That Guy, Martin Fong

At first glance, Martin Fong doesn't count much, being very sullen and shut himself off from our classmates. He reminds me a little of one of my best friends, Xiaoli when I first met her, but she has opened up a little in the past few years.

I still remember the first time I met Martin Fong. It was a rainy morning that day and I reported early to my classroom. I was one of the first there and I found someone in my "special" seat.

Of course I was infuriated. I spoke, I admit, a little rudely to the boy whom I have never seen before.

This infuriated me even more. I noticed too that his uniform is untucked and his hair uncombed and unkept.

I was infuriated even more and was about to say something else when two of my best friends, Chin Xiaoli and Yen Xinling walked into the classroom. They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw me and the boy.

"Why, you -" I snapped back at the boy when I felt someone grabbed my arm.

I turned and saw Xiaoli put a hand on my arm. "I'm so sorry about all this," said Xiaoli who had a firm grip on my arm to the boy who was looking ready to kill at the moment. "I'm the student counciller or prefect of this class. My name's Chin Xiaoli..."

"So you're the student counciller," said the boy. "Mr Lim told me to look for you -"

"Yeah, well... I'll tend to you later," said Xiaoli. "Can you excuse us for a moment?"

And Xiaoli practically dragged me out of the classroom with Xinling behind her. She only let me go when we reached a spot near the staircase where there's a table and two benches.

"What now?" I asked Xiaoli irritably, shaking off her grip and rubbing my arm.

"I tell you what now!" said Xiaoli, practically speaking in my face. "Do you know who that boy is?"

"He's a new transfer student from another school," said Xiaoli. "His name is Martin Fong. He was expelled from his previous school for fighting and came to our school because Mrs Koh wants to give him another chance at schooling. She doesn't want a teenager's future to be ruined just because of his background."

"So... when Mr Lim send for you and Yuhe yesterday...?" Xinling stammered.

"It was about Martin," said Xiaoli. "Only Yuhe and me knows about his past. Just keep out of his way. You never know what he might do."

"Very funny," snapped Xiaoli. "Just keep out of his way. So get that in your heads, both of you. Especially you, Ron!"

"You know what you are like," said Xiaoli. "Keep that temper of yours under control before it goes off!"

"Now, let's get back to class before we're late for Mr Lim's lesson," said Xiaoli.

I must admit that Martin Fong didn't make a very good first impression on me, but then, it didn't occurred to me what kind of impression that I made on Martin!

Martin Fong was not very popular with our classmates. He was sullen and quiet and hardly ever mixes around with our classmates. He hardly ever opened his mouth too, even when teachers asked him questions. But, much to my surprise, he hardly ever get scolded and punished by our teachers. I guess then that the teachers must have been told to be patient with him to help him.

"Can't you just bear with him?" my two best friends, Yu Sijie and Shen Riyang from the next class said to me during recess irritably. "You know what it's like when we have to bear with Xiaoli when we first knew her!"

"So practice that "bearing attitude" now," said Riyang, tucking into his plate of fried noddles. "And I don't mind telling you that Xiaoli would blow her top up if she knows you quarreled with Martin! You know what her temper is like!"

It was about ten minutes before the bell signals the end for recess when I returned to my classroom. Nobody was back yet. Xiaoli and Yuhe was doing their prefect duties and the rest of the class was down at the canteen.

I was walking past Martin's desk when I noticed something sticking out from underneath all the books under Martin's desk. I don't know what made me do it, but I looked around the classroom before pulling the "thing" out.

The "thing" appeared to be a journal that I often see Martin scribbling in during class.

How did I get myself into such a fix? Mum and Dad are always arguing. Arguing about money, house, my education, what I do in school, blah, blah, blah...

Yeah, yeah, whatever. I thought by doing things that they would take notice of, by getting myself expelled from school, would make them take notice of and returned to the caring parents that I once know.

But it backfired. Mum got angry and said that I'm a bad boy. Dad got furious and said that I'm not his son. Now... the present me... Mum don't care for and Dad don't love...

What should I do? How did things turn out this way? I don't want my life to be like this too. All my friends have deserted me. Even Sis got angry and said that I'm behaving like a hooligan.

But... I really want our family back to the way I know it... Why has things turned out this way? Mum... Dad..."

I closed the journal shut and placed it back into its original position under the desk, unable to read any more...