A Short Story – We Found Love in Hopeless MRT
December 16, 2011
A Short Story – We Found Love in Hopeless MRT. (begin)
1 Andrew texted me to remind me about our meet at 6.30pm at ION.
2 I ran down the escalators believing I might be late.
3 The screen at Dhoby Ghaut says next train departing in 5 minutes. Damn.
4 Sandwiched between an Indian lady and a man in his 40s, I managed to text Andrew informing him I’ll be late.
5 He’s pissed. He’s leaving. We are not meeting after all. Fine.
6 I knew right from the beginning things won’t work out between us. Maybe it’s over now.
7 I put on Florence and the Machine. My Whatsapp to Daryl is not sending out. Poor 3G reception. I need to talk to my buddy now.
8 The train came to a halt somewhere between Somerset and Orchard.
9 I can’t text Daryl! Andrew decided to walk out of me today. WTF is happening.
10 The lights went out. Track 4 Never Let Me Go is playing. I’ve been in here for 15 minutes. What’s going on?
11 The lights came back on. Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned.
12 ‘Hey Andy, remember me?’, he said. ‘You are?’.
13 ‘Benson! 2 years ago. We were coursemate in NUS. We were from the same Law class. We spoked only once’.
14 ‘Yes I barely recall now. You were the quiet one. What are you up to now? Looking good!’
15 ‘I’m working. Lab assistance. GSK. You? Do you still club? Been awhile huh?’
16 ‘Yeah! Been 2 years! I hardly club anymore, busy with work. I’m in advertising. With Grey.’
17 People were fanning and frowning. The Indian lady squatted on the floor. She must have been tired. We started chatting.
18 I used to have an eye for Benson. He’s the sweet quiet boy. I didn’t dare to talk to him back then though. I guess we were both shy.
19 Saw him at Tantric once after my last Consumer Behaviour paper. That’s the only time we spoke. He was supposed to go for exchange the following sem.
20 Since then we never keep in touch. Not even on Facebook. He was just one of those fleeting episodes of my uni life. Forgetable.
21 Someone from the other carriage shouted and that interrupted our conversation. There was a commotion. The time showed 7.48pm.
22 Sweat trickled down my temple. My shirt was wet. Benson offered me tissues. Next thing I knew, we were walkin on the tracks.
23 He shared with me stories about his stint in Sweden. He told me he broke up with his Finnish partner 3 months ago.
24 We reached Orchard station. It was chaotic. I saw a Caucasian girl crying. Benson walked me to the gantries.
25 He had to rush to a birthday dinner. ‘You know I’m glad to bump into you today. I always remember you as that interesting one from class’.
26 That was the last thing Benson said. We said our goodbyes. I called Daryl. He’s at Tangs. I need to talk to him.
27 I remember giving Benson my number but I forgot to save his. Damn. He hasn’t text me ever since. I’m waiting. 
(end)
