[zzzzzzz]

I met my (then) best buddy, "S", while I was serving NS as a trainee in an army camp in the west part of Singapore. We slept in the same bunk and shared a double decker bunk bed. I slept on the top, while he at the bottom. S was born in Singapore but moved overseas with his parents from a young age when they left Singapore for work. Therefore, he spoke with an accent. Consequently, the platoon mates always made fun of him, although in a light-hearted way. S was tall, at over 1.83 metres, well built, and had chiseled facial features despite having no caucasian blood. I recall that we used to say to him that the overseas food must had made him look like an "ang moh".

Despite not being brought up in Singapore, S got along well with everyone and took the jibes in his stride. Over the weeks of tough training, our bunk mates formed a close bond with each other.

S had a girlfriend back in the country where he grew up. She was a very beautiful girl. How did we find out? Because he had a photo of her in his wallet and one of the guys accidentally saw the photo when we were having our canteen break one day. He was the ultimate alpha male in the platoon in that sense, tall, handsome, had a beautiful girlfriend, and was going to further his studies at a prestigious university after ORD. He was the envy of the entire platoon. He also was outgoing and helpful and had a wicked sense of humour. Very soon everyone took to him, despite the difference in our growing-up experiences.

It was one week before the end of our course, after which we may all be split up and posted to various units. To celebrate the coming end of the course, the guys in our bunk, about 10 of us, decided to meet for steamboat at Marina South on the upcoming Saturday evening. Saturday afternoon came and it was finally the penultimate book out day at the training institute. We left for our respective homes first to drop off our belongings. I went home, had a change of clothes, and travelled by MRT to meet my bunk mates at Marina South at 5.30pm. In those days Chin Huat BBQ steamboat was very popular and you have to reach early on weekends to chope your seats.