Loan Sharks!

        It was another mundane day at school- more homework and more projects. As I thought of watching my favourite cartoon, Spongebob Squarepants, my eyes lit up and I skipped all the way back home. I tossed my bag on the sofa, grabbed a packet of potato chips and jumped on the comfy sofa, switching on the television. I burst into peals of laughter watching Spongebob Squarepants running around my television screen. Reaching out for another chip, I suddenly heard a shout.
        Curious, I peeped out of my house. Nothing. Thinking it was just my imagination, I shrugged my shoulders and was about to go back to my cartoon when I heard it again. Peeping out once more, I could se a burly man plastered in tattoos standing outside Mrs Tan, my neighbour's house. On the walls the were words that read 'O$P$'. This had to be the work of loan sharks. I fished out my handphone from my pocket to inform the police.
          While I was making the call, I could see another loan shark walking out of Mrs Tan's house. He was holding Mrs Tan tightly by her hand, not letting her go. The two loan shards had the similar menacing tattoo of a red serpent on their right arm. One of them had a parang stuck behind his pants.
        It was impossible to think that Mrs Tan would ever borrow money from the loan sharks. She was a kind, helpful and cheerful person. She would always bake cookies and share some with me! Who could be the one in her family borrowing money illegally? Could it be Mr Tan? I had to be him! With the open of the casinos, Mr Tan had changed drastically. He became addicted to gambling and drank a lot. It had to be him!
        From the corner of my eye, I could see the loan sharks brandishing his parang in the air, threating  Mrs Tan to pay up or he would slash her face. Mrs Tan, by that time was shivering in fear. She stood rooted to the ground, wanting to scream for help but nothing came out of her mouth. The parang was placed closer and closer to Mrs Tan's face.
       I knew I had no more time to waste. I stepped out of my house and shouted at the the loan sharks. All eyes turned to look at me. I gulped as I had landed myself into trouble. The other loanshark started chasing after me hollering at the top of his lungs. Questions bombarded my mind. What if he caught me and chopped me up into pieces? What if I was held captive by him and never rescued? What if...
        Luckily, in the nick of time, the men in blue arrived. The loan sharks tried to escape but were surrounded. Within minutes, the police nabbed the loansharks and some police took down our statements. They also informed Mrs Tan that Mr Tan would also be arrested for illegal money borrowing. She nodded as tears welled up in her eyes. I put my arms around her shoulder and comforted her
        I was commended by the police for my brave act and I felt proud and happy for myself. I hope that the loan sharks would learn their lesson in jail and turn over a new leaf. As for Mr Tan, he should not have borrowed money form the illegal moneylenders so Mrs Tan would not have been through such an ordeal on an ordinary Friday afternoon!

Theft

        Whenever I join the long queue at Lim's bookshop in the shopping centre, I would take a walk down the memory lane. I can still vividly remember the heated argument between Mr Lim, the owner of the bookshop and a girl, my friend Sally. It all happened like this...
        It was a sweltering hot Sunday morning. Mum brought me to the nearby shopping mall, ABC Shopping Mall to shop for some things for my barbecue party the next day.
        "Mum! I am going to get some party hats from that shop!" I exclaimed to Mum. She nodded her head and instructed me to wait for her outside Fairprice Supermarket.
Within minutes, I came out of the shops with heavy plastic bags in my hands. I ambled down the aisles of the shops to Fairprice to wait for Mum patiently.
          "BANG!" A strange loud sound could be heard. I turned my head in curiousity to take a look at what the commotion was. It came from Lim's Bookshop's glass panel. I could see a girl, on the floor. When I was about to approach her, she turned around. I realised she was my best friend, Sally!
           Sally was grimacing in pain and clutching onto her bag tightly. Mr Lim, upon seeing what had happened, rushed out to help Sally up. However, just before Sally got up, her bag made a ripping sound and all the contents of her bag poured out, strewn on the ground.
         Sally gasped in horror. I could catch a glimpse of a book, titled The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which I longed for. Mr Lim frowned and picked up the book.
          " Did you pay for this book?" Mr Lim asked suspiciously. Sally nodded her head nervously. Realising that Sally was lying, he inched closer to Sally looking vexed. I could sense an argument approaching.
          " What a liar! You better confess now or I will call the police!" Mr Lim bellowed in anger. Trying to deny the facts, Sally pretended to look angry and shouted back at him. Bad-tempered Mr Lim was so angry that he could not control himself and pulled Sally by her collar. He clenched his fist and questioned Sally if she had stolen the book.
          " I'm sorry... I did not have a choice. It is my best friend's birthday tomorrow and I had to buy a gift for her but I have no savings so I had to result in stealing," Sally confessed, tears welling up in her eyes. Touched and horrified, I rushed to Sally and hugged her.
          " Please, Mr Lim, do not call the police! I will pay for the book on her behalf!" I begged. Seemingly happy by the answer, he nodded his head but set a stern rule that Sally would no longer be allowed to step in his bookshop again. Sally nodded her head vigorously and hugged me back.
          " Sally, please promise me you will not steal again. This book is for you," I whispered to her. We hugged each other and smiled at each other. Sally regretted her rash act and never stole again.
          " Ermmm... Miss, it's your turn," a voice jolted me back to reality. Smiling to myself, I stepped out of Lim's bookshop happy and proud that Sally decided to turn over a new leaf.

Pickpocket!

      It was a glorious Sunday morning. Mum pulled me out of bed and told me excitedly that we were going to the market. Reluctantly, I got out of my comfy, soft bed and got ready to go.

      Stifling a yawn, I walked towards the fish stall while Mum was choosing fresh fish and prawns for today's dinner. The fishmonger wore a threadbore vest and an old pair of shorts. His plastic-gloved hands handled the slippery fish with great dexterity.

       "Pooh, what a stink!" I exclaimed as I pinched my nose. On a typical Sunday morning, like today, the market was bustling with people. Loud music blaring from the stalls competed with the noisy cries of vendors.

      "Pickpocket! Pickpocket!" a voice shouted across the wet market. All heads tuned towards the direction the shout was coming from. It was an old, feeble lady, sitting on the ground grimacing in pain. A burly man gave chase to the pickpocket. Another man, my neighbour, Mr Lim, told people around the old lady to help her while he fished out his phone to dial for the police.

      "There goes my marketing money! What am I going to do?" the old lady complained. Unfortunately, while the pickpocket was running for his dear life, he did not notice that there was a puddle of water on the floor. He slipped on the puddle of water and fell down, flat, on the floor. Soon, the burly man caught up and pinned him tightly to the ground.

       The shrill sirens of the police car indicated the arrival of the men in blue. The police handcuffed the pickpocket, forcing him into the police car while some police took down the frightened old lady's statement.

       "Let me go!" the pickpocket's cries could be heard from a distance.

        Following that, the burly man passed the wallet back to its owner- the old lady. The old lady thanked him profusely and even offered him some money but he declined.

        I hope that the pickpocket will know that crime does not pay. We hoped that he would turn over a new leaf. I admire the burly man for his courage. I hope I could be like him one day.