This Girl's life (part 2)

Sofia took the plate of nasi lemak from the table and paid the old man sitting at the counter. She looked around the crowded cafeteria for an empty spot to eat her food.

Sofia saw an empty place and quickly rushed to the spot at the end of a long table before anyone else saw it. There was someone sitting facing the empty spot. It was the girl she saw the day before.

Sofia placed the plate of ‘nasi lemak’ on the table and sat down. The girl didn’t look up. She didn’t seem to be a big eater. She only had a piece of bun and a glass of water in front of her. The plastic wrapper covering the bun was opened but the content itself didn’t seem to be touched. The girl was staring at the bun as if in a trance.

“Hello,” said Sofia brightly. The girl didn’t look up at her.

“I’m Sofia, what’s your name?” asked Sofia. The girl mumbled something but Sofia couldn’t catch what she was saying.

“Are you new here? I haven’t seen you here before?” asked Sofia stuffing a spoonful of delicious warm nasi lemak with a little fried anchovies on it.

“Not another girl. Go away, go away,” mumbled the girl but this time it was loud enough for Sofia to hear it.


“Excuse me?” asked Sofia taken a back. The girl took a deep breath and glared at Sofia. Sofia ignored the glare and smile back at the girl.

“So what school were you from before you came here?” asked Sofia. The girl was biting her lips in frustration.

“Are you blind or something?” asked the girl.

“What?”

“When a person doesn’t answer you and doesn’t seem interested in what you are saying means that person wants to be alone and does not want to be disturbed by anyone. Do you got it,” said the girl hotly. She pushed her rimmed glasses up her nose.

Sofia felt her face turned red. She was just trying to be friendly.

“Soooorrry I was just trying to be polite,” said Sofia sarcastically. She mixed her rice with the spicy red chilli sauce roughly and put a spoonful of it into her mouth forgetting that she couldn’t stand a large amount of red hot chili. The cafeteria’s nasi lemak was well known for its hot chilli sauce. Sofia munched the food angrily, staring at the girl in front of her with such distaste. She had barely swallowed the food when she felt a burning sensation in her mouth. At first the burning sensation lingered at her throat and then it spread to her tongue and then it was at the roof of her mouth. Sofia felt like her mouth was on fire. She opened her mouth to let the heat out and tried coughing to reduce the burning sensation and let fresh air go into her mouth but she could only make a choking sound. Sofia could feel her face turning red and her eyes were beginning to water.

The girl in front of her heard the choking sound and looked up. She was startled to see Sofia’s face turning bright red, her eyes swollen red. Tears seemed to gush out of her eyes. Her condition was quite alarming.

“Are you alright?” asked the girl concerned.

“Water….Water” gasped Sofia and grabbed the glass of water in front of the girl and before the girl could stop her, Sofia drank down the water before spluttering it out right onto the girl’s face. COKE!It was COKE!


The carbonated drink didn’t help to ease the burning in her mouth but only increase the pain. Tears were coming out of her eyes non stop. Sofia could feel the stares and smirks of the other students in the cafeteria. Sofia quickly got up and rushed out of the cafeteria and blindly searched for the nearest toilet.

The girl sitting in front her got up and hurriedly followed Sofia. She grabbed hold of Sofia’s arm and guided her to the girls’ toilet near the cafeteria.

Sofia rushed to the sink and turned on the pipe. A gush of cold water came out. Sofia bent down and opened her mouth below the pipe letting the water enter her mouth, soothing the painful burning feeling that surrounded her mouth and every inch of her taste buds. She closed her mouth and let the water linger inside before she gargled and spit the water out. Sofia leaned on the sink with her elbows and started coughing. Her throat was hurting and her mouth even though less painfully than before was still burning. She coughed and coughed. Sofia could feel someone patting her back gently. When the coughing stopped, Sofia stood up and washed her face. She looked at the girl standing beside her.

The girl had a strange expression on her face. Her mouth was twitching and her eyes were glisten with tears. She turned her head away so that Sofia wouldn’t see her expression but Sofia could see through her reflection in the mirror above the sink that the girl was trying her hardest to stifle a laugh.

“What?” asked Sofia angrily. The girl pointed at the mirror. Sofia looked at it and saw her own reflection. She looked terrible..

Her eyes were swollen red, her nose was red and even her lips were bright red. She looked like she had been crying for a week and her hair was messed up.

Sofia smiled, she did look ridiculous. She looked at the girl and laughed. Her glasses and the front of her ‘baju kurung’ above the chest were splattered with coke. The girl grinned and took of her rimmed glasses and wiped it with tissue.

“Remind me not to invite you to eat spicy food. Your bad at it,” said the girl smiling, showing of her dimples. Sofia grinned and nodded in return.

The two of them went out of the toilet.

“Here,” said the girl holding out the uneaten bun Sofia saw at the cafeteria. Sofia hesitated to take it.

“Don’t worry, the fillings are made of sweet red beans. It will help to neutralize the spicy taste in you mouth,” said the girl.

“Thanks.”

“Ana.”

“Huh?” asked Sofia confused.

“That’s my name Ana. Form 3 Abu Bakar” said the girl and walked off to her classroom.

Sofia looked at the bun and at the girl. She smiled and bit into the soft bread. She was still smiling when she went into her class.

That was the start of their friendship. From that day onwards during break time Ana would save a spot at the table for Sofia. They would even wait for the bus together. But neither of them knew where the other one lived nor did they talked about their personal lives at home.


Why should they talk about it, as long as it didn’t affect them none of it mattered……….