TKGS Cross Country/ Zany Day Parade 2008

Well... Today (Actually,  22 July, but this post has been sitting here since 22 July, I've only decided to finish it up now) has been interesting.

22 July is where schools around Singapore commemorated Racial Harmony Day. But... TKG must always be different, and held our annual Cross Country then. (Cross Country is usually held on a Saturday in August.)

Alright, you might be wondering what is Zany Day Parade? I mean, Cross Country we all know, but Zany Parade?

Dictionary.com defines "zany" as ludicrously or whimsically comical; clownish. And, as always, it a crazy event.

Okay, okay I'll start from the beginning. 

Let's see. 

My sister and I got to East Coast Parkway at about 7.20am. (Yes, we hold our Cross Countries at East Coast, and not at McRitchie Reservoir, as most schools do.) The event's always held at this big field near the hawker centre (the Lagoon, if I'm not wrong.)

There are 10 participants per class taking part in the Cross Country, while the rest of the class take part in Zany. And, because I am a wet blanket (or so my friends claim... I am NOT a wet blanket) and I refuse to take part in the somewhat humiliating Zany Parade, I signed up for Cross Country the second I heard the theme for this year's Parade. (I signed up for Cross Country last year too, even though I had only just finished recovering from a torn ligament which had prevented me from taking my NAPFA only two weeks before the Cross Country...)

This year's theme for Sec 3s was "local culture". And my class, being a Drama Elective/not-quite-Drama-but-whacky-all-the-same people-filled class were really into the thing. 

Local Culture? Most people would think of the four ethnic races, which my class DID do, but no, that wasn't good enough. "Chinese" was interpreted as martial arts/dancing girls. (Y'know, the type with the fans?) "Indian" had two Bollywood dancers dancing around a tree. (The tree was a classmate who sprayed her hair green.) "Malay was nothing too special. But the "Eurasians" were a couple of girls in black dresses, tights and heels... Who started doing the Twist and other strange dances.

L. O. L.

And that's not even all of it. There were Ah Lians, Ah Bengs, Phua Chu Kang, three or four policewoman (Who had stolen their uniforms from NPCC girls) and Mas Selamat. 

Is it a wonder we won? (With another class who I had forgotten. Two classes from each cohort wins each year.)

Alright, I'm being a little egoistical here. Although it all sounds great, the execution wasn't that good... They didn't practice much. But the Ah Lians really did look like Ah Lians, with their tight T-shirts, FBTs (Black shorts, usually with a side slit) and stockings. 

Okay. On to Cross Country.

Imagine.

Running 3km.

Listening to Panic! At the Disco.

The sky is cloudy, like it is before a storm. 

Cool wind whipping your hair as you run. 

Your heart pounding in time to the shattering beats that blast through your headphones.

I WANNA DO IT AGAIN. 

"Let's get these teen hearts beating. Faster, faster

Let's get these teen hearts beating. Faster"

Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off Lyrics
Artist(Band):Panic! At The Disco

I did run faster, funnily enough. XD I highly recommend you watch the video on Youtube; it's a good song. 

There were approximately 80 runners altogether.... And in the end, I was 35th place. I count that as pretty good, considering how out of shape I am. (I was 44th last year.)

And I got a medal in the end, because apparently, our class's timing was the best in the level. 

We ended at about 11.30am, but I wasn't going home yet. Not with the beach looking absolutely gorgeous.

Do you know how it looks, when the sky is completely covered with light grey clouds, all smooth and nice? The sea was a darker shade of grey, marred by the ugly ships that dotted the horizon. The wind was glorious.

Sakinah and I just sat at the rocks, watching the waves roll in while discussing her latest script. (She's the best scriptwriter in DEP, I swear.) We got up, ran into a bunch of seniors. 

Masyitah, Serinder and Shoba walk past the opposite direction.

"Hey Sak? I suddenly feel hitting something. Or someone." 

"Not me," she immediately says.

"Them, then?"

"No, Natalie, it's not nice."

...

"Now? Please?"

"What's going on?" Atiqah, another senior, pops out of nowhere. Masyitah, Serinder and Shoba walk ahead of us, completely oblivious.

"Natalie wants to hit me," Sakinah lies. 

"Oh really? Hit her then."

I walk ahead ahead of the two of them.

"You can't, can you? You're just scared."

I walk faster.

"Chicken!" she mocks, and starts making stupid chicken noises. (Honestly, Atiqah, could you be more childish?)

And then I run towards Serinder, and half-hug, half-push and mostly wrapmyarmsaroundherneckandchokeheralittle.

"ARGH!" she screams, and there are identical shocked looks on the three seniors faces. They're already pretty freaked by the violent, nutty junior they've come to recognise me as, and this isn't helping my image.

Behind, Atiqah yells "Oh my god, I'M SORRY SERINDER." (I still don't know why she felt the need to apologise for my behaviour.)

And for once, my conscience starts prickling as Serinder looks as if she just had a heart attack. (Hard to believe, since Atiqah's even more violent than I am.) And then I walk to the Lagoon, looking for the drinks stall and come back with a lukewarm can of Vanilla Coke in one hand and a cup of ice in the other. More seniors have already arrived and the crowd around Serinder anxiously. And (well, that's what I think anyway) they glare at me as I approach.

"I'm sorry," I say, and I actually mean it.

"Erm, I can't drink Coke, I've got a medical condition."

I scream inside. I spent $1.20 on the damn thing. 

"Take it anyway," I say and set the can and cup on the grass, before leaving with Sakinah, she still smirking.

When it started raining later, we walked to the beach and just stood there, letting the raindrops fall. It was wonderful. (But of course, sitting in an air-conditioned bus and later getting yelled at by your mom is a completely different story... And I forgot just how many books and notes I had in my bag... My foolscap was all drenched. )

---

There was a sequel to the Serinder incident.

The next day, Sakinah and I were discussing the previous day's events. 

"So it's okay for me to whack you, but not okay for me to hit Serinder?" I ask Sakinah.

"I know! That's why I'm still mad at her." (Her being Atiqah.)

During recess, we find Serinder and Atiqah sitting together.

"So. It's okay for me to hit Sak, but not Serinder?" I demand.

"Yeah!" Sak agrees. 

"No! It's not okay for you to hit anyone!" Atiqah says, all wide-eyed and innocent.

"Yeah right. You were calling me a chicken. I should have recorded all the noises you made."

Serinder just sits there and looks more scared.

Great. The seniors all think I'm nuts.