Hey, it's me again. Before you jump into the short story, let me tell you how this story happened to be written. My bestie's sister was asked by her lecturer to write a short story about someone and she had no idea who she should be writing about. Then my best friend suggested her to write about me. My friends including my besties, family, they always think I am unique, rare, weird, eccentric, you name it. I always laugh it off but sometimes those names make me ponder. Some would call me that to highlight that I am different compared to others and some would call me that in a demeaning way, some will do it in another way round. Whatever it is, I acknowledge I do feel different which always makes me feel out of the place most of the times. After all, enjoy this short story!
This
is a story about Aina, the most hardworking girl I know. For those who did not
know her might think she is arrogant, miss know-it-all, the nerdiest girl.
However, her friends and families describes her as…being her. Well, as the
older sister her best friend, I would say she is quite eccentric. Truly, I have
never met someone like her. How do we know each other? My younger sister is her
best friend so she often came home to meet her. So, I ended up became her
friend. When we first talk, she insisted on calling me ‘Kak’ even though we are
only one year apart. She thought that calling me by my name alone is very rude.
She is someone who loves reading non-fiction works. Unlike me who loves fantasy
genre books, she hated it. She said that one cannot gain knowledge by simply
reading fictions. I thought she was weird. I mean, who would not enjoy some
good mysteries or magic? Everyone did! She even finished reading medical
related books before her sister who taken the course in university even touched
it. She would dedicate her free time reading books even during vacations. When
we went to Lego Land in Johor Bharu, she would not let go of her books. She
would sit somewhere, reading while me my sister hopped on a roller coaster.
Other people would think that she is always studying and reading. People would
tell her to be a normal person and just have fun like everyone else but she did
have fun…with reading.
She
also likes to do almost everything traditionally. She loves making postcards
and sending email instead of chatting in WhatsApp application or using social
medias. In fact, she seldom touches her phone, unless when she need to make a
call or…online classes, which she hated by the way. In her phone, she only has
10 contacts. Although her knowledge is really broad, she did not know how to
socialize with people especially with the opposite gender. She did not usually talk
with men but if she did, she would tremble unknowingly. Not only with men, she
would avoid eye contacts when talking to other people too. This is what makes
people dislike her. They thought she’s arrogant and disregard others by not
looking at them directly. Trying to talk to her about it is useless because she
would not admit it. According to her, a good social life cannot determine a
person’s success and being knowledgeable is also a form of socializing. Reading
about cultures makes her feel like she experiences it herself and she’s content
with it. Another eccentric thing about her is that she hated surprises. Even on
my birthday, she would email me the picture of my gift that I would be
receiving soon as she was on her way. That was really weird. She would also
give herself a present every year before her birthday. She would collect her
favourite blog entries and compiled it in her scrapbook. Despite her rather
unique character, she is very insightful. People would often go to her to talk
about their problems and she would give her honest opinion and advices without
any bias and she would not sugar coat her words. Sometimes, the truth hurts but
that is exactly what we all need, isn’t it?
