School Daze: the long-lost ending
Finally, after so long, I remember the ending I'd had in mind for my mini-recount. A pity it had to come back to me so late. And I finally remember the names I had wanted to give my characters. Well... here's the little revenant of an ending.
***
It had been a while since that MRT trip that they had passed in silence. A new classmate had since joined their class; the BCME combination, she had decided, would not work out for her. The class had been thrilled over the new addition. Having already known one another, they needed no introduction, and the new arrival fit in as if to a T.
After the last lesson of the day, the group that always went home by public transport beckoned the new arrival to follow them. She obliged.
Our heroine, meanwhile, stayed behind to ask their teacher a question.
"Mr Tan, would this expression not connote that ...?"
"... how so?"
"Because ..."
"Ah, yes, I think I can see what you mean. Yes, of course, although the more obvious connotation would be what we saw and went through in class. Come to think of it, there might be more..."
"..."
The issue clarified, she thanked Mr Tan and darted out of the classroom to catch up with the public-transport-takers. "Boo."
"Oh, hi, Claire."
"Hey, Chandran. And how've you been, Selena?" asked Claire, turning to the 'new' arrival.
"Brilliant, thanks." Wait a minute; was that lethargy or sarcasm? She had hardly any way of knowing. That was Selena, all right - she had always been like that, with that signature gravity in her voice that made her intent inscrutable, especially when she was tired.
Within minutes, they had arrived at the MRT station. As usual, the rest of them headed off to the bus interchange, sending off the two train-takers with cries of "Bye, Claire!" and "'Til tomorrow, Ishak!"
It was a familiar thing. Even then, the tension she had felt in those bygone days seemed laughable now, however real it had been then. How could she have felt so keyed-up, even tensed-up, over - ? But she said nothing, choosing instead to smile. She knew that he, too, was looking straight ahead.
They continued along the escalator in silence. Upon reaching the platform, he crossed over to the nearest entry point, marked out on the floor by the arrows and lines. Her trajectory, however, led straight to a pillar, into which she gently mock-crashed. Ishak let out a little chortle, unable to suppress it; so, too, did Claire.
"What did you do that for?" he asked, still smiling.
"Just for laughs," she replied.
He laughed again; so did she, confident in the knowledge that the lie was dead; confident in the knowledge that the Devil would not be able to use it against her anymore; and therefore confident in the knowledge that she had ceased to be Perdita Ho Mimang long ago - though it wasn't quite so long ago - and that, with that, so too had he ceased to be Ismail bin Mohammed.
The train arrived, and a chatty pair of students, consisting of Claire Ong Xian'er and Ishak bin Firdaus, boarded the train to go home.
***
It had been a while since that MRT trip that they had passed in silence. A new classmate had since joined their class; the BCME combination, she had decided, would not work out for her. The class had been thrilled over the new addition. Having already known one another, they needed no introduction, and the new arrival fit in as if to a T.
After the last lesson of the day, the group that always went home by public transport beckoned the new arrival to follow them. She obliged.
Our heroine, meanwhile, stayed behind to ask their teacher a question.
"Mr Tan, would this expression not connote that ...?"
"... how so?"
"Because ..."
"Ah, yes, I think I can see what you mean. Yes, of course, although the more obvious connotation would be what we saw and went through in class. Come to think of it, there might be more..."
"..."
The issue clarified, she thanked Mr Tan and darted out of the classroom to catch up with the public-transport-takers. "Boo."
"Oh, hi, Claire."
"Hey, Chandran. And how've you been, Selena?" asked Claire, turning to the 'new' arrival.
"Brilliant, thanks." Wait a minute; was that lethargy or sarcasm? She had hardly any way of knowing. That was Selena, all right - she had always been like that, with that signature gravity in her voice that made her intent inscrutable, especially when she was tired.
Within minutes, they had arrived at the MRT station. As usual, the rest of them headed off to the bus interchange, sending off the two train-takers with cries of "Bye, Claire!" and "'Til tomorrow, Ishak!"
It was a familiar thing. Even then, the tension she had felt in those bygone days seemed laughable now, however real it had been then. How could she have felt so keyed-up, even tensed-up, over - ? But she said nothing, choosing instead to smile. She knew that he, too, was looking straight ahead.
They continued along the escalator in silence. Upon reaching the platform, he crossed over to the nearest entry point, marked out on the floor by the arrows and lines. Her trajectory, however, led straight to a pillar, into which she gently mock-crashed. Ishak let out a little chortle, unable to suppress it; so, too, did Claire.
"What did you do that for?" he asked, still smiling.
"Just for laughs," she replied.
He laughed again; so did she, confident in the knowledge that the lie was dead; confident in the knowledge that the Devil would not be able to use it against her anymore; and therefore confident in the knowledge that she had ceased to be Perdita Ho Mimang long ago - though it wasn't quite so long ago - and that, with that, so too had he ceased to be Ismail bin Mohammed.
The train arrived, and a chatty pair of students, consisting of Claire Ong Xian'er and Ishak bin Firdaus, boarded the train to go home.