Confessions of a Cat-holic (4)

Prior to me joining this new Christian school, I already knew that their mathematical standards were way above average. I was introduced by my parents to this guy named Kit Hui. I wanted to do some research about this target school before sitting for the entrance exam. He gave me his Chinese, English and Mathematics textbooks for reference. Honestly and objectively speaking, their Chinese and English levels were only subpar. I knew I needed no more drills in those subjects but their mathematical problem sets surely gave me some headaches. I always came first in mathematics class but I knew that was only because I went to an all girls single sex conventry. I had to admit that this new Christian co-ed school set an unusually high threshold for its science students.

Kit Hui was quite crucial to my decision applying to his school. I was looking for a school more civilized and less rampant than my alma mater. I was quite assured that Kit Hui's school could be it.

Kit Hui came from a humble background. He lived in the shabby areas of Sai Wan. He was far from attractive. Actually, he was a cripple. I was not sure if he was officially handicapped but he walked in a very funny manner. He stumbled. That was how I got curious about his school. He looked intact and unharmed. Given his faltering deportment, I knew he would have been a victim of serious bullying if he ever came by my Catholic Spartan military camp. I thought he was the only one in his school who was given ultra love and care despite his circumstances. I later found out, after transferring to his school, that it was only my naive projections. He was not bullied not because the school was particularly inclusive and benevolent. Smart, academically driven yet slightly disabled, Kit Hui was the norm of his school. He was not singled out because everyone else was like him.

He was not the only one I know from this school though. There was a girl named Grace who dropped out from the elementary school and landed at St. Francis, my alma mater. Grace was very graceful. She lived on Conduit Road. How did I know? We took the same school bus together, for some odd reasons, even though we did not belong to the same district. She was the only newbie in my Catholic school who did not participate in school fights. She clearly was not violent. My Catholic school enrolled around 30 newbies each year to stir up the catfights among us girlies. There was a term for it. Catfish effect, that's it. My Catholic school matriculated 30 newbies from some no-name gangster schools nearby just to train us up to standards of a Spartan soldier. Young and dangerous, Grace was not one of them.

I knew very little about this new Christian school, other than from gossips I heard from Sharon. Sharon had been my biggest rival since first grade. We seemed to get along on the surface but we hated each other underneath. She was a typical pisces and I was a Virgo. That meant we would be opposite in characters. We used to spend hours on the phone chatting about nonsense. She loved talking about celebrities. She wanted to be one of those taitais attending balls and functions among the rich man's circle. She was a hopeless romantic who loved to fantasize about marriage and romance. I would chat along and made up some fantasies myself too, just to please her. I would read up all the local romance fictions just to pretend that I knew something about love.