The Running Man

He: "You don't mind I ask you something personal..."

I: (Oh god... here we go... hang on in there... just five more minutes to homeground... must... resist... jumping... out... of... moving... cab...)

Exhausted as I was - having slept only three hours the night before, woke up at six, attended a full day of lectures while trying to keep my head from crashing to the table - I found myself laughing and kidding around easily during class tonight, joining the self-proclaimed I'm-an-Unusual-Guy (okayyy...) in his wisecracks. After the last class when the instructor's eyeballs spent too much time rolling my way, I spent most of tonight avoiding them, while gazing at (even if he were, very likely, swinging from a different tree) and exchanging laughs with Unusual Guy instead. I find him most... amusing. Guess I did not expect something that comes with big brown long-lashed eyes, nice wrapping and myriad trimmings - on land and, especially, in water (snicker) - to have a sense of humour, and a very quirky one at that. Though, the unwrapped version is not too bad either - rated six pecs, I mean stars. Heh. Heh. Heh.

For some reason, the instructor was irritated and waspish whenever Unusual Guy contributed to the lecture (a topic that the latter was well-acquainted with because of his profession) even though we were all expected to participate anyway by reading up in advance, or made a funny remark which often made me laugh out loud.

After class, while I was trying to flag a cab home, the one-star rated instructor came bouncing (yes, bounCing) from about 100m away and calling out to me, determined to share a cab home, having found out earlier that we lived in neighbouring estates, among other personal information like my weight and plans for the weekend - "Why cannot attend class this Sunday? Must be got hot date, right?" He stopped prying after I gave him a very long, very hard, and very dirty look, of the variety that would make him sweat for all the wrong reasons.

When we got into the cab, he said he would drop off at MY block (okayyy...) because he was going to have supper at a particular coffeeshop in the vicinity. I wondered if he knew that the coffeeshop was just another five minutes away - if he had continued the cab ride; the alternative would be a 20-minute walk at least. I figured he did know, so I left things unsaid.

During the ride home, my mood remained buoyant, which was amazing considering the circumstances. I remembered talking and laughing through my sleep haze, even as I was aware of this other part of me in the background, quietly assessing my fellow passenger's questions and intentions. Do you know what car Unusual Guy drives? (How loaded is he?) Do you know I am one of the school's pioneers? (Swagger. Flex. Pose.) May I suggest you take a refresher to brush up your basic skills? (And guess who will be conducting the refresher?) As we were almost at my place, he went in for the kill and made a disparaging comment about Unusual Guy. Ah, sou desu.

I guess men and women are not that much different, eh?

Thankfully, "something personal" turned out to be something else that was not-that-personal.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I wonder how much "a sharp knife inna back" would cost. When the looming reality begins to sink in tomorrow morning, and panic sinks its claws into me, I might just have to barter my long holiday over Christmas and New Year's Day in Sipadan. Takers?