Chapter 5: 4 [a new transfer student]

The traffic light beeped loudly as the walking green man lit up. The handful of students and white-collar workers waiting to cross the busy road stepped off the curb in a mad but organised rush.

“Tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu,” Liam hummed, mimicking the beeping traffic light as we trailed behind the rest of the crowd. 

“Stop that,” I chided, giving him a poke with my elbow for good measure. 

“Tsk, you’re no fun, Avery,” he said, turning his head to glance at the figure behind us. “Right, Seraphine?” 

She ignored his question as she briskly walked past both of us with her earphones in. Undeterred, Liam quickened his pace to catch up with her and tapped her shoulder. “Yo, morning.” 

Pulling an earbud out, Seraphine turned her head around and reacted to our presence with genuine surprise. She hesitated, then bowed her head in greeting before quickly walking off again.

“Back to her usual cold attitude, huh,” Liam commented. “I’m still a little shocked that she actually tagged along with us yesterday.”

“I think she’s just not used to spontaneous conversations unlike you,” I said, shaking my head at him. 

“Oh, really?” He shrugged his shoulders. “By the way, did Terasia not meet up with you this morning? I don’t see her anywhere.”

“She messaged me this morning to tell me that she was going to school early to settle some administrative stuff, so she won’t be able to meet me,” I said absently. To be honest, I was secretly relieved that I wouldn’t be meeting her too…especially after what happened on the train yesterday night…

Shaking my head to clear my mind, I gestured for him to walk faster. “Come on, we should hurry before the gates close.”

 

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Kancil Junior College was a run-of-the-mill high school where innocent 17-year-olds get sucked in, thrown into a hellish cycle of exams and studying for two years, and either claw their way up to university or enter the workforce after a miserable graduation. Liam, Seraphine and I had become sophomores this year, so all of us would be sitting for the university entrance exams known as the A-levels at the end of the year. There’s still a little over five months to the A-levels, however, so Liam and I weren’t too worried yet. 

“Oi, you two over there!” A stern voice hollered at us up ahead. “Very good weather for chit-chat hor? Take your own sweet time, gentlemen!”  

“Fuck, why is Lao Da at the gate today of all days?” Liam cursed aloud. “Avery, we gotta start running!” 

Lao Da is the nickname us students gave to the fearsome discipline master of KJC, Mr. Lao. Despite being way past his retirement age, the seventy-odd-year-old man guarded the school gate as fiercely as Cerberus in front of the gates of Hell. On days when Lao Da is present at the gate, late-comers can expect a strike on their conduct score; following the ‘Three strikes and you’re out’ rule, once a student is late for the third time in a single term, the dreaded detention room awaits.

Liam already had two strikes this term, so his anxiety was palpable. We sprinted the final stretch to the gate and practically flew past Lao Da into the parade square, where the rest of the school had assembled for the flag-raising ceremony. 

“Liam and Avery again, why are you two always late?” The class president, Fang, sighed as he ticked our names on the attendance sheet. “I can only cover your asses for so long, you know?” 

“We were on time, not late,” Liam said with a nonchalant grin. 

“Yeah, save that brilliant explanation for when you get your ass hauled into detention by Lao Da,” he rejoined sarcastically. “By the way, Mr. Lim had told me that he will be separating you and Avery this morning. From today onwards, you’ll be sitting in the front row right in the centre. Avery, you will be moved to the empty seat at the back right corner.” 

“Say WHAT?!” Liam practically jumped to his feet. “That bastard form teacher…!”

“You and Avery talk the most in class,” Fang pointed out. “Mr. Lim doesn’t want you two to be distracted during lessons.” 

“Avery, can you believe this is happening??” 

“It was going to happen sooner or later. You didn’t want to listen to my advice,” I said with a helpless shrug. “Chill, we can still talk during recess and after school.”

“B-but…darn it.” Liam sat back down, breathing a resigned sigh. “Who will I be sitting with, Fang?”

“Yun Li,” he replied with an almost pitiful look in his eyes. 

“Great, I’m sitting next to the person who hates my guts the most.” He threw his hands up in frustration. “Off to an awesome start today, aren’t we?” 

 

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After the usual morning announcements by the Student Council, the school bell rang, signalling the end of morning assembly and the start of First period. Everyone was dismissed to their classrooms in an orderly fashion. 

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There are three buildings flanking the parade square in the school campus. The buildings to the east and west housed the classrooms—freshmen classrooms in the East Block, while our classrooms are in the West Block. The general office, staff rooms, hall and canteen are located in the North Block. Behind it are the field, the running track and swimming pool.

Our class, 19S07G, has its classroom on the fourth and top storey of the West Block. There are three other classes—19S06F, 19S05E, and 19S04D—down the corridor, while S01A, S02B and S03C classes are on the third floor. Since Seraphine was studying in the Arts stream instead of Science like us, her class, 19A01A, was on the second floor together with the other Arts classes. The ground floor meanwhile housed the lecture theatre and an open-air study space for students after school.

“Please remember to switch on the lights after assembly next time, class,” Mr. Lim said as he flipped the light switches beside the door. The rows of fluorescent lamps overhead slowly flickered on, flooding the classroom with their harsh glare. 

“Fang ,can you open the windows to the side? We have to get some fresh air in here before we begin.” Without a moment’s hesitation, Mr. Lim wiped the whiteboard clean and wrote out the date neatly at the top right corner: 

17 May 2018, Thu

He turned around, his beady eyes scanning the classroom like a hawk. “Fang, did you pass my message on to Avery and Liam just now?”

“Yes, Mr. Lim.” 

“Then why are you two still sitting together?” Mr. Lim wagged a fat finger in our direction admonishingly. “We don’t have bloody all day, Mr. Ruan and Mr. Goh. Get a move on before I kick both of you out the door!” 

I briefly imagined him as a demon and me slicing his revolting figure clean in half, right above his hips. That would be most satisfying, wouldn’t it? “Right away, Mr. Lim…” 

Liam sighed and slouched in his chair before reluctantly shouldering his bag too. “Sorry, Mr. Lim.” 

“Then act like it,” Mr. Lim spat before licking his chapped lips. “Alright, class, listen up. I know that this is quite sudden, but we have a new transfer student joining us from today onwards. She is not from Singapore, so do be nice to her and treat her as one of your fellow friends.” 

“A transfer student at this time of the year?”

“A foreigner too…”

Mr. Lim shushed the class and gestured to an unseen person outside the classroom. Somehow, I had an ominous feeling about this transfer student. 

“Please come in and introduce yourself.” 

A collective gasp rose from the class almost instantaneously. Shocked whispers permeated the air.

Elegant features that exuded regality. Silky jet-black hair tied into a simple but stylish ponytail, her violet highlights flying gracefully through the air which made even the girls swooning over her. She wore the same school uniform as everyone else, but still looked as if she was in a class of her own above all the other girls. 

“Terasia…?” Liam breathed, a little too loudly that I could hear him from across the classroom.

But I couldn’t fault him. My disbelieving gaze riveted on the figure of unparalleled beauty standing demurely in front of the whiteboard. Hell, was this goddess the same girl from yesterday?  

With a soft, mellifluous voice as gentle and clear as the murmuring of a stream, she politely addressed the class of stupefied students. 

“My name is Terasia Luk Mo Wong. You may just call me Terasia.” She bowed her head slightly and continued, “I was born in the United States, and I migrated to Singapore last month because of my father’s work. I’ll be joining Class 19S07G until the end of the year. It’s my pleasure to meet all of you here today.”

“Oh, you’re from America?” Mr. Lim asked. 

“Yes, I lived in L.A. before coming here,” she replied smoothly. “My parents are from Hong Kong, if that is what Mr. Lim is wondering about.”

“I see, that’s interesting,” he replied while looking indifferent.  

Meanwhile, the girls had begun gossiping among themselves, while the boys were busy burning the heavenly beauty before their eyes into their minds. 

“She looks just like a model!”

“Look at how beautiful her green eyes are…” 

“Alright, please settle down, class. Terasia, feel free to approach me anytime if you have any problems and difficulties adjusting to school,” Mr. Lim said, massaging his temples with his fingers subconsciously. “As for your seat, let’s see…you can have the middle left—” he abruptly stopped mid-sentence and moved his finger to point at me instead “—you can sit beside Avery for now, Terasia.” 

It was very subtle, but I felt a slight change in his eyes as he seemingly changed his mind. A familiar sensation arose again. 

“Thank you, Mr. Lim,” Terasia said, smiling. She happily glided over to the empty seat next to my desk. “What a coincidence that I’m in the same class as you and Liam!”

“Y-yeah, um…” I awkwardly nodded my head at her. Then, I mouthed my question in silence, “was that magic just now?” 

She gave me a coquettish wink. “Shall we work hard together for the rest of the year, Avery?”

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