Tuesday 19 July 2011

The class monitor (Singapore)

At Raffles Institution, during my time as a student there, there was a rule of no eating in the classroom. 

We had a class monitor who’d been nicknamed Freak (uttered to his face) by the boys from before we girls joined at Pre-U level, then Goofy (behind his back) by me and Seok Leng because he looked like the Disney character.

One day, during the mid-morning break, as only a few people remained behind in the classroom while others went to the tuck shop, Jong Long started to eat a packet of titbits.  Freak then came into the classroom, saw Jong Long eating, and said in a loud voice, “JONG LONG!”  

We froze.  Jong Long was going to get booked.  

Freak continued, “Don’t eat alone!  Hand some over!” 

Freak got re-elected class monitor the following year — unanimously.

(Singapore 1971)

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