ONCE OLD FRIENDS, NOW FAMILY (THEY LOOKED AT EACH OTHER AND SMILED MEANINGFULLY)

Question : 2011 SPM English Paper 1 (Continuous Writing), Question No.4

ONCE OLD FRIENDS, NOW FAMILY

         Robert and Rebecca were initially very close friends ever since they were little kids. However, it was the destiny for both of them to become more than just friends, as they eventually became family. Their friendship began when they started their preschool education in the St  Andrew’s Kindergarten. When their preschool education ended, their friendship continued even when they went to separate schools as they attended the same church. By the time they reached the age of 16, they even attended the same tuition classes for subjects like Additional Mathematics, and Chemistry. Indeed their relationship was close and the broad smiles of Robert and Rebecca were always seen whenever they saw each other. They were like birds of a feather.

          So much time passed since they first met, and their relationship was still as strong as how it was many years ago. Sometime after the SPM examinations ended, Robert and Rebecca, like any other teenager of their age, spent their holidays by doing the activities they could not do before. For Robert, he formed a band with some of his old classmates. Interestingly, Rebecca seemed to show a lot of support for Robert’s idea as she made her presence for any of his band’s performances. Robert was fascinated by Rebecca because he did not expect a girl to show interest for bands. On a certain occasion when Robert’s band performed for a birthday party, Robert grabbed his old electric guitar and sang the song ‘Summer of 69’ by Bryan Adams which amazed Rebecca for he had a very husky voice.

  

          “Hey Robert, may I ask you a question about your school?” asked a curious Rebecca. “Go on ahead,” answered Robert with a cheerful face. “Is it true your school accepts girls to study in the sixth form?” asked Rebecca. “Yes, that’s true,” replied Robert. “Great! See you there in a week,” Rebecca said quickly even before Robert could continue his sentence. It was that moment Robert realised she was really going to study in his school. The two years of form six for Robert and Rebecca were filled with ups and downs. Both students were very committed towards their subjects such as Biology and Chemistry. While Robert preferred dissecting rats and frogs, Rebecca was very fond of producing hydrogen gas from zinc and hydrochloric acid. Although they have slightly different interests, they still loved their studies in the classes of L6Sc2 and U6Sc2. 

          Surprisingly, Robert and Rebecca were enrolled into the same university by their parents. To Rebecca, the situation seemed like a coincidence but to Robert, it was more than that. They were the cream of the crop of their batch because of their useful combination of intelligence, patience, kindness and respect for others. Though they were extremely busy in university, they could still find some time to communicate, even if it was for only a mere few minutes. Their routines were filled with lectures, projects, and assignments with very little time for leisure activities. Robert and Rebecca not only cooperated well when carrying out simulated surgeries, but also showed a lot of care for each other. For Rebecca, she began to show some affection for Robert during these stressful years.

            After the long years of studying medicine, Robert and Rebecca finally earned their MBBS certificates. They were officially called doctors and their first work place was the Permaisuri Bainun Hospital. Patient after patient, surgery after surgery, and report after report, they managed to pull through them. They were as busy as bees, no time for long breaks, watching television and relaxing, as their lives were all about work. However, they were always happy with their jobs and showed very little dissapointment towards their careers. Staying positive was not a big problem for them. 

          A few months after they were transferred to this hospital, Robert secretly planned a dinner for himself and Rebecca. On a fine Saturday night, the two of them went to a fancy Italian restaurant for the special dinner. A violinist came to their table to play some soothing music while Robert thought of the right words to say to Rebecca. So, he stated that he was always thankful for the friendship he had with her, and that he was ready to make her his wife. Rebecca was in tears of joy to hear that from Robert. They looked at each other and smiled meaningfully. 

I don't always write love stories, but when I do, it's usually quite bad. So here's a song by guitarist Bryan Adams to cheer you up from feeling dull after reading it.

If you read the story, you could see that I mentioned the song's title in paragraph 2.