Behind a Mask of Isolation There Lies a Boy Deep in Confusion Just Like an Actor He Portrays Many Different Characters In a Story Yet to Be Told With Only The Beginning Starting to Unfold His Ending is Yet to be Known

I have recently discovered the music of Fiona Apple. There is a certain novelty to the sound of her music that captivated me when I first heard her single, "O’ Sailor" from the album Extraordinary Machine. After that particular song, I went back in time and discovered "Criminal" from her debut record Tidal. Later in the evening on the same day, I was amazed by the composition of her song "Fast As You Can" from her sophomore effort, When the Pawn Hits the Conflicts He Thinks like a King What He Knows Throws the Blows When He Goes to the Fight and He’ll Win the Whole Thing Fore He Enters the Ring There’s No Body to Batter When Your Mind Is Your Might So When You Go Solo. You Hold Your Own Hand and Remember That Depth Is the Greatest of Heights and If You Know Where You Stand. Then You’ll Know Where to Land and If You Fall It Won’t Matter, Cuz You Know That You’re Right.

The words of her lyrics are so intense and the arrangement of the songs are just plain amazing. The beauty of this American singer-songwriter is her charming persona which is her eccentricity and her talent lies in her songs that knows no boundaries and is just plain different. Fiona Apple’s songs are my escape right now from all those mainstream stuff and I am planning to get tangled up in her music for some time.

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The Mid-Year exams just concluded yesterday with Biology Paper 1 as the final paper. One would probably have at least a 10 minutes breather after the exams. Not for me though. I get on to working out the final touches for the ELS logo and after that I was searching through the whole school looking for the teacher advisor of the ELS. When I did find her, she wasn’t happy with the final result and called me to colour the whole thing and leave no trace of dullness. That left me with the thought that she is a psychedelic colour addict since the secretary of the other societies only have to label the respective colour of their society’s logo.

While the logo was being coloured, I was called by Pn. K and she told me that my whole entire Physics PEKA file had went missing. That made me go ballistic. I put up my best polite conduct before I left the room and stormed through the school compound to the Physics lab. A dark looming cloud was hanging above my head that time and I was so angry. I was so sad. I was so frustrated. In other words, for the next half an hour, I was totally out of my mind. So happened, I saw a few "Tight Pants Troopers" on my way to Physics lab and what better way to project my wrath? I shouted at the top of my lungs and called them to enter the class since it is not recess yet. That drained my anger but filled my conscience. Oh well, I’m just human. But honestly, that was very wrong of me to do that and please, please, please don’t follow my act.

After searching through all the dusty boxes at the Physics lab, I found my file. My frustration and despair were drained out immediately but were almost immediately replaced by humiliation. There I was covered all in dust and my hair was all messed up and my shirt was coming out and I was panting and sweating. I was a wreck. A human wreck with a hell of a lot of emotions going through my mind. I stood there in the empty lab wishing so hard that I could just scream my lungs out or smash something. In other words, I had been the wreck of the day and I have completely lost my mind.

Went down for prefect’s meeting later on only to be hearing the pre-recorded "music" that been playing for hmm…let’s see…since two years ago when a not-so-magnificent-but-still-amazing tree was chopped down and another two variant species was vainly attached to the remains of the original tree in an act to produce the fruits of the original scent and taste.

Half an hour later, I was running to the teacher’s room to hand the newly enhanced and colourful logo to the teacher advisor and guess what? I was bestowed with another task…lucky me. Should I be thanking Zeus or the Chinese God of Luck? She called me to go get the VP of ELS.

*Play*

I went through the whole school looking for the VP (Why can’t people stay in their respective classes? No offence W.L., you know I admire your authorotive quality as the ELS VP) looking like a partial if not complete wreck by now.

*Fast-Forward*

Found the VP. Brought him to the respective teacher.

*Play*

"I want both of you to stay back today to clean the Language Lab"

"Why not we all choose a day to clean it up together with all the other members?"

"No, no. I only want the AJKs to do it. AJK get more points, they should be doing more work"

What?! Are all those paper work in the society file senseless scribblings about Barney and his morally uplifting tea party with a bunch of always-smiling-don’t-their-mouth-hurts?-kids?!

"But I’m afraid I can’t make it, teacher. I’m going off to Penang during the holidays."

"After the holidays then"

"I have tuition teacher"

Translation- I have one of the most important examination a student have to take in his entire whole life and I am planning to get good grades and get accepted to a good local university. I don’t have time to fiddle around with brooms and dust!

"If any AJK don’t help out, I will deduct their points."

Silent.

And I smiled. And I was polite. And I was being this superficial figure with this whole persona of a good boy. And I said:

"OK teacher. I will discuss with VP after this"

After all that I’ve done. Typing out a hundred names on the club’s member’s list and only having less than half of those names on the list show up for the meeting every week! I hardly missed any meeting. Heck, I even make it to a meeting after I just had two of my teeth extracted. After all those, darn, freaking stuffs I’ve done and all those bull I have to go through. My marks will be deducted if I don’t come to one freaking meeting where I have to clean up the freaking Language Lab? Seriously?!

Raindrops keep falling on my whatever that day. Hold on, the storm came after that when the time of the Editorial meeting was changed and I was left in the dark about it. Seriously? Seriously? SERIOUSLY?!!

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The school’s Teacher’s Day celebration was held today. All the prefects had to work their butts off to make the events a success. What did we get? Oh…don’t worry I have nothing to complain here. Before the dearest headmistress concluded her speech, of course she thanked all those who planned the event.

"Terima kasih kepada semua murid yang merancangkan sambutan pada hari ini"

Translation: "Thanks to all the students who planned out today’s event"

What is there to complain about. Prefect are also students. Don’t worry..just because we are wearing a blue shirt, that doesn’t mean that we are not students. Some of my prefect’s friends really take their time out to planned all the performances and games and decorations and ceremony conduct and I’m sure adding the word "Prefects" is not necessary.

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I’m not here to let you down. But the costume makes the clown. It’s just life’s anatomy. Please don’t take it so hard. I’m not here to please you and neither am I here to offend you. If you are in some way or somehow offended by what that I just wrote…let me just include this before a storm is brewed up by just a speckle of mist.

P.S: Fictional.