#4

Weeks and days past. We managed to find a good recess/ lunch camping spot right next to the canteen. (BAM thousands of memories) This group consisted mostly of class 'E' and we'd all put our bags around the tables and just sit and talk and talk and talk. About work and all he hard assignments we have to do. I believe at one time we had 5 assignment due in the term. One of them was Metalwork. Luckily for me I knew someone in year 8 who did the same assignment already and ,guess what , she just gave me hers and I ripped out the marking criteria page and handed it in as my own and got 22/25.

The decision to sit next to the canteen area was probably one of the MOST best decisions we made. It felt warm and comforting and like our little home. We’d Rush to the canteen but first throw our bags at the table area first then run to line up. That table itself practically journeyed with us through the ages and years. We sat on the table through SUN and RAIN ... AND while TERMITES try to invade. Catrina got bird shit in her fingers. We shoved our rubbish between the gaps even though there was a bin just a metre away. We played truth or dare, snap, spin the bottle. We battled the termites and bugs to protect it (and for fun). We tagged it with some chalk. The tree covered and sheltered us right up to the day ... its branches was chopped off.

However there was a division between the boys and the girls. Me, Catrina and Jessica would sit in the middle, on the table.

I loved it so much when we’d all sit around the table and just talk and laugh. Of course we were smaller and less fatter than now so we could fit a lot more people on one side of the bench. But during those days if we’re not around the table, I didn’t join in any of the conversations. Donovan was talking about “HOW TO BE A NERD / GANGSTER” and ‘WOLFTEAM’, which Jessica and Catrina decided to join. I remember them saying something about Catrina always walking into the wall. For those niggahigga videos they were talking, I actually thought they were quite a bit ‘old news’ but still didn’t really joined in the conversations. But overall during this particular time it felt like Utopia; Laugh, Play, Talk, Copy English work on Tuesday Recess or any other kind of work since we had a table to work on.

Unfortunately, Catrina was the first to left the group to join ‘society’ and I was pretty bummed and thought that that meant I’ll lose a friend.

Of course other things changed too. After all we were starting to hit puberty and hormones level was rocketing sky high...

Moment of silence for that wonderful tree and resting spot.