[review // 101211] I miss

This is gonna be so ironic and contradictory. But I miss school so much. Or should I say, I miss 4/8 so much.

I miss how we get to see our friends for 5 days a week. I miss the times when no matter how much we complain or dread waking up early, we still do it anyway. I miss how we walk into the canteen before assembly and you see your friends waiting for you and we start chit-chatting until the lights go off. I miss assemblies, flag-raising ceremonies, OMMs, OMGs, or just sitting in the hall and turning behind to talk to your friend, updating each other on each of our lives.

I miss how we clatter in groups as we walk along the corridors to our classroom, waiting for the chairperson to open the door. I miss how we walk to our respective seats and everyone starts to talk to the person beside you while waiting for the first lesson to start. I miss how happy we get when a relief teacher walks in. I miss how upset we'd get when we had to go to different classrooms for lessons. I miss POA, Math and Social Studies lessons the most, because these 3 subjects are the only classes we attend together as a class. Other than that, we're banded.

I miss my table partners. Elaine, Xiaoqin, Evonne, Crystal and Kelvin. The 6 of us, serious when needed, other than that, we're nothing but fun and enjoyment. I miss how Elaine, Xiaoqin, Evonne and I will always sing mandarin songs together, updating each other on new songs discovered, or just trying to remember lyrics of a particular song, or the title of a song. I miss how we ignore our appearances and just sing as loudly as we want to. I miss how we tease Kelvin and no matter how far we go, he will never ever get angry. I miss us going crazy on certain days, bringing our baby photos and exchanging with one another, making sandwiches and cookies for each other. This is how I spent my most memorable days.

I miss the scene of everyone rummaging through lockers and under-desks to prepare for the next lesson. I miss how everyone just refuses to walk to the next venue immediately when the bell rings, we just like to take our own sweet time. I miss the days when all we look forward to is the sound of the bell indicating the end of our lesson, or the bell for recess, and most importantly the bell for dismissal. I miss how everyone rushes out of the classrooms during recess time, I miss how everyone rushes to the canteen just to avoid long queues and to get a table. I miss how my friends and I sit together, eat, talk, and just hope that this 45 minutes would go by slower than other periods.

I miss POA lessons, how we blabber rubbish to Mr Lim and he follows suit, how we're best at wasting time by diverting his attention to his newborn son Ethan, how we like to use POA lessons for admin stuff so that we don't have to do exam papers, how we all beg for that 1 minute of early dismissal. I miss Social Studies lessons, when all we do is talk to our friends, once in a while doing the SBQ questions when we've got no choice, how we highlight the notes but nothing go inside our heads, how we talk to Mr Zakir like he's our best buddy. I miss Math lessons, how we all get angry with the teacher for moving too fast or blabbering things that sound like alien languages to us, how we talk and talk and talk until Mdm Sarojini approaches our tables.

I miss the noises we make, the silences among us when the days to O levels slowly decreases, the happiness shown on our faces when we manage to win something during competitions, the enthusiasm everyone shows when we prepare for a particular occasion, celebration or competition, as well as the tears and sad faces of everyone on graduation day, the day when we officially are no longer a part of Riverside, a part of 4/8.

As you read through this entry, how much memories can you remember? How many flashbacks went through your mind? How much do you miss school, how much do you miss your friends, how much do you miss the days of laughter and fun, how much do you miss the days when your biggest problem was how to finish studying for an exam? How much do you miss secondary school, and all the memories, legends and histories created by yourself and your friends?

I miss everything, so much.

To be honest, if given a choice, I would never want to grow up, I would never want to leave this phase of my life, I'd really rather continue studying, continue being with my friends, continue being in 4/8, continue being a student, for the rest of my life.