"Here here, this is your class. Sit down."
It was the registration day for primary school.
I was led away by a teacher to the basketball court,
where tens and hundreds of students sat in their classes,
one line following by another, side by side,
waiting for the orientation to begin, and to end.
All we had in mind was to rush back to our parents' side.
Everyone was a stranger to each other.
It was like walking in a forest in the middle of a deep dark night.
A frightening sight for a 6-year old.
Just then, I saw him.
I strained my eyes and stared at him.
Could I be seeing wrongly? How come that boy looks so familiar?
Have I seen him somewhere before...?
Ah.. Yes! He's from Gracefield Kindergarten too.
He's in the same class as me, he's from Donald Duck too!
Shuts.. What's his name again..?
Crap! I cant remember!
All of a sudden, he turned around to face my direction.
I got a shock and looked away quickly.
Did he recognize me? Does he remember me?
Afraid to stare at him outfront, I took sneak peeks at him.
I must have seemed like a thief. Or a real pervert.
But I couldnt help it, I wanted to know who he was.
I wanted to know his name, I wanted to know him.
My most distinct first memory of him.
The first time I truly acknowledge him, his existence.
In that sea of people,
I was made to sit with strangers, with people whom I did not know.
The mass number of people frightened me, I did not like it at all.
As I looked around, looking for parents,
I caught sight of him.
I dont know why, but seeing him brought a warm, fuzzy feeling to me.
Somehow, that sea of people didnt seem so frightening anymore.
There was someone that I knew with me.
He was with me.
We were led to our classroom,
I sat at the back of the class in the middle group,
while he sat at the front at the upper right hand group.
I was disappointed.
Why was he sitting so far? I grumbled.
I remember our form teacher, Ms Foong, talking.
Yet, I was unable to get any single word of hers into my mind.
I was busy thinking, thinking of his name.
"Guan Wei...?" Ms Foong said.
He raised his hand up. She gave him a brief nod.
That's his name?!
No what... I remember that he has an English name.
Darn.. Why cant I remember it? This is so irritating.
Why am I so dumb?
To think that I've always been boasting about my excellent memory.
And all of a sudden, his name hit me, hard.
XAVIER!
Yes, that's his name! Finally I've remembered!
The girl sitting beside me gave me an odd look,
I hurried to hide my wide smile.
Yet, it was a mission impossible to accomplish.
A series of waves charged with joy began hitting me.
It was really really hard to stop myself from smiling.
Even when I was biting my lips, trying to stop myself from smiling,
the ends of my mouth refused to listen to me and kept turning up.
After several attempts to stop myself, I gave into my happiness,
and allowed myself to smile. Widely.
What a fool I must have looked like.
After remembering his name,
I still wasnt able to stop myself. I had to talk to him.
Even if it was a brief hi, I had to say that too.
I just couldnt acknowledge him,
not knowing that someone he knew was in the same room as him.
I raised my hand up and requested to go to the washroom.
Ms Foong gave me a tiny smile and a little nod.
I stood up and headed towards the door.
I knew that I had to walk pass him on my way,
I took that opportunity and said hi to him.
He looked up at him, stared at me for a full 5 seconds before he replied back hi.
In that 5 seconds, I felt like a dumbass.
In that 5 seconds, tons of emotions rushed through me.
Happiness, fear, sadness, exasperation, desperation.
In that 5 seconds, lots of questions began appearing in my head.
Does he recognize me?
Why is he staring at me like that?
Doesnt he remember me?
Doesnt he know who I am?
Why isnt he saying anything at all?
After that 5 seconds, he made my day.
As I walked towards the toilet,
I couldnt help but kept replaying that scene in my head.
That short scene of perhaps 8 seconds,
it seemed like a full 2-hour movie to me though.
Once again, my lips defied my orders and a smile forced its way through my resistance.
That was my first direct conversation with him.
Indeed it was a simple hi, but it was more than enough to make me happy.
I wasnt confident that I would talk to him again,
but I knew that this so called "school" might not be that bad afterall.
Because he was there. With me.
-To Be Continued-
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