“To enter or not to enter? That is the question,” pondered Jansen as he stood in front of a wooden door of a shabby hut.

“Oh, well. What harm can it do anyway?” he said as he pushed it open and walked into the hut.

Bad mistake.

* * *

RIIINNNG! Students came rushing out of their classes to embrace the beginning of the school holidays. All of the students were having faces filled with glee and bewilderment.

“So, Jansen, what are you planning to do this school holiday?” asked Vivienne who was practically shouting at the top of her lungs to get her question to Jansen through the rowdy crowd in the cafeteria.

“Huh? Oh, it’s you Vivienne. Not much. I’ll most probably be spending my time at home playing computer games and of course,” as he pushed himself through the crowd and wrapped his arms around Vivienne’s waist, “spending it with you.”

“Not here, Jansen, later. Someone might catch you doing this,” she said as she pushed his hands away from her and turned to face him.

“Look, why don’t we meet at Ja Red’s Fat Diner tonight at 7 p.m together with the gang? It’ll be a blast,” Vivienne proposed when she noticed the disappointed look on Jansen’s face the moment she removed herself from his hug.

“Sure. I’ll pick you up at 6,” came the reply before Jansen left her with a look of satisfaction.

* * *

“Mum! I’m home!” yelled the 17-year old boy as he tossed his school bag on the sofa and immediately switched on his computer. With a few clicks, he was already accessing his Facebook account and judging by the look on his face, even a boy with short-sightedness could tell that the broadband connection on that day was slower than a moving sloth.

“Jansen? Is that you? Lunch will be ready in a jiffy!” his mother shouted from the kitchen. Jansen mumbled something under his breath out of annoyance when he failed to access the Internet Service Provider’s or the ISP’s homepage.

“www.uyhaw.com,” he mumbled when he read aloud the web address that was scribbled on a piece of paper which was stuck beside the monitor. Once he was in the site, he immediately scrolled to the part which showed the connection speed on that day and swore aloud when he saw that it was too slow for him to do anything.

“We’ve got to sign up for that Premium Membership some day, mum,” he suggested to his mother when he saw her walk into the dining area with a plate of lasagna.

“Why?” she asked with a surprised look.

“It’s too slow. I depend on it to write essays for the school, you know. How am I going to compose if I don’t have a decent connection?” he complained.

“Stop whining, you ungrateful boy. Think about the children in Africa. You should be happy that you’re able to access the Internet whereas the children there do not even have the privilege to even hold a mouse,” Jansen’s mother scolded him when she heard her son’s complaint.

“Yeah. Guess you’re right,” Jansen said as he took a bite out of his lunch, “This is good, mum. It hits the spot,” he added. When he was done, he smacked his lips and thanked his mother and went on to inform her about the plan he had with Vivienne later that day.

“Mum? Vivienne and I are going to meet the gang at Ja Red’s Fat Diner tonight at 7. Is it OK for me to go?”

“Yeah. It’s fine by me. Provided if her parents know about it and allows her to go with you. I don’t want you two sneaking out of the house doing things that you’re not supposed to,” answered his mother.

“I just received a text message from Vivienne. Her parents had given her the green light. Thanks mum. You’re the best,” he said as he kissed his mother on the cheek and went back to deal with his computer.

* * *

By six in the evening, Jansen was already dressed and grabbed his car keys and drove over to Vivienne’s residence that was 800 metres away from his. She was already ready waiting for him in front of her door and beamed at him when she saw him all dressed up, neat and handsome.

“My, my. Look at you. I’ve never seen you so dolled up before,” Vivienne commented.

“Well, have you heard of the saying ‘clothes maketh a man’? That is why tonight, I’m not a boy but a man,” Jansen replied.

“Haha. Yeah. I guess it’s true. At least now my parents will know that I’m dating a man instead of a 17-year old boy, eh?” she teased him. Right after she said that, Vivienne gave Jansen a peck on the cheek. Jansen was so thrilled that he could not return Vivienne’s last remark.

* * *

When they arrived at the diner, a group of teenagers could be seen hanging around outside the building. After parking his car, Jansen stepped out of it and opened the door for Vivienne. Both of them smiled as they approached their group of friends and recognized them immediately. Azoth, Jarl, Elene, Gwendolyn, and Josh have been friends with Jansen and Vivienne since they were seven years old and they had stuck with each other through thick and thin throughout their childhood. Now, they are still in the same school and even the same class. Azoth noticed the couple which was walking towards them and nudged Jarl.

“Hey, hey, hey. Look who’s there! Hi, Jansen and Vivienne,” Azoth greeted them with a warm smile.

“Hi, Azoth,” both of them replied simultaneously.

“Guess we’re late,” Jansen added.

“No, you’re not. We were just early,” Jarl retorted sarcastically.

“There, there. What’s with the hostility, Jarl? It’s the start of the school holidays,” said Elene, who was trying to calm things down as she glared at Jarl.

“What? I was annoyed. Besides, sarcasm is a part of me. I can’t help it,” answered Jarl with a grin.

“Alright, let’s get down to the bottom of this. Why did you call us here for?” questioned Josh with a puzzled look.

“OK. Look, here’s the plan. We gather at the entrance of the forest reserve that is located in the outskirts of town,” Jansen suggested.

“Wait a minute, genius. That place is ten miles from here. How are we going there?” asked Gwendolyn.

“I’ll ask my dad to lend us the family van. If I get his permission, the trip there shouldn’t be a problem,” Azoth said.

“Brilliant suggestion. Now to decide the rendezvous point instead of meeting up at the entrance. I think we could gather at Pop’s Chok’lit Shoppe at eight in the morning,” Jansen explained.

“It looks like it’s all settled then. We will meet at the shop at eight, OK?” Vivienne confirmed with them.

“Yes. Now, why don’t we get ourselves some dinner?” Jarl proposed.

“Yes, sir!” came the reply in unison.

* * *