Lulus atau Gagal??

Tak mahu! Tak mahu!! Tak mahu!!!!
Peperiksaan akhir tahun hampir tiba, tapi aku belum sedia!!! Ulangkaji pun tak pernah buat... Buku pun tak pernah sentuh!!! Macam manalah aku mampu pergi peperiksaan?? Aku tak mungkin tak gagal!!! *menangis tak henti-henti*

"Haley, peperiksaan akhir tahun mula minggu depan, dah buat ulangkaji?" kata rakan karibku, Andy.
"Apa?!! Peperiksaan akhir tahun??? Minggu depan??!!!!!" Aku terjerit.
"Ya, awak langsung tak tahukah?"
Aku berfikir dengan kuat, peperiksaan akhir tahun, peperiksaan akhir tahun... Tiba-tiba sebuah ingatan segar mengetuk otakku:

"Peperiksaan akhir tahun akan bermula pada Oktober 17. Ingat ulangkaji! Cik Haley Finney! Ada dengar apa cikgu kata? Kalau gagal lagi, Cik Finney, awak boleh cium kelas ini selamat tinggal! Jaga-jaga, ya. Jika berani awak gagal lagi, awak akan kena kelas tahanan selama tiga bulan dan menyertai kelas tambahan pada cuti! Cik Finney! Dengar tak?"

"AAAH!!!" Aku terjerit.

"Apa masalah?" kata Andy.

"Encik... Encik... Encik Kolecks akan bunuh saya sebelum tamat sekolah!!!!"

"Apa?"

"Jika gagal dalam peperiksaan, hidupku akan berada dalam kegelapan... Aku akan masuk kelas tambahan ketika cuti... Kelas tambahan itu hanya untuk pelajar yang cacat... Tak bolehlah..." Aku bernangis...

*`*`*`*`*`*`*

Buku rujukan dibuka dan diletak di atas meja aku. Banyak perkataanlah... Mana boleh aku baca sebanyak ini... Aku mesti! Aku mesti buat ulangkaji! Kata Andy aku mampu mendapat markah yang memuaskan asalkan aku buat ulangkaji! Baiklah! Aku mesti buat ulangkaji, betapa susahnya!

*`*`*`*`*`*`*

Hari peperiksaan pertama...

Peperiksaan hair ini. Aku memasuki kelas dengan perlahan-lahan. Aku duduk di tempat dudukanku. Hatiku berdebar-debar. Encik Kolecks masuk ke dalam kelas dengan kertas soalan.

Akankah aku mampu lulus??

Only A Friend...

Aku membaca akhbar pada suatu petang. Hanya sekali dalam dua minggu aku akan sentuh akhbar yang dibeli ayah. Nasib baik petang itu aku membaca akhbar kerana ada sebuah aritkel yang menarik telah diterbitkan. Pemenang Pertandingan Kreativiti. Aku pernah menghantar pelbagai karya untuk pertandingan itu tetapi aku tidak pernah menang. Kali itu aku membaca akhbar, pemenang Pertandingan Kreativiti diterbitkan. Walaupun aku tak pernah menang dalam pertandingan itu, namun aku suka mengetahui karya-karya apa yang telah menang. Aku suka membaca cerita-cerita kreatif serta gambar-gambar yang mengagumkan....

 

 

Johan Pertandingan Kreativiti tahun 2009 telah dipilih. Karya-karya petanding-petanding telah pun disemak oleh hakim-hakim dari seluruh dunia. Hanya karya-karya yang paling hebat akan dilantik serta dipaparkan dalam akhbar, namun hanya satu yang mampu dipamerkan ke seluruh dunia. Karya yang telah meninggalkan jejakan dalam hati hakim-hakim juga akan menarik pembaca-pembaca. Karya ini adalah, "Only A Friend", karyaan G.J.

 

Only A Friend

 

We were never best friends nor were we lovers,

But I loved him as I loved a brother.

Kind, funny, radiant, happy, friendly and open,

The smiling spirit.

Until...

That solemn day,

That day when his beloved father left.

I was not at scene,

I was not the first to know.

For who am I?

Neither best friends nor lovers were we,

We were only friends,

And new ones at that.

 

I came to know when I heard

From a former lover of his, a friend.

I felt my heart sink as I could not console him,

I did not know him well nor did I know his father.

From that little bird who dropped by and told me so,

She said his relationship with his dad was very close.

From what her tongue unfurled,

It seemed as though his dad was the only hero

In his bright, sunny world.

And when it was he left,

That bright, sunny world was no more.

It was filled with dark clouds

Swirling in the grief, depressed sky.

So vast, but filled with woe,

So high, but filled with broken hearts,

A sad world.

 

I look at him and I wonder,

"Are you alright?"

For I brood,

As he is like a brother of mine.

I observe him,

His movements and gestures,

And compare them to when we first met.

His movements were not as lively.

His eyes, no longer filled

With that bright, radiant, happiness anymore.

I know he is sad,

But he does not show.

His eyes are filles with the same dark sorrow

That I once had

When a loved one was no longer by my side.

He does not express his depression,

Instead he hides it with plastic happiness.

His movements, changed only by that small amount.

 

Could nobody tell?

Could nobody else console him?

His bright, radiant aura is still there,

But then the sorrowful aura lingers at the tip.

Can't anybody feel it?

Doesn't anybody know?

I know he is sad,

Oh, how I wish I could help,

But I cannot console him,

For we hardly speak nowadays,

A nd I still do not know him well.

I wish for him to be happy,

So I can see his true smile shine.

But I do not know how to bring back the sun

And chase away the dark clouds that saddened his wide sky.

 

I want to help but I am incapable.

For who am I?

I am only a friend, and a small one at that.

But I love him, as a brother no less.

 

G.J. 

 

Syair yang telah mengambil johan dalam pertandingan kreativiti peringkat dunia diterbitkan dalam akhbar seluruh dunia, namun identiti penyair yang benar dirahsiakan, hanya kependekan nama dipaparkan.

 

Tahukah siapa G.J.? Aku tahu, tapi aku tak mungkin bocorkan rahsia yang indah ini.