Excerpts from "REFLECTIONS BY THE LAKE - Memories of Chung Cheng"
Written as a piece of homework, which was to write a journal about our first three months in TJC. However, I decided to write about CCHS, with whom I have greater and more enjoyable memories.
* * *
Reflections…
…of GHOST STORIES
As an old school, Chung Cheng High has often been rumoured to be plagued with ghosts. A few notable places include the Grand Auditorium (formerly called the ‘Old Audi’) and the CCA Block (formerly named as the ‘Administration Block’; that was, until the Grand Auditorium was renovated and then the staff moved their offices from this particular building).
There was a story behind the CCA Block haunting. It was centred on this girl, who was very bright and managed to enter the Special Stream in the school. Unfortunately, she was involved in an accident, which caused her some brain problems. As a result, she had to move to the Express Stream.
During an examination, for no obvious reason, she suddenly dashed out of the classroom. The astounded teachers followed her. She scooted up the CCA Block to the topmost floor, and appeared at the small window located at the very end of the corridor facing the Grand Auditorium. She threatened to take her life. The teachers gathered at the base of the building facing the façade where that window was. They coaxed her not to do so. But their plea fell on deaf ears.
It was a sad day. But it left a legacy.
It was said that, if one stared at that particular window on the fourth floor at midnight, one would see a female ghost. One of my friends has claimed to see it, but I am unsure whether his claim is true or false.
Most of the stories, however, concern the Grand Auditorium building. It is really a marvellous structure, filled with Oriental flavour – to be precise, from Mao Zedong’s period. There is a gigantic auditorium behind – large enough to be compared to the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall, although the acoustics there suck.
Magnificent by day, eerie by night. That’s what the seniors used to describe the grand old dame, before she was given a facelift. That claim is rather substantial; the entire school is rather spooky at night, before the lights were erected.
There was the story about the haunted piano backstage. There were actually two pianos. The grand piano used for concerts and recitals was harmless, but the other piano, hidden from audience view, was the nightmare.
This piano was a small upright model, made in China since it bore the name of Pearl River. It was in a dilapidated condition, with a hollow timbre and splitting wood surface. It must have been there since the time of the Communist Insurgence.
This piano seemed to have a mind of its own. Once, a few girls, who had been exploring the backstage, decided to enter the dressing room and close the door. While the door was shut, they thought they heard someone playing the piano. They knew it couldn’t have come from the grand piano since it was located on the stage. The sound was quite audible. They deduced it came from the piano outside the dressing room, which was that upright piano. They opened the door to see who was it playing, but they saw no one. It confirmed their suspicions – if there had been someone else, they would have heard his footsteps. The door of the dressing room was not exactly soundproof.
The other incident was more shocking. Apparently a girl had played on the piano for fun. When she returned to class for her lesson, her friends found that she acted rather weirdly. Halfway through the lesson, she let out an abrupt ear-piercing scream, which shocked the entire population of the class. Her teacher understood that she wasn’t trying to attract any attention, since before that she had been relatively quiet, except for some gibberish that she mumbled to no one in particular. They determined that there was something wrong with her.
Her fears – and the class’ fears – were confirmed after the girl quietened down and began drawing. The object she penned on the paper was – that very piano she had played earlier in the day.
She had been possessed.
After the renovation, the piano had been removed, so there is no knowing what would be the fate of the piano.
The history of Chung Cheng stretched to the wartime era.
There was talk of a tunnel leading from the old library on the second floor of the Old Auditorium to the pond. It was rumoured to have been utilised by the Japanese when they occupied the school for their war efforts. But since then, this claim had been termed as ‘ultimate bullshit’ since no tunnel was reported when the pond was emptied for the construction of the new extension block.
A magnificent and enormous portrait of the school’s founder and first principal, Dr Chuang Chu Lin, hung on the third floor of the Grand Auditorium. Back then, there was a large mezzanine, which could be used as a reception area for functions, before the contractors converted that into a teachers’ workroom. Dr Chuang’s portrait hung from one of these walls. It showed his full figure, dressed in a dark-coloured jacket and trousers. One hand was hidden in a pocket, the other holding a book. The background was that of the shelves in a library.
There was something about this portrait that made the students uneasy, especially when they were all alone on the mezzanine level. One would have the feeling of being watched – as if Dr Chuang’s eyes had come to life and were tailing every movement one made.
During the renovation, the portrait was removed and stored in the PE store at the CCA Block. Once I went into this very PE store for an exploration – and discovered the portrait of Dr Chuang hidden behind some piles of desks. It gave me quite a shock, partly because only his face was revealed and it stared at me with unnerve.
I dashed out of that room without hesitation.
Every year, during the Secondary One orientation, such stories would be passed down by mouth from the seniors to the juniors. Often the tales had modifications, partly due to the fact that such stories could not be remembered in total completion by the storyteller, or that some parts of the stories were hard to believe. Either way, through the process of retelling them, the storyteller would change bits of the stories. There were also claims of white figures jumping at the small windows of the sixth story of the Grand Auditorium, just below the roof. The fourth storey itself had been locked throughout, since the school wanted to prevent students from hiding up there to take a puff, or conceal themselves there for the purpose of cheating in an exam.
* * *
Reflections…
…of CLASS BENEVOLENCE
The Class Population
My class was called ‘Benevolence’; in short form it would be written as ‘BN’. I was in this class for the rest of my Upper Secondary days. And the people there would leave a great impression on me for the rest of my life. Most of the people were interesting characters.
• Kenny Phua: ‘Phuazzy’ often wrote stories – fantasy stories to be exact. Note that these characters were actually names of our classmates.
• Edwin Lee: Edwin was cute and lean. He enjoyed reading comics, and often hid them under his table. He had an extremely weird way of pronouncing words, but they contributed to the fun anyway.
• Adrian Chui: Adrian was fondly remembered for the bandage on his head. During the 2.4km run, he inexplicably rammed his head headfirst into a lamppost. How he did that and why he did that still remained a mystery. Anyway, not long afterwards, our class took a class photograph. I wouldn’t have to tell anyone which person in the photograph was Adrian.
• Shaun Lim: Shaun enjoyed wrestling; he used to organise wrestling in class during recess. Of which the boys from the other classes would come in and observe.
• Kang Liedong: Liedong was mad about Hitler. In fact, he excelled at Hitler too. He scored tops during a History test about the Nazis. His favourite slogan, obviously, was: “Heil Hitler!”
• Bernard Ng: Bernard was a poor thing; he was often made fun of. There were too many jokes anyway.
• Koh Chong Tang: Chong Tang was nicknamed ‘Elmo’ due to his resemblance to the character from Sesame Street. He was a talented guy; he could play the sheng (Chinese Mouth Organ). He could twist his foot such that it faced backwards while he walked forward, and he kept making burping noises to irritate, especially, the girls.
• Chen Zhihan: Zhihan sat behind me in class. He was often complaining about one thing or another. Forever complaining.
• Xu Li’En: Li’En was a cute guy, tall and thin, always chasing the girls – or was I wrong? Anyway, he was an Internet whiz and always hung out on the IRC. He excelled in Chinese chess – well, he was in the Chinese Chess Club anyway!
• Poh Yong Chuan: our class called him ‘Pimp Daddy’. He was kind of disgusting. Someone tried to revere and increase that status by placing a couple of pornographic VCDs on his table during recess, when Yong Chuan was not around. Too bad the other boys jested him.
• Sng Teck Hoo: he knew how to get into fights with others – I tried to avoid offending him as much as possible, but turned out he was nicer than expected.
• Jasmine Ong: the English whiz and ‘Machine Gun’ known for her rapid firing of words. We had always wondered how she had that American accent while the others in her family had none.
• Yau Wan Ping: argh! I’m sorry to say that she was a termagant.
• Sim Chon Ju: our class called her the ‘Dog’ because of her hairstyle, which resembled that of a terrier’s. She was persuaded to change her hairstyle, but would she listen? No. Later, when she tried to cut her hair, the boys jested her even more severely.
• Wilson Tan: this guy was a basketball pro, yet a pain in the neck in school. He was either farting during classes, or disturbing the girls, especially those sitting around him, by doing vile acts.
• Leung Ka Kui: Ka Kui always found himself sleeping in class for some inexplicable reason. Which resulted him being ticked off by teachers frequently.
* * * * *
Reflections…
…of WRESTLING MATCHES IN CLASS
Men will always be men.
And so Men love wrestling.
They can easily rattle off wrestlers’ names, such as The Rock, Kurt Russell, The Undertaker, and a whole list of them.
And it is so that a few of the men in my class have the urge to play rough themselves. Which is why they organised wrestling tournaments almost every recess.
As soon as the bell rang, a representative would be sent downstairs to smuggle food into the classroom. He would take orders from the boys, go to the canteen to purchase the food, and sneak it back by hiding the packets into his schoolbag on the pretext that he had just come from another lesson. Meanwhile, the other boys prepared the wrestling arena, where the matches would be held. The student desks would be pushed back, while the large teacher’s table remained. The desk was a reminiscence of the commentaries’ table used in professional wrestling matches. It was actually a prop that was hinged in the exact middle, such that when a professional wrestler landed on it, it would break into half as if caused by the massive weight of a muscular participant.
Shaun Lim, Ka Kui and Adrian were the main wrestlers. Shaun was a short stocky and bespectacled guy - although he lacked the muscles, his figure was sufficient to knock down any opponent, particular the extremely lean Adrian.
The matches would begin without any formalities. Our wrestlers would charge at each other, and bump their bodies. “Oof!” they cried, and then sprung backward, as if the force threw them apart from one another. Adrian would attempt to lunge at Shaun once again, only to be thrown onto the teacher’s table with great force. Of course, this was all in the act. Adrian merely exerted force onto the table, such that a loud bang was produced.
The boys applauded thunderously.
There was no proper ring; both widths of the classroom substituted as the rope that held the wrestlers within the ring. It was up to the wrestlers in our class to make the effect of ‘bouncing’ off the rope as real as possible. The rope was used as an accelerating tool to hit the opponent at full force.
The wrestling matches are too much to describe; I have provided the basic details about each match. One has to watch it in full to appreciate the humour and the action of the both the wrestlers and the audience. Unfortunately, it doesn’t exist anymore.
* * * * *
Reflections…
…of CONDUCTING THE ORCHESTRA
I first got to conduct my school’s Chinese Orchestra in 2000. The conductor mentioned that he was unable to attend our school’s Chinese New Year celebrations, so he would need someone else to lead the orchestra on his behalf. He began to question the whole lot of us: “Anybody here who knows how to conduct?”
Secretly, I wished I would be the chosen one. Having sat near the front of the orchestra for almost a year, and watching the conductor rehearsing with us, I took a sudden interest in conducting. I thought that it would be fun to be the figure of authority over the entire orchestra. At the same time, I would be able to polish a work through my own interpretations. In other words, I would command the musicians to play the way I wanted them to play.
One of the mysteries that I had never been able to solve was how I became the chosen one. I had just returned from break, and the other members of the orchestra were already seated. I realised I was late, and hurried back to my place. Suddenly, the conductor, seated at the podium, called me, which led me to stop in my tracks. “August, can you conduct or not?”
I was stunned. I never expected him to call me. My heart missed a double beat, rose to my throat and lodged there. I didn’t know whether I should accept or reject.
Eventually I decided to grab this opportunity, otherwise it would never come again. (Looking back, I realised how regretful I would have felt if I had rejected this invitation, citing that I would not be able to conduct due to the lack of training. But what the heck…please read on.)
The conductor gave me on-the-spot training. The strokes were rather difficult at first, but after waving repeatedly for a few times the whole thing became a piece of cake. I also learnt how to read a conductors’ score, which was much more complicating than an ordinary piano score, since there were twenty to thirty staves on the same sheet of paper, each containing a musicians’ part.
On the big day itself, I was undoubtedly nervous. This was the first time I would ever be on stage. As the curtains were raised, the emcee announced my name to the audience. Those who knew me applauded and cheered, which sort of brought back some confidence into me.
The time now came for me to stride onto stage. I was shaking in the knees as I raised my first baton – not more than a wooden stick meant to be a toy car axle – and commanded the orchestra to play. It was like magic, the orchestra responding to each movement.
I practised body movement in my conducting, for I felt that by standing there and simply waving my hands, I would rather have used a metronome in my place.
I was happy that my first effort didn’t flop, although some teething problems did arise midway through the performance.
The most embarrassing moment of my conducting experience was in the year of 2001, when I was suddenly asked to conduct a small ensemble (from our school) for their performance at the Teacher’s Day Dinner – again for the same reason that the conductor could not make it.
The banquet was held at the Central Parkroyal Hotel in town. The stage was quite small – the percussion had to be moved to the bottom right-hand-side of the stage, and the cellos and double bass had to play on the floor, right next to the guest-of-honours, since the rest of the instruments took up the rest of the space. For me, I improvised standing on the makeshift steps that were meant for the stage. It was narrow and thus hampered movement. But that was the only way for the orchestra to see me, since I would be level with them on stage.
Problems arose, though. First, the two cellists complained that they could not see me. I was standing above them and their score was below them. There was no way either one could enter their eye at the same time. Similarly, the percussion remarked they were blocked by the rostrum, which was not allowed to be moved due to the complications in re-setting it once again. The guest-of-honour, Mr Jimmy Koh, would be using the rostrum immediately after we took our bow. The technical crew did not wish to keep Mr Koh waiting, so the podium stayed. I told the percussionists to shift their instruments more towards the right so that they were in full view. Then again, they were getting too close to one of the tables. There was no choice. I myself was standing too close to the guests, whose heads were just below me. I had to swing my arms a couple of times – with someone sitting below me – to ensure that I would not hit anybody during the performance. I had given no thought about scooping up a wig and hurling it into the hair – probably onto someone else’s head.
At that time, I hadn’t bought a proper conducting baton, so I improvised using balloon sticks instead. I bought a couple of them, in case one of them broke during the performance. These sticks were hollow, and through force they snapped.
Suddenly, the emcee told everybody in the room to rise. There were teachers from Chung Cheng High School – the Main and Branch schools – as well as lecturers and tutors from Nanyang Junior College, our affiliated school. Everybody presumed that the guests-of-honour had arrived. We were running late by half an hour, anyway, and the emcee kept pacifying everyone that they would be arriving soon. Well, they should have known this was no old wedding dinner. Anyway, I prepared the orchestra. I straightened my blazer, tensioned my body, ready to swing my ‘baton’ as soon as the guests walked in.
Luckily I didn’t. The emcee later said that the information was false – he bypassed it as a sort of rehearsal for everyone. I relaxed, and told the orchestra to loosen up.
But moments later, the emcee instructed everyone to rise again. We thought this was another joke, but it was really for real. I prepared the orchestra once more. My heart was beating very fast, probably a hundred counts per minute.
“Please welcome our guests-of-honour!” Without thinking, I raised by ‘baton’ and swung it down hard.
Snap! The stick broke into two pieces; one long, the other short. The longer piece fell onto the floor. The orchestra continued playing.
Mrs Cheng, who was sitting nearest to where the piece had fallen, retrieved it for me. I uttered my thanks and gave another swing at a strong point in the music.
Snap! Again, the stick broke into even smaller pieces. I was flabbergasted. I mouthed to Mrs Cheng to leave it alone. Then I threw down the remaining piece and continued conducting without any stick.
Up till now I still could not believe I was laughing that day. The guests were all laughing. The orchestra, as I was to learn later, didn’t dare to look at me for the fear of breaking into laughter as well and cause mayhem in the ballroom.
There was another blooper that no one really noticed; near the end of the second piece, I leaned much too forward, and nearly collapsed on top of the music stand. Effectively, I would have ended up on the floor.
I became the student conductor for another two years, until I left the school. I began to take the whole issue seriously, properly studying the scores before rehearsals.
But I was a mere Assistant Conductor. I only filled in for the conductor whenever he did not come for practices, or when he was unable to attend performances. What I considered absurd would be for me to conduct the orchestra for a few minutes before the conductor himself actually arrived. Break ended at 10:30am, and for the next half an hour I was supposed to take over the orchestra. Then the conductor would come and I would return to my seat. Yet it took ages to settle everyone down. No one realised the urgency to rush back and get seated so that practice could resume. The musicians returned with packets of fries and drinks, strode in through the doors, chit-chatted with their closest pals and took their time to sit down with their instruments. They were extremely uncooperative during tunings and practices. Mass tuning itself constituted almost half of my allocated time. By the time I started, I was left with only fifteen minutes or so, which was quite ridiculous. Fifteen minutes were sufficient to warm up the orchestra before the conductors’ arrival. I might as well not conduct at all.
The most fruitful period of conducting had to be that of the December holidays in 2001. It was supposed to be a one Saturday affair, but then I kept going back every week. During this time, I ran through lots of pieces with them. I affirmed my relationship with the orchestra. I was able to know more people, and at the same time, try to understand and fix problems within the orchestra. I was still bogged down by bad attitude and the lack of motivation, which contributed to inter-disciplinary problems for the musicians.
It was never a pleasant experience to shout at the musicians, or pick on any of them. I would go home after practices feeling very bad and downcast. Things do not go well, and I try not to make a big fuss out of it. But sometimes I really felt as if I had failed in taking charge of these musicians.
The last straw came after I wrote an email which was distributed to each and every Committee Member. I mentioned about my feelings towards the musicians – I had no hard feelings, neither did I accuse them of making my life miserable every time I tried to conduct. On the other hand, I sought for improvement. Something had to be done about these musicians and it was high time they woke up. I guessed we had slackened since the days of the Singapore Youth Festival competition. After writing that letter, I felt much better. In fact, I was looking forward to a much fruitful practice section with them.
And they did. I was very touched.
* * * * *
Reflections…
…of SPORTS MEETS
UNSUNG HEROES
At every sports meet, there will always be background people besides the athletes. Those people who help make the event a success, a breeze for the athletes, and those who come and motivate the athletes in bringing glory for themselves. This is a tribute to these people today and their feelings towards this year’s results during the Four-School Combined Sports Meet.
By August Lum and Justin Lam
The sun pours its scorching rays upon the earth – and upon the students seated on the rows of benches.
Here, either you love it or hate it; you have to endure it for the next couple of hours. What is supposed to be lovely, sunny weather, becomes a microwave menace. Most students simply despise being fried in the open. Take for example: Xu Li Chong.
Li Chong complains about the scorching sun. But he is not in the boat alone. Others share the same sentiments. Jasmine Ong claims, “We were not allowed to open our umbrellas. So we have no choice but to endure the heat.” Alicia Lim says, “It’s hot and sucky.”
Even the teacher agrees. Mrs Shahilla Raj chips in, “I feel the heat too, but my students cool me down.” She chuckles. “Sincerely, I think the school should provide caps for the Secondary Fours. But it’s okay as long as I have my umbrella.”
But for others, the heat is nothing, compared to the performance of the athletes on the track. Making our rounds, we spot Mr Chua Chor Loon squinting in the sun at the sandpit of the Long Jump, as he prepares to record results. He sees no signs of fatigue; the heat hasn’t drained his energy. In fact, he jokingly adds that he got lots of Vitamin D out there!
From the field, we can see the spectators’ grandstand clearly. The colours of each and every student’s shirt are striking. From left to right, Ngee Ann shows off its blue T-shirts. Chung Cheng floods its area in white; so does Dunman. Temasek is the multicoloured rainbow for the day, with its red, blue, yellow, green and purple T-shirts.
Cheers erupt from time to time, like choirs competing to outdo one another. Occasionally, the students rise to perform the Kallang Wave, a human wave that sweeps across one end of the stadium to another. There is not one conductor among them, but several. Our councillors do not wield the baton silently. Instead, they rally about like politicians from the sixties, when Singapore was fighting for independence, holding up gigantic placards bearing numbers of each respective cheer. And they make good progress without microphones or megaphones.
Ronny Tandanu is the man behind it all, or the Second-in-command, after Marc Lee, the head of the councillors. He spoke to us about his work with the students.
“It’s marvellous being here,” he replies with a radiant smile of pride on his face, as he watches his councillors actively clap the rhythm of one of the school’s favourite cheers, so-called the “Rock You” cheer, which was supposed to end with four piercing screams. “We should be proud of our school. Since we’re Secondary Fours, we are the leaders of the school. Cheerleading is really an amazing thing to do.”
Commenting on his councillor’s work: “I’m proud of my councillors, as well as the students. The atmosphere is good, even in the hot temperature. Hopefully, next year’s Sports Meet will be more spontaneous. Unfortunately, some students can’t be bothered. On the whole, the majority of them are enthusiastic about it.”
Madam Teo Sioe King, who is in charge of the Secondary Threes, thinks otherwise. “Bad. They are reluctant to cheer or wave. No co-operation, unity or enthusiasm.”
Interviewing Shaun Lim, one of the student spectators, we found his comment positive. “I’m proud of it [the Kallang Wave]. I feel so energetic. I cheered damn loud!”
There were others with negative comments. “It’s boring and stupid,” Sim Chon Ju said of the Kallang Wave. On the other hand, she cheered enthusiastically “until no sound.”
We leave the grandstand for the field. In the sheltered concrete path just beneath the grandstand, there is a hive of activity. Imagine the subway station, where people walk by each other, or simply sit down and watch time tick by. That is exactly the scene that is happening.
A buffet is in full swing at Gate One. Here the air is cool, and the teachers have congregated here for a well-deserved break, having been out in the desert-like field for an hour or so. They are having refreshments, and talking amongst themselves and comrades from other schools. There shows no sign of rivalry here.
Miss Tan Sek Jiau, one of the teachers-on-charge of athletics in the school, agrees to be interviewed. She is in charge of the javelin event today, and her job is to ensure that no one plays foul. She is especially proud of our school team, as they got a gold this year.
Mr Chua is also there. He’s still as energetic as ever; seems that the sun has not worn him out after all. He grins all the time as he relates the results for the long jump competition: “We came in first and second!”
Mr Marcus Kuek and Miss Ng Lee Hua, who have been manning the finishing line for the relay events, chip in, “Our competitors have tried their best, although the other schools are stronger.”
Mrs Lee Wan Lan does not have any idea what is going on. “I haven’t been watching the competition. Anyway, my duty is to look after the students.”
It is now mid-morning. Mr Sequeira stands under the glare of the hot sun, his shadow casting a black spot over the bright red track. He squints intently at the competition going on in the discus pit.
“It’s [This year’s performance] much more competitive than last year,” he says, referring to the standards of our worthy opponents. “We are strong in the field events such as these. But in the case of running, we are relatively weak.
“But we will improve the running standards of our athletes. At the same time, we will still maintain the high standard of performance in the field events,” he smiles with a twinkle in his eye.
Inside the pit itself is Justin Lam, a scout. The scouts this year are all from Chung Cheng High. Each year, every school participating in the meet send in one of team of helpers, be it Girl Guides or St John’s Ambulance Brigade. Justin is honoured to be helping out, adding, “It is interesting to see our athletes compete, to be the best among the best.” It’s tough being a helper, he continues, as they get little breaks. Helpers have to stand under the scorching sun for long. “But it isn’t tough if you have the interest,” he chuckles. In face, he gets a sense of satisfaction out of helping the athletes ease their troubles.
Another scout, Goh Weihan, was spotted sitting in the shade under the audience grandstand. He has been working for a long time, and is taking a well-deserved break right now. He is tired, and doesn’t pay much attention to the races. He’s waiting for the very moment when the whole sports meet would end.
The final event has everyone in the stadium jumping to their feet: watching their teachers outdo one another in the name of sports.
The idea was to carry table tennis balls on a spoon without dropping them. The teachers were supposed to get to their partners on the opposite side and hand the spoon with the ball over to the next teacher. The fastest team won. The Chung Cheng teachers came in first in this event.
They were jumping with joy when we approached them. They didn’t think it was very tough; in fact, it was very good. To them, it was a big sense of achievement.
So what was on their mind during the race?
“MUST WIN!”
So here the winners receive their prizes, much to the happiness of the crowd – our school winning medals and the students being able to leave the hot, scorching stadium. Everything will be back to normal by the next week, where the Sports Meet quickly becomes forgotten. Until next year, where the teachers will get together to plan for the next meet, and the students’ cheers will erupt the stadium once more.
Kudos to these unsung heroes.
The above article was written during my last Sports Meet. Mr Mustafa had been looking for student reporters to write about the Sports Meet, and I was glad that I had been picked to do the job. I got to relieve some boredom. I was sitting like a roast turkey in an oven. The stupidest things about stadium architecture is that the grandstands always face the east. They were obviously designed for evening use, when the sun would be behind. In the morning, the UV rays touched us directly. The National Stadium was not the only one…in fact; most other stadiums were designed the same way.
I had never enjoyed sports meets.
* * * * *
Reflections…
…of THE YELLOW UNDERWEAR INCIDENT
This would be an episode that I would never forget for the rest of my life.
It happened just before the Physical Education (PE) lesson. Most of the class had left for the basketball court, while a few others, including me and about three or four girls, were left. The victim – let’s call him X for the sake for anonymity – was with us – obviously.
So the rest of us were changing. Most of us wore our PE attire inside our uniforms, so all we had to do was to take off the exterior layer of clothing. X did the same. He took off his shirt like the rest of us, and then prepared to take off his pants.
The incident happened right here.
X took off his pants like everybody else. I was the first one to see everything. I was standing in front of him. I was the first one to raise the alarm.
“Goodness! X! What are you doing?”
Everybody turned their heads towards us.
It turned out that X had revealed his underwear. He’d probably presume he had worn his PE shorts inside, but in reality he hadn’t. He had revealed his yellow underwear.
The news spread like wildfire. By the end of PE, the entire class had learnt about it. By the next week, the other classes got wind of it.
Ironically, for mathematics, we were studying Pythagoras’ Theorem. One of the students likened the underwear to the right-angled triangle. Coincidentally, during Chinese, we were asked to write an essay entitled An Incident. As expected, most of the students wrote about that incident. Most unexpectedly, the victim was game enough to write about his embarrassing account.
* * *
Reflections…
…of BEING IN THE ACCOUNTS CLASS DOESN’T MEAN BEING THE WORSE OF THE LOT
I had failed Secondary Two Mathematics, partly due to my lacklustre attitude, and partly due to the incompetence of the new teachers who were assigned to my class. Although I did fare well for my final year exam, my grades for the entire year were never sufficient enough to give me a decent B3 to take Additional Mathematics.
So I was given the choice that I never chose during the streaming process. This was the last choice of the lot: combined Science, Accounting and Humanities. I didn’t know whether to be upset or happy about this. Openly, I felt it was a disgrace, since in Secondary Two, I was in the best class in the entire Express Stream for that level. Secretly, I was happy that I would not be taking Additional Mathematics and Science subjects. I preferred the Humanities. To tell the truth, actually it was my parents who wanted me to take Additional Mathematics, for they felt that Accounting could be learnt later. It would have been better for me to master the basics of Mathematics first.
There were three classes studying the same combination as I did. The classes were renamed “Benevolence, Courage, Diligence, Empathy” and so on and so forth by then Principal Mr Yang Che Kay because he wanted to eliminate the negative thoughts of students who were in one of the last few classes, and play down on the haughtiness of those in the top classes. Either way, there would be no differentiation to who was in the best class.
Nevertheless, as the months passed, it could be felt that we were the inferior lot, even though we were in Class Benevolence, situated at the top of the entire Secondary Three and Four level. It fuelled the students’ attitude that they were not capable of achieving results. So they slackened. After school they played LAN games, or went bowling. They got home late at night, never did their homework, and came back to school the next day awaiting punishment. The more this process played on, the more fed up the teachers got. Virtually every lesson preceding the other would be a scolding session. Praise was rare in the class. Even so, the class stuck firmly to its old attitude.
The class had always suspected that other teachers looked down on them, and their methods of action were taken seriously that they were trying to express their dislike for our class. We felt discriminated. There was an incident by which one member of our class was yanked up from his seat just because he forgot to bring his storybook for silent reading. The other students, who had not brought their books, had already stood in line in front of the whole assembly. One of the Chinese teachers thus caught this classmate of mine without a book. He refused to stand up initially and politely demanded to know why he had to and why students from other classes, particularly those from the Science classes, who had not brought their books didn’t.
This infuriated the teacher. She said angrily, “Will you stand up or not?”
He reiterated, “Why should I?”
The teacher became even angrier. This time, she violently yanked our classmates’ uniform in an effort to force him to stand. She pulled so hard that we were all afraid she would tear his uniform. Eventually he gave in. He said in a dissatisfied tone, “Fine, I’ll stand.” I could sense he was glaring at the teacher. But the teacher seemed to dissipate all those hard feelings directed towards her.
This incident sparked controversy over the Internet, within the confines of our class forum. Some voiced their anger towards the incident. Others vouched for an approach where action would be taken.
I brought my committee together, and we discussed what should be done about the class. Low morale until the rest of the year was not going to be helpful. The lack of motivation would have disastrous effects on our classmates, especially for the all-important examinations that would determine our future.
Simultaneously, the teachers tried their best to encourage us, and to offer praise. Unfortunately, old habits stuck.
Yet the turning point would soon arrive. Our class made it to the finals for the debate, and eventually championed the event. It was nice to see the students from the other accounting classes supporting us in the final battle for the cup.
The class was exuberant. Messages of congratulations poured through our class forum. Our class definitely felt better now. We had beat the other Science and Special Classes to emerge tops in the competition. The teachers offered their commended us for our efforts.
My committee hoped that this event would turn the students around. It did – but to a certain extent. Academically, we were scolded here and there for not handing in assignments. Yet I guessed everybody perked up as the Prelims came around the corner. For the first time, everyone cut down on games and went home straight after school. Of course, I had no idea what they did behind closed doors. Anyway, only a few people maintained their game-play at LAN shops island-wide.
Our class needn’t have fret though. We did score better in some subjects as compared to the other classes. Grades aside, some teachers even praised us for being more responsive than the other classes. Not to mention that we were rather enthusiastic and close to each other. I’m not trying to prove anything, but just to say that, even as an Accounting class, we did not have to feel inferior to the Sciences.
* * *
Reflections…
…of FORUM MESSAGES
Note: The following texts, or rather, messages have been left unedited; they are as they were on the Internet. This is for purposes of authencity…
Super Standard Gossip Post
The Rock
today wei han cried in the middle of the class.however,we are unable to find out the causes of his unusual behavior.a few witnesses had told the papers that Goh chong tang had brought a device that sings buddhist songs and playing around with adjusting it's volume to full blast and walking around like a cool dude.Moments after wei han broke out in tears he was surrounded by several deeply concerned girls both from 4bn and cr.we have interviewed one of wei han's good friend EDWIN LEE CHUN KIAT OF 4BN.he told the papers that wei han acted perfectly normal during recess but suddenly broke out in tears after returning to class is it becoz of that buddhust song?or other factors?we will bring you with the up dates as soon as possible.I am THE ROCk,and i wil see you as always in the standard gossip post,see you next week.
~Ch@*nSeY^
why why why ...did wei han cry?????????
Is it because of girls.......
or is it because of school work or overstress??????
It's a mysterious.....only wei han...the victim can solve it....can somebody please tell him to come here & have an interview...(reported by a passerby)
Composer-Conductor
Rock, you were the one who brought the device that sings Buddhist songs to the toilet and let everyone heard it.
BarK
yar yar yar...not nice to tok bout stuff like this lar.
i cried cos that buddhist song was playing 24/7 during my grandmother's funeral earlier this month. now drop it alright?
~Ch@*nSeY^
ooo.............the stupid buddhist song????
well well well...guess i missed it.........how was the song like?
The Rock
Hi it's the Rock here again! And this time he has another story in mind but not enough materials. Can anyone tell how Russell was dumped by Wen Ting? This is my next story. If any one can provide me with information, I would be very thankful. Thank you very much!
[H]eero [Y]uy
This place not nice to talk in…
The Rock
(names and time of event were changed to protect privacy) hello,more news from The Rock.About 2 years ago,a strange and short relationship broke out between two young,innocent,(that's only based on my theory,the practice is unknown except 4 the two main characters below.)teens.They were Russell (now in 4HM)and Cheng Wei Tang (now in 4BN).The People's Champion had interviewed one of Wei Tang's best friend(it was said that he is now WeiTang's boyfriend)Foh Fei Fan told the papers that Wei Tang was QUITE flirtatious during class and he had witnesssed that She managed to retrieve her handphone from Mr Quake using A lot of flirtatious glances and a lot of eeeeeeee's and oooooooo's.no wonder she was named playgirl of the year by the class!!!!anyway,The Rock had interviewed Russell.He was EXETREMELY angry when the great one asked her about WeiTIng.
'HER?--------------------cencored--------------------------'
who the ---------censored----------she think she is?----------------censored-----------'.the brahma bull had managed to interview another frind of her's Soan Joon 'She is a very guai girl and SELDOM talk in class even Mdm Tan Zee Zee had high praises for her.Mrs Faj said she is a very very good girl and ONLY uses handphone during recess and after school.'that is all for this week and the rock will see you always in the standard gossip post thank you very much!!!
BarK
yone tell how russell was dumped by wen ting?this is my next story.if any one can provide me with information,i woud b very thankful thank you very much!
[H]eero [Y]uy
this place not nice to talk in...
The Rock
(names and time of event were changed to protect privacy) hello,more news from The Rock.About 2 years ago,a strange and short relationship broke out between two young,innocent,(that's only based on my theory,the practice is unknown except 4 the two main characters below.)teens.They were Russell (now in 4HM)and Cheng Wei Tang (now in 4BN).The People's Champion had interviewed one of Wei Tang's best friend(it was said that he is now WeiTang's boyfriend)Foh Fei Fan told the papers that Wei Tang was QUITE flirtatious during class and he had witnesssed that She managed to retrieve her handphone from Mr Quake using A lot of flirtatious glances and a lot of eeeeeeee's and oooooooo's.no wonder she was named playgirl of the year by the class!!!!anyway,The Rock had interviewed Russell.He was EXETREMELY angry when the great one asked her about WeiTIng.
'HER?--------------------cencored--------------------------'
who the ---------censored----------she think she is?----------------censored-----------'.the brahma bull had managed to interview another frind of her's Soan Joon 'She is a very guai girl and SELDOM talk in class even Mdm Tan Zee Zee had high praises for her.Mrs Faj said she is a very very good girl and ONLY uses handphone during recess and after school.'that is all for this week and the rock will see you always in the standard gossip post thank you very much!!!
Xu Li`en a.k.a nEiLuX^15
here's your 2nd newscaster of the day, un-WAR. 'fternoon gentleman. the old practice is still used, yes. many many hours ago in the class of 4bn , a youth was caught reading a magazine of ------censored------, gotten it from a young lady, cheng wei tang, perhaps all of you remember her name during my counterpart's interview. the youth, only identified as "the nuisance" drooled as he scanned the magazine and asked many others of the same race over to have a quick glance at it, many of whom die of overdose of hormonal anxiety and it was too intense, that the heat was felt over a hundred inches away. just a couple of hours after the incident, another teenager, by the name of fAtWiN, got a health magazine from the air-conditioned library and proudly shares it with other monkeys from his pack. fortunately, no signs of injury or fatalities were found, but it was reported that one of the monkeys, fanny fua, was caught sleeping with the magazine on his -----censored----- by an well-grown matured adult, without laces on her shoe, and was set free after 20 seconds of interrogation.
As we can see from these incidents, i can conclude, that there are a million times more news than these s*it, and more newscasters are required, other than the rock, and the degenerated, un-WAR, also known as the angry blonde, eMiN3m.
Thank You and have a 'severed-head' day (from august).
The Rock
yes!The rock agrees pls feel free to do any reports here and share it with others if it is not too erotic or offensive to anyone the report should not be less than 350 words and more than 1000 words.The rock hereby have another article to with the MILLIONS AND THE MILLIONS OF ROCk's FANS!!!on the 30th jan 2001,three people arrived at Parkway burger king.They were the people's champion and Foh Fei Fan.In the middle of their meal,in walked 2 gorgeous lady wearing white shirts and blue skirts.Fei Fan says that they were fr. Geylang medodist but obviously,the rock knows that they were fr. Broadrick.Fei FAn had even(coz they were seated near the window facing the main road and there is a slope there that can easily see through dresses,)Fei FAn had suggested that we walk down the slope to see it.But just a second mister,who do u think The Rock is!!!He has maximum resistance against qiu bu not coz he's gay but becoz he's a jun zi!!!!obviously,the pple's champ refused but Fei Fan had pulled the Brahma Bull along!normally,Fei Fan could never ever do that coz The Rock is too powerful for him to overcome.However in this case,he somehow managed to do it(remember the motivation course where it says that blah blah blah? i think it works on him this time.)and when we reached the slope,The great one immediately lowered his head but Fei FAn had looked n later told me that it was pink in color.For this matter,i had interviewed one of his friend Fatwin Fee Fun Fiat of 4Bn.he told the papers that Fei FAn often tocks bout erotic stuffs.HOW DISGUSTING!!!!!!!
thank you for joining me I m The rock and i will always see you on Standard Gossip post.see you next time
BarK
"Full of nonsense", says ex-dictator Goh Weihan
4BN, CCHSm-- Slanderous newscaster, commonly known as the Rock, has been accused of being "full of nonsense" and "totally calumnious" by the ex-dictator of class 4bn today during a midnight computer usage session.
According to Weihan, the Rock has been spreading many rumours and altering many of the news articles he has posted to make himself look good. "It is totally unacceptable", says Weihan, "that this man here should, without any signs of shame nor dishonour, alter facts and show to the public about many sensitive issues that may cause sorrow in the victims of his mostly untrue news articles."
The Rock denied charges and, when threatened with a fist, did not show the least sign of fear. "What i have said is entirely true, to the extent of my knowledge. Whether you believe it or not, is entirely up to you." An unhappy reader told Benevolent Times that he was extremely displeased at the way the Rock was spouting rubbish and writing out untruths in the papers. "I am most disappointed with this sort of behaviour. This show of dishonest behaviour by the Rock has left me with nothing but his distaste. These articles are not nice to read."
Trials are still taking place, but it is to our belief and our honest opinion that the Rock is mostly in the wrong, and that he should, at least, make up for it by compensating the victims that has been involved in his obloquy.
© Copyright 2001 Benevolent, Inc., All rights reserved.
[H]eero [Y]uy
nuts!
CHENG WEN TING
pls larz....THE rOCK..sTOP THE TOOPID RUMOURS OF ME CAN..IF U HATE ME TAT MUCH..CUM TELL ME K....U DUN UNDERSTAND HOW IT FEELS BEING SAID BY PPL LIKE U....U ARE JUZ TOKING CRAPZ....u noe wat's dump anot? DUMP IS WHEN 2 PERSON WENT STEAD AND ONE PLAYED WIF HIS FEELINGS...AND JUZ BROKE UP WIF HIM..AND TT PERSON HU PLAYED WIF HIS FEELINS..DOESN'T LIEK HIM AT ALL...TT A DUMP OK!!!!!!
I NV DUMP HIM..CAN'T I JUZ CHOOSE NOT TO LIKE ANYONE..??? SO DO U MEAN IF I LIKE THIS GUY...I HAV TO NO MATTER WAT END UP WIF HIM IZZIT....WAD THE HELL ARE U TRYING TO SPREAD ABT ME?HATE ME CUM TELL ME LAR
[H]eero [Y]uy
anyone in the right mind would say that adrian is in the wrong...so shut up for once and if you are really in a right mind... apologise... afterall... one friend is better than an enemy...
and if anyone scolds adrian for gossiping... he deserves it...
The Rock
Undefined
Xu Li`en a.k.a nEiLuX^15
This is a public services announcement brought to you by nin neh lan gor jiam: Yesterday 4 teens were spotted at Long John Silvers' Parkway branch, whereby one of the, an odd-job labourer, Foh Fei Fan, was accepting bribes from his pals to approach, allegedly a teacher in TKGS, and another innocent girl from TKSS, xue*ing (names are either withheld or marked with asterisk for the victims' safety) It is known that, xue*ing is a sec3 girl and do goes to irc, and left 3 guys, Barf, Fatwin, and Slim waiting for her in a chatroom every day and night. Let's hope they can get their wishes come true. Have a nice day and happy holidays!
The Rock
This is supposed to be a news forum. U can post yor view bout the articles but not other gossip things.
The Rock
WEIHAN!!!!!!!I thoght this is supposed to be confidential!!i guess the rules have changed and i think i also can let other people read the J.C.B. log book gimme a hell yeah if all of ya agree(this book contains alot of secret which i cannot name here
~Ch@*nSeY^
I want to read!!!!!
Xu Li`en a.k.a nEiLuX^15
but not other gossip things.
The Rock
WEIHAN!!!!!!!I thoght this is supposed to be confidential!!i guess the rules have changed and i think i also can let other people read the J.C.B. log book gimme a hell yeah if all of ya agree(this book contains alot of secret which i cannot name here
~Ch@*nSeY^
I want to read!!!!!
Xu Li`en a.k.a nEiLuX^15
Latest News: Due to the benevolenism revolution yesterday, our ex-dictator has fallen and dumped to the post of a consort to the new emperor, nEiLuX. A poll showed that nEiLuX gained 600% more votes while weihan lost 75% of his supporters, and our friend, pok, was grabbed 133 acres, please send aid to him as soon as possible, to all of you, in class or in virtual world, thank you.
Valentin~!
I am THE GAMEEEEE!!!!!!
hi, weihan is a good man. Adrian is a handsome boy
Valentin~!
more news from the game,i m the game and i lov swee huah from 3BN'00.i also lov yau pong and cheng wei tang
The Rock
Wow! Another story for me!!
The Rock
to all of you, in class or in virtual world, thank you.
Valentin~!
I am THE GAMEEEEE!!!!!!
hi, weihan is a good man.
Adrian is a handsome boy
Valentin~!
more news from the game,i m the game and i lov swee huah from 3BN'00.i also lov yau pong and cheng wei tang
The Rock
wow!another story for me!!
The Rock
Hello!!more news from the rock!!On the 16th of feb 2001,during the assembly,Foh Fei Fan of 4Bn brought a small wood pecker toy costing $1 in burger king to school and started playing around with it.He irritated a lot of pple by pecking them on the head.FINALLY, miss ng had confiscated 'woody'(a name weihan called the toy)and told him that she is going to sell it back to Fei Fan for Lots of profit.They r still negociating on the price.We will bring u all the updates as soon as possible thank you very much!
Xu Li`En a.k.a nEiLuX^15
bad news: the emperor or tsar u may call...lost 40% of his lands...it is expected to be 8th in the kingdom until tuesday when all exploring is done
The Rock
Poor emperor
Benevolent Rapist
ood pecker toy costing $1 in burger king to school and started playing around with it.He irritated a lot of pple by pecking them on the head.FINALLY, miss ng had confiscated 'woody'(a name weihan called the toy)and told him that she is going to sell it back to Fei Fan for Lots of profit.They r still negociating on the price.We will bring u all the updates as soon as possible thank you very much!
Benevolent Rapist
(names of characters and places of events were changed to protect privacy)hullo,everybody,it's the Benevolent rapist Times here.A few days ago,Fatwin Fee Fhun Fiat of 4Bn was spotted with a mysterious girl in Tampines Ball on the ^th of feb 2001.This is noly wat we received.we will bring to u the details in a few days time.Stick to us to know more!!!Thank you very much for joining us.I m The Rock and i will see u always here in the gossip post,thank you
Benevolent Rapist
Also,the A.F.M.P. clan are planning to sell their log book for $10 per copyI m sure it's worth your money coz u wil know a lot of secret inside the A.F.M.P. clan.although the clan was publisised recently,and our actions had attracted a lot of pple's attention especially Kei Pos like censored, Kenny Phua. But there r still a lot of confidential stuff not known
Bark
Teacher unusually kind; students suspicious
CCHS(m), Singapore- Students are suspicious of an unusually kind teacher on the 19th of March, the first day of school after a week long holiday.
The teacher, when normal, was considered by students as "okay" though "prone to sudden bursts of anger", had actually allowed a class of her students to go to the canteen for 15 minutes to have their breakfast. At first, the students were very alert, heightening their senses for any signs of danger or traps.
"It's very unnerving", says one of the pupils, a dark-skinned chinese who declined to be named. "It's almost like we're walking on the five foot way to hell. I'm very suspicious of this sudden niceness. Please, don't let anything happen to me, god!"
After saying so, he went onto his knees and a chain of prayers.
5 minutes after going to the canteen, most of the students felt much more at ease. Many went ahead, bought breakfast, and happily tucked into the food while others just stood around sipping their drinks through straws. There were a few exceptions though, and one of them was a boy named Nernard Bng, who tried his best to discourage his friends from "the whirlpool of the devil" by trying his best to whisper in their ears that it was "nothing but a trap". When fellow class-mates still refused to listen, he hopped up and down in a rage, just like a sparrow, shouting, "Go ahead into the icy hands of death! I tried my best to help you!". Following that, he burst into tears.
"Just look at them," said Nernard, when interviewed, "Being so unaware of the trap that's displayed right before their eyes! Eating and drinking like a bunch of helpless rabbits! To think that they can be tricked by such an obvious show of cunningness and deceit!"
After spending 20 minutes at the canteen, the teacher brought the students back to class and resumed teaching as if nothing ever happened. The class, feeling full and contented and very happy, were not in a very good mood for studying. Nernard was sitting in a pool of sweat, still suspicious.
Reports show that there was absolutely no evil plans in the teacher's mind and she did it out of goodwill.
Investigations are still under way.
Plans for 4BN invasion
The Rock
Have you all realised that our class forum is getting more n more crowded?i had a plan.we will first invade the 4Cr forum page coz i think their last update was days ago and then we can look around and see what class we r going to invade next!!IF YA SMELLLLLLLLL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKING!!!
[H]eero [Y]uy
got nothing to do is it?
Xu Li`en a.k.a nEiLuX^15
YAH LAH!!!!!
u want to invade? invade our class 1st...
The Rock , you take the point!
Benny , Storm The Front!
August, Cover me!
Zhu Mei, r*** the hostages!
Weihan, Fall Back!
Wan Ping, Go Hell!
FIRE IN THE HOLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Rock
COUNTER-TERRORISTS WIN ALREADY~!!!!!
~Ch@*nSeY^
what is Zhu Mei r*** the hostages?????
is it rape???
i won't do such a thing ok
Bark
why me fall back?? wo shi yong gan xie hui de hui yuan!! So i cannot fall back!! i'm supposed to CHEONG ARRR
i don't run around in this place trying to invade other people's forum... i am the spectator... you know? so i will watch and help you ghost... ok? weihan i swap with you... you storm the front i fall back...
Composer-Conductor
Will this be the 4BN revolution of 2001? Then what? Our principles will be called "4 Benevolenism".
~Ch@*nSeY^
4 Benevolenism...August..u read tooo much history is it??until you go start thinking about revolution.....Can I fall back instead..i am a girl you know..
The Rock
BOMB HAS BEEN PLANTED!!!!TEAM!!!FALL BACK!!FALL BACK!!!ARGHHHHHHH!!!
[H]eero [Y]uy
never say the bomb gonna blow... good thing i am the spectator... can see the bomb blow up... fun!
Composer-Conductor
Wait until 20 Feb then plant the bomb. More fun when the police and paramedics and firefighters arrive to see a bomb going off and real chaos happening.
Bark
You guys are so morbid. Actually, i think only august is. He's showing his true self. Violent.
The Rock
have you all heard of such a thing called 'nuke'?nuking people's sites are fun and if zhumei happens to advertise on the site one more time,then without a shadow of a doubt,it is chon ju in disguise of zhu mei and i will nuke the website!
~Ch@*nSeY^
hello...i am really the real zhu mei...& i am not chon ju & i am publicising chon ju's website because i like it
CAN?
Valentin~!
hey zhumei y u letting tht chouju use ur postkid account to do adZ
The Rock
i express my compliments here.
‡†GMSexay†‡™
SPAMMIN' is a serious crim u noe,...
~Ch@*nSeY^
i am the REAL ZHUMEI
Serious Messages for the Class
Composer-Conductor
Please don't write nonsense inside, or gossip. This is not a chat site.
Only put those important information or timetables inside here. Remember, this is OFFICIAL business!
The Rock
ok fine,the rock says that all of you MUST go to mounbatten cc this sunday on the 14th jan 2001.report at 8 PM hahahaha
BarK
august hey that aint fun
stop abusing ur autority (right.)
goodbye my friend u messed up again
your going to prison ur off to the pen
~Ch@*nSeY^
Ok.....today Mrs Raj scolded the whole class....
So from now on....we should not abuse the so call "usuage of August"
As august is the chaiaman...so we must listen to him instead of him listening to us & obey us
s this understandable???
madcow
yup....my sentiments exactly...
~Ch@*nSeY^
what setimentS?
The Rock
in the first place,what is sentiments?
~Ch@*nSeY^
look up the dictionary yourself
BarK
come on, we dont have to listen to him if he comes here once every 9 months
The Rock
4732836-3785419-257987894679229-678971957367-672-671-3967-396779672967-296728-67028967089760976389671-671-878-3497689-3475614976-81-36737602572,if anyone can decode this thing,he can be a top spy in our class and win a PRIZE from THE ROCK.i m serious and this is not some crap that i any o how write
BarK
still, im not going to bother
The Rock
then get the hell outta here,jabroni
‡†GMSexay†‡™
YOU GUYS ARE MAKING THIS FRIGGIN PLACE LAGGIN' BY THE DAY BY POSTING NONSENSE IN THIS FORUM MAN!~!~!
The Rock
u are notin this class get otta here before i layeth the smackadown on your roody poo candy -censored-
BarK
rock is pretty darn crazy
The Rock
but not crazy enough to say vulgars here that is good enough
[H]eero [Y]uy
he is only by a few mm away from all the censored words...
The Rock
i m not on the spot right?
* * *
Reflections…
…of THE DAY THE RESULTS CAME BACK
It had been a weird habit of mine to wake up once every hour early in the morning to check on the time. This was to ensure that I would not be late the next morning. It was therefore not surprising that this old habit recurred on the day of the release of the O-level results.
But there was this gall in the midst of my throat that bothered me throughout. I realised the corners of my eyes were heavy as well.
At 5:30am, I felt I could sleep no longer, and woke up. I sat at my desk to prepare my Economics homework, of which I had not touched since. I tried to hide my anxiousness – I attempted to make everything seem as normal as possible.
At 6:00am, my mother woke up. She strode over to my desk and asked me how I was feeling.
“Anxious and very scared,” I told her.
“It’s all over. You’ve done what you ought to have done. Don’t think too much about it.”
She was right. Why should I worry now? If I had to worry, I should have had done it ages ago, before I even took the O-levels. I regretted that I had slackened much after the Prelims. I always had the impression that the Os, as the exam was called, would be much easier than any other old Prelim. I was proved wrong during the examination itself; some questions were not those I had expected.
Anyway, the results had arrived back in Singapore. There they were, waiting for us to collect them. Innocent sheets of paper – came from any old tree, but the print on it reflected our future. This sheet of paper would be the key to the next level of the game.
In months, this was the first time that my father had decided to send me to school. Earlier I figured out that he saw me still messing around with the papers on my desk, even though the time I was supposed to leave the house had since gone by. He probably wanted to drive me to college so that I would not be late. Later, I deduced that he would want to have been a source of comfort to me before I went to get back my results. He told me not to worry too much, as our car drew up before the gates of the institution.
My kakis were still sitting at the usual table. Nobody had much to say…some hurried through their homework, while others just did nothing but let time pass. At 7:35am, we went for flag-raising as usual. The scene was beginning to get tenser. It was as if a terrorist attack had just occurred and people were in a state of shock. Of course, I wouldn’t exaggerate it too much. But for once since the first day of school, people were beginning to look lost. Most of them wore a frown on their faces, like me. Some were going around, asking how others felt. Others were contemplating whether to skip lessons or not.
The mood was quite bleak during the classes. At the end of every lesson, our lecturers and tutors kept wishing us good luck. By the last lecture, students went around doing the same thing to their close friends and acquaintances. The only thing I could do was to mumble a soft “Thank you.” I wondered what was the point in saying good luck. Such words could not even change the results on our slips. We could only absorb these words to make us feel better, but nothing more can be done after that.
I arrived in Chung Cheng at around noon. On the bus, people had wished me the best of luck; I had repaid their blessings. As soon as I stepped off the bus, I wondered what their expressions would be tomorrow. Would they change for the better or for the worse?
Again, an air of anxiousness filtered through the canteen as the old students congregated. There were rumours of a list of our results being circulated around, and people went hysterical just to look for that list and minimise their unease. Large crowds of students gathered like bunches of roses tied in a bouquet - all desperate people. Suddenly, one of the girls let out a shriek – why the hell would I bother to find out the reason behind that? Besides that, there were people who gasped their way through an entire minute, the frowns on their foreheads turning more severe with each passing second. Probably they did not believe in the aggregate printed on the score sheet.
The situation having gotten out of hand, the teacher promptly retrieved her list and refused to let anymore students study it further. Who really bothered anyway? We had to face reality; besides, in another hour or so we would realise the truth.
By 2pm, we had been seated inside the Grand Auditorium. This year’s Sec 4s were also present; Mr Yue had asked them to witness this event. The graduates were asked to sit on the floor, in front of the tables where our respective form teachers would sit.
It was hard to describe the appropriate mood at that very time. There were folks who were happy; anxious; both happy and anxious; extremely terrified, et cetera. No one knew exactly what the other was feeling. He or she could be hiding his or her thoughts; a happy mask could be a cover for a worrier. A tightly screwed face would be an alibi for intense excitement – a sort of volcano that would erupt at the right moment.
Mr Yue had gone for an important meeting at the last moment with a minister, so the Vice-Principal, Mr Toh, took charge of the ceremony. He first gave a presentation about the Joint Admission Exercise (JAE), but it seemed that nobody really bothered to listen. We had our eyes transfixed on the screen, yet it does note reveal whether we are in reality or have traversed into another dimension. Who cares, anyway?
Finally, Mr Toh proceeded to announce the names of those who had scored a certain number of As. These people were entitled to have themselves photographed by the news team from Lianhe Zaobao. I have no idea whether they will be featured since the last time I was interviewed; we were cheated by the newspaper office for not having that article printed.
The respective form teachers of each of the classes position themselves at the desks specially laid out for this occasion. Each class was appointed with a few forms, the O-levels certificate and the Yearbooks – including two student councillors on hand. One by one each individual was called. As each individual went up, there was the potentially lethal mix of fright, anxiety, excitement and God knows what other emotions. Many broke into tears – was it out of sadness or joy? Mysteriously, others shed tears even before their names were called, and had to depend on another’s shoulder as a tissue. Stunned looks enveloped these people – nobody even knew how much they scored to determine whether they were crying for happiness or upset.
There was a sense of disbelief within me when my name was pronounced. I went up, shaken, expecting something worse. My teacher was somewhat grinning; I really had no idea if that was a disguise – a mask. To prove it, I scanned the L1R5 – I had done better than I had expected. Now there was a reason for both of us to smile or grin.
The first people I dialled were my parents. They congratulated me on my fine results, yet questioned if I were able to make it into my choice college or not. I assured them I would, since my final score (having minimised the bonus points) would still entitle me a place within the school’s entry aggregate.
