:: The ‘Jeng jeng jeng’ after Maghrib

The secrets out. The Brothers bought an expensive item without the knowledge of The Parents. It was slightly amusing for me to see them ‘fearing for their lives’ as they wait for Mother to come back home with a mouthful. Duduk tak senang. Mandi macam burung. Nak kena bukak pintu gaya SWAT baru nak turun makan. [Read : Me with a store card trying to unlock the bedroom door vigorously. I couldnt find a paperclip to emulate McGyver] It was understandable. Any conflict or emotional events striking that age (usia meniti remaja) would seem like a very very big thing and as if the world is going to end anytime. I was once at that age too. We all were kan..

Gosh, the last time I remembered feeling this scared and tiny (as in kena marah dahsyat) was in the early part of 3rd year in medical school. I was battling and trying to cope with some self-esteem related issues but couldnt really get the hang of it which consequently led to a fullblown volatile mode. I stayed in my dark room during broad daylight, refuse to eat or drink, avoided human contact as much as possible, skipped ward rounds, didnt do my assignments! And since I didnt tell anybody in the undergraduate department about my problems, the consultant obviously labelled me as a black sheep. Merasalah kena sembur. Even the nurse felt sorry for me for the consultant wasnt really somebody that you want to mess with. However, as wise men say, once you’ve hit rockbottom, the only thing left to do is to climb out. Unless you want to rot in there. Which was what I did… and I felt free! That is of course another story for another day. Hehe..

The Brothers Issues

Two things;
1. Buying an expensive item which therefore invited questions like, “How did they pay for the item? How did they get their hands on it?”

2. Without parents knowledge. Begging the question, “WHY the need for secrecy?”

History repeats itself
Sis Ninci and I have been in this situation before. Only difference being, we were never caught red-handed. For curious souls out there, The Brothers deeds got out because they flaunted the item carelessly.

Sis Ninci bought a hair straightener which costs over RM100 before because she wanted hair as straight as the ones shown on models in TV. She bought it during early years of secondary school, only to be discovered after SPM. So, its like a big-girls purchase.

I didnt buy anything but I remembered wanting to buy several things but chose to not pursue them later on. Like when I was in Form One. I was one of the few freshies who were chosen to be on the schools softball team. In fact, if I may angkat bakul di sini, I was the first ever junior in my batch who was able to do the ‘slide’ in reaching the home base to gather points. However, my ‘career’ (cewah) stopped before I even got the chance to compete. And it was because of the team jersey. It costed MYR 50. My monthly allowance was MYR 80 and since it was nearing the end of the month, there wasnt enough to spare. The option to ask for an extra MYR 50 was (at the time) not really an option. It felt like a crime to ask money to ‘play’ when the bigger duty for me to be at the school was to study. So I quit the sport and apologized to my seniors saying that I allegedly couldnt cope with my studies. I can imagine what they would’ve said behind my back, ‘alah.. baru form one.. aku dgn add maths aku lagi.. ‘ ha ha ha

WHY the secrecy?
Because the 1st step of getting the thing felt so difficult. The courage to ask from our parents and give valid reasons as to why we wanted them.

Difficult because of 3 things;
1. We knew in the first place that these are things that we dont need at all. It was more like a Want. Nafsu. To follow a trend. Because its pretty. Etc. We knew that we wouldnt die if we dont own it but just had to because we want it. 
2. We felt it would be a burden to our parents. Perhaps it was too much TV/Drama seeing how anak2 meminta terlalu banyak daripada ibu bapa. Our family is far from eating snails or having our rice with only salt for now (alhamdulilah, syukur pada Allah yang memberi rezeki murah), we just think that, in our underdeveloped brain cells, since our parents love us so much, they will get it for us but in the expense of their own comfort. Or our other siblings comfort.
3. Pure takut nak bukak mulut. Ha ha ha

So how did they pay for their item?
I was told … by monthly installments to their respective seller in school.

Conclusions
1. Regardless the envisioned aftermath, it is always best to consult the parents when it involves big things according to your ages milestone. Jangan ikut jalan belakang. Lagi teruk padahnya. Its like if I buy a new phone, its less controversial as compared to my younger brothers. Because im in that age where its OK. It is OK for me to go out with my friends at cyber cafes because Im 25 but NOT that OK for them to hang out yet because they’re still in school. NOT OK scenarios for me would be like to .. say, kahwin secara senyap di sempadan. Macam tuhlah. Pahe dok?
2. Innocent siblings can only help so much. The guilty ones still need to own up. Berani buat, terpaksalah memberanikan diri untuk tanggung. Remember, is it worth being lectured for nearly an hour? With a stream of tears and swollen eyes for after? Still, cubit peha kanan, peha kiri terasa juga. Kakaknyer pun neves bila adiknya yang dua nih kena panggil ke Bilik Besar for an interrogation. Huhuhu.
3. A family can have up to 20 children but the job of parenting still goes back to the parents. From experience, younger brothers wouldnt listen to their older sisters that much unless we raise our voice like shrieking bats or do something physically – slam the door or slap a book on the table. (Nak kena ada abang ipar ke baru nak dengar? Muekekekeke)

I asked my brothers what they learnt from the experience. They said,

1. Untuk tidak berhutang.

2. Jangan banyak khayal dan mesti belajar.