Because of some circumstance, I left this city 4 years ago with my family to a city in a foreign country, which it's located south of my current country.
And now, due to some circumstance, again, I am back to this city, but only by myself alone.
I came back at Sunday, 2pm afternoon. After I had arrived, I quickly did a simple cleaning, because after 4 years without anyone staying, the house was full of dust.
It took me around 1 and a half hour to clean the ground floor and the backyard. Shortly after that, a truck stopped by in front of my house, it was the luggage delivery service.
"Man, this is troublesome...." I complained, even though there wasn't anyone there to listen.
After the workers moved all the stuffs into my house, I was a little demotivated from continue my work.
I opened a luggage box that has a label "things to put on the table" written on it, took out a set of speakers from it, plugged it into my phone's audio jack, then played some musics.
"Aah...... now that is better"
An empty, dusty house, with no sound except the noise I made when cleaning, it was so dull and demotivating. So playing some musics will help increase my motivation in doing my work. By listening to music, and focus on its rhythm, I can forget about the time easily, and things will looked less troublesome as well.
As my mind was floating along with the music, I went upstairs and continued on the cleaning, then unpacked all the luggage and placed everything in order.
To make sure I can hear the music while being on the upper floor or somewhere far from the speakers, I had increased the volume loud enough that the music could be heard anywhere in the house, yet not too much that will disturb the neighborhood.
After finished cleaning pretty much everywhere and unpacked the luggage, I dumped all recycled clothes that were used for cleaning windows and cupboards to the laundry basket, then went out to shop for dinner after I lightly wiped my sweat away.
I want to say there were a lot of places and things that made me felt nostalgia as I passed by them, but it will be endless if I really mention every single of them.
After finished shopping, I rushed to the kitchen right after I stepped into my house, then swiftly did some simple cooking, because I was very hungry after all those work. But rather than taking the meal after a few minutes of cooking, I went to bathe first because it had always been my habit to bath before eating.
After throwing my clothes and those recycled clothes into the washing machine, I've turned it on and let it wash the clothes by itself, then I went to bath.
Having a nice meal after bath, then finish the dining with a cold drink --- is part of my way to enjoy every little things in life.
After the meal, I put away all the dishes in the kitchen's sink. Normally I would wash them, but not today, simply because I'm worn out.
So after all these work, I took out my portable computer from my bag and enjoy some light games.
After that, I went to sleep.
-----------------
The next day, I woke up at 5am.
Reason because I'm supposed to enroll to the local famous school, K.I.S (Kammzet International School), that is nearby my house.
It is the beginning of the year, as well as a new school year.
So today, there will be an opening ceremony.
But before I can attend the ceremony, I must complete all procedure needed for enrollment.
My elder brother had already contacted the school officer few days ago, and had them accepted my enrollment.
There're some schools that require a student to take their test first before they could enroll. But in my case, no test is needed, even though back when I was still a kid living in Kammzet, I had heard rumors that tests for entering KIS are so hard that many failed to pass it.
After I made the breakfast and ate it, I went out at around 6.35am.
The opening ceremony is supposed to start at 8.00am, so I had more than an hour to complete my enrollment and to go to the ceremony hall. The travel time needed to reach KIS from my house on foot is less than 25 minutes, and most likely I won't need an hour to find my way to the staff room and go to the ceremony hall, so I won't be late for the opening ceremony. Unless I am lost in the school.
But I have confidence in my sense of direction, and moreover, I had been to this school before when my elder brother was still studying in KIS, so I can still recall some of its route and I should be fine by my own.
On my way to the school, I walked on a street that I often walked on when I was still a kid.
Remembering all the things Yu Zhe, me and Ying had done. I smiled.
One of the dumbest thing we had done was lying on the center of the road, because it was 4am that time, and there wasn't any car around.
All the stupid, but fun things we did, were one of the happiest moment I had in my life.....
I yearned for the past, but very soon I bring myself back to the present.
"The past is the past, look forward and live your life, otherwise you'll trip when you're busy looking back on your life" is one of the statements said by some philosopher. Which I always repeat this statement to myself to make sure I won't look at the past and 'tripped'.
I had entered the KIS school, I should be able to find my way to the staff room shortly.
.....is what I thought at first.
The school was renovated a few times, and there was an increased number of buildings.
It looked almost completely different to when I last came here.
Only the main entrance stayed identical..... no, not exactly identical, the color of the gate was repainted into light green, where in the past it was dark blue.
I wandered my way around the school, walked only the path where my hunch led me, and somehow manage to get to the staff room, but I had took a lot of time than I first anticipated.
I had around 20 minutes until the opening ceremony starts, so unless I am very clear of the direction to the ceremony hall, I won't make it in time.
I quickly went into the staff room and talk to the person closest to the door.
"Good morning, I am Wang Xia Yan. Referred by Wang Chun Feng to enroll to this school."
"Hm? A transfer student? Hey Nancy, we got a transfer student here. Eerr.... the name is Wang"
After shouting, the man look back at Yan, confirming if Wang is his family name.
"Well, with your name and your skin color, you're either a Chinese or a Korean. Both Chinese and Korean put their surname in front of their name, so I didn't made any mistake on your surname right?"
"Ah, erm... no. You were correct."
The man nodded in satisfaction, then turned back to face his desk and continued reading newspaper.
The reason the man would like to confirm my surname is because the students in this school are from many different countries. The same also applies to the teachers and other working staffs. In KIS, we were asked to place our surname at the back and first name at front, but sometimes there're someone new who might mistaken place their surname in front. So the man guessed I didn't follow the local practice and double confirmed with my surname.
A few seconds after I talked to the man, a woman came running towards me.
"Hi, nice to meet you, Wang Xia Yan."
"Good morning, nice to meet you."
"My name is Nancy Cowell, I will be in charged of completing your enrollment. Please come with me"
I followed her to her seat, filled in some forms she gave me, and answered some questions she asked.
Those questions that she had asked, are most probably questions to test my personality. I heard that KIS keep records on not just a student's academic performance, but also their attitude.
The organization that my elder brother worked in also keeps a record of their employees' attitude,
"To make sure the employees work hard, you have to make sure they are satisfied. To make sure they are satisfied, you have to understand them well enough. Thus these questions were conducted"
That was what my brother said.
After I had completed all procedures needed for enrollment, I check the time on my phone..... 10 more minutes before the opening ceremony begins. (By the way, KIS allows phone, but mainly for emergency purpose. Students are not allow to use in the middle of the class except emergency. Other than that, students are allow to use their phone anytime)
Though I am running out of time, I didn't panic much, instead, I asked Ms Cowell for the direction to the ceremony hall calmly.
After memorizing the directions she gave, I rushed to the ceremony hall, and made it 2 minutes before the ceremony begins. I searched a bit to find where class 4C's seats were, and simply chose a seat, then waited for the ceremony to begin.
----------------
After the ceremony ended, I went to my new classroom along with the students who sat beside me earlier. Because I managed to walk at the front, so I was one of the few who first entered the classroom, which gave me a better chance of choosing seat that I like.
Because of my past experience in the middle school in, I came to hate drawing attention. The seat that draws the least attention, is of course the ones at the last row.
While I was thinking to choose the window seat, I noticed there was already a bag on top of the table, which meant it was already taken by someone else, so I had no choice but to choose the seat next to it.
Right after I put down my bag and sat down, a female student took the seat on my right.
I didn't take a good look at her face, because I was focusing on messing around with the touchscreen on my table.
This school has quite some latest technology installed, so most things can be done without bringing a bag to school. When one brings a bag, it is usually to store some daily use, like a water bottle, lunch box/snacks, and handkerchief, very unlikely to store books except novels.
I played with the touchscreen, and found a timetable with various information of each lesson written.
"Class introduction by homeroom teacher, Ms Alicia Aubrac"
That is what coming up 1st today.
While I continued reading other lesson's information, someone came into the class and greet us.....in a weird tone. Not weird, but very girly. Perhaps, so girly that it looked strange when it is a woman (not young girl) who talk like that.
"Moooorning class~ I am your homeroom teacher for this year. Nice to meet you all~"
"Oooooooh!!! It is Alice~ oh yea~"
Some guy in the class shouted that.
"Aha.... if it's her then it should be a fun year."
"But wasn't she annoying? you know..."
And that was what the girls in front of me talked about.
From the reaction of the guy who shouted earlier, and the 2 female student's comment, this 'Alice' doesn't seems to be..... a normal teacher.
"Oh.... There're some unfamiliar faces here. Okay, boys and girls, my name Alicia Aubrac. Please, don't be too stiff, there is not need for formality, just call me Alice. I'm single~ so anyone of you who has an older brother or cousin or neighbor please tell them about me. My three-size is 39 25 38. I'm 167cm and 52 kg. My age is........... a se-cr-et"
I was left speechless.
"OH YEAAA!!"
While there're some students didn't gave any response like I did, there're also some students (all guys actually) shouting in joy. I don't get what is so happy bout having her as our homeroom teacher. But I understand very well why some students have no response at all.
No, rather, they looked like they've already given up.
"Alright class, since I had introduce myself, so it's your turn now~ come come, start introducing yourself"
She pointed the student at the most left of first row, then everyone started to give self-introduction, one after another.
--------------
After a while, it had finally reach the last row. By the time I realized it, the girl at my right already stood up and start introducing herself.
"Hi everyone, my name is Chen Mei Ying. You can call me Ying"
Eh? Is that all? Most student will at least mentioned their hobby or something but she...... no wait, that name is-
"Next!"
It might be my imagination, but Ms Aubrac seems to be running out of patient.
While wondering about the name I just heard, it is already my turn. Alright, I will just say something simple like the girl beside me.
"My name is Wang Xia Yan, call me anything you want."
The class went silent for a few seconds. Did I said something wrong?
"Next....."
The one who broke the silence was Ms Aubrac, who seems to run out of energy from boredom.
"I'm Zhang Yu Zhe. I'm a regular in Kendo club, so if any of you are interested in kendo let me know~~ I will welcome you with open arms!"
The guy at my left, the last student, finished his self-introduction.
"Class dismissed!!!"
Ms Aubrac said that happily, and left the classroom.
According to what I read when I browsed the timetable, it appears that after class-introduction, there will be an hour for students to socialize with their new classmate. And in that 1 hour, no lesson will be conducted, no teacher will be in the classroom, so many students started to talk without holding back (Frankly, they starts to talk loudly).
" 'Call me anything you want!!' Still the same as always huh"
The guy at my left, said that to me.
"At least I'm better than you, who used this self-introduction to promote your own club."
"There isn't any rule saying I can't."
"Normally one will try to appeal others by mentioning their hobbies and such, but yours are just the opposite. A sudden invitation to join a club isn't so pleasant in class-introduction where everyone is expecting personal information."
After I ended my word, the girl at my right argued on my words.
"What do you mean by everyone is expecting personal information? If you really thought so then you should give out more information of yourself in your introduction."
"Nah, it's fine. I already have enough troubles with just the 2 of you."
Wonder why am I saying all these?
Because these two are my childhood friends, you can also call them my bad friends. So it make sense if bad friends give you troubles right?
"You're one to say."
Yu Zhe retorted.
When I was expecting a heartwarming conversion between us after we didn't meet for 4 years, Ying suddenly glare at me.
"Why did you left us without saying anything that time."With the glare and a sentence that filled with a lot of seriousness, the whole atmosphere changed.
"Hey Ying-"
"I don't want to talk about it now."
Yea, we only have 1 hour before the next class starts, so I don't want to waste time on talking about unpleasant things.
When I was trying to figure out a way to stop this situation, Ying calmed herself down.
I shouldn't be surprised, Ying is good in controlling her emotion for most of the time. More like I had never seen her losing her emotion before, so this is the first time I had seen her losing her emotion for a short moment. Erm..... ugh, oh, so I did feel surprised after all.
"Hey, this is your first time coming to KIS after a long time right? I will take you to a tour around the school."
Yu Zhe tried to cheer up the atmostphere.
"Ok. Sure"
Trying to support Yu Zhe in changing the atmosphere, I accepted his offer. Though I really did need a tour around the school, given the fact that I got lost earlier, but that is something that I won't tell them because they're going to laugh if they know I got lost.
I left my seat and went ahead of Yu Zhe. While I passed by Ying, I left a few words, telling her all will be explained some time soon. She nodded, then follow me and went out from the classroom. Yu Zhe only came out and join us after greeting someone in the class.
Throughout the little tour in school, Ying started to cheer up a bit and was talking normally. But I still can sense some uneasiness within her.
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