Chapter 17 : The Verdict
[Will Benedict's fate be with the fishes at the bottom of the sea? And just what is in that handbook of seduction that Wison the Bison gave Lumpy Lock?]
Sitting wide awake on a cold morning and being forced to stay awake is always uncomfortable. Factor in two angry people staring down at you, assuming that you are the scum of the earth, and a hysterical bitch continously crying in the fakest tones you have ever heard, and you would have Benedict’s very own personal hell. Mr and Mrs Ling were threatening him with bodily harm, jailtime, and occasionally, rape (“You will feel what my daughter went through!”). Choong Leeng (still dressed as Seamus, even when she was sleeping) was roused up by Mr Ling, threatening to throw both her-him and Benedict into a pit full of poisonous cobras.
Finally, when Joanne had calmed down (somewhat), Benedict managed to slip in a “TELL THEM THE TRUTH JOANNE!” yell between Mr Ling’s neverending rants.
“You filthy boy! Don’t you know that it’s very traumatising for rape victims to talk about the rape experience?” yelled Mrs Ling.
“I just want her to admit that she attacked me! I’m the one who should be screaming rape, not her!” replied Benedict, equally as heated.
“Hah! What kinda guy would cry rape! Are you going to tell me that my beautiful daughter is so pathetic and unwanted by men that she would resort to seducing the likes of you/” said Mr Ling scornfully.
“Then why would she be in my room? I mean, how do I FORCE your precious daughter into my bedroom and she’s wearing something so skimpy?” questioned Ben. Everyone could see that he had the makings of a lawyer, the type which charge $250 an hour for consultation.
“You noticed her skimpy attire!! And earlier you were proclaiming how you didn’t know what was going on!” Mrs Ling cried out in anguish.
“How can I not mention it when the two of you have been drilling that supposed ‘fact’ into my head the past 3 hours! God, you people are freaks. I’m just going to leave this house, there’s other places I can go to without having to withstand such baseless accusations. You won’t even LOOK at the fact that if I’m supposed to have raped her, this shit would have taken place in HER room. ME SNEAKING IN, NOT THE OTHER WAY ROUND!” Benedict glared at a shocked Mrs Ling, who had her hand dramatically placed over her heart, a dumbfounded Mr Ling, a suddenly quiet Joanne Ling and a sleeping Seamus Choong Leeng.
“Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll pack my bag and Seamus’s bag and leave you three idiots to discover the truth from your tarty daughter.”
Benedict started to turn around when Mr Ling casually backhanded Benedict, causing him to collapse back into his seat. “If you think I’ll let you fuck my daughter and leave, you’re wrong.” Benedict started to open his mouth, put up his fists, punch Mr Ling in his paunchy stomach… but his head was throbbing and his vision was blurring. Joanne ran to Benedict and helped him up and protectively shielded his body with hers.
“What are you doing Joanne! This guy raped you! Why are you protecting him?!” shouted Mrs Ling.
“I… I decided to tell the truth. I was afraid of telling the truth earlier… but when I heard that he wanted to leave… I just couldn’t bear it. I just can’t believe that Benedict would walk away so easily from what we had together!”
“What are you going on about Lui Lui? What happened? Come tell daddy, I won’t scold you… but I might get my guys to rustle this bastard up a bit for even daring to lay his hand on you!”
Joanne cleared her throat and began…
Well, as you know, Benedict is currently my boyfriend. Although we fell in love with each other at first sight, and began dating almost immediately … we have never slept with each other. Both of us hold true to our Christian roots and we almost made the vow to remain chaste til our wedding day. However, I know that Benedict lusted for me. I could tell from the longing in his eyes. I could tell from the way his hands would wander mindlessly to … you know… certain places when we were kissing. I could tell from the need in his kisses. I could just tell, you know! Of course I always stopped him , but dad, mom--- the flesh is weak! I have to admit that Benedict led me down the road of temptation! He is a good kisser, and you know, his English is so good… the things he says always makes me melt… he knows all the right words dad!
Anyway, I thought that spending some time together in Malacca would help build our relationship and also the presence of you, mom and dad, would force Benedict to behave himself. I mean, back in college he was always trying to get into my pants! And like I said… I was worried that I would give in. There are times that I would go to church to pray for the strength to stay true and innocent, but even in church Ben would try to feel me up! How was I to know that Ben would’ve been so daring as to… as to… *sob*
What happened was that I was sleeping in my room, when a man came in and whispered to me… “It’s me…” I knew that it was my Benedict, from his lean and sexy arms. He laid on top of me and said, “I can’t take it anymore Joanne. I must have you.” I melted. It was my moment of weakness! I allowed him! Oh, I’m so ashamed ma! I allowed him to take my virginity, thinking it would bring us even closer together… thinking that we would be together forever… and now he denies even doing a thing like that! But Benedict --- I will never regret it. How could I? We were so beautiful together. It was like everything they said that it would be … I saw fireworks, I felt like I could do anything… I felt strong and vulnerable at the same time… It all happened so quickly that I forgot to even ask Benedict to wear a condom!
After Benedict finished, he held me in his arms and I fell asleep for a while. When I woke up, I saw that he had already left the room. Maybe this should have alerted me as to his fidelity. Take the goods and leave me as trash. How could you Benedict… But I was a girl crazy in love… I crept to his room hoping to surprise him. I saw him lying there… being his usual sexy self… and I was overcome with lust. I wanted to reenact the magic we had just a few moments earlier. So I decided to wake him up the same way he woke me up. Next thing I know, he suddenly lashed out at me and told me that we will never be together because he hated me and that all he wanted all along was just sex. How could you Benedict? And then he hit me! I screamed, and that’s when you all came rushing in. I admit I lied --- I didn’t know how else to explain the situation, but to me Benedict might as well have raped me. He played me along like a fool just to have sex with me! But ma… pa… I still love him! I don’t want to lose him! Please don’t get the gangsters to beat him up!
All the while, Benedict was unable to speak as Joanne Ling was still lying on top of him.
Mr and Mrs Ling were taken aback with the sudden confession, and nobody said anything for the longest time. Their only daughter was in love with a supposedly abusive-cheating-sly bastard who appeared to be the exact type of person that they wanted to protect Joanne from. How could they not want to avenge Joanne’s lost virginity? It was a long time before Mr Ling spoke.
“I guess since Joanne has spoken, I will have to abide by her wishes. Boy, the only way you can repay my Joanne is by marrying her. Before you leave Malacca, I want the two of you to be engaged. And don’t you dare try to hit her, because I have my thugs around to beat you up if you so much as cause her to cry ever again.”
Benedict was unable to speak this time because he had passed out.
* * * * * * *
Goldie Cheng was ecstatic. Eurene and Igene were pissed at each other and they were fighting! In the Pub! Threats were being tossed around carelessly, so it wasn’t anything new. Eurene blamed Igene for “using” him to get to her boyfriend’s house, under the pretense of getting a cake for the launch. Igene said that she was only being sincere, and the audacity of Eurene trying to blame her was truly mind-blowing. Both of them complained to Seamus at the same time, expecting him to exact revenge on their behalf. Eurene tried to win Seamus’s favour by flexing his muscles seductively and sucking in his “6 in one” stomach. Igene presented her case to Seamus while leaning down so that Seamus got more than an eyeful of cleavage. Unbeknownst to both of them, Seamus was in a world of his own, thinking about the recent fiasco of inviting his twin sisters down to help Lumpy fall in love.
Following Wison’s handbook of seduction (which consisted of 5 lines - “Always say ‘Do what you like’”, “Always pay for the girl”, “Just nod, apologise and buy a gift if the girl says you’ve done something wrong” , “Act blur, girls will think it’s cute, and they won’t realize you’re as dumb as a doorknob and twice as dull” and “Smile!”), Lumpy got all his money drained out by the two princesses of Laksa. The twin sisters flirted with Lumpy endlessly to make him think that he had a chance, and every now and then demanded for material repayment. They also thanked Seamus for introducing such a huge “sui yu” to them. No wonder they were so eager to come down to KL! He knew those two sisters of his were out to make a quick buck.
The problem now laid in the fact that Lumpy was so broke that he had no where to go, but to stay at Benedict’s recently vacated room. How would Seamus get rid of Lumpy before Benedict came back? And what about all those moose hairs around? Benedict would have a fit. He couldn’t throw Lumpy out, since the main reason why Lumpy was in this state was because of him. And besides… he couldn’t bear to throw Lumpy out… he had his uses for him as well.
* * * * * * *
Sitting wide awake on a cold morning and being forced to stay awake is always uncomfortable. Factor in two angry people staring down at you, assuming that you are the scum of the earth, and a hysterical bitch continously crying in the fakest tones you have ever heard, and you would have Benedict’s very own personal hell. Mr and Mrs Ling were threatening him with bodily harm, jailtime, and occasionally, rape (“You will feel what my daughter went through!”). Choong Leeng (still dressed as Seamus, even when she was sleeping) was roused up by Mr Ling, threatening to throw both her-him and Benedict into a pit full of poisonous cobras.
Finally, when Joanne had calmed down (somewhat), Benedict managed to slip in a “TELL THEM THE TRUTH JOANNE!” yell between Mr Ling’s neverending rants.
“You filthy boy! Don’t you know that it’s very traumatising for rape victims to talk about the rape experience?” yelled Mrs Ling.
“I just want her to admit that she attacked me! I’m the one who should be screaming rape, not her!” replied Benedict, equally as heated.
“Hah! What kinda guy would cry rape! Are you going to tell me that my beautiful daughter is so pathetic and unwanted by men that she would resort to seducing the likes of you/” said Mr Ling scornfully.
“Then why would she be in my room? I mean, how do I FORCE your precious daughter into my bedroom and she’s wearing something so skimpy?” questioned Ben. Everyone could see that he had the makings of a lawyer, the type which charge $250 an hour for consultation.
“You noticed her skimpy attire!! And earlier you were proclaiming how you didn’t know what was going on!” Mrs Ling cried out in anguish.
“How can I not mention it when the two of you have been drilling that supposed ‘fact’ into my head the past 3 hours! God, you people are freaks. I’m just going to leave this house, there’s other places I can go to without having to withstand such baseless accusations. You won’t even LOOK at the fact that if I’m supposed to have raped her, this shit would have taken place in HER room. ME SNEAKING IN, NOT THE OTHER WAY ROUND!” Benedict glared at a shocked Mrs Ling, who had her hand dramatically placed over her heart, a dumbfounded Mr Ling, a suddenly quiet Joanne Ling and a sleeping Seamus Choong Leeng.
“Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll pack my bag and Seamus’s bag and leave you three idiots to discover the truth from your tarty daughter.”
Benedict started to turn around when Mr Ling casually backhanded Benedict, causing him to collapse back into his seat. “If you think I’ll let you fuck my daughter and leave, you’re wrong.” Benedict started to open his mouth, put up his fists, punch Mr Ling in his paunchy stomach… but his head was throbbing and his vision was blurring. Joanne ran to Benedict and helped him up and protectively shielded his body with hers.
“What are you doing Joanne! This guy raped you! Why are you protecting him?!” shouted Mrs Ling.
“I… I decided to tell the truth. I was afraid of telling the truth earlier… but when I heard that he wanted to leave… I just couldn’t bear it. I just can’t believe that Benedict would walk away so easily from what we had together!”
“What are you going on about Lui Lui? What happened? Come tell daddy, I won’t scold you… but I might get my guys to rustle this bastard up a bit for even daring to lay his hand on you!”
Joanne cleared her throat and began…
Well, as you know, Benedict is currently my boyfriend. Although we fell in love with each other at first sight, and began dating almost immediately … we have never slept with each other. Both of us hold true to our Christian roots and we almost made the vow to remain chaste til our wedding day. However, I know that Benedict lusted for me. I could tell from the longing in his eyes. I could tell from the way his hands would wander mindlessly to … you know… certain places when we were kissing. I could tell from the need in his kisses. I could just tell, you know! Of course I always stopped him , but dad, mom--- the flesh is weak! I have to admit that Benedict led me down the road of temptation! He is a good kisser, and you know, his English is so good… the things he says always makes me melt… he knows all the right words dad!
Anyway, I thought that spending some time together in Malacca would help build our relationship and also the presence of you, mom and dad, would force Benedict to behave himself. I mean, back in college he was always trying to get into my pants! And like I said… I was worried that I would give in. There are times that I would go to church to pray for the strength to stay true and innocent, but even in church Ben would try to feel me up! How was I to know that Ben would’ve been so daring as to… as to… *sob*
What happened was that I was sleeping in my room, when a man came in and whispered to me… “It’s me…” I knew that it was my Benedict, from his lean and sexy arms. He laid on top of me and said, “I can’t take it anymore Joanne. I must have you.” I melted. It was my moment of weakness! I allowed him! Oh, I’m so ashamed ma! I allowed him to take my virginity, thinking it would bring us even closer together… thinking that we would be together forever… and now he denies even doing a thing like that! But Benedict --- I will never regret it. How could I? We were so beautiful together. It was like everything they said that it would be … I saw fireworks, I felt like I could do anything… I felt strong and vulnerable at the same time… It all happened so quickly that I forgot to even ask Benedict to wear a condom!
After Benedict finished, he held me in his arms and I fell asleep for a while. When I woke up, I saw that he had already left the room. Maybe this should have alerted me as to his fidelity. Take the goods and leave me as trash. How could you Benedict… But I was a girl crazy in love… I crept to his room hoping to surprise him. I saw him lying there… being his usual sexy self… and I was overcome with lust. I wanted to reenact the magic we had just a few moments earlier. So I decided to wake him up the same way he woke me up. Next thing I know, he suddenly lashed out at me and told me that we will never be together because he hated me and that all he wanted all along was just sex. How could you Benedict? And then he hit me! I screamed, and that’s when you all came rushing in. I admit I lied --- I didn’t know how else to explain the situation, but to me Benedict might as well have raped me. He played me along like a fool just to have sex with me! But ma… pa… I still love him! I don’t want to lose him! Please don’t get the gangsters to beat him up!
All the while, Benedict was unable to speak as Joanne Ling was still lying on top of him.
Mr and Mrs Ling were taken aback with the sudden confession, and nobody said anything for the longest time. Their only daughter was in love with a supposedly abusive-cheating-sly bastard who appeared to be the exact type of person that they wanted to protect Joanne from. How could they not want to avenge Joanne’s lost virginity? It was a long time before Mr Ling spoke.
“I guess since Joanne has spoken, I will have to abide by her wishes. Boy, the only way you can repay my Joanne is by marrying her. Before you leave Malacca, I want the two of you to be engaged. And don’t you dare try to hit her, because I have my thugs around to beat you up if you so much as cause her to cry ever again.”
Benedict was unable to speak this time because he had passed out.
* * * * * * *
Goldie Cheng was ecstatic. Eurene and Igene were pissed at each other and they were fighting! In the Pub! Threats were being tossed around carelessly, so it wasn’t anything new. Eurene blamed Igene for “using” him to get to her boyfriend’s house, under the pretense of getting a cake for the launch. Igene said that she was only being sincere, and the audacity of Eurene trying to blame her was truly mind-blowing. Both of them complained to Seamus at the same time, expecting him to exact revenge on their behalf. Eurene tried to win Seamus’s favour by flexing his muscles seductively and sucking in his “6 in one” stomach. Igene presented her case to Seamus while leaning down so that Seamus got more than an eyeful of cleavage. Unbeknownst to both of them, Seamus was in a world of his own, thinking about the recent fiasco of inviting his twin sisters down to help Lumpy fall in love.
Following Wison’s handbook of seduction (which consisted of 5 lines - “Always say ‘Do what you like’”, “Always pay for the girl”, “Just nod, apologise and buy a gift if the girl says you’ve done something wrong” , “Act blur, girls will think it’s cute, and they won’t realize you’re as dumb as a doorknob and twice as dull” and “Smile!”), Lumpy got all his money drained out by the two princesses of Laksa. The twin sisters flirted with Lumpy endlessly to make him think that he had a chance, and every now and then demanded for material repayment. They also thanked Seamus for introducing such a huge “sui yu” to them. No wonder they were so eager to come down to KL! He knew those two sisters of his were out to make a quick buck.
The problem now laid in the fact that Lumpy was so broke that he had no where to go, but to stay at Benedict’s recently vacated room. How would Seamus get rid of Lumpy before Benedict came back? And what about all those moose hairs around? Benedict would have a fit. He couldn’t throw Lumpy out, since the main reason why Lumpy was in this state was because of him. And besides… he couldn’t bear to throw Lumpy out… he had his uses for him as well.
* * * * * * *