Confessions of a Cat-holic (19)

He asked me a few standard questions, beginning with why I wanted to transfer. To be honest, I didn't have a very prepared or good answer. The truth was I was tired of the continental warfare and restless battlegrounds in Wanchai and I was desperately in search of a pacific island. But could you tell him that, if you were me? So I made up an answer, and I made that up on the spot. I knew I should be ready for it but things were not as competitive in the late 90s. I didn't have any mock interviews with an alumnus or seek any professional advice. I simply just walked in, trying to be the authentic me.

Back then, there was no wikipedia or online forums that discussed the gossips of band 1 circle in Hong Kong. Information was not transparent and it was almost impossible to get access to the official profiles of local schools via legitimate channels. I didn't know SPCC was famous for its choirs and orchestra. I knew very little of the school and I was not curious enough to go out of my way to find out either. But I obviously could not tell him that. I remembered reading an interview report earlier about Mark Lui talking about his alma mater on Yes! magazine, the most popular teenage tabloids at the time. So suavely without giving much second thought, I slipped out an answer that was not quite my true opinions. I stuttered, I said I admired their alumni. I didn't know of a better answer to shut him up.

I was not particularly smart in that one because I didn't expect him to go further and grill me on the alumni I mentioned earlier. He asked me in particular whom I admired. I told him, Mark Lui. I said Mark Lui was my idol and I admired the school he went to. Well, it was obvious that I didn't know what else to say. Mr Lee Chak Keung frowned upon my answer and he said that the school was not particularly fond of him. I knew I was barking up the wrong tree but I was too nervous to react. Within seconds, I made up another excuse. I said I admired the politicians from the school.

Little did I know that SPCC was not a cradle of civil servants. Almost 70% of their alumni ended up working in the accounting industry and the rest 10% in medicine, another 10% in engineering or academia. None of the students I encountered during the three years of my time at SPCC worked in the police force or other disciplinary services. Less than a few ended up in the government as a clerk or low-level administrator. But they were all in it for the wrong reasons. They just wanted to have a stable life and income, rather than out of a desire to serve the public.

I found myself falling into a trap that was totally set up by myself. I shouldn't have done that, I thought. Mr Lee Chak Keung asked me which politicians from SPCC I looked up to. The only people I knew from SPCC were Danny Chan and Mark Lui. I said Mark Lui already, and I shouldn't talk about a pop star again. I thought talking politics was a safe route, because most of the high ranking officials graduated from top schools in Hong Kong. SPCC was one of them, so I thought politics would be a good bet for me to bullshit my way out. I made up an answer again. In my head, I browsed through the names of the legislative council members and, for a second, Martin Lee Chu-ming looked like an educated scholar. He looked like an SPCCer to me, so I said I looked up to Martin Lee Chu-ming. Well, that was an insensible guess again. Mr Lee Chak Keung knew about the school alumni well enough to immediately refute my answer.

He said to me, Martin Lee Chu-ming did not graduate from SPCC.

I went from the usual relaxed mode to complete anxious conditions. I knew the admissions to this school was more than competitive and I just couldn't quite forgive myself for applying to this top-tier school without a convincing explanation as I knocked on its gate.