slosh down the pepper!

I scamper; I tiptoe; I hide... Why?

The 7-year old went to school everyday feeling happy. She was amongst the tops in her class, had a bunch of fantastic friends whom she loved to hang out with. Father was proud of her intelligent daughter. Mother praised her for being sensible. Life was a breeze.

The 8-year old went to school feeling happy. She was still amongst the tops in her class, but the bunch of fantastic friends seemed to have disappeared. If she hadn't been so timid yet bull-headed at the same time, things might turn out differently.

The 9-year old was posted to a new class. But the old life continued. She remained isolated. Recess was no more of queueing up at foodstalls and bringing the bowl of soup noodles to the nearest bench. She was no longer tops in her class. Father still supported her.

The 12-year old learnt to pick things off a shelf. She suspected her parents knew about it. She kept quiet and cooked up lies to hide her new "hobby". PSLE results were out. She did not go to Dunman High as visioned by Father. He was angry and could be heard saying: "You really let me down..."

It was a new environment, but it did not change the 13-year old's state of isolation. The 14-year old was luckier. She finally found 3 others whom she could comfortably call friends. She was once again tops in her class. The 15-year old found herself in another new class where isolationism was a topic that she had to revisit. At the end of her 16th year, she was so glad that she found a friendship that lasted beyond her expectations (probably since it sailed through seas infested with water dragons that spewed fires).

Sigh. Yet another new environment. New places to go to, new people to meet, new people to avoid. She merely wanted to maintain a low profile. This was not her choice of school anyway. The 17th year went by, leaving behind not much achievements. In fact, she was forced to choose between biology and physics before a fiery disciplinary mistress by a name which she had forgotten. Or was it Queenie Wong? A tug of war she had won, only to cede the territory later. And Father & Mother did not learn of this.

The 18th year was probably one that was more normal. Extrapolations and trends went the wrong way down. This was no longer a data point in the graph of despondence. She did things which people had already been doing for quite some time -- meals in the canteen with a benchful of classmates/known parties, sitting in the cinema knowing the ones on your left and right, reading the same line of an old textbook with 3-4 others in the midst of french fries and Big Mac...

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I scamper. I tiptoe. I hide. Maybe that was why.

posted by slingwoof @ 12/08/2005 12:28:00 PM