IT MAGAZINE IT MAGAZINE - APRIL ISSUE | Page 22

HOME SWEET HOME Home sweet home An article by : SO , Yau Nga , Jessica It is a normal day for a normal roll- call. ‘Helen?’ The class teacher asks as usual. Not even a sound is in the back. Sometimes, I walked along the corridor and saw her holding hands with her parents. Other times, we bumped classroom. She used to be a person who was always surrounded by classmates; at sports events, her legs seemed to be into each other and had a small talk. Only she and her father go out now. I sometimes peep through their opening entrance door and witness dozens of empowered by a motor, rocketing straight towards the red line. I remember the moment when she reached the finish line, her beaming smile melted along in my heart. Now, these have become a memory. Gossip starts to diffuse around this tiny classroom. The boys think she has been sleeping with guys; the girls say she is under too much pressure from study. They start chitchatting about her. Her empty alcohol bottles as well as a lot of cigarette butts scattered on the floor. An abrupt noise pierced the silence of a night. I woke up to see what happened. I listened carefully. The the sound seemed to originate from next door. I heard someone beating a victim. My body shivered. A high-pitch voice started weeping. Should I wake up my mother? Should I call the police? I went back to sleep. friends come to me to ask things about her, but even I may not see the whole picture. She and I have been together since kindergarten; we live next door and our parents know each other.  When the key sound echoed outside, I The birds are chirping; it is dawn. While I am eating a homemade egg dish, I suddenly think of her. She has been cooking by herself since that day. I take a glance on my watch, it is time to go to school. knew it was her and her mother coming  When I arrived at the classroom, everything IT Magazine / April Issue 20