The past 2 weeks I have been getting up early at 4am to set papers for the tests and exams. It is extremely difficult to set them because I have to set them from scratch and with answers. That means tedious work. And I turned on my computer each morning and stared at the blank page I come to. Painstakingly, each page is filled or getting filled with diagrams.
I took sunday off to work on my exams and well, I did squeeze in some work but it was so tough that my exam papers setting took another week or two. Grilling!
Term 3 is always an extremely busy term and this morning was especially unnerving since I have to submit something for my colleague to work on.
Well, as usual dad likes to go to this little coffeeshop for the coffee. He will then drive me to school after about 630. Today we started off early and then as the taxi cruises towards the Bukit Timah Road, and into the second lane just outside the junior college, a loud thug and I leaned forward with the directory falling to the floor. My dad then said "We are hit." This is the second time that dad and I were involved in a car accident. The first was 2005. 4 years later, this morning another one. This one was different. He drove to the bus stop and I came right out of the car and calmly walked towards the driver.
The door opened and the first that greeted me was the smell of alcohol. I told him straight to his face "You are drunk." He said he was not. Then I retorted you smell like alcohol. He said he didn't drink but he closed his eyes and before he knew it his black Mitsubishi GLX hit my dad's taxi. He then asked me if his car was badly damaged. How would I know because it was 640 in the morning and the sky was dark and so was his BLACK car. Then my father came out of the taxi and he said that he would be reporting to Comfort Taxi for insurance and he immediately said he wanted to settle out of court. What came after that was even more ridiculous. He said he never banged into any car for the past three years. And I answered..."SO what?" Then I told him I was teaching in the school behind me. He exclaimed he too was an ex student from the same school. To that I said, "So?" I reminded him again that he was drunk. If there was a test, he will be deader than dead.
Anyway, I took down his particulars and we told him we will report the case to the insurance. He pleaded again and hid in one corner to phone. Later in the day, my dad called him and told him that his insurance has to pay about 3000 dollars or so for the damage. He told my dad that he had alcohol and was awake the whole night at SMU. My poor dad thought he was a lecturer. I told dad that he is probably a student at SMU who drank into the night and was heading home because he was driving a car with a red plate. He sped all the way.
I thank God that I didn't sufer from whiplash. My dad also spent time to tell him that should there be a human infront of him, he will be so so sorry. He was only worried that his mother will skin him alive and that his mother's insurance will be higher now. Well, if he was more responsible and not drink and drive, he will not end up like this.
I hope that this ex student will learn to value his chances. I actually told dad we should tell the police so he learns it well. My dad was more merciful. He said that he will have to be charged in court and have his license revoked. And I said that should be the way. Where we were this morning, students can be crossing the road. If he drinks, he should not drive. If he wants to drive, he should not sleep.
A lie is a lie. He gets away this time but that doesn't mean he can get away all the time.
Thank God for protecting dad and I this morning.
