TKGS - 3D Science & 4D Science

3D Science was the only class which offered Confucian Studies for RK. The other classes offered RK subjects like Buddhist Studies (3A Science) and Christianity (3B Science) etc. My long-time good friend called Lian Lee was in 3A Science.

About half of 3D Science was made up of girls from 2/1. So it was relatively easy to 'get along' because we 'more or less' knew our friends' temperament already. Other non-2/1 girls were from other various Sec 2 classes. Many were very good in CL and members of the Chinese Cultural Club (中文协会).

There was one girl called XX-ping. She was rather short but had very thick hair. She loved to laugh loudly at almost every opportunity (even when there wasn't really any laughable joke). Then she would suddenly stop and quickly cup her hand over her mouth, as if it was 'wrong' to laugh. She was part of this group of 中文协会 girls who always spoke only in Mandarin outside class hours.

One of these girls (I cannot recall her name now) had a body-odour problem. It was so bad that our Literature teacher, who was a petite lady, would always 'complain' that our class stank! That Literature teacher usually rushed to our classroom after her lesson at another classroom ended, and she would pant and gasped for breath as she busily fanned herself with her Literature book.

I remember that the good friends of this BO-problem girl once came together and asked me for comments on whether it was a good idea to give toiletry to that BO-problem girl as a present. I was at a loss for words at first because it had seemed rude and insensitive - too blatantly telling that girl that she was the BO problem, right?! Anyway, eventually the girls pooled some money together and got several toiletry items for her.

Our CL teacher was also our RK teacher. She was a Miss Chan. Unmarried (then) and rather 'serious' person. She had very square jaws and kept very short hair. I enjoyed most of her lessons, especially the very lively discussions we always had during RK lessons, for which we had to stay back in school once a week for 2 hours.

I remember one special discussion we had one day about filial piety during RK lesson. Miss Chan had told the class that a person would 'proactively' (主动) be filial to his parents because he would be aware that if he were not filial to his parents, his own children might likewise be unfilial to him in years to come. Our class disagreed with this view and fervently 'argued' against it. Miss Chan was most puzzled at our diasgreement, and could not understand our arguments for a long time.

In the end, I stood up and offered to try a final explanation on why we thought that that view was not correct. I pointed out to Miss Chan that we felt that such a man could not be regarded as being filial 'proactively' (主动) because he would not have been filial but for that fear of his children being unfilial to himself! And so, his being filial would be 'reactive' (被动) rather than 'proactive' (主动). This sounds a bit convoluted even now but really, it was quite straighforward. After the explanation, Miss Chan finally relented and agreed to that we could disagree with her (and the textbook).

We had a very busy year in Sec 3, what with MEP production ('Samson'), the annual Music & Poetry Recital staged in Marine Parade Library Auditorium and annual class concert for the school assembly. So it was good that we had a system to appoint different monitress for each school term. The load was shared amongst all more evenly, although the 3rd term remained the busiest term because of Youth Day, National Day, Teachers' Day and a whole lot of celebrations and activities during the July-September period. It was a wonder that I survived as the monitress for the 3rd term, especially since the SYF Outdoor Band Competition was also in July.

Well, maybe not quite survived - I did, for the 1st time in my whole study life, fail a Physics test in Sec 3. The shock didn't feel good, and it hit me hard enough to jolt me back to 'reality'. I 乖乖 went back to my books and respectfully studied them. The long hours and late nights we had had to keep for band band practices didn't help, but I tried my best. Luckily, I made it to 4D Science.

By this time, all the girls in the class were like members of a big family - all familiar and at ease with one another. This was especially so between my partner, Shufang and me. Shufang was an ultra-gila girl, also known to be very 'wild'. So everyone was surprised that she and I could mix and mix very well indeed.

Notwithstanding her 'image', Shufang was quite good at her work. But at times, she was a little lazy, too. Whenever she didn't practise her 听写, I would carefully and subtly put out my work on our shared table during the 听写 test so that she could easily take a peek and copy. For Additional maths, however, it was the reverse - there were several occasions when I didn't complete some of my A Maths homework, and Shufang would quickly share her ansewers (and working) with me so that I could hand up the assignment. This was, of course, not a correct thing to do, but it gives you an idea of the symbiotic relationship we had then.

The Sec 4 Prom was held at the school hall some time in October. We had a whale of a time joking, talking, eating and 'dancing'. I say 'dancing' because not everyone was good at our bodily movements, so some were rather awkward and stiff. But still, we enjoyed ourselves. I remember that many of us shed some tears as we sang Aud Lang Syne at the end of the party.

After the Prom, I started developing hives all over the body. Everyone, especially M, blamed it on seafood that I might have taken during the Prom. But I didn't remember eating any seafood at the party.

The rashes lasted for about 3 months, ie until the end of the 'O'-levels were over. During that period, I popped hundreds of anti-histamines, so much so that I became de-sensitised to it. Fortunately, the rashes eased off quietly later.

The 'O'-levels whizzed by swiftly and before we knew it, it was time to receive our results. I don't remember any pomp about the event, although I did feel a gush of pride as we sang the school song 'formally' as a cohort, for one last time.