5. Disappointment

I was alone at home on a week day during my school holiday. I was sitting on the sofa, reading a book. Suddenly, the phone started ringing and the ringing tone could be heard across the entire house. I jumped up immediately and went to pick up the call. “Congratulations! You have won yourself a thousand dollars from our annual lucky draw! Could you please provide us with your full name, identification card number and your mobile phone number? We will get back to you once we have processed your information.” I was totally lost for words. Could I have been so lucky? I always wanted extra allowance from my parents but they always refused to give me any. Now, I have a thousand dollars all by myself! Without hesitation, I revealed my personal information to the speaker. Little did I know that this step was a wrong step, very wrong step...


After hanging up the phone call, I closed my book and kept it back to the book shelf. I picked up the phone again, but this time to my best friend Kate. I told her about my luck and how I was going to use the money to get the latest phone model and that limited edition pair of shoes that I had always yearned for. Instead of celebrating the euphoria with me, this was what Kate told me, “Don’t be silly! Haven’t you been catching up with the news recently? There are so many fraud cases and so many people have become victims! Don’t believe what the speaker had told you!” I was fuming with rage when she told me that. I disconnected the call and let the conversation come to an end. How could she say that! Was she being jealous of the good luck that had befallen on me that she had to say such words to convince me to ignore the lucky draw? Being a stubborn person, I turned her advice to death ears and continued to immerse myself in my world.


Several days later, I still did not receive any news from the speaker. I started to doubt if the lucky draw was real or was Kate right. I searched for the contact number of the dialer and dialed the same number using my phone. However, a recorded speech was being played. It said, “Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later. Thank you.”


I did not dare to tell my parents about this as I had revealed my personal information to a total stranger that day. I ransacked my mind to search my mind for someone who could help me get out of this trouble. The only person that came to my mind was still Kate. The both of us came up with suggestions but all seemed to be of no use at all.


Three hours later, I told Kate that I have decided to file a police report. I went to the police station, alone. I explained the situation to a police officer from the beginning. He informed my parents and in no time, my parents were standing right before my eyes. The police officer concluded that that was just a prank played on me and I was not chosen from the lucky draw. I was told not to reveal my personal information to anyone unnecessarily, especially strangers. Although I was disappointed that I did not get to purchase the latest phone model and the pair of limited edition shoes, I have really learnt not to trust people so easily.