'Falter An Apology, Falter A Praise'

I only took the bus today after getting myself a dinner set almost beside the main road. A makeshift stall, with plastic tables (and chairs) stretched along the walls of an old derelict building. Fluorescent lights bright, powered by used car batteries. A spare battery below the food-table, in case one's used up.

The drain about five, six feet away.

And beyond it, the pavement (and then, the main road), where occasional passersby would stare (as they made their way to some Chinese restaurant some blocks away) at the patrons of the stall (tonight it was just me).

The waiter stood in front of the food-table, in front of the various kueh, the two types of nasi lemak (ikan bilis telur and ikan), the small dishes, cutlery and scrutinized the whole collective scene for a while and turned, almost immediately away, towards the grey and dark road.

A bus stopped beside, and without leaving his seat, the driver shouted out his order to go.

And after two packets of nasi lemak ikan bilis telur, two types of Indian kueh and a tall glass of teh tarik, I made my way to the stands, ran after seeing a bus almost leaving (it stopped at the junction, and was waiting for the droves and droves of traffic to pass), waved to the driver to indicate my desire to board and got on just as the road cleared, paid my one twenty and stated my destination, and took my seat next to the doorway (open, it let the more-than-welcomed fresh night air in) in the middle, for the heap was without air-conditioning.

As the bus went pass a school, I saw the man guarding it. Old and seated in a chair almost in the middle of the dark verandah, staring towards the road or sky. Still and waiting for some world of his to begin, change or perhaps, end.

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Today an announcement was made concerning the reallocation of staff. It will begin in mid-July. My immediate superior will be going first, for three months. We've yet to decide who's to be next, after (though one of my colleagues seems to be very eager).

( _")