Jika Kau Bercinta Lagi

It was a popular hang out place for students after school; well at least for those who loved music - yours truly included. On days when I had extra classes, I'd gobble down lunch, the usual nyonya curry laksa as fast as I could. Once done, with my two best friends, we would happily walk out the school compound, cross the busy streets, braved the blazing afternoon sun to get to Kedai Music Harmony. Our SPM exam was only months away. There were loads of revisions to get started on and a quick escapade was extremely essential (for the soul...he he) before we loath ourselves with those we-cannot-relate-to-Physics/Chemistry/Bio-topics. Arghhh...torture!!

Had it been my choice, I would be the first to sign up to be in the Arts Stream. But at that time, Arts was a big no-no! Not when the teachers saw you as the “science material”.

Anyway, I digress. Now back to my main story....the music shop.

Ten minutes - that was enough lepak time we needed before we headed back to doing the laborious exam revisions. Once we walked into the shop, Benjy – this lower six guy who manned the music console would wave friendlily at us.

My usual greetings was, “Aihh...your Mama not here ah?”

He shook his head, signaling that the coast was clear for us to be up with our routine antics. Benjy always looked timid whenever his mama was around. He would keep his distance from us if she was in sight. We later knew reasons to his inconsistent hot and cold treatment towards us. Benjy was an orphan and he was adopted by the fierce nyonya boss.

“Lagu apa? Only five minutes ah.” shouted Benjy from behind the music console.

The multisonous Mandarin number easily drowned his voice. I winked at him and shouted back, “Ahhh...yang biasa lahh.”

Dee, my friend would give me a friendly punch and meekly say this to me, “Kau kawin je lah dengan Benjy ni. Asyik nak dengar lagu tu bila datang sini, bosan aku!!”

“Ishhh ada pulak kau ni. Kau ingat dia nak "potong" ker??!!” and we burst into loud laughter afterwards. Benjy would turn at us. I suspected he knew what caused us the chuckles. But he played along, such a spot that fella was.

Sal, the shy one amongst us was already cringing at one far corner in the shop. We always said that she'd one day marry an Ustaz and live in Egypt with her trailer of kids. Sal knew us too well to take our remarks to the heart. Her usual response was, “Tak baik kau orang. Buatnya aku kawin dengan si footballer tu...hah...kau orang sure jealous kan...”

“Tak habis-habis berangan kau ni, si footballer tu dah ada girlfriend lah,” I reminded Sal each time her fancies of the neighbouring all boys school lead striker went astray.

“Dah, dah, dengar je lah lagu yang kau suruh Benjy mainkan tu. Class is starting jap lagi and we better leave before Mak dia balik from lunch jap lagi.” A stern cry came from Dee and next came David and Loga's crispy clear voice from that Bose audio system.

“Jika kau bercinta lagiiiii.........”

Ahh...Alleycatssssssss......simply awesome, awe-inspiring and heart melting – always have been and always will be.

Sent from my iPad