A bad decision

I stood in the middle of bustling Orchard Road, Singapore’s premier shopping belt, feeling like a fish
out of water among the throngs of tourists who were going about their shopping sprees. The
approaching roar of a motorcycle announced the arrival of Ah Huat. Clad in a jet-black leather jacket,
with a thick, ostentatious gold chain around his neck, Ah Huat leapt off his bike and swaggered
towards me. I raised a limp hand to wave at him but when he did not reciprocate, I smiled stiffly
instead.

“Ming, good to see you,” he put an arm around my shoulder and steered me towards the
Takashimaya department store, “You are going to do something important for me today!”

“I will try my best, Ah Huat,” I replied meekly.

We entered the Men’s section and finally Ah Huat halted. He turned my body to face him and spoke
in a conspiratorial tone, “Look, my wallet’s old and dirty now. Could you get a new one for me from
over there?”

“But…but all the wallets here are branded! I don’t have enough money,” I replied, afraid that my
words would anger him.

“Who said anything about buying?” he winked at me, “Go there and slip one into your bag. No one
would notice.”

I froze on the spot. Was he actually asking me to steal? I could not believe my ears. From young, I
have always been well-behaved, having been brought up in a strait-laced family. My school record
was immaculate. Breaking rules was something foreign, scary, dangerous.

I was broken out of my reverie by a forceful nudge. “What are you waiting for?” Ah Huat saw my
hesitation and the slightest of a frown escaped from under his friendly demeanour, “Remember, if
you chicken out, we will not welcome you into our brotherhood!”

It was not his tone, but his threat that worried me. In school, he was my only true friend. When I was
pushed around by my seniors in the basketball court during recess, it was Ah Huat and his ‘brothers’
who came to my rescue, chasing off my tormentors. It was Ah Huat who made me – the quiet kid in
class - feel valued and cared for. I did not want to lose this friendship.