Hosea blinked.

It was not the first time that they had done it, but to do it so...unwittingly was beyond his comprehension.

There he was at the food table, having the time of his life wolfing down chicken wings and creamy potatoes, suddenly he realised it.

Everyone was talking. Not about something, but about someone.

And it was nothing good too. They were making fun of Dan. He had no qualms about it, but the thing was that they were laughing at his so-called growth pains. Also, Dan wasn't at the party anyway.

He stared at the bunch of them, some of them people he knew "rather well". Cedric and his brother, Candice and her younger sister, and couple of others he couldn't place.

Then a realization came over him: who was he to judge?

It wasn't as if he hadn't done it before. But it somehow felt wrong, as if he somehow knew how subtly it could harm someone. He shook his head and decided that it was just a whim.

Then he remembered. It had been done to him before. Hosea shook his head. No matter, he thought, its something everyone does...

Still he could not shake that uncomfortable feeling that hung on his neck, the fact that he should do something about it. Yet his courage failed him, and even though memories of his own folly in the past gave him respite, he knew that nothing would happen.

Or something could.

Hosea put down his half-finished chicken wing, and stared into space, his appetite somehow lost. Then Candice approached him, and beamed.

"You've been hanging around the table for so long! And it's like you're," She then made the motions of voracious eating, and she laughed.

Hosea looked at her for a second, and in his mind wondered, Did you do that to me too?. But all he did was to smile and shrug.

Candice laughed, and returned to the gossiping crowd. He stared at her retreating back, and shook his head in resignation.

No Hosea. You're no saint yourself. Forget it and just don't join in the "fun" He thought to himself bitterly.

But a thought in his consciousness floated up; a quote from a famous man from a long time ago:

"It takes only good men to stand aside and do nothing for evil to flourish."

***********

Hello people.

It's my birthday.

Lol. AT least it says so on my blog list.

Started writing this on Xmas day, and finished it, what, 3rd of Jan? That's retarded.

Must remember to write more.

Shoutouts to those who actually remembered to wish me a happy birthday...at least I'm not invisible then.

Yeeha. Sis bought for me Sims 2 and really cool laptop mouse that could be a counterpart of Shiying's handphone; it changes from a colour of the rainbow to another.

Geez. Phantom of the Opera was BEAUTIFUl. Waaah. The casting was badd tho, maybe except for Raoul. You know, one thing I've realised is that the Raouls of this world will NEVER know how it feels, how it is like to be a Phantom.

"You'll be a Raoul someday too." Tch. Maybe when I die.

Anyway, I'm gonna buy my Zen later( later as it's like 12:50am now). 24 hours battery life...Woot. That's like 1337.

Woot. Life rocks and sucks at times. I'm really wishing that God would sumhow delay my trip to australia. Dunno why, but the idea of leaving Singapore, and everyone else inside, really sucks. Wonder if their music there is as good(as in diverse) as the one in CNL.

I'll miss everyone. Really. Even those who irritate me all the time.

But, I still have a week in SG, so yeah. I'm gonna rock.

It's 2005. Anew year, a new life...Unless I fail my 'O's. Then again, I might just try to study in Sydney too =D. Erggh. But I'll miss everyone in Singapore...Oh stop talking about it.

I'm gonna start work tomorow. Hahah. Funny, but that is my intention. Hopefully my pay will be above 5 bucks. HEH. AT my dad's shop, and I will try to save them instead of splurging them on Christian(mostly) CDs.

That's cos I don't have a "brother that buys really cool CDs". hah. Then again, I'm planning to rip the WHOLE of Titus' CD collection into the comp(which is a lot). =D

It's really strange how God places us into weird positions where you feel you're gonna get your butt kicked 100% of the time. You know you can't, so all you can do is to look, and get that "sucky feeling you get when you stare at a most wanted feeling in the window but you can't get it". It sounds materialistic, but it's (almost) a direct quote from someone else. Sigh.

Erghh. Just took some bah kut teh. Errgh. Feel damn funny now.

Maybe a lil Sims 2 wouldn't hurt?

Hah. Good luck guys, to those who have school like tomorow. Don't worry, if the few us could do it, the rest of you can!

Seeya next time. Oh, and enjoy "In the Secret"(as our church calls it) or "I want to know you" as everyone else knows it as. It's an interpretation of what happened the first time round, and its held in Sota Book I.

P.S You know, the feeling of going to austrailia to me feels EXACTLY like how it feels like to go back to school. No kidding.

***********

The lights were down, and only a single spot of light remained on Melodie. She took in a deep breath, and calmed herself down with a silent prayer which she often used before any of her dancing performances, and got ready.

Nothing could be heard for a few seconds, then the light tones of a keyboard playing floated through the speakers. The familiar tones of the song, but this time in a slower tempo, drifted amongst the audience. For awhile, the audience was serenaded by the melody.

Suddenly, it stopped, and it was quickly followed up by Ephraim's counts: 1,2,3,4, and Tang and Daryl came in, both with their distortion pedals on overdrive. The lights came on, and showed the band their entirety.

For a few bars the music played on, and then the singers came in.

In the secret
In the quiet place
In the stillness
You are there

Joshua glanced at his fellow singers, Sharyl, Loo Yee, Melodie and Shannon, and he almost laughed. They were obviously trying their best to float with the music, but it was a guy's song, and it could be seen on their faces that they didn't really enjoy it.

In the secret
In the quiet hour I wait
only for You
Cause, I want to know You more

Daryl was now strumming his black electric guitar, keeping up with the beat, while Nick moved into lead guitar mode, his pick flicking the strings of his red electric, while trying to decide between turning on his Flanger on not. He decided not, as he had still not mastered its usage.

I want to know You
I want to hear Your voice
I want to know You more
I want to touch You
I want to see Your face
I want to know You more

Ephraim smoothly transfered the band into the chorus, being the most experienced one there, and Ian did his best trying to keep up with the bass drum. Suddenly, he forgot a certain chord which happened to be the next one he was supposed to play. Gulping, he shrugged and chose the next chord he saw on the fretboard.

Ian heard a low and odd-sounding thump amongst the music, and he knew it was the wrong one. He hoped no one had noticed, but then he saw Chong Ming and Nicky pointing at him and jokingly shaking their heads. Joshua also turned from facing the crowd towards him, and the both of them exchanged smiles and glances before returning to what they were doing.

I am reaching
for the highest goal
That I might receive
the prize

So far everything was going well. Sharyl didn't feel as if they was anything wrong, save for a few parts Joshua had accidentally gone flat and her sister sharp. Fortunately Melodie and Loo Yee were holding up well, and her harmonizing was still good. When it came to high pitches however, the dimunitive girl had a voice that was even bigger than Ian. This song didn't require much from her though, and she easily progressed from verse to verse, albeit in a higher harmonization.

Pressing onward
Pushing every hindrance aside
Out of my way
Cause, I want to know You more.

Nick's brows were furrowed, his eyes staring at his fretboard as his right hand picked at the strings, and a tangling sound merged with Daryl's strumming. The tanned, former water polo player smiled, and Daryl nodded back.

I want to know You
I want to hear Your voice
I want to know You more
I want to touch You
I want to see Your face
I want to know You more

The band now reached the climax of the song, and Joshua bounced around while the girls tried their best to groove to the beat. Ian was staid as usual, fearing that if he moved around he would screw up his chords again, while the guitarists continued to play. Ephraim was himself as usual, hitting the drums harder than most drummers would as he was deaf in one ear.

As the singers finished the last few words of the song, the heavy music began to go on for a few more bars before every single one of the instrumentalists stopped, except for Melodie.

She began to play the slow intro that she had played just before the song began, and stopped after a few more seconds.

For a while there was silence, and then applause filled the room.

Grinning at each other the band smiled, and Navin gave them a thumbs up, before they continued into the next song, "I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever".

josh fatesealer turned back time on 12/25/2004 10:58:00 pm.