A legend he was, a legend he still is. RIP, Mr Guna.

He wasn't exactly one of the teachers that I look forward to see every time I popped in at KMB, but definitely one of the most remarkable ones, the one that if he caught me, he would definitely stop me and ask how things were going.

Especially between me and my other half. Eheh, yes that was always his word referring to Adam - THE OTHER HALF.

Who could believe that one of KMB's greatest legends is now gone. He was our Biology teacher, our mentor, specifically. Despite the finger-countable meetings held during mentor mentee sessions, we didn't really mind. Well, at least I didn't mind at all. Nak meeting banyak3 kali pun buat apaaaaa? Lainlah kalau ada makan3 kannnnn. Blergh Bella, kalau pasal makan, nak je.

I remember in early Sem 3, he said he wanted to see me, right in front of the class. Fuh. Cuak takyah cakap lah, Bella mana pernah kena panggil dengan cikgu sampai camtu skali. But then, he was only concerned about me, for I seemed different, in a bad way. Frankly, I was pretty miserable that time, my personal life was going haywire, I was sick of studying. I told him that I had lost interest in studying. Penat. Taknak dah. Kononnya Sem 2 belajar separuh nyawa, Sem 3 dah penat, so takboleh dah. He asked me to slow down, one thing at a time. Masa tu bukannya busy sangat pun, ada lah Fish for Life sikit3 nak kena handle. Tapi serius time tu nak give up dah. Ingat lagi dia sound, students ni pelik, kalau tak score Sem 2 susah, menangis3 sebab nak placement bagus, tapi kalau dah score, dapat placement yang memang nak, jadi macam Bella pulak. Penat. exhausted. Nak give up.  Habis tu macam mana lagi? And lastly soalan paling best – any relationship problems? Putus cinta ka. (his students would know how to read with his tone)

Man, he really got me that time.

And oh, he wouldn't call us by our nicknames. NEVER. He called Ridhu as Amad, KN as Khairul and me, obviously, NABILAH. He thought nicks are shitty, that our parents gave us names and we should appreciate them and use them.

Until he learned the fact that the whole college was calling me Bella. Itu pun dalam Sem 4 nak dekat3 IRP. And make fun out of it. Bella Bella. Wow, nama you glamour heh?

On a very personal note, I always thought he knew about me and Adam, for he seemed to always be teasing us in class. Cakap pasal cinta zaman remaja yang tak kekal lah. Kahwin muda lah. I still remember, he was doing comparisons - kat kolej ni ikan bilis je yang you jumpa, kat luar ada lagi ikan paus besar3. Or something like that. Huyoh, terus kena atas kepala der.

One point, he asked if I was in love - Nabilah, are you in love? Terus blushing. Adam kat sebelah dah taktahu nak sorok muka kat mana. Obvious sangat kah?

A mind reader he was. Psycho yang agak lah.

Until rupa3nya he never knew about us being official. Sebab there was one time I went to KMB after graduation, the other teacher was asking about Adam, and he overheard it. Terus tanya, "Bella, are you with Adam?" dengan muka tak bersalah.

Lol. Terus speechless, I thought you knew all this while! He said not at all. “I mean, yes, you two look close as a pair, but I never thought it’s official.” More or less like that. Tapi lagi speechless bila dia cakap,

“WHY HIM?”

Alamak, takpernah lagi ada cikgu yang tanya camtu. Terus blushing, speechless.

Ahh, good times. KMB was my comfort zone. Though in his class, I seldom raised my head because I was afraid he would ask random questions about Biology. Cuak bai. Bella study untuk pass exam je, mana lah nak ingat chamber3 of hearts tu kalau tanya spontan. Time Biology pun mengantuk je, walaupun dia pernah cakap, my notes boleh buat buku teks. Nerd pfft. Tapi bangga jugak lah. Eheh.

I feel a bit sedih that my juniors (super super juniors, that is), won’t get the chance to know him. Tak perlu jadi students dia pun, just know him and who he is. A legend in KMB.

Picture from Facebook, thanks to Atik, KMB 08/10

May you rest in peace, Mr Guna.