Saturday, May 26, 2007

Episode 417

Even with the presence of Sergeant Charles, life in Pulau Tekong wasn't anything to look forward to. We had the privilege of booking out on Friday evenings but had to be at the Commando Jetty at 6:30pm for book-in on Sundays. Maybe that was when some Singaporean boy came up with the term "low-morale". As the RPL sailed further and further away from the mainland, my heart sank - it was goodbye to civilization and hello to SOC, IPPT and mindless training in dense jungles.

A rewind of events before this - it was during our confinement week and it was Parent Visiting Day. And knowing the army, they would love to to show parents that their kids are in good hands. The camp grounds were clean, the recruits had plenty of rest time, and the cooks were smiling, obliging and could whip up delectable cuisines. Of course this was a bloody farce, but no one said it because they assumed everyone knew.

The whole company was held up in an area no bigger than the size of two classrooms. Whenever a name was yelled out, that means that his friends/family has arrived and he can leave the room. The rest of us will have to remain in the room waiting for our turn. I couldn't decide whether I was looking forward to this - mum might cry but that was the longest time they've ever been separated from their youngest boy.

And time went by - one by one the names were called out and it was getting a little too quiet in the holding area. Most of my platoon mates were downstairs chatting with their parents and girlfriends. I felt a little lost.

Sergeant Charles must have noticed me sitting alone in the room and that was when he strolled up and started chatting with me. That was the first time we ever had a conversation which wasn't related to the army. I'm not sure whether it's because of his position as my platoon sergeant or I'm beginning to have a crush on him, but I could feel my heartbeat gathering speed and my palms getting slightly sweaty.

We were just talking about our lives before the army - he revealed that he was born in the same year as me and he was from a neighbourhood JC. He was the kind of guy you'll see in the soccer field everyday after school, dribbling with his mates under the big hot Singapore sun. Even to a certain extent, you'd say that he looked bengish, but he didn't have most of their attitude. Nice, cordial and unassuming.

And we started talking about Louis Cha - the Chinese wuxia novelist that we were both crazy with. I think he loves reading Return of the Condor Heroes, while my favourite was Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre. But strangely, I felt a little disappointed - something tells me that he's straight. Not that I have admitted that I was gay at that point of time, but when someone shares the passion of something you favoured dearly (in this case wuxia novels), there was nonetheless a lingering hope that he might share something more.

So our conversation was broken when my name was called out. I literally jumped up - my folks are probably here. I excused myself from Sergeant Charles and he said something like "I'll see you later" and then gave me his trademark goofy yet sincere grin, which was slightly crooked to the left. I think my heart just melted.