half day leave, shortening their time spent tgt once again.

-they had actually planned t go shopping after work that day,
but now, all these had t happen.

manying handed all her work t kimkee,
packing up, distributing the cakes t ppl whom she loved most in the office, wrote her time chit, returned the entrance pass, cleared her desk and told ferps "im leaving"

felicia was sad through and through and offered t send her t the train station.
at the door,
aili the reception heard of her departure, and asked " do you wanna come back? on the 15th, as recep? im taking leave that day and they couldnt get a stand in."
"oh, 15th? i guess so?"
"okay, rlly?! im gonna call chris now............... 'hello chris? have you found anybody on the 15th? i have a candidate!! ..... MANYING!! ..... yes! okay! "
and she clinched the deal.
"when are you free t learn it from me?"
"im not too sure either.."
"how about now?"
"NOW?!"

aili taught her, and she left.

the walk t the train station was especially different from all other times where they went home tgt.
felicia kept repeated she was sad....
"man... i wont be seeing you again, i'll be alone, i'll revert back t the quiet person before you came in, do you knw i only started talking after you joined me? man.... "
she cried.

seeing how she teared, manying was heartbroken, but remained strong and comforted her.
the girls knew, this separation from work would means they would see less of each another,
less shopping trips,
less laughter,
less secrets shared,
and more distant.

"15th! 15th! "
was all they were looking forward t.

manying got to ang mo kio where friends of David were gathered at.
they waited,
for more t arrive.

then it was at the cremation centre.
and they waited,
watching David's name appear on the screen.
talking about how David used t cheer em up,
how David used t perform hilarious tricks,
how David used t be the source of laughter,
how David,
how David,
. . .
. . .
. . .

the guys cried.
even the guys cried.
just shows how much david was worth.

he was such a happy cheery person,
such a boy with no worries,
so carefree.

"he was in a car last night, and it crashed into a tree before falling into a drain. both he and his friend at the back seat died."

such horrible news,
such heartbreaking one.
he was only 18.

took his O levels and entered Nanyang Poly.
leading a new chapter of life,
then he's gone,
in a sudden,
when ppl were asleep,
where the night was peaceful -t everyone except those in the car.

all she could say was, it was too fast, a pity.

they all saw david for the last time, in the coffin.
his face was bruised despite covered in thick make-ups.
watching his body being sent into cremation,
the mother only cried out "David. David! do not go in, once you enter there, i'll lose my son. David! you are still young. you havent grown up. please come back! i'll cook noodles for you. David ! "

the hall was filled w cries.

it was over.

manying and friends took the bus home.
she alighted at Ang Mo Kio waiting t transit.
when Xuan hong came t her mind.
she remembered she works there, and it was about time she knocked off.
instinct told her t ring her up.
she called,
indeed, xuan was there, then,
somewhere near.
she wanted manying t count t 50,
"1... 2... 3.. 4... 5... ..... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... . .. 17."
she turned, and xuanhong was behind.
being unable t control her emotions,
she went over for a big hug.

the two chatted for quite some long time,
xuanhong get her a job interview w good pay.
and cheered her up.

it was rather late before manying goes back,

when there and then, she found relief- back in home.
no more nerve-breaking news,
no more sadness,
no more worries,
where a shelter is above head,
she told her parents of everythg that has happened t her that day.
and they celebrated her carried forward birthday w a feast.