PSLE: A Canary Visit

Jason dug into his pocket and reached for his catapult. He was feeling so sleepy, hoping that the class would end soon. The lesson was so dreary as Mr Kevin's voice droned on monotonously. It was history lesson and the class was as still as a tomb. Everyone was trying to concentrate. Even though Jason tried to focus, his teacher's words were a hopeless jumble in his head.

The day was dragging on torturously. Jason rubbed his bleary eyes and stifled a yawn. He shifted his body and stayed awake. The chair groaned noisily under his bulky weight. Just then, there was a flash of golden yellow. The twittering of a bird was heard. What could that possibly be? Out of the blue, a brilliant yellow canary zoomed like a bullet into the classroom, narrowly missing the whirling blades of the fan by inches.

Jason instantly shot alert and his eyes immediately brightened up. He whipped his head around and spotted the yellow bird perch on the teacher's head. Shoo! Shoo! The teacher shook his head furiously, trying to chase the bird away. Now, the canary darted across the classroom, trying to find a landing spot.

Chaos broke out! The girls huddled together, shrieking like banshees whenever the bird flew too close. As for the boys, they tried to catch the bird. Every boy has transformed instantly into a bird-hunter.

“Calm down, everyone!” Mr Kevin's commanding voice rose above the din but to no avail. No one was listening! The poor teacher stared in bewilderment at the noisy ruckus.

Jason watched the yellow canary with great interest. In the midst of confusion, he took out his treasure – the catapult! He waited patiently for the bird to perch. The bird finally rested on the beam of the door. Three, two, one – fire! Strike! His tactic worked! The bird fell onto the floor like a domino.

“Yay!!” everyone exclaimed. “Jason is a pro!” the children cheered. It was a moment of glory for him. His friends all clapped their hands with glee. Jason smiled triumphantly.

“Jason Pang! What did you do to my poor bird?” It was the authoritative voice of the principal, Mrs Ong. Jason gave a long sigh. He knew he was in trouble! Poor Jason! He followed her to her office, knowing that he had to face the music. Still, he was extremely happy inside, knowing that he was the hero of the day.