Pathetic Snack

“Why did you steal her chocolate?” asked the warden to Ondu.

His tiny figure remained froze in front of her and he kept staring at the floor. His skinny hands touched to each other on his laps. No words from his mouth. No sign of crying from his face. It’s really hard to assume either he was afraid or something else.

Ondu is a boy who just stepped on his teenage. He has that wilts eyes which make him looks innocent. His short and small body made him look like a ten years old boy. He never curses or says any bad words to his friends. Whoever sees him at first will assume he is a gentle boy.

Ondu used to live in a city when he was a little but life was tough which had to force him and his mother to move back to their hometown.

With his mother’s saving, they were able to go back. They flew over the South China Sea leaving the peninsula then landed to a state known as "Negeri di Bawah Bayu."  (East Malaysia)

He felt comfy for where he was now. He was away from the urban environment. No more shouting neighbor, tall buildings, the sound of traffic and a discotic song.

The view of the paddy field with the mountain background calm him so much. He could feel a wide different from where he was before.

The alarm was no longer “honk…honkkkkk!!!” instead it was now “kokk…kokkk” the sounds which came from the roosters. Now it was no longer the shouting neighbors but the fighting dogs. Instead of annoyed he was amused with all of the differences he saw.

He was schooling at a secondary school and since his home was quite far from school, her mother enrolled him in a Christian Hostel which was just near the school.

He doesn’t talk much and he’s quite and a shy person but he still managed to have some friends. He respects his tutors and seniors in the hostel where he stays. Until one day the positive side of him scratched.

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One evening he walked passed the big fridge in the kitchen. The tempered glass door of the fridge showed everything inside. The students can store any drinks or food. That was one of the specialty living in that hostel.

The fridge was full of milk, drinks, fruits and some snacks like candy and chocolate and names of students were written on them so they will not miss took which was not belong to them.

He never kept anything on the fridge since he can’t afford to buy any like them. Had the chance to stay there was already a blessing to him since there was plenty of food he can eat while at home sometimes he didn’t have any side dish to eat with rice.

His single mother was now a gardener and her income was only enough to buy some for their necessities. He understood that so much and he never complained in front of her mother.

As he walked passed the fridge that evening, his eyes attracted to a chocolate bar. It tempted him but he couldn’t take it since it’s not his.

Every day, he only got to stare at the fridge and see many snacks which he couldn’t own them. Until one midnight he was hungry. Rapidly, the chocolate bar came popped out through his mind.

He went out of his room silently. He saw the light was still on at the study hall. Some of his seniors were still studying. Without being noticed he slowly walked passed through the hall and sneaked to the kitchen.

He saw the untouched chocolate bar, which was still in its packaging. There was a name on it written ‘Angel’. He knew who was that girl, she was his senior who was two years older than him.

He thought he was desperate and that what made him to do so. He opened the fridge slowly and took it. He then walked into his room without making any sound.

He jumped on his bed softly and started opening it. He took one bite and he felt like in a cloud nine.

“I miss this taste so much” he whispered.

The taste of the chocolate satisfied his mouth. It tasted creamy and perfectly match with the almond peanuts.

He forgot how it felt before but now the sweet taste from his mouth reminded him everything. Back then, every time he scored in one subject at school his dad would buy him some ice creams or chocolates.

Maybe it was not much but he was happy as he got what he wanted. For some parents who were affordable, would treat their child a tasty meal in a restaurant or brought them somewhere else.

But for his dad, that cost an arm and leg since he was just a factory worker and had some debt to pay.

He was fascinated by the taste and being very careful to not wake his roommates from the sound of the packaging. Shockingly he finished it in a short time. He put the trash of the package under his pillow then went to sleep.

The next day when everyone was busy getting ready to school he took the trash beneath his pillow and kept it inside his school bag.

He planned to throw it at the school’s dustbin but unfortunately, he forgot about his plan. It was still there when he was back at the hostel.

During lunchtime, he heard the girls were talking quite loud in the kitchen. The chaos had attracted the warden to go where the noises came from.

“My chocolate is missing!” said Angel half angry and sad.

Then some of her friends went around her in a circle and started asking a few questions and talking.

“Hey! What with those noises? What’s going on?” shouted the warden towards them. All of the girls hushed their mouth immediately.

Then Angel opened her mouth saying “Someone took my Chocolate”

The warden lady started asking “Are you sure? Or you forgot that you’ve already eaten it”

Confidently Angel said, “No, I’m sure. I haven’t opened it yet”

Ondu heart started pounding fast, he was afraid if he might get caught. Calmly he acted like nothing happened when his friends asked him about it.

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Stealing was a serious matter in the hostel. Anyone could get expelled because of it. A Christian Hostel sounds spiritual. It is not just a home for students but a place where students will learn about the bible and also taught them to be more disciplined.

Rules and regulation were not odd to them and it is compulsory for them to join the activities provided. Obeying the rules was one of the struggles that they were facing, they couldn’t act like as they wanted.

“Smoking, stealing, dating and do vulgar things are prohibited in this place”, said the warden lady at their orientation week. The dialogue in Ondu’s memory that frightened him.

. If one broke the rules they could get expelled depending on how serious the case was.

“kriiingggggggg!!!!!” the bell rang telling it was prep time. All the students went to the study hall and before they started to study they prayed first and after the Amen, all of them went to their table and start doing their school works.

He went to his table and took out his textbook and without being careful the chocolate package came out together.

The boy next to him saw it and looked surprised. Ondu took it fast and put it inside his bag.

“where did you get that? “asked Aaron.

“Why?” he asked back.

“Did you eat Angel’s chocolate?”

“No. It was mine. My father bought it for me.”

Since their conversation was disturbing the others, the tutor scolded them to be silent. Then their conversation ended.

After the prep time ended, the naïve Aaron went to see the warden. He told everything what he had seen. That evening Ondu was called by the warden. She was in his room and all of his roommates were there.

“Is this yours?”, she asked.

Ondu knew it was a checkmate and he had nowhere else to hide. Angel’s name was written there and he had no other choice than to admit it.

He looked at the floor and answered “No. I stole it”

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The warden brought Ondu to a room. She sat on the chair with her hands together on the table. Ondu was standing in front of her.

“Why did you steal her chocolate?” asked the warden to Ondu.

She started asking again “When did you steal it?”. Since he remained silence she asked him to sit down.

Slowly he pulled the chair and sat in front of her.

“I’m sorry”, he broke the silence.

“When did you take it?”, asked the warden.

Then he spilt out the tea. He sneaked out in the middle of the night where everyone was sleeping.

“I was hungry that night and the chocolate keep running on my head” he said.

“I can’t afford to buy such expensive snacks and I’m ashamed to ask my friend “he added.

Listening to his explanation made her felt sorry for him. She felt bad that he wasn’t able to buy any snacks. She knew what was his background was.

Ondu and his mother moved out of the city of Metropolitan after they knew that Ondu’s father was a drug addict. His father went away just like that and didn’t do his job as a father and as a husband. This caused his mother to be the bread and butter for the family.

“Ondu, you know you could get expelled for your deeds. I haven’t got the decision from the authority yet what punishment will you get” she said

“Wherever you are after this, don’t repeat the same mistake. I believe your parents never teach you this and they want you to be a good son”

Suddenly the ‘parents’ word caught his sense. It’s a stabbing word for him and his tears roll down slowly to his cheek. A tear that he couldn’t bear to hold. 

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“Ondu your mother is here” said the tutor.

He walked fast to the main door of the hostel. He couldn’t even look at his mother but he forced to stare and acted normal as he could.

His mother covered with sweat. She smiled with full of love at his son and handed him a plastic bag which had something in it.

“Give the girl back, what’s hers” his mother said. He went back inside and the tutor-led her mother to the warden’s office.

He looked inside the plastic bag and as he expected it was chocolate. He was shocked his mother didn’t only buy for Angel but also for him.

Big size of a chocolate bar for Angel like what he had stolen and also some mini chocolate bars for him in different flavors.

It was still in prep time; he saw Angel was sitting on her table. Bravely he walked towards her and handed the chocolate bar without a word.

Angel’s faced turned red and she blushed as her friends were looking at them and at the same time she felt gawky with that unusual situation, she didn’t know how to react.

“Thank you” came out from her mouth and Ondu just went away. He felt ashamed and he could feel his ears were burning.

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That night he laid down on his bed and started rewinding again what had happened that day. He knew he was poor unlike his other friends.

Where was it come from? Where did Mom get that money to buy me that pathetic snacks

He kept questioning himself which he will never get the answer. The hardship of living was one of the battle in his life.

“I go home first. You listen to your warden, tutors and seniors” said his mother that evening then rubbed his head and left.

He was still at the main door wondering how will his mother go back. From who will she get a ride to go home?

He remembered how hard her mother in making sure that he was able to go to school but here he was making her mother cried in front of the warden. Her mother often falls sick lately since she had to work all day just to make a living for them.

Suddenly, stream of tears ran down to his face when he realized that her mother didn’t get any ride but she walked by foot to meet him.