In Continuum.

Flight of the Porn Stars

Skipping, or 'pon-ning', any classes in Secondary School was as good as you setting fire to the staff room, vandalizing the toilet doors or grabbing the ass of your hot young history teacher. Skipping classes was a definite no-no for people my age at that time, and without a valid reason at the time of interrogation, it's like showing the police a picture of yourself in the Most Wanted list.

But during the first three months, it was a totally different ball game. My class started calling ourselves the porn stars, or the 'Pon' stars because we skip classes at a regular basis. Basically, any classes or lectures with our beloved Mr. Andrew Fox was skipped, and probably most maths and economics lectures were skipped as well. I got so bad that some of us felt guilty while sitting in the middle of the Burger King playing poker cards. But of course, there was no turning back the moment you step out of the gates of the school, and the guilt probably invaded our thoughts for a fraction of a second, and was lost amidst the laughter and the screaming.

P.E. lessons were common for us to skip, because nobody wants to strain themselves too much, or to have their school uniforms to stick to their bodies like wet tissue. The truth is, to most of us, the first three months is the so-called "Honeymoon" period, and I for one truly enjoyed that period of my school days as we hung around school for the sole purpose of socializing, and never anything academically. My parents would probably tear a chunk of hair off their heads upon hearing this, but I guess we all need a break or two in the rigid educational system in Singapore. Only, I took that break a little too long and went overboard with it.

I remember a particular Monday morning when we were supposed to have P.E. lessons, and the lot of the classes decided to skip it as usual. But the teachers in charge we determined to have every single student on the field to begin their 4.8km run around the estate. The lot of the 'pon' stars scrambled as the crowd of the morning assembly scattered, and for safety reasons why decided to each head our own way to avoid detection from the teachers, hunting the corners of the school like hungry vultures.

Library was air-conditioned, and the deep shadows in the corners provided great covers. I took my shelter there, and as I walked through the rows of tables I saw other fellow 'pon' stars chattering amongst themselves, proud of being in their school uniform when they were supposed to be on the field, sweating their heads off.

Just as we were about to celebrate, one of their faces turned pale and white as he looked to the entrance of the library. I turned around to see one of the male P.E. teachers at the door speaking with the librarian. With a deep breath, he shouted at the crowd in the library and sent a shock wave of fear through the 'pon' stars. "I will give you ten seconds to get out of the library and down to the field! If I catch you after the ten seconds, you will have to answer for yourself!"

He started his death countdown right there and then, and most of the boys scrambled to their feet and obeyed the man, walking through the exit with their heads down, afraid to meet the eyes of the man. However, though succumbed by fear, I retreated into the shadows of the shelves, and was thankful enough to meet my friend in the corner, the librarian in charge of shelving books that morning. Miao Ting asked why I was sneaking around the shelves, and as if answering her own question, the last word of the sentence fell short, and her mouth twisted into a sneer. "Don't worry," she said. "I'll help you out."

The teacher in charge came into the library, and I saw him filtering through the rows of books, looking for faces that he recognized, still hiding in the library. I was petrified then, following Miao Ting as she paced down the rows with the cart of books calmly and strategically. She did it in such a way that I will always be behind the cart in the corner, and she blocked the rest of my body that was exposed outside of the cart. When he came, he took a look at my friend and she smiled back at him.

He paced through the rows one more time, and the two of us peered through the books and watched as he caught a couple of stubborn 'pon' stars, pretending that the raid was no business of theirs. We watched all the way until the back of his body disappeared behind the exit, and breathed a sigh of relief. I thanked her then, and sat down at the tables and had a long chat about skipping classes. Apparently, she does a lot of that as well, and never fancied that P.E. teacher very much anyway.

So those were the days, and that continuously happened throughout the first three months. Vultures would pursue to scrambling 'pon' stars all through the corridors, and that was forever known as the flight of the porn stars. I remember liking school then, actually loving the sound of my alarm clock in the morning blaring, the cue to the start of a school day. There was a time when I actually liked school, loved the idea of it even. But where has all those gone to? I miss my old life, as much as I dread the life to come, but that doesn't make the present, a 'present' either.