Puberty is a trying time for most girls. Mine however exacted its heaviest toll on Esther Seo, who was then -and remains- one of my closest friends.
The onset of my period when I was 15 presented me with a special gift - an uncanny proclivity for fainting, the uncanny thing being that Esther was nearly always the only person around when my lights went out. Nevermind the inconvenience of the situation, forget the embarrassment of a public scene – like a shot in the dark, the responsibility for my safety and security were thrust upon her with little to no advance warning.
Like the time when we were tending to our groups vegetable patch, located behind the canteen –more precisely, behind the roti prata stall run the very friendly and rotund Uncle and Aunty- which boasted an eclectic selection of wiry sweet potato creepers and ribbon-thin lettuce leaves, neither being potential material for salad pageants.
It was close to the end of recess time that afternoon and most girls had assembled in the basketball court, in preparation for the group march back to class with the attendant class prefect. There was no time to dawdle, so I simply stated the obvious to Esther, a second or two before keeling over,
"I think I'm going to faint ..."
I awoke up in the sick room, none the worse for the wear –no loamy soil in my hair- and as an unexpected treat, discovered that I had missed a dreaded Physics class or two. Unfortunately Esthers heroic custodianship didn’t her bring similar perks.
Then there was the time when the illustrious Michael Jackson was coming to town and Esther and I were in line for tickets at Specialist Centre. Some 15 minutes into our wait, I excused myself to go to the toilet. While in the ladies, that by then all-too-familiar feeling of light headedness staged a comeback and my consciousness lasted long enough for a plea of help to be uttered to someone in the next cubicle. Jane Doe would have ostensibly been happier tending to her own business, but then kindly fetched my dear guardian from the madding queue.
So Annie are you ok
Annie are you ok
Are you ok Annie
1 comment:
yes, definitely two incidents i will always remember... luckily you were really light, otherwise i wouldn't have been able to support you :) it's a good thing you now have a tall strapping swiss guy to catch you if you have another fainting spell ;)
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