you've got to give us the applause

A shadow cast over me as I while my life away at a bus stop near my home. My eyes lifted a notch and the shine from a pair of shoes obscured my vision. Blinded by the light, I lifted my head further and was greeted by the sight of a man, an old gentleman. His immaculately tailored suit spoke of authority and an air of arrogance emitted from his being.

In the space of a second, he plopped himself beside me and drawled softly in a questioning tone, "Where do you study, boy?" Startled by his question, my response was slow in coming. "Uh...Yishun Junior College, sir."

A pregnant pause was given, followed by an imperceptible inclination of his combed down, but scantily haired head. "Boy, do you know that I'm a formal minister?" I gave a start of surprise. Fuelled by my response, mistaking it for being one of reverence, he continued bombarding me with questions which he rambled away at an amazing pace.

At that moment, his droning voice faded into the background for I had chanced upon his dark brown eyes and witnessed a wildness within that I had not noticed before.

He stopped as abruptly as he started and withdrew a crumpled slip of paper which looked remotely like a bus ticket, and upon it, was the words written in a neat scrawl, "Former Minister Datuk..."

I can't remember the rest of the words that was written on the paper, for the next thing I knew, he was shoving the paper towards my face and jabbing it violently accompanied by forceful proclaimations, "There! There! You see? Formal Minister!" Bewilderment filled my being, but before I could show any further outward response, he abruptly got up and casually walked away, his back as stiff as a rod.

In the blink of an eye, the old gentleman was back.

That's what we did for literature in (elvis, kemp, joshY (haha!) and me)... 35 mins. not bad la hor? *grins

3 days!!! *cries desperately.