The cruel sun baked the ground dry. My lips cracked and my throat felt sore. My legs were aching. I walked across a shop which was near my house.

“Hey, there’s a new music CD shop! Let’s have a look”, my friend Paul said.

Paul, Tom and I walked towards the shop. It had a big sign that read “Come in and buy the latest release of CD’s!”. When we entered the shop, there was a booming song playing. The three of us looked around the shop. It looked smaller from the outside. I saw a CD of my favourite artiste. I gleamed in shock and happiness but my heart sank when I saw the price tag. My wallet was empty and my parents would never let me buy it. I turned to my friends dissappointed. Then, I froze. I turned pale.

Paul grabbed two CDs and in a quick move, shoved them in his bag. My heart skipped a beat as I stood there in shock. Questions flooded my head. “What are you doing?” was the first question I could blurt out.

“Hey don’t tell anyone! Let’s just take a couple of CDs and scram. No one will notice. Isn’t that your favourite CD you always wanted? Take it!” Tom urged.


I swallowed hard. I knew I was not the type to steal. I stared hard at the CD. My hard beady eyes examined it. “Should I or should I not?”. I was in two minds. My sweaty palm reached for the CD. I grabbed it and felt the smoothness of it as I slid it into my pocket. If my friends could do it, so could I. I did not want to look bad among them and I really wanted the CD. We walked to the door and as we stepped out, I heard a shrill ringing sound. We dashed as fast as our legs could carry us. We heard shouts. I swivelled round to see burly sercurity guards chasing us.


They reached me and slammed me to the ground. The day was getting bad faster than a dead fish out in the sun. Everything was blur, then black. When I came to, I realised I was in my parents’ car. I saw a policeman talking to Paul and Tom sternly outside the shop. I was badly hurt from the fall. I was not jailed or fined or anything like that but I was banned from the shop. My parents grounded me and caned me until I could not sit down for a week. I learnt my lesson about stealing. If I had been older by six years or so, I would have been jailed. I sure was lucky.

It was a sunny afternoon. The sun shone down on us and the heat was unbearable. My friends and I were walking to towards a music store just after we had seen the latest blockbuster. I looked into my wallet and all I saw was a mere two dollar note.

When we reached the music store, I saw the latest music CD by my favorite artiste. I looked at the price-tag. My heart sank immensely as I did not have enough cash to purchase it. I then walked towards my friends. I saw them grabbing the music CD’s and stuffing them into their bags. I was tongue-tied.

“What are you doing?” I asked stuttering.

“Never mind what we are doing,” he whispered, “Just grab that CD which you have been longing for and go!”

I was hesitant. I thought to myself, “Should I, or should I not?” My conscience was bugging me, one side of me told me to steal, but another part was pulling me back. I was in a dilemma, but in the end, I let temptation get the better of me. I reached my hand out and felt butterflies in my stomach. When I touched the disc, I could feel the tension coming from my hand. A sudden chill ran down my spine.

“Just get on with it!” One of my friends prompted, not aware of his volume.

“Be quiet! Someone might hear us.” I whispered anxiously.

Then, we heard footsteps coming from the opposite side of the shelf. All of us panicked in fear of being caught by the shop keeper. Then one of the CD’s accidentally fell out from my friend’s bag.

“Who’s there?” The shop keeper hollered.

My other friends rushed out of the store, abandoning me. I was dumbfounded. It was then that the shop keeper spotted me clutching something in my hands. Upon seeing the CD in my friend’s bag next to me, he suspected me of stealing all of the CDs.

I begged him not to call the police. He did not budge at first until he saw how pitiful I was and decided to hear my explanation. After clearing the misunderstanding, he told me not to mix around with my so-called friends anymore. I was very grateful and thanked him profusely.

Beads of perspiration rolled down my cheeks. The Sun started to bake the ground. I felt like I was in an oven.It was like every bit of water on me was completely drained out. All of a sudden, it started raining cats and dogs! We ran to a nearby shop screaming with joy and happiness. The moment we stepped into the shop, there it was - the new Linkin Park album! But what a pity, we were all short of money. Just then, my friends started putting the CDs into their bags.

“What are you doing? You can't steal! This is ridiculous!” I said.
“What? It's not like we have any money! Come on in, join us, it's fun!” they said harmoniously.Suddenly, they stopped. “Wait. You had better not tell anybody or you will get a you-know-what!” said the burliest one, Dennis, with his fist clenched. With that, they all left with the CDs the moment the rain stopped. I just stood there, scared, small and speechless, as I wondered why the alarm did not ring.
I walked home, thinking. If I were to tell the teacher about it, I would get a ‘you-know-what’. I would even be accused of betraying my friends! But if I did not tell the teacher, I would only condone their shameless act! I was trapped by my conscience and my loyalty. With that, I dragged my feet home. I chewed my way through dinner, and slept with very little peace.

The next day was worse than the one before. It so happened that everybody managed to get the new Linkin Park CD! People started mocking me! I felt like I was the odd one out, the Ugly Duckling. After school, I saw my friends selling the stolen CDs! That was the last straw.
I decided to tell a teacher.

As I was going to my teacher's office, a big, fat hand held my shoulder. ”Where do think you're going?” he asked.

I turned around and saw Dennis and said, “I'm going to tell Mr.Tan about it and there is nothing you can do to stop me!” As soon as I finished my sentence, I knew I was in big trouble. Just then, as Dennis was going to punch me, Mr.Tan came out. I immediately spewed out everything that had happened to Mr.Tan. I grinned from ear to ear at Dennis, while he frowned at me. I had betrayed my friends, but at least I had done them good.

All the boys who stole were sent for counselling and their parents were called. Sure, I had made some enemies, but at least I did the right thing for my friends. I walked home, smiling happily.

I found myself repeating the question. Should I or should I not? It was the latest Miley Cyrus CD.

" Come on, just take it, before we get caught, " whispered Jared.

I knew that if I took it, I may have to face the music. But on the other hand, if I did not take it, Jared and the rest would not be my friends anymore. The dilemma was driving me out of my mind. Turning to the left, I saw Jared and the rest waiting impatiently for me to take the disc. When I looked right, I saw the cashier, giving me a suspicious look. It made my heart beat like a war drum. The look in Miley Cyrus's eyse made me forget about the risk I was taking. The sample music playing over the air started to fade. I felt like darkness had engulfed the entire area and I was alone with the disc. I tasted the cold sweat flowing down my face. Down to the neck it went and without hesitation, I grabbed the disc feeling the hard cold plastic that covered the 'greatest' disc known to mankind. Abruptly, I slipped it into my pocket. Walking off with the disc resting in my pocket, I suddenly remembered the musings that haunted me right from the start. I directed my attention towards the cashier who seemed to miss the whole incident, or did she?

" Let's get out now! Before bad things happen! " Jared hissed.

As I dashed off towards the exit, my face smashed into something. To my horror, I had been caught by the police. I stared in muted horror at the policeman.

" He was the one who stole it! " cried Jared, pointing straight at me.

The policeman released Jared and the rest and walked sternly towards me. Jared tidied his shirt, winked at me and ran off. I had been blackmailed! I felt betrayed. How could he do this to me? I thought we were friends. I was on a roller coaster ride of emotions, I felt furious and yet blue. The onlookers in the store stared, clueless. The police checked my pockets and found the stolen CD. At that point of time, I felt like it was the end of the world, I imagined all the consequences of the shame I brought upon myself, and my family.

" What is he going to do to me? Would I be sent to a boy's home? " I wondered in fear. The police called my parents and related the incident to them. After whips from the cane and reprimandings from my parents, I turned over a new leaf. From then on, I decided to choose my friends wisely, and I ceased to succumb to peer pressure.

I was at home completing my dreaded Math homework. My mind was not concentrating on the homework. I could still hear the echo of the shooting of the guns and the clashing of the swords. I was thinking about the brand new game my friend had bought. Just thinking about the game distracted me and I could not finish my homework. I thought about stealing it from my friend, but it was just too risky. I decided to get a cup of lemonade to relax myself. As I walked to the kitchen, a brown object caught my attention.

I looked around me to see if anyone was watching me. Mother was cooking food for dinner and the domestic helper was ironing the clothes. It was now or never. My hand reached out to grab the wallet from the dressing table. I could feel the leathery skin of the wallet. My heart palpitated rapidly and my hands produced more sweat than ever. I looked around again to see if anyone was watching me. The fragrant aroma of fish floated to my nose. Mum was still cooking. I still had time. I opened the wallet and before my eyes were wads of different amount of money bulging out of the wallet. Before I knew it, I had at least ten fifty-dollar notes in my hand. I stuffed them into my pocket and walked out briskly as if nothing had taken place. I asked my mum if I was allowed to go out for awhile.

“Be quick, don’t be late for dinner,” she shouted at me as I walked out of the house.

When I reached the stall, I grabbed the game. I paid the shopkeeper the money and rushed out of the shop. Upon reaching home, I saw my father’s shoes outside the house.

“He must be back,” I thought.

After opening the door, I was shocked to see both my parents staring angrily at me. I was in hot soup. I knew it. They must have found out.

“How could you not tell us you failed the test!” I heaved a sigh of relief. They reprimanded me non-stop.

“What’s that plastic bag you’re holding?” I was shocked. She had asked the question so suddenly that I could not answer. It took me awhile before I could calmly say, “I…..it’s a drink I bought.” As I staggered back into my room, I tripped over the toy truck that my brother was playing with earlier in the afternoon. The game flew out and landed directly in front of my parents. They picked up the game in disbelief.

I was caned and a few stripes later, I heard my mum say in an unusually soft voice, “We wanted to buy you this after your PSLE.” I must have broken her heart into pieces by my single foolish act. I felt so ashamed of myself and even more upset after hearing my mum’s good intention. I stood in the living room reflecting on what I had done.

My friends, David, Dylan and I were happily walking in the almost-packed shopping centre. As we were walking by a CD store, Dylan suggested going in and taking a look. The CD store was filled with dozens of shelves filled with CDs. The shop keeper asked me if I was looking for anything. I told him I was just looking around and he went back to the counter.

Suddenly, a CD lying at the corner caught my eye. It was the latest album of my favourite artiste! I looked at the back of the CD to look at the price and was shocked. It cost thirty dollars! I did not have that much money. So, I went to the corner of the shop where my friends were. My jaws fell to the ground in shock when I saw my very friends putting CDs in their bag. At that moment, I told them not to do it but they did not listen. Just as they zipped up their bags, the shop keeper came. I saw David winked at Dylan almost instantaneously. Dylan asked me if I wanted the CD while David brought the shop keeper to the front to distract him.

I refused at first, knowing that I was on the brink of getting caught, but greed got the better of me and I decided to take the risk. I quickly slipped the CD into the side pocket of the bag, carried the bag and quickly walked towards the exit. Just as I stepped foot on the exit, the alarm rang as the unpaid CD tag had triggered it. The shop keeper shouted, “Did you steal something?” We glanced at each other for a second and then ran. Before I could even run far, the shop keeper caught hold of my back collar. I shouted for help but my two friends just continued to run.

The shop keeper furiously dragged me back to the shop as I struggled while passers-by stared at me. He took my bag and found the CD I stole inside. I tried to lie saying my friends and not me who had taken the CD but he did not believe a single word I said. He held onto my collar tightly and sat on the chair thinking what he should do next. At that time, I still tried to struggle but I could not get away. After what seemed like eternity, he told me that I was lucky that he did not call the police but he would call my parents. I begged him just to release me and I told him I would not do it again but he tuned a deaf ear on me.

He demanded for my parent’s number threatening to call the police if I did not give him the number. I helplessly gave him the number and he rattled away like a machine gun on the phone to tell my mother what had happened. After a few minutes, my mother arrived, apologized to the shop keeper and brought me home. I got caned and grounded for two weeks.

My conscience started taking over me. To take or not to take? It was now or never. The sight of the big bulky wallet made my heart beat faster and faster. The living room was dead silent and the wallet was lying on the dressing table, mocking me. My hands were itching and twitching. I could hear the sizzling sound of the fish being fried. Mum was cooking in the kitchen. Without thinking straight, I sneaked into the living room with no eyes watching me.
I tip-toed, like a mouse avoiding the cat, to the living room. Just a meter away from the wallet, I could feel the tension. It was like someone stabbing my back, making me walk the plank. I thrusted out my hand and grabbed the wallet concealing it with my T-shirt. I told myself, “I can finally buy the game!”
As I was hopping with joy back to my room, my domestic helper came out of nowhere, giving me a suspicious look. Beads of perspiration trickled down my ghostly white face as my hands were on my shirt.
“Michael, what is in your hand?” asked my helper. I immediately reacted by saying that it was the house phone and dashed to my room, leaving my maid confused.
I quickly closed the door so my mom would not get suspicious about anything. But mom was a psychologist, so it was not easy for me to hide myself in a shell for long.
When lunch was ready, I swallowed huge chunks of food. My mother could see through me very well. To conceal my discomfort, I pretended to be sleepy. When I was almost done eating, my mom asked me,”Son, do you need money? I will give it to you if you want to buy something you like.” I almost started to tear when my mom said that to me.
I was filled with guilt. I knew I would have fallen into my mother’s guilt trap. I could not take the pressure, so, I came up with an operation. An operation called “Operation GUILT”.
After lunch, my mother realized that her wallet was missing. She remained calm as if nothing had happened. The tension was high. I needed a breather so I asked for permission to buy a drink. I sprinted down the stairs and bought a drink when something caught my eye. An A four sized envelop! I bought it with a fifty-cent stamp. I took the wallet and placed it into the envelope and wrote down my house’s particulars on it. I brought it home and said that someone had delivered my mom’s wallet back to her with all her cards and cash.
“Michael, stop trying to lie to me. I know you took the wallet. If it was posted to me, they would have stamped the date.” I felt stupid and did not know what to say. I soon apologised to her and promised not to do it again. “Apology accepted son. But, you won’t get away with this.”
That day, I got it good and proper from mum. It was certainly one little adventure worth remembering.

This blog is exclusively meant for SAJS,P62 Year 2009 parents and students.
I will be posting all selected compositions of P62 boys for your reading pleasure.

I want to take this opportunity to thank my old boy (now a Poly student), Gabriel,
for setting up this blog for me. The skin looks cool, Gab. If I had done it on my own,
you can imagine the whole image-boring and so yesterday!

Cheers!