It was fine, and at least the room was air-conditioned. The school was where my father taught, I've heard much about it but had never set foot in it, and I was glad I finally did. The book fair was held in the school library, and awful to say the students there were no better than the state of the school. They were noisy, playful, and typical of teenagers.
The fair ended at 12 noon, for it was organised mainly for form 6 students. We packed later and I was later told to go back with my boss, and my partner would join boss' wife.
On the ride my boss suddenly told me I would have to follow him to Sungai Petani to assist him in fixing the whiteboard. I was rather flabbergasted as I didn't know I had to travel this far when I joined them, but I never complained nor grumbled but agreed to him and I waited to see what would transpire.
As time was packed - money was a bit tight as well - I didn't have the time to have lunch, and my boss and the other Malay guy too. So my boss who was generous to a fault treated me some bread, and that was my only lunch for that day.
The Malay guy dozed off in the car, which left me and my boss still remained awake in the car. The boss started to begin a conversation with me, and I immersed myself in it while trying to fit in so that what I reciprocated would not result in humiliation or embarrassment or the skeletons in my cupboards would not come loose.
My boss acted weird, again, for trusting me so much. He told me a little too much about his private life - at least to me - and to keep the cat in the bag I would not disclose anything he said to me here. But he did tell me a little too much about his private life, as if I were his long lost friend and we were united when we met on the street. For the entire one hour trip, we chatted non-stop, and I glad I did for I knew much more about him, and he much more about me.
The school - SMJK Sin Min was an enormous, picturesque edifice. I had to admit - the first sight of the school left me stunned and my mouth agape. The school was strikingly beautiful with an exceedingly large football field that laid right after the entrance of the school gate.
When we reached there, there was no electric supply, so I realised the job might be hindered. But it didn't. I was led to the canteen to await the lorry that was ferrying a total of 10 whiteboards. While on my way there I got an insight of the school building, and the building, to me, greatly surpassed Jit Sin. If marks were awarded for the view of the schools, I would give Jit Sin a low 5 and Sin Min a high 9.
When we reached there, I was around 3pm and a basketball competition was about to begin in the school. I was not there to watch, nor was I there to participate, so I ignored it. My boss told me to wait in the canteen and guard the whiteboards while he and the Malay went in search for a teacher. I sat there for a while and then played with my handphone. Eating wasn't in my mind and I didn't know why.
Oh! Did I mention Sin Min students use a smart card? Every students, teachers and staffs in the school has a smart card that is similar to a Touch n'Go card. All you need is to top up your card, scan it, and off you go, you have your meal. Money is not needed in every buying.
I sat there for about 20 minutes when only the Malay came back, and he needed to ship several whiteboards to 2 classes that were located upstairs. I knew he couldn't handle it alone, so I ministered to him. I knew my meagre energy wasn't sufficient, but it was better than none. So I helped him carried the whiteboards and fixed them. We finished fixing 4, and that was the time my boss suddenly materialised and asked me to take a rest and have a bite. I declined, and said I was fine. I really was fine.
Then the Malay and I went surveying the classes in another block where the whiteboards needed to be fixed. The blackboards in the school were not screwed to the wall like most of the schools did. They whiteboards were hung and supported by only a few strong protruding metal blocks. Some classrooms were worse. The blackboards were not even hung, they were placed there and were actually falling down, but were prevented by two protruding/hanging metal blocks, two on the up and two down. The boards were basically left there to fall, but were prevented by tiny metal blocks that obstructed it from banging on the floor.
So we knew there were some problems. And since there was no electric supply and time was short (it was around 3.30, I conjecture), we left the problem behind momentarily, and then the boss came, telling me to go and eat again, and again, I declined.
He was worried about me because I hadn't taken my lunch. I was a bit touched because not many bosses were as kind as him, but I still declined. He continued to ask me several times, and he always wore that worried look on his face. It looked a bit funny - I know, I shouldn't think so - that he was so concerned about me, but I really wasn't hungry that time, so I continued to decline him. I guessed he asked me to eat for more than 5 times, because making people so concerned about me was unprecedented.
So the two classes with the hanging problem left us stunned for a while. The Malay and the boss tried to analyse the problem and solve it, but the situation didn't seem promising as the length of the whiteboards itself posed a huge enough problem for the fixing, exacerbated by the misshaped wood that was initially fixed to support the falling blackboard to make sure the force exerted was even.
So the Malay guy suggested a solution by screwing the whiteboards onto the wooden block manually. After several discussion, my boss gave the green light and he began. And again my boss asked me to eat.
Fixing a whiteboard really wasn't as easy as it appeared. The length itself was a problem and we adjusted it several times until it was even, and we altered the shape of the metal blocks to ensure the whiteboards fit in. After many adjustments, the whiteboards were successfully fixed, but because of the misshape wood the whiteboard was slanting. But we had no other alternatives.
So, since time was short (it was around 4.30pm) and no electric supply, we were not able to complete the task that day. So my boss and I shipped the remaining 4 whiteboards to an abandoned toilet for storage. And that was the time my boss told me something horrible about my school's past that I had no knowledge about.
After that we called it a day, and left the school around 5pm. I was a bit beat, so I dozed off in the car for about 15 minutes. My boss chatted to the Malay guy for the entire journey, just like he did to me while we were going there.
After I arrived at the office, the Malay guy went home, and my friends and David were still in STAR. My boss's wife asked me :“午餐有吃吗？", and my boss helped me answered: "chiak loti nia." and she was like huh? in a way someone had thrown her the worst news in the world.
I wasn't trying to make fun of them for being concerned about me. I liked it, actually. But it was so weird for me. No one has care about my health and well-being as they do, and since they were still strangers for me I was really touched deep in my heart. But I wasn't hungry - don't asked me why, I just wasn't famished - and told them I had got used to it, which was somehow true but I never liked the feeling of emptiness in my stomach. Sometimes, in some time of my life, I can feel my stomach is empty, but I simply am not feeling hungry.
From the next post onwards, I'll call my boss A, and my boss' wife B.
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