'If you want it done, you have to go and look for it, you coward!' She hissed at him. 'But how am I supposed to do it? She'll see me!' 'She's buying food, you idiot! Besides, she broke up with you remember? I don't think she wants to look at you at all. So you better go and find it now!' She shoved him towards the bag. he stood there hesitantly. When he turned back, she gave him the fiercest glare she could muster, and pointed to the yellow bag in front of him.
Looking around quickly, he scurried over to the bag, unzipped it. He rummaged roughly through, until he found what was he looking for. When he found it, he fished the little blue brush belonging to his former girlfriend and shoved it into his pocket. Without wasting another minute, he zipped the bag closed and walked back to Yvonne hurriedly. Yvonne stood there, looking at him approvingly. The two of them had been good friends since secondary one and had been streamed into the same class in secondary three. She looked at Martin with exasperation, and wondered why he was such a coward. They walked down to the school garden together, looking at the blue hairbrush. Yvonne grabbed the brush from him and examined it closely. 'Yvonne, do you think it was a good idea to take Ping Ping's hairbrush?' Martin asked nervously. 'What if she finds out it's missing?' 'What if? She did not see you taking it from her bag, did she?' Yvonne questioned impatiently. 'Anyway, stop whining. You want to get even, don't you?' 'Yvonne, I know I am not an expert with this witchcraft stuff but I am quite sure you can't use a stupid brush for it.'
'How dumb do you think I am?' sh retorted, still looking at the brush. 'Get some tissue from my bag.' Obediently, he did as told while Yvonne continued to study the comb closely. Yvonne had been reading up books on witchcraft for the last few years. Some people in school said before that she had magical powers. Firstly, she was doing extremely well in school, even without putting in as much effort as her friends. And she always faired much better then them. Secondly, even though she loved food and ate enough food for two men, she never put on weight. She would eat anything she wanted' ice-cream, chocolate, french fries any high-caloried food, but she stayed the same. No one had seen her cry and she enjoyed taking long walks alone. 'Okay idiot, listen. I am not taking her stupid brush. I am looking for hair.' She pulled a single strand of bleached hair from the brush and waved it in front of his face.
'I just feel that what we are doing is not right,' Martin muttered. 'You don't want me to go up to her and pluck it from her head, right?' He shook his head and laughed. Quickly and efficiently, she laid the few strands hair on a piece of clean tissue and wrapped them. Martin look on, and thought that would look pretty strange to anyone walking past that part of the school now. 'You coming over today to see what I am going to do?' She asked him. 'I guess I might as well. Hey, thanks. This is going to be damn funny, but don't torture her too much, okay?' 'If you ask me, I think she deserves it; I hate traitors. But then again, if you had listened to me in the first place, this would have never happened right?' Martin thought about what he had seen and the look on Ping Ping's face when she saw him looking at her holding the other guy's hands. 'How did you know she was like that?' 'Oh please! It's so obvious. Guys can be so blind.' 'I...' He sighed.
Later that day, they went straight to Yvonne's house after school. In her room, Yvonne unwrapped the little piece of tissue with Ping Ping's hair in it. Leaving it on her table, she stood up to fetch a blood red candle and a needle. 'It's a good thing that Ping Ping had a long hair. If not, things would be troublesome,' she remarked to Martin as she worked. When the things were prepared, she passed the needle to Martin. 'Hold it for me,' she commanded as she began to tread the needle with the few strands of hair. When the strands of hair was halfway through the needle, she stopped. Taking the needle from Marin's hands, she pierced the candle with the needle, drawing the strands through the candle wax. When the needle was firmly lodged inside the candle, she picked up a pair of scissors and snipped off the hair near the eye of the needle, leaving the strands protruding out of the candle. When done, she took the candle and handed it to Martin. 'You take this home. Write down on a piece of paper what you would like to happen to Ping Ping, and place it under the candle. Lit the wick and let the candle burn. If you want the spell to end, just let the candle brun down. The spell would end then.'
He smiled, as he took the candle from her. 'But be careful. Make sure you don't pull out the hair,' she warned him. 'I know. I know,' he uttered impatiently, his eyes bright on the candle. 'You are such a nagging grandmother.' 'what an ingrate! If I had known, I would not have helped you.' 'Okay, okay,' Martin joked. 'You are the best. Thank you, thank you, thank you!' It was in the middle of Mathematics lesson that it happened. Madam Teo had he back to them, as she tried to explain the complex formulas she scribbled on the blackboard. Behind her, the class fidgeted restlessly. Suddenly, the searching sound of metal against concrete could be heard. Yvonne, who was falling asleep, looked up in time to see Ping Ping rushing out of the class, her hand over her mouth. Madam Teo had turned at the noise.
'What's going on?' She asked the class. No one answered at first. 'It's Ping Ping. I think she's not feeling well,' the class monitor replied finally. Yvonne turned around to look at Martin, who was seated a few seats behind. At her raised eyebrow, he smiled back knowingly and shrugged nonchalantly, as if nothing had happened. That bothered Yvonne greatly. The moment the recess bell rang, she stood up and walked to his desk. 'You made her sick?' 'Not seriously sick. I just asked that she start throwing up a little,' he chuckled wickedly. 'She probably thinks that she's pregnant.' 'Martin!' 'Okay, okay, I'm just kidding. I'll burn the thing day after tomorrow when I get back from school.'
By the third day, Ping Ping's condition had deteriorated greatly. Pale and weak from throwing up, she could barely make it to class. She slumped down on the chair at her desk and simply put her head down on the table. 'Are you happy now?' Yvonne looked with him reproachfully. 'When are you going to burn the candle?' 'I'll do it today. I told you already, didn't I?' 'You know, I really regret helping you with this. I never knew you were so revengeful,' Yvonne hissed at him angrily. 'You'd better burn the candle soon, or else she's going to die.' Martin could only stare at Yvonne. 'Well, all this rate she's going, if you don't stop the spell soon, there will be nothing else she could throw up.' Watching on, Martin felt a tinge of guilt. He had wanted to burn the candle down the night before, but the memory of her betrayal haunted him. He had decided to torture her, just for one more day. Now, all he wanted was to run home and burn that candle. The moment he got off school, Martin was in a hurry. Throwing his bag in a corner, he started looking around his room for the candle. It was not on his desk; he remembered placing it there the night before. A sinking sensation appeared in his stomach. Pulling out all the drawers, Martin still could not find the candle.
'Mum! Sis you see a candle in my room?' He yelled to his mother, who was seated outside watching television. 'Yes, I threw it away. I don't know why you keep these sorts of things,' Her voice floated to him. 'You what? You threw it away?' He stomped out of the room. 'Yes,. Why?' She looked at him queerly. 'I thought I told you to stay away from my room, right? Didn't I? Didn't I?' he shouted at his mom. He tried to control his temper but could not. 'Did you throw it down the chute or what,' he half screamed again. 'Don't you shout at me, young man.' His mother was losing patience. 'Oh shut up!' he yelled, not caring that she was his mother.
He went straight to the door. Slipping on his shoes, he slammed the door and ran downstairs. At his void deck, he yanked open the door to the chute, nearly gagging at the smell of stench that hit him as soon as the door was opened. Flies hovered over the garbage chute, and he could see cockroaches scurrying off into the shadows. Brown stains covered the walls around the chute, and the bin was overflowing with refused. Martin looked on with disgust, and could feel bile rising in his stomach. For a while, he felt like giving up. After all, she was the one who dumped him. Almost immediately, Yvonne's words came back to him. Ping Ping would die if he did not find the candle soon. Gritting his teeth, Martin rolled his sleeves up, and started rummaging through the bin. A few broken bottles lain in the chute, and Martin nearly got his arm cut. It took him nearly an hour to go through the contents. The longer he searched, the more desperate he got. The candle could not be found. He went back up to his apartment, totally in despair. He had merely wanted to make her pay, but not with her life. His mother was waiting for him inside the apartment, her face stern and angry.
'Here's your precious candle,' she uttered, 'Next time, you clean your own room. Don't expect me to do it for you.' With disbelief, martin looked at the candle with a few strands of bleached hair sticking out of it. 'Where did you find it? I thought you threw it away?' 'I did, but I was too lazy to bring out the trash,' she retorted angrily. 'You smell terrible. Go and have a bath.' Martin was more relieved than anything else. 'Thank you, thank you,' he also tripped over with his thanks. 'Thank you or no thank you, you are grounded for a month. This behaviour is totally unacceptable.' Martin was still thanking her. 'That's better,' his mother's tense face relaxed a little. 'But you are still grounded. Go take a shower now. You stink like a pig!' 'Yes, anything, Mum!' He picked up the candle quickly and went straight to his room.
He waste no time , setting the wick of the candle aflame immediately. As he watched the candle burn, Martin felt the tension fade away together with his anger. He was no longer angry with Ping Ping.
'How dumb do you think I am?' sh retorted, still looking at the brush. 'Get some tissue from my bag.' Obediently, he did as told while Yvonne continued to study the comb closely. Yvonne had been reading up books on witchcraft for the last few years. Some people in school said before that she had magical powers. Firstly, she was doing extremely well in school, even without putting in as much effort as her friends. And she always faired much better then them. Secondly, even though she loved food and ate enough food for two men, she never put on weight. She would eat anything she wanted' ice-cream, chocolate, french fries any high-caloried food, but she stayed the same. No one had seen her cry and she enjoyed taking long walks alone. 'Okay idiot, listen. I am not taking her stupid brush. I am looking for hair.' She pulled a single strand of bleached hair from the brush and waved it in front of his face.
'I just feel that what we are doing is not right,' Martin muttered. 'You don't want me to go up to her and pluck it from her head, right?' He shook his head and laughed. Quickly and efficiently, she laid the few strands hair on a piece of clean tissue and wrapped them. Martin look on, and thought that would look pretty strange to anyone walking past that part of the school now. 'You coming over today to see what I am going to do?' She asked him. 'I guess I might as well. Hey, thanks. This is going to be damn funny, but don't torture her too much, okay?' 'If you ask me, I think she deserves it; I hate traitors. But then again, if you had listened to me in the first place, this would have never happened right?' Martin thought about what he had seen and the look on Ping Ping's face when she saw him looking at her holding the other guy's hands. 'How did you know she was like that?' 'Oh please! It's so obvious. Guys can be so blind.' 'I...' He sighed.
Later that day, they went straight to Yvonne's house after school. In her room, Yvonne unwrapped the little piece of tissue with Ping Ping's hair in it. Leaving it on her table, she stood up to fetch a blood red candle and a needle. 'It's a good thing that Ping Ping had a long hair. If not, things would be troublesome,' she remarked to Martin as she worked. When the things were prepared, she passed the needle to Martin. 'Hold it for me,' she commanded as she began to tread the needle with the few strands of hair. When the strands of hair was halfway through the needle, she stopped. Taking the needle from Marin's hands, she pierced the candle with the needle, drawing the strands through the candle wax. When the needle was firmly lodged inside the candle, she picked up a pair of scissors and snipped off the hair near the eye of the needle, leaving the strands protruding out of the candle. When done, she took the candle and handed it to Martin. 'You take this home. Write down on a piece of paper what you would like to happen to Ping Ping, and place it under the candle. Lit the wick and let the candle burn. If you want the spell to end, just let the candle brun down. The spell would end then.'
He smiled, as he took the candle from her. 'But be careful. Make sure you don't pull out the hair,' she warned him. 'I know. I know,' he uttered impatiently, his eyes bright on the candle. 'You are such a nagging grandmother.' 'what an ingrate! If I had known, I would not have helped you.' 'Okay, okay,' Martin joked. 'You are the best. Thank you, thank you, thank you!' It was in the middle of Mathematics lesson that it happened. Madam Teo had he back to them, as she tried to explain the complex formulas she scribbled on the blackboard. Behind her, the class fidgeted restlessly. Suddenly, the searching sound of metal against concrete could be heard. Yvonne, who was falling asleep, looked up in time to see Ping Ping rushing out of the class, her hand over her mouth. Madam Teo had turned at the noise.
'What's going on?' She asked the class. No one answered at first. 'It's Ping Ping. I think she's not feeling well,' the class monitor replied finally. Yvonne turned around to look at Martin, who was seated a few seats behind. At her raised eyebrow, he smiled back knowingly and shrugged nonchalantly, as if nothing had happened. That bothered Yvonne greatly. The moment the recess bell rang, she stood up and walked to his desk. 'You made her sick?' 'Not seriously sick. I just asked that she start throwing up a little,' he chuckled wickedly. 'She probably thinks that she's pregnant.' 'Martin!' 'Okay, okay, I'm just kidding. I'll burn the thing day after tomorrow when I get back from school.'
By the third day, Ping Ping's condition had deteriorated greatly. Pale and weak from throwing up, she could barely make it to class. She slumped down on the chair at her desk and simply put her head down on the table. 'Are you happy now?' Yvonne looked with him reproachfully. 'When are you going to burn the candle?' 'I'll do it today. I told you already, didn't I?' 'You know, I really regret helping you with this. I never knew you were so revengeful,' Yvonne hissed at him angrily. 'You'd better burn the candle soon, or else she's going to die.' Martin could only stare at Yvonne. 'Well, all this rate she's going, if you don't stop the spell soon, there will be nothing else she could throw up.' Watching on, Martin felt a tinge of guilt. He had wanted to burn the candle down the night before, but the memory of her betrayal haunted him. He had decided to torture her, just for one more day. Now, all he wanted was to run home and burn that candle. The moment he got off school, Martin was in a hurry. Throwing his bag in a corner, he started looking around his room for the candle. It was not on his desk; he remembered placing it there the night before. A sinking sensation appeared in his stomach. Pulling out all the drawers, Martin still could not find the candle.
'Mum! Sis you see a candle in my room?' He yelled to his mother, who was seated outside watching television. 'Yes, I threw it away. I don't know why you keep these sorts of things,' Her voice floated to him. 'You what? You threw it away?' He stomped out of the room. 'Yes,. Why?' She looked at him queerly. 'I thought I told you to stay away from my room, right? Didn't I? Didn't I?' he shouted at his mom. He tried to control his temper but could not. 'Did you throw it down the chute or what,' he half screamed again. 'Don't you shout at me, young man.' His mother was losing patience. 'Oh shut up!' he yelled, not caring that she was his mother.
He went straight to the door. Slipping on his shoes, he slammed the door and ran downstairs. At his void deck, he yanked open the door to the chute, nearly gagging at the smell of stench that hit him as soon as the door was opened. Flies hovered over the garbage chute, and he could see cockroaches scurrying off into the shadows. Brown stains covered the walls around the chute, and the bin was overflowing with refused. Martin looked on with disgust, and could feel bile rising in his stomach. For a while, he felt like giving up. After all, she was the one who dumped him. Almost immediately, Yvonne's words came back to him. Ping Ping would die if he did not find the candle soon. Gritting his teeth, Martin rolled his sleeves up, and started rummaging through the bin. A few broken bottles lain in the chute, and Martin nearly got his arm cut. It took him nearly an hour to go through the contents. The longer he searched, the more desperate he got. The candle could not be found. He went back up to his apartment, totally in despair. He had merely wanted to make her pay, but not with her life. His mother was waiting for him inside the apartment, her face stern and angry.
'Here's your precious candle,' she uttered, 'Next time, you clean your own room. Don't expect me to do it for you.' With disbelief, martin looked at the candle with a few strands of bleached hair sticking out of it. 'Where did you find it? I thought you threw it away?' 'I did, but I was too lazy to bring out the trash,' she retorted angrily. 'You smell terrible. Go and have a bath.' Martin was more relieved than anything else. 'Thank you, thank you,' he also tripped over with his thanks. 'Thank you or no thank you, you are grounded for a month. This behaviour is totally unacceptable.' Martin was still thanking her. 'That's better,' his mother's tense face relaxed a little. 'But you are still grounded. Go take a shower now. You stink like a pig!' 'Yes, anything, Mum!' He picked up the candle quickly and went straight to his room.
He waste no time , setting the wick of the candle aflame immediately. As he watched the candle burn, Martin felt the tension fade away together with his anger. He was no longer angry with Ping Ping.
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