The ceiling fan whirred monotonously and there was an uneasy quiet in the class. “You may begin now and NO CHEATING!” announced Mrs Tan, our Math teacher, to the class. The shuffling sound of papers being flipped back and forth filled the air and soon everyone was totally engrossed in the exams. I studied the questions before me and was utterly disappointed to find them difficult. I scratched my head in bewilderment and my heart was filled with regret. Why didn’t I study harder for the exams?
My eyes panned desperately around the classroom. Some of my classmates were writing away furiously while others were staring at the ceiling making mental calculations. I twiddled my pen and looked ahead. Mrs Tan was buried in a thick novel. Beads of perspiration trickled down my forehead as the clock ticked away. I stared blankly at my paper and was on the verge of giving up. Then I caught sight of my friend, John, who was sitting next to me. I realised I could see his answers! Tempted, I started copying and got blatant as I went on. Before long, John discovered what I was doing.
“ISABELLA IS CHEATING!” the words spew out of John’s mouth. Startled by his sudden outburst, Mrs Tan nearly fell off her chair. I froze as the rest of the class gasped aloud. Mrs Tan walked towards my desk with her arms akimbo. Like an eagle, she confiscated my paper in one fell swoop. I was speechless and hung my head in shame. Mrs Tan sent me marching to the principal’s office to be severely dealt with. My parents were informed and they were devastated and shocked. They gave me the shelling of my life and I was grounded for two whole months. Fortunately, I was given another chance and take a re-test. I studied for it and managed to score full marks.
I tried to apologise to John but he gave me the cold shoulder. I do not blame him for blowing the whistle on me. I should never have cheated in the first place. Hopefully someday, John will find it in his heart to speak to me again.
By: Isabella Loke (P4)
THE ABANDONED HOUSE
There has been a lot of buzz about the abandoned house just down the road from our school. Some say that there was a dungeon in there and others believe that unhappy spirits lurked there and haunted the place. Yet others said they had seen zombies coming out from the house at night. My classmate, Guang Ci and I certainly did not believe in any of those incredulous stories conjured up by our friends in school. We decided to investigate and put an end to all these absurd theories.
Guang Ci and I met at the void deck one Friday night. Armed with a torch and a fencing sword, we headed towards the house like zesty soldiers. The street was strangely deserted. I was getting a little scared and secretly wished I could turn back. Soon we found ourselves standing outside the abandoned house. The rusty gate creaked open sending a shiver down my spine. Our eyes darted around furtively. The place looked really creepy at night.
“Wh..wha...what if the house is really haunted?” I stammered. “Do...don...don’t be an idiot!” Guang Ci tried to answer bravely. I could tell he was also having second thoughts but was too proud to admit it.
“Whoosh!” A bat suddenly swooped down on us. We shrieked and flailed our hands wildly to chase it away. We could hear a rumble in the distance as a flash of lightning threatened to tear the night sky. As I was looking at the abandoned house, another flash of lightning came. I thought I saw a shadow by the window of the house.
Scared out of my wits, I screamed my lungs out. Guang Ci and I ran away as fast as our legs could carry us. It did not matter what people say about the abandoned house. We did not care anymore!
By: Cammy Chua (P4)
THE PROUDEST MOMENT
“Bye mom!” I hollered as I closed the door behind me. It was the first day of school after the long June holidays and I could not wait to get to school to meet my friends. I headed for the lift landing with a spring in my step. “Ding!” the lift door opened on the sixth floor where I live. When I entered the lift, I saw an old lady with her silver-grey hair combed back neatly in a bun. Next to her was a little girl about five years old. We exchanged a friendly smile.
As the lift was going down, it suddenly gave a violent jolt before stopping and the lights went out. It was a power failure! Cold fear gripped me and my eyes flew wide open as though they were trying to pierce through the darkness. It was pitch dark and I could not see a thing! I could not believe what was happening and I wanted to cry. I was really afraid of the dark because of a bad experience when I was little. My brother had pushed me into a dark closet and locked me in. Since then, I had a phobia of being trapped in the dark.
The little girl in the lift started crying and her cries escalated to loud wails in no time. Her grandmother could not do anything as she herself was in a state of hysteria. “Oh dear, oh dear, I am going to faint!” she muttered feebly. Prickles of panic were chasing up and down my back but something told me that I must be brave and strong. I ran my fingers over the lift buttons and found the alarm. Next, I pacified the little girl and told her not to be afraid. I even told her stories to make her laugh. I also managed to calm the grandmother down.
Luckily, the power came on within minutes and the lift continued its journey. When we got to the ground floor the old lady clasped her hands and thanked me non-stop. I waved goodbye to them and left for school. I was beaming from ear to ear as I was no longer afraid of the dark. It was the proudest moment of my life!
By: Teo Wei Ren (P4)
KIDNAPPED!
(A Vacation Gone Wrong)
“Hurray! We’re going to Bangkok!” cheered my little brother, Ivan and I. Our dad was taking us for a holiday and it was my first time taking a plane. Mother winked and gave us the ‘thumbs-up’ sign. We left for the airport at the crack of dawn the next day. Soon, we were on a plane bound for a fun-filled holiday in Bangkok. When we landed, the hotel limousine whisked us off to Hotel Mitshita, a luxurious five-star hotel. Little did I know that things would soon go horribly wrong.
We were at a road junction waiting for the light to turn green when a van suddenly pulled up beside us and screeched to a halt. The van door flew open and two heavily tattooed men, one of them with a long scar across his face, jumped out. Everything happened at the speed of light. One of them prevented dad, who was sitting in front, from getting out of the limousine. The other man opened the back passenger door and grabbed Ivan. Mum was horrified and she tried to pull Ivan back but her effort was in vain as the man was too strong. Our limousine driver was too petrified to do anything. The men were very aggressive and fast. We could hear Ivan wailing away as they bundled him into the van and sped off. MY BROTHER IVAN HAD JUST BEEN KIDNAPPED!
“ FOLLOW THE VAN! FOLLOW THE VAN!” my distraught father shouted to the driver. We chased the van from pillar to post beating several traffic lights in the process. My mother was hysterical and I was terrified. As the van was going at break neck speed, the driver soon lost control and crashed the van into a post. We rushed towards the van fearing the worst for Ivan. All three men in the van were seriously injured. To our surprise, except for a few cuts and bruises, Ivan was shaken but unhurt. Soon a cacophony of sirens filled the air as the police and ambulance arrived at the scene. The kidnappers were arrested and taken to hospital. With our limousine driver’s help, dad gave his statement to the Bangkok police. Traumatised by the whole ordeal, we did not carry on with our holiday and took the next flight out.
Till today, we do not know why the kidnappers targeted us. I shudder each time I think of how close I came to losing my little brother forever...
By: Cara Chua (P5)
SAMUEL
Samuel was a trouble maker. His classmates shunned him for the pest that he was. They all called him “Hurricane Sam” because he would cause total devastation and flatten everything in his path! Not a single day went by without him getting into one scrape after another. He would take things belonging to others without permission and vandalise school property. What was worse, he often got into fights (no prize for guessing who started them first). Samuel was the dictionary definition for the word ‘obnoxious’!
Nobody liked talking to him as his words were always followed by a string of profanities. Samuel loved to brag. He would lie through his teeth about his ‘amazing’ feats. While he thought them admirable, we found his behaviour and mannerisms abhorring. He picked his nose in public and spewed saliva whenever he spoke. Samuel was rude and disgusting!
One day Samuel really pushed his luck and went too far with his antics. He had forgotten to do his homework and was punished by his teacher, Mdm Fong. Samuel was angry with Mdm Fong for sending him to detention class so he planned revenge on her. After detention class, when no one was looking, Samuel scratched Mdm Fong’s car with a pen knife. He walked away feeling very pleased with himself. He did not know that the school cleaner, Encik Ahmad, had seen him. Encik Ahmad caught up with him and hauled him to the Principal’s office.
The Principal reprimanded Samuel and handed him a note which was to be given to his father. When Samuel got home that day, his father was reading the newspapers. Samuel handed the Principal’s note to him. The note said that Samuel was to be given a public caning in school for his act of mischief and his father would have to pay for the repairs to Mdm Fong’s car. After reading the note, his father flew into a rage. There was pain and disappointment in his eyes. He gave Samuel a good hiding. That night, all alone in bed, Samuel felt miserable and cried his eyes out. He did not want to be naughty anymore. He decided to turn over a new leaf.
By: Luke Ng (P5)
THE BEGGAR
It was a lazy Thursday afternoon. Dark gloomy clouds filled the sky, matching my mood that day. After a dull and boring Math tuition class, I was waiting impatiently for the bus at a deserted bus-stop. To kill time, I whipped out a magazine and buried myself in a few gossip-filled pages. After a while, I looked up to rest my eyes. When I did so, I saw a frail old man limping towards me. He wore no shoes and was dressed in rags. As he approached the bus-stop, I could see he was holding a rust-encrusted metal mug in his hand. “How pitiful,” I had thought. Not wanting to appear rude or nosy, I turned my attention back to the magazine in my hand.
Suddenly, I felt a bony finger tap my shoulder. I looked up and saw it was the weather-beaten old man. He pushed the rusty mug towards me with one hand and rubbed his tummy hungrily with the other. I realised he was begging for money. A beggar in the streets of Singapore was a strange sight and I was quite taken aback. He inched a little closer and revealed a set of grossly discoloured teeth when he smiled. He had bad breath and it was quite an unpleasant stench. I quickly fished out a two dollar note from my wallet and put it in his mug. I heaved a sigh of relief when he limped away. Soon, the bus arrived and I boarded it. I thought nothing about the incident.
A few weeks later, I had a rude shock. I was having dinner at a neighbourhood coffee shop with my family when I saw that old beggar again. This time, he was with a rowdy group of adults drinking beer. They were talking at the top of their voices and laughing loudly. Then he got up and walked to the drink counter to buy another drink. Miraculously gone was that limp of his! When he walked past our table I looked daggers in the eye at him. I could not believe it when he returned a “Do I know you?” look at me.
I was seething mad inside and bursting to tell my parents about the old Cheat. But I decided against it. I was too embarrassed. What a fool I was!
By: Jaimelynne Toh (P5)
AN UNFORGETTABLE DINING EXPERIENCE
It was Dad’s birthday and my mother had decided to celebrate the occasion with a lavish meal at a French restaurant in the heart of town. It was called “Les Madeleine”, a posh restaurant with a smart dress code. We put on our best and headed for what was to be an awesome dining experience. After all, the “Les Madeleine” had promised to deliver the ‘authentic flavours of France’ to its customers.
On arrival, we were greeted by French waiters flashing their mega-watt smiles. “Wow!” I exclaimed delightfully to myself. The place was decorated in warm earth tones and oversized furniture. Eclectic art objects were strategically placed to create an aesthetic ambience in the restaurant. We were ushered to a cosy corner of the restaurant by an eager waiter. I was grinning from ear to ear as the delectable aroma of mouth watering food wafted to my nose. After settling in, I scanned through the menu. The pictures of food were enough to whet my growling appetite and I decided to leave the ordering to my parents. While they did so, I looked around the restaurant. Next to our table was a young couple who only had eyes for each other. Newlyweds, maybe. The lady was well-heeled and looked like a model that had sprung off the cover of a glossy fashion magazine. She had the most luxuriant, raven black hair and enchanting smile that I had ever seen.
Soon, our food was served and it was time to tuck in. As I was about to relish my first spoonful of mouth-watering Cheese Gratin, the lady next to our table let out a deafening scream and jumped out of her chair. My blood froze as she continued screaming her head off. I turned my head in her direction in time to see a live cockroach scuttling around her table. My face turned ashen-white as I was terrified of cockroaches. The diners were in a frenzy as the restaurant manager and three waiters scrambled to her table to catch the little pest. The cockroach fell off the table and headed towards us. It was my turn to scream. My dad ran forward and crushed the cockroach with his shoe. The lady was in tears and her partner was blazing with anger at the restaurant staff.
The manager apologised to the couple and all the diners at the restaurant. As a gesture of goodwill, he declared that all meals that evening were on the house. Everyone cheered, except for me. I could not quite bring myself to take another mouthful of the food. Instead, I spent the rest of the evening casting furtive glances on the floor for the sight of yet another roving cockroach!
By: Chi Yin (P6)
ATTACKED BY BEES!
Finally, the PSLE exams were over! Everyone was lamenting about having nothing to do now that exams were out of the way. As such, our teachers decided to organise an excursion to the Singapore zoo. We all jumped for joy but little did we know that the joy would turn into horror and agony...
It was a picturesque Friday morning drive to the zoo. Laughter and friendly chatter filled the air as we got off the bus and headed for the different animal enclosures. After a fun-filled morning, we were all feeling ravenous. Our teacher, Mr Feisal, decided it was time to break for lunch. He found us a shady spot by some stoic trees. Most of us sat on the ground and fished out our packed lunches which we wolfed down in no time. As our classmates George and Beng Soon needed to answer nature’s call, they headed for the toilet which was next to the butterfly enclosure.
Not long after, we heard blood curdling cries for help. George and Beng Soon emerged from the enclosure looking like ghosts. They were in tears and flailing their arms wildly and screaming, “BEES! RUN!!!!” Mute horror and astonishment soon turned into a cacophony of shrilly screams as we were frightened out of our wits by the buzzing bees charging at us. Pandemonium broke out as everyone abandoned their belongings and scuttled off like scalded cats in all directions. Mr Feisal shouted, “Cover your faces! Run in a straight line! RUN! RUN! RUN!” We did as we were told, but nonetheless, some of us got stung. Fortunately, two men in bee suits with gas tanks on their backs appeared and sprayed at the bees. Within seconds, the bees dropped like dead flies to the ground. Most of us suffered between one to ten stings but none of us had any life-threatening allergic reactions to the toxins from the bees. Mr Feisal had the most stings as he stayed to help the panic-stricken students. He was our hero!
Later on, we found out what caused the bees to attack us. George had found a bee on his water bottle and swatted it to the ground. He then killed the bee by stepping on it with his shoe. This triggered the release of a chemical scent by the dead bee which sparked the launch of an attack from the other bees in a hive nearby.
After this incident, George never dared go near a bee again. But on the plus side, we were no longer bored as we were all too busy applying ointment on our sores!
By: Ezra Khor (P6)
GOOD THINGS ARE WORTH FIGHTING FOR
(Written from the view point of a butterfly)
Molly lay beside the water puddle. Life was slowly ebbing away from her and she knew it was almost time for her to go. But I was undaunted and determined to do whatever I could to prolong her life on earth. Molly was my best friend. She was dying because of me. A bird had glided effortlessly in the air circling for a prey. Molly was attacked by the bird while trying to warn me of its presence. Everything happened in the blink of an eye. In one failed fell swoop, the bird was gone. Molly, with her wings broken in the attack, collapsed onto the ground beside the water puddle.
I stayed by her side and put on a calm demeanour. I tried my best not to cry but inside, I was dying with her too. Molly was too weak to console me the way she always did. In the still of the moment, a figure cast a long shadow over us. I turned around and saw to my horror, a man walking towards our direction. I could hear his boots swishing as he took long powerful strides. He was trying to avoid the water puddle but I could not let him do that. I could not let him trample on Molly. I hissed, clenched my teeth and charged at him with all my might. It seemed to startle him a little as he retreated for a while. He was a large man and warding him off had drained every ounce of energy from my body. As I gasped for breath, I heard him laughing. What an annoying human being!
Then, to my dismay, it happened again. That man was coming towards us. With all my might, I flinched and charged at him relentlessly gasping for air each time I struck hard. The man retreated again as I hovered and circled around him. My fury was pretty much spent and I did not think I could survive another battle. I prayed that he would not step on poor Molly. Fortunately, the man seemed to be taking in the situation and I heard him draw a gasp when he saw Molly lying beside the water puddle. He then turned the other direction and walked away. When I was certain that he had gone, I flew back to be with Molly.
“Molly, Molly! He’s gone!” I cried and flapped my wings happily. But Molly lay very still. She was a picture of serenity and calm. My eyes blurred with tears when I realised that she had died. I stopped flapping my wings and stayed by her lifeless body for what seemed like an eternity. Then, a light breeze blew across the forest and I thought I could hear Molly say, “Goodbye my friend... you did the same for me...”
