Throwback Thursday: The Day I Snapped!

I’m not someone who likes confrontation. If anything, I try to avoid it like the plague. I’d rather roll my eyes silently and move on than start a scene. But let’s be clear — just because I’m quiet doesn’t mean I won’t snap. And back then, before I hit my 30s, my fuse was a little shorter.

So let’s rewind to when I was 13 years old, staying in a boarding school. One night, my senior — 17 years old — got the full Faiz experience… and not the cute, funny version.

It started off harmless. The seniors were celebrating someone’s birthday outside the dorm with the usual tradition — eggs, flour, water, and whatever else they could throw. I didn’t care. I was done for the night. I had already ironed my school uniform (a rare event that deserves applause, honestly) and made up my bed.

Then... chaos.

The birthday boy ran into my dorm, trying to escape the madness. I specifically told them, “Please don’t dirty the room.” But you know how it goes. One of the seniors — either unaware or just reckless — stormed in and splashed a bucket of god-knows-what across the room. My bed? Soaked. My freshly ironed uniform? Destroyed.

Now listen, I could’ve lived with the bed. I could’ve even laughed it off.

But my uniform? That one thing I made an effort to prep?

Absolutely not.

Something in me snapped. I stood up and screamed at the top of my lungs:

“BABIIIIIIIIIII! Aku dah cakap jangan kotorkan bilik akuuuuuuuuuu!!!”

I don’t even remember what I picked up to swing at him, but someone held me back and said, “Sabar, tu senior tu.”

And I shouted back, “Peduli apa aku senior ke tak, kalau dah bodoh tu bodoh juga!”

The room went silent. The chaos? Paused. The senior apologized, but I was fuming.

“Siapa nak basuh baju aku? Siapa nak gosok baju aku?!” I yelled.

People started giving me that look — the “you’re dead for yelling at a senior” look. But I couldn’t care less. Just because you’re older doesn’t give you a pass to act like an animal. Respect works both ways.

As expected, I got called to their dorm later. They tried to lecture me on respect, but honestly? I wasn’t scared. When I’m angry, fear shuts off completely. I looked them straight in the eyes and said,

“Kalau apa-apa jadi dekat aku, aku dah bagitahu family aku dan warden. So pandai-pandailah.”

And guess what? Nothing happened.

After that, some of them tried to isolate me or “warn” others to stay away from me.

Little did they know — I thrive in solitude. You think not talking to me is punishment? Please. That’s peace.

Looking back now as someone in their 30s, I realize how much I’ve mellowed out. I rarely, if ever, get that mad these days. But that moment at 13?

I stand by it.

Because sometimes, you have to scream to be heard.