Remembering Shauqina

Chapter 5: Primary Sports Day

CHAPTER 5: Primary Sports Day

              That year, Sports Day was celebrated with aplomb as it coincided with the school's Silver Jubilee. The excitement I felt was so tangible, I was skipping all the way to school. I would have flown if I could! I couldn't wait for my event to start. I was down for the 100m sprint, 200m relay and 200m individual races. A marathon runner I was not – but speed was my forte. Oh! How my heart beat faster than the best sprinter in this whole wide world! I think it stopped as soon as the starter shot in the air. Everything moved in slow motion - but I was first!! First for the 100m sprint, first for the 20Om sprint and first for the junior team 200m relay! Oh! My heart could have burst because it was swelling so big and so happily!! I could not stop smiling! And when I could not stop smiling, I could not also stop chattering and I went around disturbing almost everybody in sight. I think Zak purposely stayed away from me for I couldn't find him anywhere. Really! I was actually looking for him, well, I don't know...I just felt like wanting to share with him my medals, or was it just to taunt him??

             Though I was a team player, I wasn't a good loser. In fact, I was a bad sportsman of sorts. Every single losing of my Blue House team mates was either attributed to the teachers' incompetence as a timekeeper, or that the other Houses' participants were overaged and thus should be disqualified. As the day progressed, it was clear that although my House was seemingly ahead in the track and field events, we were doing badly in the telematches and non-running events.   

I guess being young gave you a sense of invincibility and I was still feeling on top of the world, until Mrs Leng, our Physical Education teacher announced the overall champion for the day - it wasn't Blue House!! The Greens, our arch enemies, were the champions!!! My House in fact came in last - bottom, losers!!!  I was so shocked and so disappointed that I did not realize hot tears were running down my sweaty cheeks. I tNahink I have never cried like I did that day before, and I dare say nobody has ever seen me cry that way!!!  I suddenly felt so embarrassed and quickly rushed to the nearest toilet. As I sprinted to the girl's, I ran into somebody and I remembered cursing him. As I looked up at the boy who had obstructed me, my teary eyes met a pair of very amused eyes, smiling at me. Zak's! Oh! The anger and frustration I felt at seeing his smile made me want to lunge at him but something stopped me and I saw, from out of his pocket, he actually took out his handkerchief and handed it to me, just like the numerous Handiplasters that he had given me. I knew my cheeks grew as hot as my tears and I sprinted even faster towards the toilet, my heart racing madly, my mind a muddled mess. For once, I did not know what to feel, what I feel, or what I should be feeling. It was confusing!!! 

I later found Zak at the first aid pit, cleaning up the place. I marched up to him and sort of confronted him. 

"Why were you smiling like that at me just now?” 

He stopped what he was doing, and with hands in his pocket, he looked down. 

"Have never seen you cry before…you look so - so like a girl…” 

For some unknown reasons, I was suddenly incensed. 

" Say that again and I will put your teeth where you don’t want them to be !!!" 

Zak put up his hands in a surrender posture, making a face that fell sort of being apologetic. It was a funny expression though - somewhere between a person in pain and trying to stop himself from laughing that I gave a loud snort. A hideously ugly sounding snort. Then the snort turned into a giggle and in no time, both of us were laughing our heads off. He looked at me as the laughter subsided, then turned as red as a beet root. He looked down, perhaps scrutinizing his dirty shoes. Five full, silent seconds passed us by. 

'Well, I better clear this, or Mrs Lee will surely bark at me... Congrats though.. I could never run like that…Play basketball, yes, but not run like that…You were surely the best runner today.,,” 

He then slowly walked away. I gripped my medals tightly, suddenly feeling warm and all furry inside. It was a gushing, rushing feeling of being in the clouds, and though I did not know what it meant, it was a feeling that made me want to run all day long across that big green field of ours.