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"A Walk Down Memory Lane… Saving Ten-Cents"

Post on: August 24, 2020

In the ‘70s, I was enrolled in a vibrant primary school situated at Jalan Bukit Merah in Singapore. A school which could not boast of the trappings of opulence but produced outstanding students, both academically and in the sporting arena.

The journey from my Redhill estate to school included a two kilometres walk followed by a bus ride spanning fifteen minutes. The daily commute was dusty and rickety but never arduous as I had great company in *Simon and *Chee Meng, schoolmates who lived in my neighbourhood.

One day, while we were awaiting bus number ‘53’ I noticed Simon behaving strangely. He was rummaging for something in the dustbin. I then saw him pick up a used bus ticket.

“Are you collecting bus tickets as a hobby, Simon?” I asked innocently.

“No way! I am going to use this ticket for the bus ride,” he replied, “You and Chee Meng can have one each if you’re game for it.”

“What… isn’t that cheating?” we asked, feeling indignant.

“Not at all — I am saving ten-cents” he cheekily replied.

Before we could reprimand him, the bus arrived and the three of us boarded it. As usual, the bus was packed like sardines. The three of us had to jostle our way in and stood precariously, manoeuvring our balance.

Chee Meng and I witnessed the bus conductor whistling at the driver to proceed. Thereafter, she began issuing tickets. She made her way from the back of the bus, doing her job meticulously and with clockwork precision. To our horror, we noticed Simon clinching on to the used ticket, pretending he had already paid for it while standing at the back of the bus and magically being repositioned to the front.

Chee Meng and I could not believe our eyes. An act intended to fraud and done in such amateurish fashion! Despite the crowd, we frantically tried to signal at Simon to abandon his contemptible plan. But it was in vain. He adamantly refused to look towards our direction. Simon was hellbent in carrying out his mission.

The bus conductor, a plump lady slowly made her way to the front. When she saw Simon with a ticket, she was confounded. How could she have issued it to a boy standing in front?

She instantaneously snatched it from Simon and studied it laboriously like a forensic investigator. And without questioning Simon, she blustered, “What are you trying to do, you shameless boy? You better pay up or I will report to your principal.”

Simon was red-faced from the commotion that had ensued and the subsequent murmurs from bewildered passengers. He quickly took out a 10-cent coin — to buy his freedom from the inquest. The imposing conductor snatched the coin and threw a ticket at Simon, showing her disgust.

She then made her way to the rest of the passengers. Every now and then, she would turn back and stare at Simon who was crestfallen. Both Chee Meng and I were shellshocked and frightened to speak to him, lest we being suspected as a syndicate working in cahoots with Simon.

Suddenly the bus stopped. Simon hurriedly made a beeline towards the exit and alighted although our destination was two stops away. Chee Meng and I were dumbfounded by Simon’s action; however, we were too petrified to stop him nor to discuss the chain of events that had transpired. What a bus ride full of climaxes!

When we finally alighted, Chee Meng and I could not contain our anxiety. We animatedly began discussing why Simon acted in a manner which was unbecoming of his usual prim and proper stance.

And as we delved deeper, Chee Meng joked, “I think Simon alighted earlier so as to escape the conductor’s penetrating glare. Her looks can kill, you know.”

I interjected, “Perhaps it’s good that he was caught red-handed. It would have festered into something serious had he gotten scot-free.”

As I look back, “saving ten-cents” gone awry had been a blessing in disguise. The incident which happened 40 years ago, startled Simon. It made an indelible mark in him — he went on to excel in his pursuits and became a distinguished person in his chosen field. Simon had the guts to nip his despicable act in the bud. Henceforth, “doing the right thing” became his mantra.

I wonder if delinquents who flout the law could have their lives transformed? Perhaps, if they were caught in their first transgression and had the insightfulness to mend their wayward paths like gutsy Simon.

*Names have been changed

By: Shaji Thomas Varughese

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Photo: pixabay.com

 

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