School daze :: Nov/Dec 2003

This is a story about Paul; a first year student passes through his first semester in a polytechnic. With new faces to meet from different environments. Having to adapt to a new-found independence in a new environment with classmates, he made, and the adventures that lies ahead. Through this, Paul finally found his identity and the values of being a responsible teenager maturing to become an adult.

Disclaimer: All character whether dead or alive is in no relation to the story.

Chapter 1: Beginning of School

“Hey Paul! How are you? It’s been sometime since we have gone out together.” Came the voice from Vincent. A close friend of Paul who is about the same height as Paul but slightly skinny.

“Erm, Vincent… I’m busy with some girl I just got to know from school.” Came the reply from Paul.

“huh… What? You are dating a girl… Are you crazy? You have just started schooling and you are dating a girl right now. You ought to be kidding.” Vincent replied surprising.

“No, I don’t think I sound as if I am telling a joke. Neither do I look like a clown in anyway…”

“Alight, you win. I wish you all the best in coping with your newfound girlfriend and studies. Hey meet you after school at about one in the afternoon”

After saying that, Vincent quickly hurried off to the next lesson at the lecture theatre a few levels down. While, Paul is having a break at the school cafeteria with his girlfriend by the side. Both Vincent and Paul are taking the same diploma course but they will be studying different topics for the current semester.

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After school that day, Paul met up with Vincent and they both went for a cup of coffee over at the schools food court. They chatted about how they had spent the six month long holidays since have not been contacting one another during that long period.

During the past 6 months, Paul has been busy with working in the sales line while VIncent is having a good time traveling and working on freelance web designing. He traveled to Perth in Australia, and got the chance to see a kangaroo in the wild. In addition, he spotted the Koala Bear and had hands on experience of feeding the sheep during a farm visit.

Time passed by very quickly, Paul started to date Samantha. Both of them are in the same institution, but pursuing different courses. She took up the Diploma in Intelligence Building.

They came to know each other through an online chat channel about a month ago. It was not love at first sight. They had endless chat about their life goals and how they wish to go about achieving them. They seem to have very similar ambitions. Both wanted to excel in the fields, which they are pursuing now. Samantha is slightly shorter than Paul is, but she is slim and medium build. Both also share the same pastimes – swimming, cycling, jogging and sleeping. They share the same birth date too.

When they met up for the first time, Peter did not really have a good impression on her, she was late by 10minutes. She apologized and gave him a reason that was acceptable. She had a cheerful look, and is easy going. As they began to hang out more often together, a bond started to form between them. There was some chemistry between them that started to form. They went did almost every sport together, and shared the many fun moments all the way until the time when school began in July.

Chapter 2: Friends or Foe

“So how did you get to know this girl I saw earlier on?” asked Vincent.

“Met her from a chat channel, a month ago,” said Paul.

“She looks pretty, looks very suitable for you. But don’t neglect your studies.” Vincent warned.

“Hey cool down, I know you care for me. We do not hang out that often these days except for doing the sports we both enjoy. Whenever we hang out, we pay for our own expenses. Isn’t that something interesting?” said Paul.

“Uh, sounds weird. How come you are not paying for her expenses?” said Vincent surprisingly.

“Oh, we have decided to provide for ourselves. That way it will not hurt any of us. We are both working. So we can afford to live on our own.” Paul replied.

“I see. Looks like you are good at coming out with weird ideas. So why is that necklace with a ring on your neck? An engagement or love symbol?”

“That is a ring I wear on myself since the day we started dating. It symbolizes love in the hart. Both of us wear it in our hearts.”

“You are really a weirdo. Love to do such funny things. Alight you win. So how is your first day in school?”

“Pretty good, why you ask?”

“Oh its nothing, just curious to know how you are coping…”

As the conversation got on and on, time went by quickly. Before they realize it, it is four in the afternoon. They departed from the cafeteria, still involved in their discussion about a class gathering coming up in December.

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Once back home, Paul went straight to his desktop and started working on his latest assignment while chatting with Samantha and some of his classmates online.

As the days went by, his classmates elected Paul as the class representative. For his ability to lead the class and his ability to bring everyone in his class together. However, this bit of effort of bringing everyone in the class together did not last long.

Soon, everyone started to get into different social groups in the class. There began to form two social groups – guys group and a girls group. They hang out at different places during the break time. Both groups seldom meet except during lesson. Everyone was getting well with one another. Teamwork started to play the role of getting everyone to work together. During one of the tutorial in the first week of school, everyone was group into groups of five. Every group was assigned a task, which has to be presented at the end of the semester.

Paul was grouped together with Evelyn, Eileen, Shane and Terri. The group members in his team appointed him as the group leader unanimously. Once everyone has settled down into his or her assigned groups, they were handed the assignment and began to brainstorm and discuss what is to be done for the assignment.

Chapter 3: Good friends

As the days went by, everyone in the class also began to know one another better. The girls and guys also started to get out of the box to interact with one another. The class is slowly coming together to become one group. Everyday there would be laughter and smiles except on days where there were mini tests. In addition, another project has begun to take place in class and everyone is starting to get busy with the project given by the Java Programming tutor.

During this period, Paul and Samantha would usually meet up after school to discuss the day and spend time together revising their day’s homework. Every weekday they could be seen together with at his place or her place repeatedly doing the same thing. Except on weekends when they will both be working or hanging out with their individual group of friends.

Life was a breeze through the first 3-month into the semester where everyone was trying their best to cope with a new environment with new friends, lecturers and their steady, if there ever was one for them.

At the end of the first 3-month, the term test took place. By that time, everyone is tied down to work their best through the test. Paul for one is really trying very hard to struggle between working and doing his revision daily with Samantha.

Both decided to apply for study leave to concentrate on their revision as both aspire to outplay one another in the term test for good results. With their hard work, came the reward of spending time together during the one-week vacation, which came right after the term test. During the one-week break, both did many activities together which included the weekly swimming session and their latest addition to their list of activities – gym. They have decided to build up stronger bodies through gym training. When it began, it was tough to keep up with a personal training guideline. However, as the week went by with alternate day of training, they got used to it and the term break slowly ended.

Its back to school again for another 2 months. The term test results were announced through the tutors during the first week back in school. Both Paul and Samantha did extremely well they both got the same results – Distinction, for their individual subjects.

Now that their hard work has paid off, both decided that they would concentrate on bettering their relationship with studying a day less and devoting that day to training at the gym.

Chapter 4: Project Blues

By the end of the first week, everyone in class too was happy and has decided to celebrate at Seoul Garden. Being the class representative, Paul was the one who suggested the idea and have asked the class for the opinion of inviting their care person to the celebration too. Everyone agreed to the idea and the date was set for the following week Friday.

As the weeks went by, everyone started to get busy again with the two assignments, which has to be completed for submission soon. Paul’s time with Samantha also started to wither. Both were also busy with their assignments. Even though that was the case, their commitment to the gym and swimming sessions remain. These were the only time they were together.

By the last month before the exams were to begin in October, everyone has already started to panic with the amount of assignment to be submitted as their deadlines are coming nearer by the hour.

For Paul and his group, they were preparing very well for the assignment, scoring high marks for group components and individual components. With that everyone was getting very happy with themselves. Except for the Java assignment, which majority of the class is having problem.

There seem to be no good solution to complete the assignment on time. Everyone felt panicky about what is going to happen when the entire assignment is not done and handed in on time.

At the brink of death, a miracle happened. A classmate decided to teach the class during the free period how to complete the assignment. Everyone listened attentively and got the gist of it. There and then, they all started to work on the desktops in the computer labs and everyone was able to complete the assignment, thus handing in the assignment on time for grading.

As for Paul’s relationship, it began to wither with time. However, the two lovebirds love each other very much; their parents were objecting them seeing one another. The excuse given was that they both were too young and needed more time to really consider whether they have devoted too much or too little time together. In addition, a commitment to the relationship during the school years can result in many problems; as such, both families are hostile toward this relationship.
Though this saddened both of them, they decided to make a deal to prove to their parents that they are devoted to one another and will also strive to make a balance between school and their commitment to one another.

Chapter 5: Final Exams

The final semester exams are round the corner. Both of them did not meet during the month long period, neither did they do what the activities they did together. Everyday they would be seen in school at different places doing their own revision. No phone calls were exchanged at all. It was complete silence. All the way through until the end of the exams.

As the exams ended, Paul went back to his normal work routine and engaged in the normal activities of swimming and gym as before. This time alone without the company of Samantha. This hard life went on for a period of two long weeks until the release of the exam results. The result was announced and both got straight distinctions.

With such good results, they went to their parents and ask for their permission to continue with their relationship. When both parents gave the green light, both were feeling over the moon.

From then on, they were together every moment of their life. However, life is not always clear of roadblocks. The roads were even bumpier with more commitments to school, work and play. They have more challenges ahead with time management and the feeling of love sick when not seeing one another.

After word

Hope that you would have enjoyed this short story as much as I did in putting together the story. The idea came about one day during my lecture in school while thinking about my ex-crushes. I decided to do a write up about school life in a tertiary institute with a mix of what I feel would be an ideal relationship if it even happens to me while schooling. It is an inspirational piece to write about freely with the flow of events…

Hope that you could also send me some comments so that I can better my writing skills and present before you better works.

Regards,
Jasen
Nov/Dec 2003