"Ring!" went my alarm clock. I hurriedly reached for the snooze button and proceeded back to sleep again. Less than a minute later, I was awoken by the most booming voice.
"Wake up NOW or you'll be late for school!" roared my mother.
I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed and went to wash out. It was the first day of the new school term. Having become used to sleeping late and waking up late for the past two months, I was simply unable to get out of bed on the first day of school.
Munching the last bits of my bread, I put on my shoes and went out of the house.
The morning breeze felt fresh and cool on my face. Birds were chirping sweetly and merrily on the trees. As I walked towards the bus stop, I see many of my "brothers in arms" along the way. Some are in the same mood and spirit as me, walking with a slight bounce in their steps, while others are darkly muttering to themselves about the trouble of getting up early just to go to school.
Upon boarding the bus, I am elated to see that there is at least one empty seat for me at the back. As I sit down I cannot help but notice the rest of the commuters.
Some are housewives on the way to the nearby wet market, hoping they might end up with the freshest goods at the cheapest prices.
Others are working-class people, on their way to fulfill their obligations and earn their paychecks.
There are, of course, other students on board the bus. The majority of them are half asleep. A minority of the rest, however, are frantically trying to complete their holiday assignments at the last minute. Their huge, panicky eyes and scrambling hands never fail to give me the impression of someone being possessed by a vengeful spirit like in the movies. Seeing their plight, it is nevertheless a load off my mind that I have dutifully completed my holiday assignments. The bus seems to be traveling along quite slowly, making multiple stops as the bus stands.
Some cars whizzed past us at these times. I really envy the students in cars. Alas, I do not have the privilege of having someone chauffeur me all the way to school.
Finally, the bus reaches my stop and I alight. As the doors slam shut behind me, I cannot help but worry, like all students do, about what today's session in school would bring. Brushing these thoughts aside, I continue my brisk walk into the school compounds. As I stepped into the school gates, another beautiful sight appeared. As always, the first day of school was chaotic. Many students at the parade ground were unsure where to sit. Most of them were standing around, some chattering animatedly with friends while others had that confused look on heir face.
A few of the mischievous Secondary One pupils were running about playing and causing a din. The noise was intolerable with so many people chatting at the same time and also the constant screaming and yelling. One would think this was the playground or market instead of a school. The chattering sound was as though many bees were buzzing around my ear while the screaming and yelling reminded me of the pirate ship ride or roller coaster ride at the amusement parks.
When the morning music was played for students to assemble and to sit down and read their books quietly, many students were still unsure of where to sit. Luckily for them, prefects began holding up cards with the class on it. They stood in front of the parade ground and only then did students begin filing in an orderly manner to their classes and sitting down.
"School, it's time to settle down and start reading." came the Head Prefect's voice over the public address system. Withing the next few minutes, many students were already seated and reading. The whole situation was a huge contrast from the one before. Now, one could even hear a pin drop and students were seated neatly in rows according to their classes. Gone were the chaos and the loud chattering.
The bell rang for morning assembly twenty minutes later. I thought to myself, the first day of school need not be boring. If one could just take some time to enjoy the different scenes and listen to the sounds, one would find school quite interesting and enjoyable.
