The dreaded secondary school reunion

Didn't turn out to be terribly bad after all.

I had nearly forgotten all about it on Saturday. Lin Kiat had to attend a wedding in JB, so I had dinner with my brother, our friends Alvin and Mandy (the two of them met at my wedding - Alvin's my brother's great friend from JC, and Mandy's my great friend from JC. And they are both very tall), and Winston and Shiau Lin (Winston's another of my brother's friends, and Shiau Lin, my brother's senior from choir - they both helped at my wedding, and are now dating. Was anyone paying attention at the wedding? *grin*).

Halfway through it, Van Tan calls me (around nine-ish) and says I really should come down to the party. Miss Heng, our old principal and several teachers are there. I'm hesitant, but weakening. I tell her I'll see what I can do. I ring Dimsumdolly and ask her if she's keen to go. In the end, we both feel like we want to, but she's stuck in Yishun. I ask everyone round the table and they say, "Go." So I leave, walk briskly home, open the front door, and look in the mirror. The hair is far from salvageable. Oh well. I keep it in its unruly ponytail. I don't bother to change out of my sweaty T-shirt, I change from crumpled jeans to not-so-crumpled jeans, exchange flip flops for strange black shoes, clean up smudgy face, grab car keys, and drive like the wind towards One Fullerton, all the while muttering, "Oh, please don't let me be too late."

(Clearly, I was already late. I'm never this late for events so this was a first for me.)

Van Tan comes to meet me as I walk towards the pier. I'm very glad for her company as I come face to face with the largest group of lovely and excellently dressed girls I've ever seen. I notice people noticing them. I notice the requisite foreigners smiling and making sideway glances at them. Laughter, wineglasses clinking, designer clothes (I think), fancy shoes, brilliant haircuts, beautiful complexions, namecard exchanges, cameras flashing. Okay, I'm overwhelmed. And beyond me, a full moon is rising in the sky.

First old girl I saw is a friend from really old days. She and I went to Marymount Convent for three years of primary school before transferring to SCGS in Primary Four. She played photographer of the night and gave me a free Polaroid of Van Tan, herself, and me (since I was a last-minute attendee, I hadn't paid anything, so my Polaroid was paid for my other nice girls who'd paid for the event. I feel bad). I hugged a number of girls I hadn't spoken to in years, and proceeded to a table where a number of my classmates sat. Name game. I got all right save for two, whose names were formulating only vaguely in my brain. Van Tan whispered their names in my ear. I thought that everyone had remembered everyone else's names and I was the only loser. But one girl told me when they'd arrived, they were all struggling.

It really was great to see so many familiar faces. Some changed, some barely changed, many that have become very beautiful. So many poised and radiant and successful women. I even learned about some of the girls who weren't there. A number are working overseas in NYC or London. Some were probably held up at home because of children.

Married girls, soon-to-be married girls. Several surprised that I'm now married. I guess it doesn't help that I don't look old enough to be married. Close maybe, but still looking young, as someone told me last night.

I bought a set of postcards of SCGS - my part to help raise funds to build something new for the school. I think Van Tan got it down - you can read her post.

Okay, name drop (of people I saw and/or spoke to) -

Aileen
Wendy
Gillian
Isabel
Hui Min
Jiayun
Bin Bin
Andrea
Jaclyn
Georgina
Shirleen
Adeline
Lynn
Pearl
Sangita
Sandra
Ching Yee
Daphne Ng
Jiaying
Jiamin
Peiyi
Giro
Melissa

I couldn't see or speak to everyone, of course. There were about forty to fifty girls there!

Things I missed:
- seeing Miss Heng and the teachers (only my form teacher stayed back, and I did get to chat with her.)
- A group picture (Van Tan, are you getting this picture eventually? Could I see it too?)

My old form teacher, Mrs. Lim, who doesn't look old at all, told me that there was another function in the morning. A bunch of old girls, all turning 50 this year, had gotten permission from Chatworth International School (they took over the old site of SCGS on Emerald Hill) to enter and reminisce. They even donned the blue school uniforms!

Perhaps we'll have another reunion in the future, although one girl was against it - "What, and see our aging process?!" I suppose it's always a joyous event to be reunited with people from the past, and a slightly sad one to realize how much time has passed since then. Getting on in life, aren't we all?

Posted by Monoceros at June 6, 2004 1:37 AM