He drove to work in his newly bought car, a short while after he started working.
This wouldn't come as a surprise, as he holds the First Class Honor in his local university, in a country where paper qualifications are more important than any other quality factor a person may have.
Especially so when you want a stable job, or so they call the "iron-bowl" in the government sector.
Higher your qualifications from your local uni, higher the chance you get to climb up the ladder quick. Just go to work 8-5, drive home and the rest of the day is yours.
He's your perfect Singapore boy, studying his whole life comfortably with the support of parents without having to worry for anything else because other than getting As, what else is there to worry about? Any presents or gifts, don't worry about it, Mama will get it for you, just focus on your studies
She was waiting for the bus outside her house, preparing to tear through the pushing crowd to earn a spot on the bus, especially so when the bus does not come on time, followed by running through the hoards of slow-moving people to get to the train, then trying to catch her breath after all the running and anxiety. And praying hard the train doesn't stall for no reason, just like every other morning.
She holds just a Diploma in her local polytechnic, still pursuing her non-local degree, while trying to earn a meager sum in the day, so as to provide for herself and pay her school fees. She grabs any opportunities to work odd jobs, which means no sleep sometimes, just to earn that few extra hundred bucks.
She's the not-so-perfect Singapore girl, having to work part-time while studying in Secondary school because her Mom told her to "earn your own money if you want to buy anything". So she joined her friends to work at a factory packing cookies for Chinese New Year when she was 12, followed by working for various fast food outlets when she turned 14, earning $2.80/hour, to when she turned 21, earning $4.50/hour until she graduated from her local poly. Because her mother did not have enough money for her, because her mother had more than enough on her own plate. She did not want to be a burden to her. Because she loved her mother.
Oh yes, Perfect Singapore boy and Not-so-Perfect Singapore girl shares the same parents.
