Padang

Padang means field.

Back in Form 5, my class ... is well, has a lot of interesting characters. To put it simply, FUN. So much so that most of the last period before school finishes at 1.10pm, we spend it at the padang. Reason being, at the last period, most of the time we have lab classes, either the physics lab or chemistry lab or the biology lab.

But since its the last period, the boys are just too hyper and we just start playing a lot of stupid tricks on one another. If we get caught, usually the whole class would be punished. Hence, the entire class would be sent out to the middle of the field. Now even though we are in the middle of the field, we would still walk around like a bunch of stray cows.

My younger bro, who was in Form 1 back then, was in the afternoon session. So everytime by 12.30pm, he would be in school and saw me and my buddies in the middle of the padang. We just say hi and go about our own ways.

Once, he decided to ask during dinner with my parents seated at the table ...

Bro: Ey, how come I always see you in the field? No class wan meh?

My parents looked at me with the kind of look that says, HAVE YOU BEEN SKIPPING CLASSES???!!!

I had to think fast ...

Me: Oh, we have our biology class during last period. So everytime you see me in the padang, we were busy looking for belalang (grasshoppers) or getting specimens for our bio class ...

Bro: ohhhhh...

A few years later when my bro reach Form 4, he suddenly came back from school one day and said ... ey pundek, now I know all your belalang and bio lab bull shit. LOL!!!!