PSLE: Honesty

The Causeway Point shopping mall was packed with shoppers. My brother, Albert, and I wanted to buy our mother a birthday cake. We weaved through the busy crowd and headed straight towards the bakery store. 

The aroma of the buns and cakes that were just freshly baked made us drool. We spotted a perfect birthday cake which was decorated with fresh fruits. We wanted to buy it badly but we counted our money again and again just to be sure but the cake was way beyond our budget. We spotted the smallest cake which looked really plain and ugly as compared to the fruity one but it was still too expensive for us.

Sadly, with heavy footsteps, we trudged towards the exit with a tinge of disinclination. Suddenly, a melodious ringtone filled our ears. Out of curiosity, we followed the sound of the music and found a phone lying on a wooden bench. Oh my goodness! It was the latest iphone model, iphone 6 plus!

We could hardly believe our eyes! Albert’s eyes grew wide like two mandarin oranges and his face lit up in delight. His mouth was wide agape in surprise. Immediately, a brainwave hit him and he spoke to me in a saccharine voice, “How about giving Mum the phone instead of a cake. It would be AWESOME!”

“NO! Mum is smart!  She will ask us where we've got it from and would definitely give us a dressing down!” I replied.

“How about me keeping it?” he suggested sheepishly.

"Remember, honesty is the best policy? Let’s return the phone to the rightful owner!” I insisted.

“NO! We will keep the phone!” My older brother’s voice escalated and cut me off. 

Just then, a loud stinky fart caught my ears. My brother blushed like a red tomato. Clutching his abdomen tightly, he was in urgency for a loo. His stomach was churning violently like a washing machine.  "Keep the phone for me!" he stuffed the phone into my hands and ran at turbo speed in desperation for the nearest toilet. 

Seeing my brother speed off, I stared at the phone, stricken with guilt. At that defining moment, the little electronic gadget came alive again with its lively ringtone. I contemplated seriously, thinking whether I should answer the phone. I was definitely caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. After major dithering, I answered the phone even though I knew that I might incur the wrath of Albert.

It was a man’s worried voice. He was the phone's owner  I told him our location and he agreed to meet me there. Within minutes, a dashing gentleman came. Desperation was etched all over his face. Based on the physical description I had given him of myself, he found me easily and thanked me copiously for the phone. The man offered me a reward of fifty-dollar cash but I hesitated. I was reluctant to take the money. He smiled and went away.

Albert returned from the toilet and realized the phone was missing. He found out what had happened and was in fury. I knew I was dead meat and I was ready to face his unquenchable wrath. Fortunately, the phone owner reappeared and passed me a box, saying, “This is for you and your family! You are such an angel!”

I smiled and watched the gentleman vanish among the crowd. Albert felt bad about his greed and apologized. I forgave him readily and we opened the box and took a peek together. To our amazement, it was the exact fruity cake that we had always wanted to buy for our mother. Both of us were speechless. It was like heaven had given us a perfect reward. We went home and told our parents the story behind the fruity cake and my parents were so proud of us.  We savoured the cake together.  It was definitely the most heartwarming moment ever.