On that day, the bell rang later, at 7.40 a.m. Dressed in our respective colorful house T-shirts -- yellow, green, blue and red, we assembled at the basketball court and lined up according to our houses Kesatria, Hebat, Berjaya and Maju. The Sports Secretary, Puan Mariam, then briefed us on the dos and don'ts during the cross country run. After that, we walked in single file to the school gate.
Encik Ghanapathi, our school principal then made his way to the front of the line. Preet !! And we were off. The first group of students to run were the class kesatria, hebat, berjaya members, the first, second and third formers. Then it was the turn of maju members the fourth formers. We ran from the school, cut across a hill where there was a stream and passed a housing estate with nice bungalows. The route was scenic but the actual running was a real killer.
Most of us forced our legs to run fast, overtaking some slow students, ignoring their jeers and cheers. Having played the fool during the practice sessions, most of us felt our hearts pounding like a thousand drums. A group of girls overtook me. Despite the muscle ache, I increased my stride and managed to match their paces.
We followed a hilly road which led us past a stream. The bank of the stream was lined with shady trees. I was sorely tempted to stop to take a rest but decided against it. I gritted my teeth and pushed myself forward, wanting to win maximum points for Kesatria.
A group of us soon reached the second checkpoint where a teacher was waiting with bottled water. We slowed down, grabbed a bottle of water from her outstretched hands and rushed off. I soon lagged behind as I was starting to tire. We continued running and found ourselves pounding along a rather nice-looking path with trees on both sides. Suddenly, a sharp pain spread from my calves to the rest of my legs but I did not stop running. The soles of my shoes were as hot as fire as I pounded the pavement to catch up with the other girls ahead of me. Try as I could, I just could not catch up with them. I managed to reach the finishing line later, scoring only five points instead of seven. Those who came way after me got five points each for their houses.
It was close to 9.30 a.m. and most of the students had returned to school. Luckily, there were no casualties as those who could not run took their own sweet time to walk back to school. Most of us rushed to the water cooler to quench our thirst. When the bell rang for break, we headed to the canteen to get our favorite drinks and food.
The results of the cross country run were announced the next day. My house, Kesatria was the champion House. Elizabeth was the champion for girls while Daniel, a willowy boy, was the champion for boys. |
|
