Leave.

               Are you always the friend that never got called to a gathering? Are you the friend that have to walk behind when the walkway is not wide enough? Are you the one that got belittle by each and every of the member in the gang and no one is there to stand up for you so you just have to laugh along. Are your messages got ignored in the Whatsapp group chat? Do any of your friends ever listen to your stories, your ideas or even your pain? Can you recount the times your friends actually sat with you during recess? No? You must be a lucky person. Now, relax and let me tell you the story of a friend that doesn’t have any friend.

                His name was Tre Lee. He was a happy boy. Born in Malaysia, his family together with him moved to Australia when he was 2 so that his father could work in his new company. Every day, his father makes sure Tre does not forget his roots by teaching him Mandarin and Bahasa Melayu. He would tell stories of their ancestors and of traditions. Tre would sit and listen because he was promised a big cone of ice cream if he did. His mother is a loving person but a work addict. She works nonstop every day and even though she did spend time with Tre, he still find her as the boring type. His older sister is a typical teenage girl. She loves Korean guys and crushes on boys in her school.

                 Tre is a smart boy in school although he was a late bloomer. He would always appear in his school annual best student ceremony. For every successful people, there are always going to be haters. For Tre, his haters would spread rumors and talk bad about him behind his back. It concerned him at first, but as time gradually past he does not care anymore as the haters helped to filter the fake friends. He had many friends but not many who stayed. He was left with 5 close friends. 4 boys and 1 girl. He did not care as long as he had them.  

                His life was great. But, all good things must come to an end. At the tender age of 11, he lost his father. He remembered it clearly as if happened yesterday. His father was admitted to a hospital a week earlier. He had shown signs of recovery but when your time is up, there is no use in fighting anymore. He was at his aunt’s when his mother called to tell Tre’s uncle to take him home. Fearing the worst, he kept silence and stared at the headlights overhead. When he arrived, he saw his mother in tears. She said, “My son, you do know what’s happening right?” Tre nodded, wiped a tear from her cheeks and hugged her. Everything else was a blur. Relatives and friends came, offer condolences and went. Tre didn’t remember crying. The same could not be said about his sister. She cried for a week and no one could console her.

                Tre’s father was the one who taught him how to kick a ball. His father was the first person he watched football together with. His father was the one who would point out a particular thing in a DIY shop and quizzed Tre what it was. He often took Tre and his sister to the park to jog and play badminton. Tre’s father was his father. He was his best friend and he was the first friend that left Tre, not that he blames him. At the age of 12, Tre moved back to Malaysia, to a whole new life. That was when Tre left his friends in Australia.

                His new life in Malaysia started well. He fitted in well although many are still wary of him. His first friend was an Indian by the name of Kael. Tre’s first words to him were,” May I borrow your eraser?” He did borrow him and they then bonded through football. They favorited the same football club and it made bonding so much easier. They would team up during recess to play a 3 a side street football in the hall during recess. They were so good, the others made it a rule that Tre and Kael can never be in the same team. Kael was a talkative person. He talks a lot and much of it was lies. Tre never saw the need to lie in Kael’s exaggerated stories. He also did not understand why he lied. Kael was quite popular as other students labelled him as a trash talker and a backstabber. Tre dismissed these names and stood up for Kael whenever someone started talking about Kael.

 One day, one of his friend told Tre what Kael said behind his back. Tre was shocked but he did not believe what his friend said. That was until he heard it himself from Kael. Tre could only smile and walked away. Since then, he tried his best to distance himself from Kael. A few days after the incident, some of Kael’s classmates were belittling Kael. When Kael looked at Tre for help, he walked out of the class. Tre was not sure who left who first but he was sure that Kael was his friend no more.

The second friend he made was Kyle. Kyle was a friend of Kael and he did warn Tre about Kael’s backstabbing nature but it fell on deaf ears. Kyle was a happy go lucky person and a super funny guy. I think that was why Tre was friends with him. He could everything funny and perverted with one simple action or a word. Tre compared him with Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother. Both Tre and Kyle was a visionary. They always share their ideas and thoughts that can change the way for the better. Tre wanted to be involved in education to teach the students while Kyle wanted to be a world leader to be able to change the world directly.

 Kyle was Tre’s closest friend until a new student was transferred in. His name was Axel. He had the same attitude like Kyle and can make jokes out of everything. Like a magnet, Axel slowly pulled Kyle away. It started with the little things like choosing to hang out with Axel during recess instead. Tre didn’t mind because he still was in the same class as Kyle and have a lot of time to hang out with. Then, it was the big things. Kyle started joining Axel in roasting Tre. Tre did not mind at first but when they started teasing him about the sensitive issue like his father and where he came from, Tre snapped. He fought for far too long and too hard to keep Kyle in his life but if he was to be his second choice, Tre decided that it was not worth it. Kyle left him when Tre did not try to start the conversation or sat with him anymore. 

Just like every high school student, Tre had a crush on a girl. It started out simple. He would look at her from far and admire her looks, her smiles, the glimmer in her eyes and the way she flips her hair. Tre thought it was just puberty and the feelings would soon go away. It did one day but it was not soon. It was Chad that broke the ice between Jane and Tre. Chad had secretly told Jane about Tre’s crush and her and all she did was blush.  Tre remembered the first time he heard her called her name and her shy smile after that. They became friends thanks to Chad. Every time Jane speaks, Tre became more and more attracted to her. Tre didn’t remember how and when it happened. He started to take extreme care of her. He would pay for her stationaries and carries her bag everywhere. He would make sure that Jane is safe although nothing can hurt her in the school. Tre remembered an incident when Jane’s bag was stolen and thrown into the drain. She did not mind the bag and what was inside concerned her. Her diary was missing and she was really worried because she wrote a lot of private things in there. Out of love and maybe desperation, Tre went into the drain to find the diary but he found nothing.

Despite everything that Tre did, Jane fell for someone else. Tre was heartbroken but he stayed with her. Although it hurts him, he kept being friends with her. Whenever she was down and sad, she would turn to Tre for comfort. Still liking her, Tre would try his best to console her. Even at the time when she broke up with her boyfriend, Tre did not celebrate but he immediately bought her a cup of coffee and listened to her cries of regrets. Tre finally gave up on this friendship when Jane fell for the same guy again. After everything that Tre did, Jane still could only see one guy in her life. How much heartbreak can a guy take before he finally said he had enough? After 3 years of liking the same girl, trying to put her off your mind is hard for Tre. He shut out Jane for months and after making sure that he no longer had the feeling for her, he talked to her again but there are no longer sparks in their conversations. Although Tre would drop everything for her if it ever needed be, Tre realized that he was the one who left this friendship to rot.

Perhaps the longest friendship he had since moving back to Malaysia was the one with Chad. Chad was the one who broke the ice between him and Jane. Both of them have different personality yet their friendship bonded. Tre was a visionary while Chad lives in the moment. Tre liked checkers but Chad liked chess. Nobody knew what made them stick. It is probably because they are such good wingmen for each other. Ever since Tre left Jane, he had been talking to a lot of girls. But, he found none that can fill the hole that Jane once lived in. Both Tre and Chad had dated some girls but not one relationship they had was serious.

That was until Tre met a girl online. She was everything that Tre dreamt of and she suddenly became a big part in his life. She plays volleyball, watches pewdiepie and is a dog person. But, it did not end well. Tre pleaded for her to stay but she refused and she left his life. As his heart was still aching for her, Chad tried to get it on with her. He spammed and stalked her social medias to try to get his attention. Tre felt betrayed. It was an unspoken rule between bros that a bro does not try to make things happen with another bro’s ex. After all the years, he could not believe that a girl would be the reason of their fight. When Tre confronted him, he claimed that he did not know she was Tre’s ex and rubbished The Bro Code. In the end, Chad left Tre to pursue the girl that Tre still loves.

As Tre sat in the corner of his bedroom with a scissor and a bare wrist, he thought about his life. He had many friends in his life but each and every of them chose to leave him. He wondered why he wasn’t the one that people would fight for so that he stays in their life. One clean cut at the wrist and he can see his father again or maybe restart his life. He was sure his father would be deeply disappointed at how his life turned out but he did not care.  However, something is holding him back. Someone he met through a mutual friend said to him,” I’m planning to keep you, make you stay and cherish our friendship. People who left you are stupid and blind because they didn’t stay long enough or try hard enough to see the extraordinary side of you. Tre smiled when he thought of what she said. He put down the scissor and waits for the disappointment that follows is she too leave. 

I just realized i only posted once this year and i am so sorry. I will try my best to make it up for you guys. This is a story pf the many friends we have especially now with the blooming of social medias. If your friend is really worth it, fight to stay in their life. =)

Fight your life with a smile. =)

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