Love Means ...... Part 4

As expected things did get out of hand during one of the revision sessions. Tina had sort of 'accidentally' brushed her hand against the guy's 'private part' when she was reaching out for the pillow. She had just wanted to find out how he would react and she was sure not prepared for it. He had taken her 'touch' as a signal that she wanted to do 'it' with him. He removed his top and asked her to do likewise. Tina was taken aback. She told him that she wasn't interested and prepared to leave. Thinking that she was just playing hard to get, he persisted and pushed her onto his bed. Tina panicked. Just as he climbed onto the bed, she kicked him hard at the very part that she had touched earlier. She then rushed out of the room while he crouched in pain.

Tina called Joel out as she needed to talk to somebody. She told him of the 'rape' that almost materialised. She expressed her disappointment with guys who were only interested in her body and not genuinely interested in loving her. She went on to say that she had given up hope on having another boyfriend. Joel advised her that she need not be so pessimistic as there would definitely be a guy worthy of her love. Who? She asked. Me. Joel almost said that out aloud but the word never left his mouth. Just then, Tina said that she was glad he was like a brother to her or she would have thought that he had the same motive as the other guys. Joel maintained his silence, not knowing if he should be glad or be hurt by what she said.

Tina didn't do well for her prelim but she wasn't really upset by it. She had found her new love who wasn't a boy. Joel almost fainted when she introduced her new 'boyfriend' to him. 'He' was a 'She'. A female just like Tina, only that she was a 'butch'. It seemed that Tina had chosen a 'tomboy' over a boy as she felt safer with the former who wouldn't force herself onto her. It then occurred to Joel that not only was he no match for good-looking boys, he was not even comparable to 'half a boy'. Somehow, he continued to give her his blessings, even though it was an unusual relationship, just liked he had always did as long as she was happy with her choice. Her happiness was his happiness.

It had been almost a month since Tina started her love affair with her girlfriend when she called Joel on her cellphone. She was in tears. She said that her girlfriend had dumped her for another gal. She was devastated and lamented that life was meaningless as nobody, male or female, was sincere about her. Then the line went dead. Sensing that something terrible had happened to her, Joel made a beeline for the badminton court. True enough, he found Tina lying on a bench at the court. He hurried forward and was shocked to see her foaming at her mouth. A bottle of bleach lay half emptied on the ground. He lifted her up. She was hardly breathing and opened her eyes slightly to acknowledge his presence. Joel was so brokenhearted that he blurted out what he had always wanted to tell her but didn't have the guts to. As if having finally found her true love, a serene smile appeared on Tina's face as she exhaled her last breathe. Again, Joel managed to bring her smile back liked he used to, even till the very end. To him, that was what love meant - to keep the one you loved smiling at all time.