Auntie may stopped to mingle, pulling Joe close by his neck – I’ve never known anyone to look so irrepressibly adorable while seemingly on the verge of tears. Dirk + Jinesh met Sheena + me for dinner after their Mandarin class. The NEA copped a cool two hundred from Nana and I EACH for narcotic dumping. Joe visited post-dinner. Sheena brought a stillborn chick from Science class for scrutiny. Jinesh had ginger tea which was a surprising bouquet of tartness. I remember laughter, catching kisses at the corners of our eyes, footsies, the familiar Newton hustle and sambal kangkong in the sublime pocket of time before the last bus leaves. Joy is such a touch-and-go affair isn’t it? A world apart from today ; stubbornly foolish, foolishly hopeful as I am, I am not used to letting go. There is a nagging feeling somewhere in my chest, somewhere off centre, slightly to the left.