Return to Old Days
It was not my initial intention to come for Mardi Gras. I could have been loosen up in the hostel and watched some movies while eating some junk food. But eventually, somehow, I gave in. And I started asking from whom I could purchase a ticket. I got one from Pei Yi, who was from AVA, and did not need it.
It has been a rebellious day. The HC members all missed their first two periods of the day because of investiture. We took photos in the Auditorium during the recess and some decided to continue staying there. It was a bit too much, I realised, and grabbed Adrian in arm to LT1 where we had Physics Lecture. The rest of the physics students followed. We have already been late. I did not care. The lecturer was explaining the MCQs. I had done before and I knew how to do them. But still, I circled the two questions that I got wrong and listened to the explanations attentively. I had sworn not to let HC affect my studies. I had the Bible, given by one of my friends.
Our last lesson in the afternoon was a monotonous GP lesson. LOL, it is redundant to define GP this way, is it not? Get what I mean? Unfortunately, the classroom arranged for us was very close to the temporary stage assembled in front of the General Office for Mardi Gras, so the lesson was frequently disrupted by the loud music. But the fortune out of misfortune was that we ended early.
I went back to my hostel and grabbed some shut-eye. But I did not wake up until 6:30 p.m.! I would be late for Mardi Gras! And usually the food in the hostel was at its best state when it was just served at 6:00 p.m. After that, consuming lukewarm food, or cold food was inevitable, despite the fact that they were constantly heated by a miserably small flame at the bottom of each container. I hurried down to hostel canteen and had some lukewarm dinner. And perhaps Luke has failed to heat it up.
I rushed up to my room soon, and I decided to wear a T-shirt that I just bought recently. But then I discovered that my magnet ear stud was not in my jean’s pocket. It probably dropped out when I was trying out clothes in Op. I made up my mind to go to Parkway to acquire a new one. A glance at my watch. 7:00 p.m. Mardi Gras has begun.
I did not mind to miss the beginning. Usually the most fun part was when a celebration has begun for a while. So I made a mental note to reach school by 8:00 p.m. Luck was on my side. I got on the bus once I reached the bus stop. I when to 77 Street straight away, bought what I want, and headed back. It was already 7:40 then. I needed to walk across a lane for cabs before I climbed up the stairs of a bridge that was too small to call a flyover. Then, it clicked. Take a bus? Forget it. I am not going to be late. For reaching school after 8:00 p.m. Cabs were queue in front of me, so what am I waiting for? The cab hit the road and we rushed back to Bedok South.
Ticket punched, hand stamped, in I went. Ryan, the ex-Delta HC Member, Cheer Captain I reckon, was beat-boxing at Atrium. There was a crowd of people there, and I saw my CLL teacher. Or it was the other way round. I found an even bigger crowd in the vicinity of IP Block, Auditorium side. And I quickly recognized Kirk, Zhi Yang, Shimon and Jia Wei from a throng of students. After having a short conversation with them, I joined my junior Chengcheng and Dekai, who were patronizing the stalls. And I saw Sarena, who asked me if I wanted to buy dumplings. It was my friend Tianyu who went to Chinatown and obtained 300 dumplings. I did not pay attention when Sarena told me the price, because I was captivated by the word “dumplings”. I bought five. Later on I bought ten more, which cost me six bucks in total, but it did not matter, I love dumplings.
I roamed around, and joined Jun Xiang and Eran. Basically, we meandered around the school premises and took photos with whoever we knew. We took photos with Rimiko and Valerie, following my suggestion to use LT2 as background instead of the plain staircase in front of the Auditorium. Rimiko laughed at this proposition with an “oh-my-gosh”. We always tease each other this way. I have not acquired this photo yet as Rimiko was in New York City now. So cool! We saw Xiong Wei, Jean and Vanessa. Their faces were hidden behind masks. Eran initially failed to recognize Xiong Wei, even when she talked.
At the end of Mardi Gras, I met my senior Meng Tian. She helped me snapped two photos with Ashwin and Samantha (JC2). But think about it, Samantha was Kirk’s OGL during Zenith I, and I ended up knowing her as well. Lastly, I collected my WOW file for job attachment from under the letter slots, and took photos with Jia Jin, JP, Keith and more. Meng Tian helped again.
Browsing through my WOW file briefly and I tried to recall the four weeks in DSI (Data Storage Institute). It has only been three months since the last time I went there. But it seemed to be ages.
