时间、地点

I was on my way out of ntu yesterday.

Boarded 179 at the hall 6 bus stop and I got a seat at the rear of the lower deck.

I saw a familiar face, although botak like short hair, but I sort of remembered him.

He did not see me, and I kept my stares at him, until our eyes met.

He gave me the “who is this look”, I kinda stoned, is it him with the so short hair? Should I call his name?

The next thing we did was we shouted out each others name across the back of 179!

“Hey, I couldn’t recognize you, u went for laser eye surgery ah, never wear specs liaoz! Initially I thought you were some familiar guy during army!”

That is what E said after we confirmed each of our identity after not seeing each other for like 5 to 6 years. Never did I expect to see him in ntu, as he was studying in nus. E then told me was on attachment at ntu I2R, this was already his last week. He did know I was in ntu after not having met up for so long and regretted to have missed the opportunity to do so for his entire period of attachment in ntu. I smiled and explained that I was on attachment too, so I was not in ntu most of the time either.

E was a fellow classmate of mine back in the first 3 months on JC. Due to various events I left the college after getting to know super nice friends and having a wonderful time there. The rest eventually got to spend the rest of 2 years of JC together as a class. Even after I left, they still considered me part of the class, jio-ing me on occasional outings here and there.

Coincidentally I started receiving emails from the yahoo group of their class which I subscribed to. Recently, C started to email the group asking for updates of address as she had some invitation to send to everyone interested. I asked E what the invitation was about. I seriously suspected that it was wedding invitation or sort, while E crapped that it could be news of a new born child!

“Eh you never know our class gals meh, never know they could all be already married liaoz!”

Haha

I asked E about some of the other guys in the class. The only person I was still in contact was only R.

E said he was much more in contact with NH2 since both of them were in nus engine. NH2, the nick we gave him while playing the hot Laser Quest back in the good old days, is currently the top student in nus engine, Numbo 1. He was one of the guys who played hard, joked hard and out did everyone in studies.

E then related that most of the class guys who did not do well back in JC were now all doing tops in various faculties. Like Ray who was persistently getting on the dean’s list in arts.

“Hey! Are you still playing the guitar? You remembered “Freight Train”, that you once taught me? I remembered I used to practice diligently back then, haha…” E asked when the bus was nearing his stop.

Instantly the night where we dawned at Ray’s house many years back during our post JC/army time flooded back into my mind. Where the guys told me how I had inspired them to pick up the guitar when I played back in the days at our JC class bench. I felt astonished and paiseh that night as they asked me to play for them. Astonished, as they never told me anything about that after I left the class. Unknowly, they decided to pick up the guitar to play and even to form a band, the POKs, haha I remember! Paiseh, as I sort of stopped playing the guitar for long time. I felt paiseh of myself as I saw how good they have become, even much better than me.

It is usually at some place and some time where we have wonderful memories. Sometimes it is also the same place and same time where we have to leave and sad things tend to linger upon us. Amazingly at a certain place and at a certain time in our lives, these wonderful memories resurface and new memories are forged.