The Last Day of School

by Lee Ting An, Sophomore 2 Cempaka, Class of 2015

Tomorrow, the last day of school will finally come to an end, and with it, school life will cease. After tomorrow, there will be no more last-minute rushes to finish your math corrections, no more prefects asking you for your formal attire. The chatter, gossip and laughter of the bus will become silence, the smell of exhaust in the morning, which we are all now familiar with, will probably be forgotten. There will be no more late nights spent looming over a computer screen, or mornings drooling on the bus window while the incessant rattling of the bus jerks you from your slumber. No longer will we have to line up for Tom Yam fried rice and Char Kuay Teow, or iced lemon tea and Teh Tarik. Tomorrow will be the last day we drag you to the poolside when we disembark from the bus for one final morning assembly. Tomorrow will be the last day we will smell the immediately recognizable scent that is the poolside boy’s toilet. Tomorrow will be the last day we shout and run our hearts out, doing our houses proud while the cheers and banners spur us on. Tomorrow, all of this will end.

I, like many other, have conflicted feelings about tomorrow. Like anyone and everyone else, I most definitely want the holidays, but somehow have yet to fully grasp the thought of school ending tomorrow. Many other students out there, I trust, as well as myself spend more or less the entire academic year fantasizing about this very day. So why is it that when the day comes, we’re reluctant to see it through?

Maybe it’s because we do enjoy school, even though it always feels like we’re tired enough to drop like flies. True, the thought of the New Product Convention doesn’t really bring the words ‘fun’ or ‘enjoyment’ to mind, but then again it is merely a part of the rich tapestry of school life we are all accustomed to, molded by. Games Carnival, Cempaka Connect, the many assemblies and performances that inevitably pepper our calendar - after all, aren’t these what we live for? I imagine holiday life without these things to be, well, dull. Not bad, because everyone definitely deserves a break, but simply monotonous and tedious. There’s no constant demand for work to be done, no team lists to finalize, no gold bars to complete, no dance steps to be remembered. After spending ten months living under constant pressure, maybe the holidays, though a deserving break, would seem just a tad too boring for us.

Maybe it’s because we’ll miss all the fun. All our lives are filled to the brim with more or less everything with little time for anything else, but you can be sure we’ll have fun along the way. The exhilarating thrill of a goal, the tired euphoria of camps (yoga, anybody?), or even the simple contentment of a presentation that actually met Mr. Wong’s high standards. If we don’t miss the workload, the after school practices, angry parents, bus drivers, and teacher chaperones, definitely we will miss all the things they entail.

Maybe it’s because we’ll miss the environment. No one can come close to us for having an electrifying atmosphere- here, there’s always something in the air, always a buzz, a constant hum of energy from those around you. You’re perpetually surrounded by people doing things, talking about things, thinking about things, and who probably dream about things too. The energy’s infectious; which is why, when you visit school during the holidays to buy your books, it just doesn’t feel the same. We are the life and breath of the school. So maybe when we’re off holidaying in foreign lands, we’ll miss the kick, the vigour and liveliness that we, the student community, create.

Maybe it’s because we’ll miss the commute, the buses with their exhaust and air conditioners that works every other day. Sure, maybe we prefer sleeping till noon, but the bus ride to and back is a chance to talk, socialize, bond with our friends outside the classroom, where talking isn’t exactly encouraged. I’m sure every bus has their very own busload of inside jokes and stories.

Maybe it’s because we’ll miss the people. Our friends, no different from our family. What is school without them anyway? We will miss the talks on the long walk down to the canteen from our N1 block, the inside jokes, or how teachers in the staffroom always get mad at us because we’re just too loud. We’ll miss the Roti Shop auntie scolding us for being too slow, or making fun of each other for buying the iced milk (Seriously though, with one last day at school, try the milk. You will have no regrets.) We won’t forget the endless walk up the avenue, excursions to the Roti Shop, the hustle and bustle of the canteen, or even the times they threatened to fail us for finals because we made too much noise during mandarin. We’ll miss those.

Maybe we’ll miss the memories. Because every time we step into that bus right until we get off it seven hours later, we’re doing more than just going to school and coming back. Together with our friends, we’re living out the beginnings of our lives within those cream coloured walls and cement floors. With everyday that passed we made new memories, and when you sit and reflect, they all come back, fast and unforgiving, a nostalgic punch to the gut that leaves you sitting and thinking of the good times.

Picture yourself in school. The earthy tang of mud and the unmistakable odour emanating from the boy’s toilet with just a hint of cologne, are now all too familiar and no longer assault your senses. The light breeze from the field blows your sweat-drenched shirt against your stomach while you stand in the meagre shade cast by the bleachers, amidst coloured banners and flags carelessly cast aside. Dried mud and grass cling to your weary legs as your wet shoes leave a puddle on the ground. Shouts, cheers, screams, hoarse throats giving orders and starting cheers from the field reach your ears.

For some of you, tomorrow will be the last time you’ll get to experience that in your life. Here’s to hoping you savour it all you can, and live it to your fullest. 

For the rest of us, there will only ever be one Annual Games Carnival 2014. True, we’ll have another chance, but as any senior would tell you, make the most of it.

For some of us, tomorrow might be the last time we see the school altogether. We hope you remember your time here, and the friends you make, with a sense of mingled happiness and sorrow.

For all of us, tomorrow will be the last time our classes are together. Some of us will leave, some of us will drop, and some of us will rise. Even though most of us will have the chance to see each other again, the memories we made as that class are unique. So break out the polaroids, because if tomorrow’s the last day we’re together as one, damn right we’re going to remember it.

For every single one of us, tomorrow will be the last day we’re exactly as we are. Maybe we’ll still be here and together next year, but next year won’t be the same - tomorrow is the last day we’re Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors. Tomorrow is a day of your life you’ll never get back. Tomorrow’s a memory yet to be made, but to be remembered forever.

I hope you make the most of tomorrow; enjoy it, relish it, and go make some lifelong memories.