Dollar

I remember back in secondary school where I would grab a triple scoop ice cream cone for the bus ride back.  And every trip back I thought to myself, sometimes out loud: This is by far the best RM 1 I'll ever spend.

Fast forward a few years, and I've proven myself darn wrong again.  Last Tuesday afternoon, I finished my Chemistry Lab class, the only class I had that day, in similar fashion to every other lab session: full of messed up, bombastic data calculations that seem to deviate from the actual value by the tenth power.  Very frustrating stuff.  Anyway, I had no one to accompany me for lunch so I decided to order a take-away Subway sandwich.  With my Tuna sandwich daily special drenched in mayo and barbecue (the only way how), I rushed to board the soon-to-arrive bus.

Since I have to take a transit of two buses to reach home, I didn't feel much elation to this monotonous routine. And the first bus ride to Kelana Jaya Station was as uneventful as ever, except this time we had to swap buses halfway through due to the opening of a new shopping mall (they have another bus line specifically to integrate this new stop).  I couldn't really complain about the bus-swap, as I get a small discount on bus fare.  Yet I have my half-eaten sandwich with me, as I feel bad munching on it in a bus full of hungry people.

Then I reached Kelana Jaya Station for Phase Two of my return home.  The free shuttle was abnormally late today, being 20 minutes past the designated time.  It was odd, but since there was another bus to send me home, I couldn't care more and boarded it.

Bored yet from the long, tiring intro?  Well fret not.  This is where it gets interesting.

Bus U89 arrived, which sends me right outside my residential area, which is a very big, sumptuous YES.  So I got on board.  I nestled down at the closest seat I could find (since I was that lazy), this time right behind the bus driver, which gives me a clear view of the bus doors.  A Nigerian student boarded after me and had no change to pay the bus fare, which was RM 1, but the smallest change he had was only RM 10.  Note that this is Malaysia, where bus drivers could care more about you not having the proper change, thus not really helping this dude out.  

Then my brain when into conscience overdrive, jogging all the principles my life runs by.  In this case, it was about lending a hand.  I live by the code.  Heck, I'm pursuing my studies in Biomedical Science just to help people.  In that split second, I asked myself: when was the last time YOU did something noble?  I quickly pulled out a Ringgit note from my wallet and handed it to him.  He kindly accepted it and sat next to me for the duration of the bus ride (I suppose it's out of formality).

He introduced himself as Victor, and has lived in Malaysia for 4 years.  Currently he's pursuing Nursing at Lincoln College and is in his first year.  Also in his spare time, he coaches TWO junior basketball teams, of school(s) I've forgotten.  Not just that, he's won medals with these teams.  He actually brought his CV along and showed it to me.  Upon revealing to him where I studied, he happily mentioned that he applied for the coaching role in my old school's basketball team as well.  So it was really something to hear that; it's such a small world!  His stop came up quite soon after that so we shook hands, and parted company.

The entire time walking home, I couldn't stop smiling, even chuckling on one or two occasions.  That feel-good vibe was back.  And I welcomed it like the oldest of friends.  That bus ticket, by far was the best RM 1 I have ever spent.

Will Do - TV on The Radio