Mai was not singing, but her enchanting voice was definitely what all professional singers coveted.

I
was sitting in front of her, slowly sipping my freshly brewed coffee as her musical voice dance in my
head, awakening the best moments of my life. Then he came.
He was wearing blue jeans and a red T-shirt. His hair was spiky and carefully gelled on top. He was
a good looking boy, but the way he looked at me immediately created a wave of hatred surging up
inside me. His eyes were big and dark black, but in the tiniest moment they met my eyes, his eyes
became two bullets shooting directly at me. He sat down, his table was opposite ours. He ordered
some drinks and took out a book titled !ove Triangle."
#at, are you listening$" Mai asked me.
I suddenly remembered why I was there. I was talking to Mai, my girlfriend on our first date. I was
supposed to have a good time with her - like I did just before he came. he" - the arrogant boy who
had taken a scholarship to study abroad. he was Mai%s e&-boyfriend and had claimed to fight with
me when he returned. I found it strange that I could still remember his name, Minh.
I tried to ignore him and continued talking to Mai. However, the harder I tried, the more I thought
about Minh. 'hy was he here, alone$ 'as he planning something evil$ 'as he trying to destroy
my date$ (es, he was. I was )uite sure that he must have a conspiracy behind his presence here. I
could feel him ga*ing on us like a scheming tiger hiding behind tall grasses observing its prey. It
would be just a matter of time before the tiger revealed itself and slaughtered the innocent prey.
Mai was talking continuously about her new dress, how attractive it looked in the shop and how
ordinary she found it when she got home. It was not what she talked about that I liked. It was her
melodious voice - the way she raised it to the sky and suddenly dropped it to the bottom of the sea
that I enjoyed. +ut not now, not when our enemy was close by and waiting for his best chance to
attack. I took a glance at Minh, and just as I e&pected, his hungry eyes met mine in a split of
second. He )uickly looked down at his book as he found my eyes fi&ed on him. There was no doubt,
there would be a battle - not between a tiger and its prey but between two true men fighting for their
lover.
Minh went to the toilet. (es, this was the best opportunity to make a surprise attack and finish this
unavoidable battle without making a scene. Mai, sorry but I need to go to the toilet... urgently," I
said and )uickly rushed after Minh.
There were only two of us in the toilet. 'onderful," I thought as I confronted Minh. 'hat are you
doing here$"
Minh smirked, -h, #at. I know you think I%m here to destroy your date, but don%t worry. I%m not
interested in Mai anymore. I%m waiting for my new girl, !inh. .he%s much nicer and prettier than your
little Mai."
That was it. That was the end of the story. How could I start a war with him now$ I walked out of the
toilet, blaming myself for being such an idiot, but anyway, I was relieved because now I could enjoy
my date again.
However, as I reached our table, there was only a note left. #at. I found out that we shouldn%t be
together anymore. I%m always the one who talks and I have alwasy thought that you liked it. +ut
today I have reali*ed that you didn%t even bother to listen. I could tell that from your face. (ou are not
serious about our relationship,"
-h no, This was really the end of the story.
/lternate version
It was not what she was talking about that I admired, but the way she pronounced every word
melodiously. I was listening to her musical voice, letting it dance in my head and savouring a
carefully brewed cup of tea when he came.
0aptain of the school%s basketball team, and with an academic result that topped the cohort last
year, he was the boyfriend every girl desired, yet Minh seemed to set his eyes on only one girl - Mai,
who also happened to be my target. 1ow, he had come to destroy one of the very few precious
moment I had with Mai.
#at, what are you looking at$ /re you listening to what I am saying$" Mai%s beautiful voice broke
my flow of thoughts. I switched the focus of my eyes back to her again, but from time to time, I could
not resist throwing a suspicious glance at Minh.
He was sitting not very far from us. His hair was carefully gelled and he dressed as if nobody else
had the broad chest and muscles like him. I was very sure that it was a tactic to attract girls, which
he would use on Mai very soon. There was a moment when our eyes met, in the shortest time, but I
could feel all the hatred and jealousy he was hurling at me. The ne&t time I glanced at him, his eyes
were covered behind a book titled !ove Triangle."
Minh%s presence had turned my day from heaven to hell. Mai%s voice felt diluted in my head, which
was flooded with thoughts of what Minh was going to do. / fire had been started inside of me, and it
was growing stronger and more violent, burning all my other thoughts. .uddenly, Minh went to the
restroom, and I reali*ed that this would be the best chance to finish this thing off without making a
scene. I would go and tell him to stay away from my girl, or approach her like a man. .o I left Mai
and went to the restroom.
To my surprise, Minh greeted my cordially and said2
Hey. How are you$ I know you are having a little date" with Mai. #on%t worry, I am not interested in
her anymore. I am waiting for my new girlfriend, Thuy. .o enjoy your date."
I fro*e at his words. This would be the end of the story. There would bw no confrontation, because
there had never been any conspiracy. -n the bright side, I could go back to my table and enjoy my
time with Mai again. I blamed myself for being too carried away by my imagination.
However, the only thing left on my table was a little note2
#at, I thought I liked you but i was very wrong. I thought you were a nice person but thanks to the
e&perience I had today, I have reali*ed that you never cared about what I was saying at all. .o,
goodbye. Have a nice day."
-h no, this was the real end of the story,