Location: Soccer Field
Date & Time: 3rd May, Saturday, 1806Hrs
Target #1: Goal Keeper
Name: Mohd Mortar b Abdul Javar
Address: Blk 705 Tampines St71 #03-64

Nothing to write. No inspiration. I looked out of the window of my room and I see people everywhere, each doing different thing. Right beside my block is a primary school, which I used to study. There is a soccer field inside the school that is opened for public during weekends and this group of people happens to be playing there while I was looking for a target for my people-watch.

That goalkeeper there must be feeling so shit. The ball never gets near to him. He just stays at the goal, waiting for his chance to show his prowess, but that chance just never came. The ball hardly ever comes near his goal; this is what happens when your team’s strikers are too strong. There is this once, when the ball finally comes near him, but soon enough, the defender successfully stole the ball from the opponent striker and save the day (strong defenders eh?). So the goalie still didn’t get to touch the ball. For the next few minutes the goalie just stands there half-bowed, lean on the goal post or just do some stretching exercises.

I wonder how they assign the people in the formation. Many a time, maybe this time as well, the worst player in their group will end up being the goalie. We all know that in the professional field, the goalkeeper is a key role in the formation but what will it be when it comes to leisure playing? Everyone wants to have fun and to have fun, it will mean to play with the ball; kicking, dribbling and shooting. So with that, his team members who can really play ‘volunteered’ to be the strikers and mid-fielders. Then the rest who are the left over’s start playing ‘scissor paper stone’ to decide who will be the defenders and goalie.

Or maybe, it is just that the opposing team is far too weak for this team, but I think that will be far too boring. I’ll stick with my first analysis; it’s more ‘happening’.

From his body language, I can see that he really wants to go into the frontline and show some moves. Deep inside his heart, he might be cursing his friends for not caring about his feelings. Another part inside of him, on the other hand, tells him to just take it as it is for the enjoyment for the rest of the lot playing, else, he could have just left and went home. He is someone who can see situation as a big picture after all. But still even if his team wins, I doubt he’ll actually feel happy if he didn’t touch the ball at all throughout the match.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Location: Pasir Ris Bus Interchange
Date & Time: 4th May, Sunday, 2032Hrs
Target #2: Recruit booking in
Name: Ong Seng Ann
Address: 55 Verde Ave

First and foremost, before I start talking about my target, I should explain why was I there looking at recruits booking in to Pulau Tekong. My uncle owns a bus company and happened to win the contract for transporting recruits from Pasir Ris Bus Interchange to the SAF Changi Ferry Terminal where they will change to a ferry and be send to Pulau Tekong. When there is shortage of workers, I will sometime go to the interchange and help out my uncle as a bus coordinator (job scope: to take note of the no. of people boarding the bus and ensure all soldiers are transported to the ferry terminal and no one gets left behind).

So basically, majority of the people booking in are recruits, along with some of their commanders, be it sergeants or officers. The area of the interchange allocated for this group of non-ORD personnel is very crowded, not to mention noisy as well. All recruits need to wear No. 4 (the ugly army uniform) to book in, so, the whole place is just filled when ‘greeneries’. However, there is this particular recruit whom I notice. He wears the exact same uniform as the others, but he is different. He is far too quiet. He just falls in with the rest of his platoons, standing quietly behind his field pack. He just keep looking down in deep thoughts, ignoring the chattering of his platoon-mates. I could see that he frowns from time to time, must be the bad experiences he had in Tekong and he worries for what may be awaiting him at that island.

When it was time for his platoon to board the bus, I approached him and asked him to inform his commander. He looked up, smiled and nodded. He didn’t say a single word but I can feel that he is one of those many people out there who is not suited for army. He is well mannered unlike the uncouth majority whom might be ‘polluted’ by the camp’s aura. He also gives me the feel that he is from a rich family but born without the ‘rich boy aura’. The best reason I can think of as to why he is so quiet is that he doesn’t really know how to make friends, but at least, he is not the type that will make enemies. Low profile will be the category for him. After informing his commander, he fall back in with the platoon and stands there just like before. He then lets out a long sigh, as though telling me that the time has finally come for him to go to the wretched place.

Soon, that platoon made a beeline for the bus. This guy is right in front of the queue. As he walks towards the bus, his has this half-smile on his face, which gives me the creeps. That smile reminds me of someone who is going to do something crazy, something big. It is as though he is going to take revenge on SAF someday for all the things he had done or will be doing. Hope he doesn’t do anything stupid and also hope that I think too much.

I lost sight of that guy after he board the bus. However, I manage to catch a glimpse of what was labeled on the field pack of the rest of the platoon. It was a red coloured sticky tape, with the letter N written on it. So this means they are *Platoon 2 from Ninja Company.

I was a shocked, a little. That soft-spoken boy is in Ninja Company, the most notorious company in Tekong, known for their tough training. I wish him luck as the bus drives off, leaving only the strong smell of exhaust behind. I noted down the bus’s plate number to report to my uncle to send this bus to servicing. Its exhaust system is wrecked.

*Different platoon uses different colour to label them; yellow for 1, red for 2, green for 3, blue for 4. I belief most camps in Singapore does that too.