PSLE: A gangster to the rescue

Theme:  A fight/ A commotion

Picture 1: Tattoos

Picture 2: A food court

Picture 3: Beer bottles

The smell of scrumptious food wafted in the air. The food court was filled with patrons as it was dinner time. They were chatting animatedly, raising their voices to drown out the clanging of cutlery. Also, the hawkers were barking out instructions to their assistants.

Zeph’s stomach was rumbling noisily. He had an obsequious need to satisfy his intense hunger. Looking through his thick circular glasses that made his eyes look like a goldfish, he scanned the vicinity for a vacant seat. It was an uphill task. After waiting for quite a while, he spotted a single seat at the corner of the food court. He decided to place a packet of tissue papers there, a typical way of how all Singaporeans reserve their seats.

A smile flashed across his face as he made his way to order his favourite laksa. Upon collecting his food on a tray, he returned to his seat as gingerly as possible since the floor was greasy. In his eagerness to tuck into his food, he quickened his pace. Just as he was about to plonk down on his seat, a diner bumped into him from behind and his piping hot laksa spilled onto a man just right in front of him. Zeph turned to glare at that person who had put him in hot water but he was already gone. The poor boy just cursed under his breath for his bad luck.

Unfortunately, the man with the spilled laksa was not amused at all. He was a drunkard and already had half a dozen of empty Tiger Beer bottles on the table. The laksa noodles on his bald head made him look like a dripping wet mop. It was quite a hilarious sight!

He glowered at Zeph with his bloodshot eyes.  Cold sweat instantly broke out on his thin brows. Before Zeph could even apologise, the intoxicated man staggered towards him and slammed the table.

“You idiot! Why didn’t you look carefully at where you are going?” he roared in his raspy voice, letting loose a torrent of profanities at the poor boy.

“I… I… It… was not on… purpose!” Zeph stammered. His instincts told him that he should flee but before he could escape, the brutish-looking drunkard grabbed his collar and raised him high up. It was like Goliath confronting the shepherd boy, David. The poor boy’s legs were dangling above the ground. Fear surged through Zeph as he sent a prayer heavenwards. He was going to be deadmeat for the man was in a foul mood!

As if God had instantly answered his prayers, a man with tattoos marched forward and yelled, “Don’t bully little boys, old man! Okay?”

Who was that?

Zeph turned around and saw a man in singlet. Greenish tattoos were all over his arms and neck. A gangster to the rescue?  The brave man shot the drunkard a blood-chilling glare. The drunkard threw Zeph down in his anger. A wave of relief gushed through as Zeph grabbed the opportunity to escape to a safe spot.

Meanwhile, trouble was brewing. The drunkard marched toward the hooligan and bellowed, “You busybody! Who do you think you are?  Who are you to order me around? You good-for-nothing gangster!”

In his fury, the drunkard took a beer bottle and smashed it. Smithereens scattered like diamonds on the floor. In his wobbling steps, he charged forward.  Luckily, the hero managed to dodge his attacks and even threw a few punches at him which caused him to stumble backwards onto the broken glass. Blood was oozing from the deep cuts.

“You gangster, I will kill you today!” he cried aloud menacingly. Despite his threats, he could not stand to his feet and everyone knew that he was just a paper tiger.

Soon, the ambulance came and sent him to the hospital for treatment. Zeph was grateful to his savior. However, before he could even thank him, the hero had already left the scene and Zeph has never seen him again. He has learnt a valuable lesson: a person with tattoos may look every inch a hooligan but no one should judge a man by his cover and everyone should always learn to stand up to injustice.

Photo credit: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Waterproof-pieces-tattoo-stickers-tiger-the-king-of-forest-body-art-painting-man-s-girl-s/32323169314.html