For the few days that we were at school, my friend and I spent almost the entire time in the school counselling room, helping Puan Lam, the counsellor teacher manage some things such as the upcoming visit to SMK Seri Saujana which was more or less just down the road from our school and also a few other things that included lots of numbers and names. We spent about 3 whole school days there, only going out for recess and the distribution of the parent consent forms.
On Thurday, Puan Lam was frantic to get everything for the school trip tomorrow done. Since we were short of people, Puan Lam went around looking for people to go. Millions of thanks to her that she persuaded HIM to go as well. After getting names from as many Form 3s as possible, we went back to the counselling room to sort out the consent forms and to split up to distribute them. But instead of a few of the girls and me, they left me to myself to finish the task. But the good thing was that I could talk to HIM. The first time I called his name in public was when he was walking along the corridor and I was to give him a form. After giving it to him, then only I realized that I forgot to tell him what attire to wear. Anyway, I got back to class and distributed them to those who were going in class. And for some reason many people, not only from my class, were missing. So while distributing the forms in 3C (HE was playing at the back of the classroom and I didn't see him), he walked up to me (about a couple of feet distance) and asked me what he's supposed to wear. I was about to say 'track pants and school shirt', but then my voice just bloody well disappeared. So I said 'long pants and school shirt' after a while of silent stutter, adding a 'sports' if he didn't get the picture. As I left the classroom to return to the conselling room, he called me and asked me whether short pants were OK, I told him I would ask. When I got to the counselling room and told Puan Lam that many of the people could not be found in their classrooms, she dragged me around the whole school to recruit students who looked enough like Form 3s because the programme was meant for Form 3s only. But in the end we got lots of Indian and Malay students to go, which really pleased Puan Lam as this was also a programme meant to unite the three main races of Malaysia (Malay, Indian and Chinese). While Puan Lam was talking to a group of Indian boys, HE came down the staircase and I just informed him that only long pants were allowed. He just nodded then went home.
The second day, which was the day of the school trip, I wore my photography club T-shirt, my borrowed track pants and my black chained canvas shoes (which, later in the day, I came to regret). My mum fetched me to school after making a ham and lettuce sandwich for me. When I got to school, I went to the canteen as always, the saw HIM. His shirt was OK, but his pants were matched horribly. They were blue and rather large for him, as if he borrowed his father's. OK, when the assembly bell rang, we made a few last minute checks, then went on our way to SMK Seri Saujana. We went there under the supervision of Puan Lam and another prefect who made himself look a lot like a traffic policeman. We got there safely. After a brief moment of seat distribution and explanation about the programme, we went for breakfast. We were served a curry puff, a really nice chocolate muffin (some other flavour for some other people) and tea. Since we had breakfast in the dormitory dining hall of the school, there were quite a number of cats. While some girls were having their breakfast, a black kitten pounced onto the dining table and started sipping one of the girls tea, then took a small nibble out of her curry puff before getting thrown off the table by a teacher. After a while of lingering around, the kitten decided to lie beside my bag. I picked it up and put him outside, but it came in again. So the next time I put it outside, one of the girls helped me close the door. There was no place to wash my hands but the water dispenser at the corner. After a while, the kitten came in again by pouncing onto the sink outside and squeezing in through the window panes. Well, after breakfast, my feet were starting to pinch. We were separated into three groups as there were three games to be played - congkak (traditional Malay game), Chinese yoyo and 'tarik upek(?)'. My group started with the Chinese yoyo. Seeing the guys do it was really easy, but trying to do it yourself, getting the balance and coordination right, etc was the really difficult part. After lots of tips and instructions from a 'master', I got the hang of it, but still just a little bit. Next was the 'tarik upek(?)', which was supposedly someone sitting on a kind of large dried palm leaf and being pulled around by two other people. Kinda fun, but not all that fun under the scorching sun. Next was congkak, but I skipped it as he was also playing and anyway it is kinda boring to me. While sitting around, I saw HIM trying out the Chinese yoyo. He was jumping around like a monkey, which really made me laugh. After a really nice Chinese yoyo demonstration by a real master, we went to the hall for speeches, etc, then we went for lunch. this time it was steamed white rice, a pice of really nicely fried chicken, fried kunyit cabbage with anchovies, fruits and a kind of chilled drink that my friends said is a mixture of syrup, root beer and teh-O. It was quite nice. After lunch we went in search of the restroom as many of us had to go badly. After the restroom, it was back to school then back home. I had a nice nap on the couch for about an hour, had my bath, dawdled for a while, then had dinner. At 10pm, we went to the nearby mamak to have supper with my grandmother's brother's daughter and her husband. The mutton curry and cheese naan was delish. I love teh tarik...
Well, that's about it. I'm listening to 'Jewelry Day' by Ayaka.
No comments:
Post a Comment