My Kiasu Teenage Life in Singapore (6 page)

Prep time over. Bye!

Love, Pei Yi

Dear Mei Yee

I reached the hostel at 6.35 pm 'coz of AEP. I'm so exhausted—last night I read a book till 1 am and today I was damn sleepy in school. Mr Como said my tree art work is nice and abstract, and he likes it. I dislike some of the girls in my AEP Club. They're always
cho kuan
. They speak so manja and with an accent to Mr Como 'coz he's American.

OK. Then when I reached the hostel, I received two letters. I was SO happy. One is from you and the other from my family. I kept laughing when I read both letters. Hey, please answer my questions in my letters,OK? Wah, “the most popular girl in BM!!!!” Next time I meet you, you'll be surrounded by slaves (like Tommy). Ha! Ha! Ha! OF COURSE I'm interested in hearing all your stories!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow! Congrats! 93% for Physics!! You ARE clever. I don't know why you keep thinking I'm cleverer. When I tell Jen Nee about you (your wonderful talents in music, dancing, drawing, singing, taekwondo, the list goes on), you must have sounded like the most wonderful person God has ever created. No, I'm exaggerating. But I do admire you. Me becoming much cleverer here?! I must disillusion you on that. First I've been too lazy. I must CHANGE that!! And I haven't been learning anything that amazes me. You didn't answer my questions in my letters at all. Are you going to take Malay tuition next month? What did you get for your birthday? What did your admirers give you?

I'm coming back to Singapore after Chinese New Year by air. Sigh. So many things happening in BM and I'm not there. I wish I can be in BM and Singapore at the same time.

That's all for now and ANSWER all my questions!!!

Reply soon.

Love, Pei Yi

PS No, that's not all for now. I still have things to write. Actually being here doesn't make me very much cleverer. No, I mean of course it does. I don't know what I'm talking about. Sometimes I feel this way, sometimes I feel another way. OK. I mean being here doesn't mean I'll become as clever as you imagine, but it's nicer 'coz the school education is better, there are more opportunities, hostel life is interesting …You know I've dreamt of hostel life since I read Enid Blyton's Malory Towers.

I even like History more now. I used to detest it so much in Forms 1, 2 and 3. People always ask why I choose 3A4 and not Science classes. I'm feeling bothered at this moment (not about being in 3A4). Bye again, Pei Yi

Wednesday 22 January
(Prep time)

Dearest Mei Yee,

I read
Just As Long As We're Together
the whole afternoon. It's such a wonderful book. You can feel what the “I” in the book is feeling. I cried while reading it. Judy Blume is a really good author! You should read that book—it's really good. And you'll see what I mean about her being so wonderful.

We did chromatography in chemistry—have you done it before? I brought back a bit of the solvent in my pen. It dissolves pen ink so I dipped my pen tips into it for fun. It made one pen write smoother. It stinks too. I rubbed it on a stamp and the stamp faded.

Alisa received a letter from a guy from CJC hostel. She won't tell who. It must be one of her admirers. A lot of people in my hostel are couples. Elizabeth looks at guys' backsides. She even said to Cheng Hoe, “You

have a cute butt.”

Love, Pei Yi

Friday 24 January

Dear Mei Yee

The pens are all spoiled because of the solvent. The ink became too light.

I went swimming after school today. It was fun! I'm in the beginners' group. Only one Form 1 girl and I can't swim so while the others learn freestyle, we practiced floating to and fro. I've become darker—so fast. Need to buy sunblock. I couldn't float at first, you know, but after some time I could.

The teaching you gave me helped. Learning how to do it the second time is much easier than the first time. The coach didn't teach me 'coz he was teaching freestyle. I could only see blur things 'coz I couldn't wear specs.

I got S$400 scholarship money today.

The woman who collects our laundry has a wonderful memory, and I mean wonderful. She remembers who sends what to laundry! And the man who serves dinner onto our tray also has a remarkable memory. He remembers who has had dinner and who hasn't.

I'm really amazed at some people's memories! Mine is simply terrible. For example I watched the Miss America pageant and Miss Illinois played this song and Miss Somewhere played that song and Miss Texas wore a blue dress or something. But I'd never remember who was who or who did what. I borrowed a book,
Memory
—
How to Improve It.

At night, we played bridge. Bridge (a card game) is our hostel craze. They even have championships! Do you know how to play? Matt explained the game to me but I just couldn't grasp how to play it. It took me a long time and I'm still not clear about it now. Then a warden came and warned us not to play cards.

Love, Pei Yi

Sunday 26 January

Dear Mei Yee

We were going to watch
Doc Hollywood
with the guys but 'coz it was a nine o'clock show we wouldn't be back by the 10.30 pm curfew so one by one, we backed out. Nicole was stubborn and didn't want to back out. Anyway, in the end, Nicole, Sunny, Jen Nee and I went to Orchard Road. Elizabeth and Jen Nee talked in my room until this morning.

End of weekends. I hate school—tomorrow.

Love, Pei Yi

Monday 27 January

Dear Mei Yee

Can't wait to see you again. I was very depressed today. In the morning I felt very irritated 'coz some of the CHIJ girls are very undisciplined. They don't wear their belts or button their collars. CHIJ has a cheap reputation 'coz of some
hiau
CHIJ girls.

Why do I always go to a
hiau
school? And why do convents always have a
hiau
reputation? There's a very interesting camp called OBS (Outward Bound School) and usually very few CHIJ girls get to go 'coz of the school's reputation.

Love, Pei Yi

Tuesday 28 January

Dear Mei Yee

School was better than yesterday. I don't really enjoy AEP, though, 'coz of the people in my group. Mr Como talked a little 'bout art history and I didn't know what he was saying. During AEP, I finished first and had nothing to do, so I did some Maths. And one of my classmates commented to me that I was so hardworking! Hardworking! Anyway, I don't want to try to change their minds anymore. They can think I'm so hardworking and I won't say, “No, I'm not. In fact …”

This is who I think is quite cute: Niles (Pau Leen's brother). I'm writing this sitting beside her and she doesn't even know.

Alisa received a love letter from Danny, a guy at CJC Hostel. At first she didn't want to tell me who it was but I kept asking and asking and at last she told. It was quite a disgusting letter. So straightforward. He even wrote “Hope we can be engaged” and “I have a crush on you”.

And today there was a New Year card for her from Ekan, a guy in our hostel. Alisa is like you in some ways. The way she thinks is quite like you.

Alisa is pretty. And she has matured thinking and she's very nice too. She said that beauty is just an accident of nature and she doesn't really like being beautiful. And she's not proud that she has so many admirers. She doesn't care about having admirers.

Love, Pei Yi

Wednesday 29 January

Dearest Mei Yee

Two more days before going back to BM!!

We had a Maths test yesterday. I got OK marks. I feel that studies here are not challenging enough. Maybe 'coz I'm in 3A4. We also had an Accounts test today and two girls cheated.

The teacher was MAD. She said she HATES dishonesty. She said she's a trained teacher and can see if you cheat without walking around. She said she came into teaching 'coz in the business world everything was so evil. She could have climbed high in business but she didn't want to. And she said she now has a bad impression of our class and is going to hold back a lot of things.

Love, Pei Yi

2

Niles

Friday 31 January (Earlymorning)

Dearest Mei Yee

It's now l2.30 am, Friday 31st, the day I'm going home to BM!!!

Last night, Sunny and I watched Police Academy until the lights and TV went out at 11pm, then we went back to her room. Sunny has a tiny pocket-TV so we continued watching for a while. She told me about her former school in PJ—so terrible. All the BGR (boy-girl relationships), all the kissing and all the yucky things.

Sometimes, I think I've made the wrong choice coming to A4 class. It's not competitive at all. I'd enjoy school better if I were in Jen Nee's or Nancy's class. Anyway, it can't be changed.

I bought a Judy Blume book,
Iggie's House.
Usually, Jen Nee, Alisa, Nancy and the rest will be mugging (studying) but I'll be reading storybooks or writing letters. I don't have much to study. I wish everyone hadn't said it's going to be so tough and competitive studying in Singapore. That made my dad scared I couldn't catch up so he wanted me to go to A4. The students in A4 are not good pupils, so they don't like studying and they're not competitive at all. So it's like I have no motivation to study at all.

Niles (Pau Leen's brother) is so cute.

I spent about 3 hours talking with Alisa, Nancy and Jen Nee. They asked me who's cute and I said Niles and they laughed and laughed and lost their appetite. And I told them about my crushes in BM and how I enjoyed talking to cute guys and we laughed and laughed.

Living here is fun! School isn't.

Love, Pei Yi

Friday 31 January
(At night)

Dearest Mei Yee

This Nicole is impossible. She thinks she's so slim and beautiful. In fact she's so fat but she says she fits into all skirts. And she makes fun of Nancy's weight as if she herself is so thin. She also thinks she's God's gift to guys. She told me 'bout this guy going to talk to her. And she said she doesn't need to chase guys—they flock to her.

She kept asking me, “Do you think Wei Keong notices me? Tell me all the things that make you think Wei Keong notices me.” And I would be obliged to tease her and she'd smile, pleased. Nicole is so big-headed she can't see that I'm being sarcastic. She thinks I really am teasing her.

Love, Pei Yi

Friday 7 February

Dear Mei Yee

We've been talking about child abuse and it's so disgusting! How can people EVER dig out eyes, push things up vaginas, use hammers, pliers, hot water and scissors on nipples, etc!! So sadistic!!

We did a quiz in
Teenage
—“Do people really like you?” I got 5/7 and Jen Nee and Nicole got 3/7.

Your star says this month romance is slow but it's a great time to cultivate friendships. And mine says I'll be especially attractive to the opposite sex!! So many nice articles in
Teenage
—wish you're here 'coz I want to show you. The centrefold girls are getting uglier and uglier—back to 60's style.

After dinner, Jen Nee, Nicole, Alisa and I went to Coro, where I bought some things. Nicole went on the weighing-cum-fortune-telling machine and she weighed 67 kg!! She said it's coz of her shoes! My weights was 42 kg and my fortune read: “Your pleasant manners and likeable nature win you many loyal friends.” As Nicole was walking, I jokingly said, “You are walking so provocatively!” and she started to shake on purpose! When Nicole boasts and we respond sarcastically, “Wow! Wow!”, she never realizes that we're being sarcastic.

At dinner, we were talking 'bout animals being tortured (eating monkeys' brains alive, cosmetics testing) and about those cruel, low-down people who torture other human beings. I got so heated-up—I really HATE those people! And then later we talked about pariahs who molest girls and I HATE them too. Once, Alisa was in a museum, and a man leaned his front on her back and she thought there must be a crowd behind her till she turned back. Then later, the man touched her hand. Alisa scratched him with her nails! Alisa told us that in China, they used to tie people up with nets really tight. So imagine the nets cutting into the flesh until the flesh pops out of the holes of the net. It's damn cruel. Then they slice the flesh with a knife!

All these dreadful things happening everywhere and I can't do anything about it.

I'm going to join SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) soon. They help to feed dogs and cats.