Acid + Alkali = Neutral

Today, I went through my old essay books and decided to post one of my essays up on my blog.
This essay was written when I was fifteen on the 19th of April 2007 as an english language excercise. Since I've been stalling my stories, here's a morsel for those who have been waiting for my next story.



I go by the name Leah Abby but please, do refrain from calling me Abby. I much prefer it that way. That would be enough as an introduction. As a twelve year old girl, flat chested, loathed pink, never played with Barbie dolls or had a crush on any boy before, most of the girls kept a very unreasonable distance from me either thinking of me as a lesbian, a tomboy, a complete weirdo, an abnormal freak and trust me, those aren't all of it.
My only friends were two guys. I think the three of us were the leftovers of the world. One of them, Keian had no friends because he was plump and was a total nerd. The other one, Daniel did not have friends because...I don't know but my guess would be that it's because he's best-looking and so the other guys envied him, claiming that he had girly features and was no where near macho.
"I don't want to go," Keian whispered. I looked at him and beckoned him to come over to my corner of the school balcony.
"Shout your heart out!" I told him.
Keian was migrating to England and he didn't like the idea one bit.
"I don't want to. Walls have ears," Keian squealed.
"So what?" Daniel asked. "No one's going to care if you leave or not...except Leah and I, of course."
"I know! That's exactly why I don't want others to know. If they do, they'd probably be rejoicing, going 'Oh, fat nerdy Keian is moving!' or something like that. Wouldn't that ruin my last week in school?" Keian whined.
True, Keian did make sense. That week did not take long to pass. The moment he left, I realised how much I would miss that annoying, chubby guy. I remember the last words he said to Daniel and I before he went - "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."
Indeed, Keian and his nerdy self, always speak in idioms.
Three years later, here I am today in Secondary School, sitting next to my new best friend, Elyn. To be honest, I truly miss the friendship between Daniel and I. After Keian had migrated to England, we slowly drifted apart. I had a flashback of the three of us where we went by our nicknames, Keian as the fattest among the three of us - Alkali, Daniel in between - Neutral and the skinniest, me; I'm Acid. Silly nicknames I know but we were young so we stuck to it anyway.
I walked pass Daniel once classes were over, not even a single "Hi" was uttered.
"Hey..." I tried to strike a conversation with him.
"Hey," he replied. "Uhmm...my dad's here. Catch you later, bye," was the reply.
That was how much he changed. I guess that's as far as our friendship goes. You're probably saying "Hey, you've got Elyn!". Well actually, Elyn and I aren't really that close. We're sort of 'best friends' only because we talk to each other most due to the very fact that I sit next to her in class. Yes, I still don't seem to fit in with my schoolmates. I know. Seriously, I was in need of a true friend. Little did I know that I had already found one. His name is Arthur.
To be honest, I dislike the name Arthur but darn, he's really good-looking. Even he hates his own name. Anyway, here's how I got to know him. I was crying silently in one of the classrooms some weeks ago over the loss of a friend...a close one and yes, like you've suspected, Daniel. Well with the presence of Arthur now, Daniel's a story I call water under the bridge. Okay, back to where I was, I was crying silently in one of the classrooms and suddenly, this new boy I've never met before, Arthur walked in and started talking to me. Somehow I trusted him and told him what I was going through in the most general way but he seems to understand everything. Strange, I know. After that conversation, I felt way better. I truly found the friend in him. Weird, I know...I mean, who would just come in, understand and ease my pain?
"Hey Arthur!" I called out to him one day. It was weeks after I first met him. He turned to me and smiled.
"You wanted to tell me something?" I asked.
"I don't think we had a proper introduction all this while," he said.
I had no idea what he was talking about.
"Hi," he extended his hand. "My name is Keian Arthur, formerly from London."
I laughed my head off...well, almost.
"Your name is Keian? You know, I had a childhood friend by the name of Keian too but he's the total opposite of you!"
Arthur [or should I say, Keian] gave me the look that read "YOU'RE WEIRD."
He obviously didn't understand what I meant.
"Well, this old friend of mine, Keian Kyle is this fat, rounded, nerdy boy and pretty clumsy, a person. Oh yes, he ALWAYS inserts idioms into his sentences...argh, that nerd. A good friend of mine, I must say," I articulated.
"No, you're not getting what I mean. I AM Keian Arthur Kyle. Arthur is my horrible, unknown middle name."
I looked at him. I blinked. My jaw dropped. No other words managed to escape my mouth until at least half a minute later.
"But Keian is..." I began.
"Fat, I know," he predicted correctly what I was about to say.
"And he is..." I continued.
"Nerdy and lame and clumsy, is that so?" he asked.
"Well...yea..." I muttered, almost audible only to myself.
That fat twelve year old Keian is now a Keian with a well-built body. The nerdy Keian with his nerdy black, thick-framed glasses is no longer wearing glasses, showing off his dreamy hazel eyes. What a major makeover!
Then I realised how much I didn't appreciate Keian as a friend last time. I was more connected to Daniel, probably because he's hot and chatty. At times, I even threw cold water at Keian. Eventhough Keian was underappreciated, he still treasured me, he was still there for me. Indeed, a very true friend...unlike Daniel. Seems like I've found a real friend all along...just that I was too blind to notice it. It's true what people say...you never know what you've got until it's gone. Boy! am I thankful it's not too late and that he had returned.
"Hey..." I said. "Thank you."
He broke into a smile...a to-die-for smile.
"Ermmm...I have wanted to say this for a very long time," he said.
Oh no, he's not confessing his love or something, is he?
"Acid plus alkali equals to neutral."