My Kiasu Teenage Life in Singapore by Ee Lin See Read Free Book Online Page B

Yi
    Sunday 9 February
    Dear Mei Yee
    OK, about Leo, the guy you like to hear about. He likes to go to girls and touch them when he speaks to them. He is so sissy-like, my God. He shakes his hand around and he acts like a girl.
    Sometimes I feel bad about being a gossip. Why do I gossip so much? I usually know people’s crushes and crushees before others know.
    Elizabeth mixes a lot with guys. Sometimes I feel bothered when some girls are so buddy-buddy with guys and I’m not sociable with guys. Actually, Elizabeth does treat guys only as friends but Nicole is a flirt. I saw Niles at dinner. He’s SO cute. He’s often alone. Betty said he is very individualistic. For example if everyone says something is nice, he won’t follow them or be influenced—he doesn’t follow the crowd. I like that in a guy.
    Hi, I’m back from Far East Plaza in Orchard Road. I’ve gone shopping for three consecutive days! I spent the most. Today I bought:
    1  Clip-on earnings (S$7.50)
    2  A very tight tight-skirt (S$9)
    3  Five blank cassette tapes, 90-minute ones (S$9.50)—blank tapes are so cheap here in Singapore
    I love buying things. I saw so many nice things that I wanted to buy. If only I was rich … It’s so stupid—some things are actually very cheap, I mean, the material needed to make it is very cheap but because of the packaging and the brand, they are so expensive. The stores must earn a lot. I feel like opening some classy shops when I grow up and make lots of money! I’m going to sell expensive things ’coz the more expensive it is, the more popular it is!
    All the food shops in Far East Plaza are so expensive. Jen Nee wanted to eat at one of them, but Alisa said, “Cannot, ’coz you’re with Pei Yi!” and I’d eat too much and go broke. So we found a cheaper restaurant.
    Leo is so terrible. When this guy chased him to snatch back a book, Leo said, “He raped me!” He asked Alisa, “Do you think Elizabeth is beautiful?” Alisa said yes. Leo whispered to me, “That depends on whether you’re talking about her body or her face.” Then Alisa and I (jokingly) asked Leo to leave us ’coz we don’t want to be contaminated. (He was starting to touch people.)
    I love listening to the radio, the classical channel. I’ve heard 1812, the one with cannon shots you told me about. I heard a very nice song on the radio, “Let’s Talk About Sex”. Have you ever heard it?
    You know what?! Pau Leen knows that I say Niles is cute. (I think!) According to Alisa, Pau Leen said to her, “You know, Pei Yi … she … never mind …” No wonder Pau Leen was grinning at me just now. I saw Niles again just now. SO cute!!
    Singapore’s nice in the sense that it’s so small. So if you listen to the radio or read Teenage, or read the newspapers, you’ll know the places they talk about.
    Love, Pei Yi
    Monday 10 February
    Dear Mei Yee
    I was so sleepy in school I fell asleep for a few seconds during chemistry but now I’m trying to sleep and can’t.
    The SPCA people and a very cute puppy came to give us a talk in school. The man was very funny and interesting. He said, “Don’t phone us saying a cat is knocked down by a car and when we come the cat is already flat.” We laughed and laughed. Then he asked some questions. Those who answered got a free SPCA calendar-postcard. Guess who got it? Yours truly (me), of course. It was so weird, people told me I’m so brave to go up and answer the questions for the SPCA.
    I’m going to help out in SPCA whenever I’m free. The SPCA man said, “Everyone who goes there wants to bathe dogs but the dogs can only be bathed so many times a day. First someone bathes one, then after a while, someone else comes in and wants to bathe it.”
    For an English comprehension test, I got 32.5/50—highest for my class whereas