Energized
Oliver had fallen asleep on the sofa after another marathon session on the Xbox. He woke up to the loud banging on the door.
He got up and, without bothering to look through the peephole, opened it. To his astonishment, it was Energy!
“Hi.” Energy smiled. “Can I come in?”
“Sure.” Oliver closed the door behind him.
“Daniel asked me to check on you,” said Energy. He walked to the far end of the living room and opened the door to the balcony.
“So you’re here on an official visit?”
“Everybody at the office is worried about you. You haven’t shown up recently. You’re unreachable on phone. You aren’t answering your emails. And you have a very unkempt look, if you may excuse my saying so.” Energy said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Here’s some food.” He put the bag on the coffee table.
“Ah, yes. So am I talking to a colleague or a friend?” asked Oliver.
“If a colleague speaks, a colleague shall listen. If a friend speaks, a friend shall listen.” Energy laughed.
“Fuck you, man. I’ve missed you so much.”
“Me too.” Energy looked at Oliver as if he were considering a hug but then changed his mind. “Let’s not get emotional. So, what’s up?”
“I’m depressed.”
“Do you want to get into the specifics or do you want to play the warm up game. If it’s the latter, wake me up when you are ready.” Energy looked around. “Jesus, your home’s a mess, man.”
“I don’t care about it any more.”
“I do. I don’t wanna die from the stench of alcohol. Phew!” Energy shook his head.
“Sorry about that.”
“Okay. So?” Energy looked at Oliver.
“A lot’s happened. We stopped speaking to each other some time ago. Since you were the only friend I had at that time, I turned towards partying hard to get away from the loneliness.”
“Hey. Hang on. I’m not the reason for all this. You broke up with your girlfriend. And, okay, I accept I stopped talking for a silly reason. But don’t blame me lah.” Energy brought out clean plates from the kitchen. Then he opened the bag and took out the sandwiches.
“I’m not blaming anyone. It just happened so. I made friends with a few people and I became attached to one of them.” Oliver picked up a sandwich and bit into it.
“Do I know her?” asked Energy.
“No, you don’t know him.” Oliver hoped Energy wouldn’t blow up all over again. “His name’s Diano.”
“So are you gay now?” Energy put down his sandwich but he didn’t look angry.
“No. I’m not,” said Oliver. “One is either born gay or not.”
“Well, if you say so.” Energy gave him a strange look. “Did you guys have…? You know.”
“No. Why do you always focus on sex? I like the guy. I love the guy. Just like I love you.”
“Please spare me.” Energy laughed.
“Don’t misunderstand me again, please. I love him. He took care of me and my flat. He used to clean the place, wash my clothes, do the dishes — almost everything. It was like—”
“Having a maid?” asked Energy. “You love him because he does those things for you?”
“No! Of course not. I love him because he makes me feel special. I love him because I wanna see his smiling face all the time. I love him because I know his past and how he’s been hurt by his lovers. I love him because we met under some very strange circumstances. I love him because he loved me without asking for much in return.” Oliver paused for a moment. “But I hurt him. I broke his heart. He’s gone and I’m so lonely.”
“How’s that possible? You breaking someone’s heart? I thought Priscilla would have trained you well enough?” Energy spoke in a mocking tone.
“Yes, I have. He caught me here with his flatmate in a compromising position. Priscilla was here too. There was a big fight.”
“Did she spare them?” Energy raised his eyebrows.
“She attacked Diano, before his flatmate knocked her out.”
“Are you kidding me?” Energy laughed. “Was it the same girl you’d mentioned before? She knocked Priscilla out! Can’t believe it.”
“Yes, Summer,” said Oliver. “And do you remember I met someone in Shanghai?”
“I don’t remember her name.” Energy shook his head.
“It was Diano. He was looking for his friend, er… lover… actually.”
“Too complicated for me,” said Energy. “So what do we need to do?”
“Nothing. He doesn’t even take my calls.”
“How about Summer? Have you called her?” Energy picked up another sandwich.
“Not yet.”
“What are you waiting for? Chinese New Year? Call her now.”
“It’s embarrassing. I can’t do that.”
“It’s embarrassing you choose to wallow in your misery rather than reach out to him through her. Call her now. Tell her you love him and you are sorry for whatever happened.” Energy took another bite from the sandwich.
Oliver dialed Summer’s number. She answered after a few rings.
“Hello, Summer?”
“Yes.”
“How are you?”
“I’m fine. Thanks. Which character are you playing now — Oliver or Norman?”
“I’m sorry for what happened. Please forgive me.”
“You owe Diano an apology not me. I don’t care.”
“I’ve called him so many times. He doesn’t answer.”
“Why should he?” Summer paused. Oliver heard her draw a long breath. “Why should he answer when the caller is none other than the person who has been pretending to be someone else and taking advantage of the fact that he was in love with his alter ego. You knew he was in love with you and yet you kept on lying. You kept on encouraging him. You broke his only rule and you broke his heart. He’s the one you should say sorry to, not me, Oliver or Norman, whoever you are!”
“Can you, please, help me talk to him? I wanna talk to him. Can you give him the phone, please?”
“I can’t. He isn’t here,” said Summer.
“Where is he?” asked Oliver.
“Why do you wanna know? He’s going away to get over you. Let him go. Don’t stop him. You don’t love him. He was just a convenience to you, wasn’t he, Norman?” She was spewing venom.
“I love him. I just didn’t want to embarrass him. I didn’t want him to know I was the stranger who’d picked him up and climbed the seven floors. Norman was just a joke. I had thought of telling him later but I just couldn’t bring myself to doing it… especially after he fell in love with me. I love him, Summer. I want him back. I’m sorry about everything that happened. I want another chance. Please believe me.” Oliver was breathless.
“Are you sure you won’t lie to him or hurt him again?”
“I promise. Where is he?”
“He’s on his way to the airport.”
“Airport?” Oliver was surprised.
“He’s flying to Malaysia.”
“What time is the flight?”
“Less than four hours from now. He left early.”
“Thank you, Summer. I’ll call you soon.” Oliver hung up.
“What’s up?” asked Energy.
“I need to get to the airport now! Diano’s flying to Malaysia. I must meet him before he leaves.” Oliver ran to the bedroom to change clothes.
“Why? Can’t you wait until he returns?”
“No! I must go now. Do you want to come along? We can talk on the way.”
“Talk what?”
“Well, for starters, hamsupEnergy.” Oliver laughed as he picked up his wallet and keys.
“You!” Energy looked red in the face. “Is scamming people your favourite pastime?”
“Only the people I love.” Oliver winked.
