Day 135: Rainy Day Drama

Rain has a way of making everything either cinematic or catastrophic. Today, it was definitely the latter.

The morning started with a drizzle that quickly escalated into a torrential downpour. I had two options: skip my 8 a.m. lecture and stay cozy in bed or brave the storm and risk looking like a drowned rat by the time I got to class. Responsible Eddie won the internal debate, so I grabbed my umbrella and headed out.

The first sign of trouble was the wind. Umbrellas are no match for Malaysian rainstorms, and mine flipped inside out within seconds. As I wrestled with it, my bag slipped off my shoulder and landed in a puddle. Great. By the time I reached the bus stop, I was already soaked, and my notes were soggy beyond salvation.

At the bus stop, I found Faisal and Amanda. Faisal was in his usual carefree mode, wearing sandals and acting as if the rain was a personal challenge to his machismo. Amanda, on the other hand, looked like she had planned for the apocalypse, with a raincoat, waterproof boots, and an umbrella that could double as a tent.

“You look like you fell into a river,” Amanda commented, eyeing my dripping clothes.

“Thanks for the encouragement,” I muttered, shivering.

The bus finally arrived, packed to the brim with other wet and miserable students. We squeezed in, and I ended up standing in the aisle, clutching a pole for dear life as the driver sped through the rain-soaked streets like he was auditioning for an action movie.

Halfway to campus, the bus hit a pothole, splashing water onto the nearest passengers. Faisal got the worst of it, but he just laughed it off. “Free shower,” he quipped, earning groans from everyone around him.

When we arrived at campus, the sidewalks were flooded, and streams of water were gushing down the stairs leading to the main building. “This looks like the set of Jumanji,” Faisal said, snapping a photo for his Instagram story.

Amanda and I ignored him and trudged toward the lecture hall. By the time we got there, the rain had slowed to a drizzle, but the damage was done. My shoes squelched with every step, and my socks were so wet they felt like they’d fused to my skin.

The lecture itself was a blur. I was too busy trying to discreetly dry my notes under the desk and avoid hypothermia. Amanda, ever the perfectionist, was taking notes like it was any other day, while Faisal leaned back in his chair, shaking water out of his hair and making puddles on the floor.

The real drama came after class when we discovered that the storm had caused a campus-wide power outage. The library, cafeteria, and even the student center were all closed.

“We’re trapped in the Stone Age,” Faisal declared dramatically.

“More like the Wet Age,” Amanda shot back.

With nowhere to go and no electricity, we decided to make the best of it. Faisal suggested exploring the campus to see the “waterfalls” created by the rain. Amanda wasn’t thrilled about the idea, but I figured, why not?

We ended up near the sports field, where the drainage system had failed spectacularly. Water was pouring down the hill in a mini waterfall, and a group of students had started a spontaneous water fight. Faisal, of course, couldn’t resist joining in. Within minutes, he was soaked again, this time voluntarily.

Amanda and I watched from a safe distance, laughing at Faisal’s antics. For a moment, the miserable day didn’t seem so bad.

By the time we got back to the dorm, the rain had stopped, and the power was finally restored. I spent the evening drying my notes with a hairdryer and swearing to invest in waterproof everything.

Lesson of the day: Rain can ruin your plans—or turn an ordinary day into an unforgettable adventure. And next time, I’m borrowing Amanda’s raincoat.