Letting Our Youthful Voices Ring
Lizard and I, Salamander, still played make-believe games when we were ten.
After our morning-session classes, we'd sometimes stay back in school together for some activities or other. We'd hang out at the quadrangle or we'd play our games at the back of the school where the wrought-iron shell of the pumpkin carriage laid rusting, left over from the specially co-ordinated operetta, Cinderella, for some special anniversary celebration that year.
I never had much of an imagination, so Lizard was mostly responsible for creating our game. It could be anything - adventures, mysteries, or anything-goes. I loved going round to the back of the school where we girls were mostly forbidden to because there were rumors of snakes and such dangers.
The Eco-garden was fun too. I like crossing the little pond on the round foot-steps (rumors had it that some poor girl once fell into the pond) to where the lemon grass grew and where the chickens were kept; I seem to remember an especially vocal and robust rooster that I'd always wished would be made into a chicken curry. There were balsam seeds to be stolen from the plots of balsam plants too. Lizard could create games with them.
Sometimes, we'd visit the little corners - like the Math corner, or the Science corner - those were the specially re-constructed spaces beneath the staircases around the school that were gated. Shoes were strictly forbidden (so as not to dirty the mats); you had to take them off at the gate. The fun part was having to crawl in to the deeper (and low) recess, though sometimes, you'd get your pinaform and socks wet because some silly girl had spilled her drink there.
Lizard, being the daredevil she was (and I always seem to be drawn to this type of girls), would do what was considered (by me) to be dangerous stuff - like scaling the slope at the back of the school, or trekking into the grassy areas prone to snake rumors. Mostly, I'd either hang back and watch her, or I'd timidly try to imitate her. But no matter what I did or didn't dare to do, I always had fun.
Laughter and fun. It was pretty darn close to unadulterated happiness.
I suppose my memory is a leaky valve; there are times I don't know what I remember are true memories or fabricated ones. But of those afternoons I'd spent with Lizard - and they are all golden in my mind - I am pretty sure we had spent a great deal of time letting our youthful voices ring with all their joyfulness, just like our school song encouraged.
After our morning-session classes, we'd sometimes stay back in school together for some activities or other. We'd hang out at the quadrangle or we'd play our games at the back of the school where the wrought-iron shell of the pumpkin carriage laid rusting, left over from the specially co-ordinated operetta, Cinderella, for some special anniversary celebration that year.
I never had much of an imagination, so Lizard was mostly responsible for creating our game. It could be anything - adventures, mysteries, or anything-goes. I loved going round to the back of the school where we girls were mostly forbidden to because there were rumors of snakes and such dangers.
The Eco-garden was fun too. I like crossing the little pond on the round foot-steps (rumors had it that some poor girl once fell into the pond) to where the lemon grass grew and where the chickens were kept; I seem to remember an especially vocal and robust rooster that I'd always wished would be made into a chicken curry. There were balsam seeds to be stolen from the plots of balsam plants too. Lizard could create games with them.
Sometimes, we'd visit the little corners - like the Math corner, or the Science corner - those were the specially re-constructed spaces beneath the staircases around the school that were gated. Shoes were strictly forbidden (so as not to dirty the mats); you had to take them off at the gate. The fun part was having to crawl in to the deeper (and low) recess, though sometimes, you'd get your pinaform and socks wet because some silly girl had spilled her drink there.
Lizard, being the daredevil she was (and I always seem to be drawn to this type of girls), would do what was considered (by me) to be dangerous stuff - like scaling the slope at the back of the school, or trekking into the grassy areas prone to snake rumors. Mostly, I'd either hang back and watch her, or I'd timidly try to imitate her. But no matter what I did or didn't dare to do, I always had fun.
Laughter and fun. It was pretty darn close to unadulterated happiness.
I suppose my memory is a leaky valve; there are times I don't know what I remember are true memories or fabricated ones. But of those afternoons I'd spent with Lizard - and they are all golden in my mind - I am pretty sure we had spent a great deal of time letting our youthful voices ring with all their joyfulness, just like our school song encouraged.
posted by s at 22:18
2 Comments:
reminds me of my days at the convent :)
I suppose my memory is a leaky valve; there are times I don't know what I remember are true memories or fabricated ones. couldn't have said it better!
o.m.i.g.o.s.h.
were you part of Cinderella? haha! i was one of the stewpid fairy thingies! hated it. :P
the robust rooster was christened by one of my friends as Angel.
i loved the eco garden (esp the pond!) and used to hang like a monkey on the monkey bars. the ruckus we created would result in a scolding by the Tigress, whom i believe, is still there. small world, eh?
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