Arief oh Arief

Ok, in case you’re wondering what’s been happening since my 12 year old dropped that bombshell last week, here’s the latest.

With no shame whatsoever, I am happy to say that he has changed his mind..! yippee…!! Well, for now – but I sure hope it stays that way. Why the change of heart you ask? Well, it started quite simply when he went to school with all relevant documents photocopied except for his father’s salary slip. (Incidently, when we went to the neighborhood photocopy place that nite, we met at least 3 or 4 other fellow Year 6 boys who were there with the exact same intention he had..!). Daddy dearest makes a decent living but no salary slip – so I photocopied mine. Apparently, Arief’s teacher wanted father’s salary slip…and from that point on, I slowly talked to him.

His dad had no problems agreeing with me, so finally we managed to talk him out of the idea…yeay, mission accomplished..! Surprisingly, it wasn’t too hard to get him to buy our logic. Initially he did not understand the fuss but later he seemed contented with all that we had to say. So for now, he’s staying…

I hope he can understand our rationale...and also the fact that the herd mentality just won’t do –deciding to go largely because all his friends seem eager to do so. With him, even under our noses he can be quite a challenge. Just yesterday I saw him with his gameboy which I had hid months before his exams. Lo and behold, he was merrily playing with it yesterday afternoon…much to my amusement. When asked, his initial response was, “Arief terjumpa.” Yeah, right…..! I had it tucked away, way inside one of my little cabinets. Finally, he sheepishly admitted, “Ha ah, Arief cari..” Hello, you could have asked me first if you can have it back now that the exams are over, or at the very least, ask where I kept it..! You see, I am willing to bet he had known all along where I stored his gameboy…!!

So, yup, he is definitely staying…For the moment, at best it’s a toss between DJ and DU…ok, where shall it be…follow Adam, that nice kid but little Romeo in the making to DJ or the seemingly more responsible Clarence to DU….?? Btw, IJ is moving elsewhere so I guess no more cute stories of him asking girls to go steady….