PSLE: Taking The Blame

Tom gave a long sigh.  He was bored to tears, not knowing what to do next.  His older sister, Jane, was busy mugging for the impending examination.    It was home-alone time for the two siblings as their mom had gone out and their dad was out at work.

The five-year-old boy decided to grab the markers on the table.  “Hmm, what should I draw?” he thought to himself.  “Ahha!  Aslan the Lion!” he smiled at the thought and searched high and low for drawing paper but there was none.  He decided to use the whole wall as his white canvas instead. 

Standing on a wooden stool, he started his doodling.  The majestic mane, the piercing eyes and the imposing composure.  Perfect!  What a masterpiece!  Feeling proud of himself, his marble black eyes sparkled in delight.  Calling out to his sister, he exclaimed, “Hey, Sis!  Come and see.”  Wondering what his naughty younger brother was up to this time, she decided to take a breather and marched into the living room.

“Aaaahhhhh!” She could not believe her eyes!  Her mouth fell agape and a gasp of shock escaped from her lips.  “Tom Lim! What did you do this time?!” she yelled.  Tom flashed a sheepish grin and replied, “It’s nice, right?  Aslan, the majestic lion from Narnia!” 

Jane stared on in bewilderment!  It definitely did not look like a lion to her.  It definitely smelt like trouble to her.  “You’ll be dead meat when Mom’s back!” she hollered. 

Both the siblings were frightened of their tigress mother. Instantly, hysteria overwhelmed him and his face blanched white in trepidation. Tears welled up in his eyes and he started weeping for he knew he was in hot soup. 

Seeing how petrified Tom looked, she felt sorry for him.  The quick-thinking sister frantically took some sponge and detergent from the kitchen and started to clean the wall.  Tom tried to help too but no matter how hard they tried, the stubborn paint marks refused to give way.  In the end, Aslan turned into blotches of black and grey.  It was a pathetically ugly sight.

Just then, the children heard the front door open.  Mum was back!  The panic-stricken Tom quickly hid behind her sister.  Jane felt sorry for him and gave a sigh.  She decided to take the blame. 

Gulping down the stone in her throat, she stuttered nervously, “Sorry mummy…I… drew…and even…asked…bro…”

Smack!  A red palm print instantly appeared on her colourless face.   "Why are you such a lousy sister?  Why are you such a bad role model?" she admonished. It was followed by red welts lashed all over her frail body.  Hapless tears streamed down as she clenched her fists tightly, trying hard to bear with the excruciating pain. In her heart, she yelled, "I am a good sister.  I really am!"  But no words tumbled out of her lips.

Tom was shocked to see the villainous fury of his mother.   In desperation, he ran to protect Jane with his own body.  That stopped Mom.  She froze for a minute and finally flounced out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

Tom stared at all the red marks and started crying like a baby.  It was then that he realized how much Jane loved him.  The boy threw his arms around her and gave her a tight hug.  “It’s all my fault!  I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” he spoke, his tears flowing down like gushing taps.  “I guess that’s what a big sister is for,” she replied, stroking his chestnut hair gently, smiling despite her searing pain.  

PSLE: Be considerate

The train whizzed through the long dark tunnel as it made its way to the next station.  All the cabins were packed as it was the peak hours.  I was fortunate to have a seat after a long day at school.  I was dead tired.  With my schoolbag between my legs, I was devouring a novel, flipping the pages eager to know the ending soon.

Soon, the train reached the next station and more passengers came in.  It was hard work jostling, pushing and shoving one another to get into the cabin.  An old man caught my sight.  He was probably in his seventies.  With a slight hunchback, he shambled in with the help of a walking stick.  His hair was snowy white and the age spots on his wrinkled face made him really look like a wizened, weather-beaten old man.

Despite his unsteady gait and his shrivelled appearance, no one took a second look.  All those who were seated continued to sleep or chat or stare at their mobiles.  I thought of giving up my seat but I dithered too as I was way too exhausted. 

Just then, a little girl stood up.  Dressed in a pink polka-dot dress, she called out, “Hi, uncle, please take my seat!”  Her pearly white teeth glinted as she flashed a very genuine smile at the old man. 

The grateful old man was surprised and flashed an appreciative smile.  After clearing his throat of some stubborn phlegm, he patted her head gently and muttered a soft thank you.  The little girl beamed a bright smile in return and tried to stand, clutching the metallic pole with a firm grip.  

The train continued its way but somehow, there was a sudden jerk and some passengers almost lost their footing.  However, the girl was not so lucky!  She fell to the ground with a loud thud, bursting into tears of pain.  A plump woman dashed forward and lifted her to her feet, saying, “Nat, you should have kept your seat.  You just had a leg operation, my darling.”  The girl continued crying and big tears streaked down her face as she tried to grab hold of her mother as tightly as possible this time.  The old man stood up to offer her back the seat she had given up but she refused to accept his offer.

My heart ached upon seeing that.  My conscience pricked me really hard.  How could I be sitting down comfortably while a little girl could give up her seat and offer it to a stranger even though she was in pain herself?  She taught me a valuable lesson.  A lesson of kindness.   A lesson to sacrifice and put others first.

Strangely, many of us must have felt the same way at the same time and all of us scrambled to stand and stood up to offer our seats instead as if she was some VIP.  A whole row of seats became vacant instantly and all were for her to choose.  It was a heartwarming sight.  As she plonked on my seat, I made my way to the train doors.  I decided that day that it is okay not to have a seat because there will always be someone who needs the seat more than me.  It is always more blessed to give than to receive.

PSLE: In Cahoots

Mingze stared hard at his exam paper as he tried to ignore the questions that he did not know. It was a difficult math paper and many of the questions were not from his routine curriculum practices.  

There was only one person who knew how to do it.  It was the Math genius, John, who was sitting beside Mingze.   The poor boy’s heartbeat was beating much faster than the ticking of a clock. Beads of perspiration trickled down his forehead as he wrecked his brain over the challenging questions.

The invigilator was pacing up and down the classroom in what seemed like an awkward and frigid posture.  Something was on his mind and he finally spoke, “Class, I will be back after a call. Please continue in silence,’’ and the invigilator hurriedly took his leave to make a call.

When Mingze saw his chance, he hurriedly whispered to John, “Can you help me please? You can just give me the paper to copy.” When John heard it, he gave it to Mingze without hesitating. They were best friends after all. How could John turn down his request?

Unfortunately, another invigilator arrived saw Mingze and John passing papers. She stood behind them. It was clear that Mingze and John were caught red-handed. The invigilator confiscated both of their papers, brought them out of class and straight into the principal’s office.

In the room, John broke down into a flurry of tears and sobbed uncontrollably while Mingze kept a cool front. However, under the grilling interrogation by the principal and the prospect of summoning his parents to the office to have a discussion, Mingze caved in and also pleaded for a second chance.

In the end, both parents were notified of this incident. For cheating, Mingze was barred from the rest of the exam and was suspended from school for a week. John, on the other hand, was made to re-sit for the paper and write an apology letter. Hopefully, both would turn over a new leaf and learn from their mistakes.

Written by Joelle, P4

Image source: https://frigginloon.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/anti-cheating.gif

PSLE: A Ruined Class Party

In life, we may make many mistakes, but there was an unpleasant incident that happened to me that I would never forget, this is what happened to me a few years ago…

The classroom was in a hive of activities and everyone cheered when the teacher announced that the class party would be held this Friday.  Everyone jumped with joy and shrilled in delight, except John, the most mischievous boy in school.  He flashed a sinister smirk and sat on his chair, staring at his box filled with tricks.

The next day, which was a Friday, was the class party where bad or good memories could take place. Everyone had brought scrumptious food and origami for the party. They could not wait for the party to start. Miss Jane, our teacher, was busy laying the table with all the sumptuous dishes that my classmates had brought. I stood with my mouth agape as saliva dripped down from my mouth. When the other kids saw me, they burst into peals of laughter. Everyone was enjoying themselves. After the big feast, my classmates and I played games such as the five stones, the Nerf gun showdown, the hide-and-seek and many more.

Everyone was having a whale of a time. The mischievous John took out a fake spider toy and placed it on the table when no one was looking.  “AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!’’ a horrifying sight greeted me.  Instinctively, I let out a piercing scream when I saw the hideous-looking spider and leapt onto a nearby table. It was huge and hairy!  My response caused a wave of panic among my friends but John ended up in stitches, laughing hysterically non-stop.  He laughed so hard that his whole face turned red like a ripened tomato.

Suddenly, Miss Jane’s voice boomed, “What did you do?’’ She stood with her arms akimbo and breathed heavily as though smoke was coming out from her nostrils. Her glare was enough to turn him into a timid mouse.  John knew that he was in the wrong. As he imagined the red welts on his buttocks, shiver ran down his spine and he hung his head low.  Everyone regained their composure and heaved a sigh of relief when they realized it was only a fake Tarantula. 

After the party was over, everyone pleaded on John’s behalf.  Tears brimmed in his eyes and the teacher decided to let John off the hook.  Touched by his classmates’ kind gesture, John was determined to turn over a new leaf. He decided never to play a prank on anyone ever again.  From that day onwards, John has transformed from a mischievous rascal into a perfect angel. Well, almost perfect.

Written By: Teo Mingzhe, P4 (edited by Mrs Lee)

Image source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Brachypelma_smithi_2009_G03.jpg