The face of the young Malay girl at the toll booth lit up as the car window rolled down. To say she was doll-faced would be an understatement. The sign outside the booth read:
Jurutol Anda: Aisyah.
“Hai Aisyah,” Mike grinned cheekily as he passed her the magnetic striped ticket.
She blushed, smiling from ear to ear. Her skin was so fair and flawless you would expect to see her in a Sendayu Tinggi advertisement, not a PLUS tollbooth. She proceeded to process the ticket in the computer.
“Senyum you manis la,” Mike said as he handed over the money. The two other guys in the car were dead silent. Mike enjoyed doing idiotic things like that because he liked to see people’s reactions.
But everyone else just thought Mike did idiotic things like that because he was an idiot.
Aisyah giggled the most demure little laugh, face half covered by her tudung. She keyed in the amount and the metal bar in front of the car went up. She tried hard to stifle her almost perfect smile, but she couldn’t.
“Thank you, Aisyah.” Mike sang as he put the white Proton Saga into gear and drove off. Still not a word from either of his passengers. It had been a long drive.
Nik Amir stared blankly out the passenger side window. Shazni Hafizi in the back had his Alien Workshop cap pulled low over his face. Mike knew better than to force his way out of an awkward silence.
Sometimes Mike hated himself for being 22 and still boyish, unclear of where his life was going. Most people at 22 are already set on their life path and taking strides. An insurance agent Mike used to date was now a manager and earned a five-digit monthly salary. His cousin in the navy was currently the navigation officer of a Laksamana class warship. And now, Nik was getting engaged to the girl of his dreams, ready to start a family of his own.
The journey to Nik’s house would be another half hour. And Mike needed a break, not just from the driving, but from the sudden block of ice that seemed to have formed between the three of them. He spotted a stall by the road, where an old lady was frying kuih while her husband made drinks.
“Bros,” Mike had to be the one to break the silence after all. “Kita berenti sat, pekena Nescafe tarik ngan cekodok.”
The words hung there in the air, waiting to be acknowledged. Mike pulled up at the stall.
Nik was the first to get out, and shut his door with a loud ‘ka-thunk’. Yes, I know, ‘ka-thunk’ – it’s a Proton, what do you expect?
Mike figured the guy must have had a lot going through his mind. After all, tomorrow would be the day he would promise a girl and her parents that he would take care of her for the rest of his life.
As Mike got down and stretched his legs, Shazni Hafizi shoved him hard.
“Weih,” Fizi hissed between clenched teeth. “Ngko giler aper?”
“Apahal?” Mike asked, puzzled.
“The girl at the toll.” Fizi said.
“Aisyah?” Mike recalled. “Apahal ngan dia?”
“Bukan ko dah pernah tengok muka dia kat Friendster ker?” Mike froze. “That’s the girl Nik is getting engaged to la!…Bodoh!”
If Mike could have laid his head down on the road and driven the car over it at the same time, he would have.
