FOR THE LOVE OF PENNY Part 1.
Seng Chai hated the school he had gone to. He always held it responsible for all his misfortunes. He had been forced to take Physics. A subject he hated intensely. He went to see the principal to ask if he could switch to Health Science and was shouted at.
Finally he had taken Physics and got an F9. And that had pulled his grades down and put paid to any ideas he had of going to a Junior College.
And then again it was a boys school. He saw boys during class, boys during recess, boys during ECA. Boys, boys and more boys. It was all right to mix with boys (in fact they had a pleasant time behind the canteen exchanging dirty jokes) but it came with a handicap. He was shy of girls He would stammer every time he faced a girl He was filled with envy and admiration for most of the other boys in the neighbourhood. Not only did they speak fluently with girls- a few of them actually held hands and went out on dates!
Out in the job market he had the same problems. His certificate wasn’t the best in the world and it took him nearly a year and a half before he got a job in Jurong. A great distance away from Katong but he took it. As he saw it, " beggars can’t be choosers. "
A month .later, he got another shock. His direct service to work had been terminated. He had to drop at Jurong. Interchange to change buses. It meant an increase in fares and unsettling changes in schedules.
And then he met Penny
It was at the Interchange early one morning. She was a slim girl, her hair tossed behind in a carefree manner (like Farrah Fawcett, he felt). She was wearing a beautiful blue floral dress and bright blue beads around her neck. There was an air of homeliness about her that attracted him to her. That and her friend’s loud voice. "Ai-ya Penny, we cannot afford to be late today. The new ship is coming in."
Seng Chai felt he knew her. At least, without knowing her.
She worked in a shipyard.
Penny Lim? Penny Chua? Penny Tan? He could merely speculate on the possibilities. Where and how did she live? How many brothers and sisters did she have? These questions kept Seng Chai from settling down to work. After the tea break he realized that time had flown and he hadn't done much. There were still.24 forms to fill and two payment vouchers undone.
The next few days he made it a point to take the first bus out. He wanted to know which bus Penny took to the Interchange and the one out ( It wasn’t difficult. He saw her the very next day. It was service 198.
That was a start. She lived somewhere along the route.