A Life Less Ordinary

4 days ago....

I couldn't take my eyes off from this girl, who looked suspiciously like a Chinese. It was a relieve, like a wind after a hot day. Working at my restuarant was like working in a muslim environment as most of my colleagues were either Malays, Indonesians, Fillipinos or Nepalese. But on the 2nd day of Febuary 2007, my life took an instant turn, when an 18 year old China girl came up to greet me...

It was in the early morning at 9:20AM when I reach my workplace. Late again as usual, thanks to the traffic. Just like everyday, I began work feeling lethargic. I actually disliked this place, for there was barely much reasons for me to stay, but everyday I fought those thoughts, knowing if I gave in, I would be a loser, a disgrace to Singaporeans for being a quiter and a quiter I am certainly not. I believe a man sometime has to put himself in places he doesn't necessarily like in order to survive. I had been offered jobs with both better pay at more comfortable paces before, but I turned them all down. Well, not that I'm really great, but anyone should know that convenience comes with a price.

So anyway, the usual routine began, getting the supplies out from the chiller every morning, transferring the soups to new pots for heating up, then simply turning on the stove. At that very moment, just as I walk back to my prep station from the front kitchen, I spotted an unfamiliar figure. Must be a new colleague, I thought, as we have temps coming in from few parts of South East Asia. She looked like a Chinese but yet she had slightly dark skin which meant she could possibly be a Filipino or Indonesian, or at best a Singporean chinese. So for the rest of the morning, I began to guess her nationality and observing her whenever she passed by. I was simply curious. It wasn't until early afternoon at around 11.15AM when I again checked back on the soup pots to get them ready for the day. Meanwhile, Marichu, my Filipino colleague along with the new girl tagging behind, came up to me and with a joyous tone, annouced to the new girl, "He's also chinese!"

Long hair with very gentle features that was distinctively different from a Singaporean, the girl immediately introduced herself as Lily, flashing a smile that said she had finally found a friend, a race of her own. We were both chinese after all. Awkwardly, I shook her right hand with my left, having stained my hand with gravy from setting the soup pots. At that very instant, I too felt a connection to her. I could foresee that we would get along quite well, or at least I would like to think so.

We did not talk much afterwards, until one day later in the late afternoon when I found her snuggling in a corner wearing a sweater. She was probably not used to the air-con environment. I walked towards her, sat down and said in mandarin with a slight tinge of accent, "Is it cold? Why don't we go out for a stroll?".

Lily shook her head, "I think I'd pass, I'm simply too lazy to change into another set of clothes and besides I don't know this place well."

"Well I think you'd feel warmer going out for fresh air, it much better than staying here." I said, assuring her I meant well. "In fact, I'd show you around if you'd allow me to."

"Alright then, please allow me to change into something more comfortable." Lily gave me a very friendly smile, and ran off to the washroom.

A little later on, after much avoiding my fellow colleagues (for the sake of preventing unwanted workplace gossips), we met outside the restuarant and I walked her around the area nearby our workplace. I was thrilled, for once, I'm showing a China friend the tourist hotspots in Singapore. I had never felt more proud about my country than now, especially after watching an episode of Singapore History on Discovery Channel. We got along well that late afternoon, and from then on whenever we passed by each other during work, we would exchange glances and smiles. It was probably noticeable, because my manager Kenneth eventually got wind of our relationship with each other within an evening.

"Hey Max, can go and get your girlfriend. Lily to do the rollups? She's new lah! Cannot cope with crowd." My manager waved for me to get over, giving me a cheeky grin.

2 days ago..

On a Sunday morning, during my off day, a phone call woke me up. It was from an unknown number and I called back reluctantly, wanting to go back to sleep. "Max speaking, may I know who called?"

It was Suhaimi, one of my shift managers. "Suhaimi here arh, eh Max arh can you work today? We need help arh, can work afternoon and evening?" "Priority is at night lah, if you want can work at 6 lah I don't mind, up to you."

I sort of thought for a while, wondering if I should go back to work, "mm.. I'd call you back in an hour's time lah alright?"

"Kay lah then you call me back in an hour. Thanks arh, bye!"

I sighed. For the second time, they needed me back at work. It all began when they sought after me for my experience as a waiter, and ever since, they would put me at the fronthouse as waiter every now and then, even though I felt I actually sucked at it. Not that I disliked customer service, but I just wasn't too familiar with their menu and practice. Things were quite different compared to my previous experiences.

After much nagging from my mother to call them back, I finally picked up the phone an hour later, and that evening, I found myself back at work. When as I arrived, I realised something was amissed, or at least someone was not around. Lily wasn't around, and that was odd. Just as I began to wonder what happened, Eric, the gay colleague walked over. "Eh Max, I got bad news for you. Lily today MC you know? She wouldn't be coming back until after Chinese New Year also."

Hearing that, my heart sank like the Titanic. I was actually expecting to work alongside Lily, as she had overnight became my motivation. "Maxxxx!! What you do? You make Lily MC issit? You two yesterday night go where?" Zaki, one of my other colleague asked, with a semblance to one of the grannies in Fran Drescher's The Nanny.

"Siao arh? Where got so fast make her MC one? Wah lau you think I what?" I joked, trying to disguise my disappointment. That night, I was really low and I could hardly concentrate, all the while worried about Lily's wellbeing. I just had this unexplainable urge to call her up, but I did not have her number and that almost drove me over the edge. Convinced by my fellow colleagues to get her number, I sworn to myself that I would ask her for her contact number the next week I see her.

Little did I know another day later, things would change once again, and it was almost dramatic.....

1 day later -

I arrived at work, anxious. Looking at the schedule, I assumed she would actually be back but as I stepped out of the kitchen towards the lobby, Eric annouced, "Eh Max, I have good news and bad news for you, you want to know a not?" K*n*n*! I thought to myself, idiots trying to add insult to injury. I looked away, pretending to be uninterested. "I tell you lah, Lily not working already. Maybe after Chinese New Year then she come back."

Hearing that, my heart sank, this time like a runaway rollercoaster about to plunge to it death. Her exit was sudden that I realised I would not have a second chance to talk to her.

Then, by a twist of fate on the same day, Lily dropped by the restuarant to look for me. At that time however, I had already gone out for lunch, with no knowledge of her visitation until I returned to the restuarant. It was Iman, a very young handsome Malay waiter who while during our conversation dropped the news to me. "Eh you know Lily just now come look for you?"

"Ha - Ha - Ha. Very funny." I said, sensing another dumb joke.

Iman's expression immediately changed, from a jovious smile to a serious stare, catching me off guard. "Eh, brudder, serious arh?" I asked.

"Your name is Mingxin right?" Iman asked in a curious tone.

"Yeah.. that's my chinese name." I replied.

Iman then attempted to narrate whatever happened during that short period of her presence, "Just now you lah dunnoe go where, she come look for you ask me, 'Is Mingxin around?' then I dunno mah so I ask her, you mean Max huh?" "Then she say 'yah I think so', after that look for you, you not around so go to the back, but you not around also."

Thrilled, I asked Iman what she said, but it was obvious that he couldn't catch half a word what Lily had told him, but whatever bit he said he could catch, was both worrying and relieving to me. "She ask you to 'take care', or something like that". Soon, I was grinning from ear to ear, blushing and giggling like a fool who had just fallen in love. Iman looked at me, smiling, "you like her huh issit?? Can see you blushing already!". Laughing, he had noticed my reaction. I had become infatuated with this China girl and it was written all over my face.

While working, I would even talk about her with another colleague ( since rumours of my relation to Lily had already been spread throughout the workplace anyway). I was skeptical about the possibility of a long distance relationship, and Padil assured me that long distance relationships could be better than short ones, claiming that absence makes the heart grow fond. "Every 6 months or so, I'd go Philippine to see my girlfriend you know?"

The next day, Eric again annouced another news. This time, Lily would not be coming back for the next few weeks. Upset, I finally made up my mind to get her number, by hook or by crook. I just had to try, or regret the rest of my life. I had already lost an opportunity in the past and I had learnt my lesson so I mustered all my courage and quickly approached Kenneth the moment he passed by. "Eh boss boss, ermmmm.. er... you know arh? I heard Lily not working already.."

Kenneth, looking unamused, related her situation to me and after much talking, I finally broke the question, "ermm... ehh.. do you... ahem! Have her number in the employee records?"

"Orhhh, you want her number huh? Can lah, but friend friend lah, don't later huh her mother call us complain, 'how come we go and harass her'." Kenneth then took out his phone and simply flashed her number on the tiny console.

"Oh yes. Definitely definitely, thanks arh boss!" I chirped.

From that night on, Lily and I grew closer..