Confessions of a Cat-holic (81)

Kevin was not engaged in any activities related to the music society, like me. Nope, not a choir member, and not an orchestra member either. As a friend, I recommended him to join the drama club with me. I engaged in theatre arts because it was something that I had been doing since elementary school. Acting gave me a protective shield to guard me through all the unneccessary competition and evil wishes from my rivals. But my new schoolmates were speculating that I was trying to whet my acting talents to try out for Miss Hong Kong or some big shots after I finished HKCEE. Other than doctors, accountants or engineers, I must have been wanting to become a big star. Otherwise, why didn't I go with the flow? Everyone must have wanted to be the next Danny Chan so badly.

Actually, honestly speaking, I had remained rather low key as a small potato throughout my life and I hated the spotlight as much as I hated the fame itself. The only lines I was given when acting on stage was "Oh", "Really?", "Right". Kevin was not doing any better. Kevin's only line was "popularity could kill you". In Chinese, it would be 人見人愛，車見車載，棺材見到會開蓋，which literatlly meant that Miss Popular was loved by many even the coffin.

But not everyone was as fortunate and privileged as Kevin. He was the top 5% in networth in my class, but the remaining 95% were just getting by alright. They were the power house of all the distinctions won at the HKCEE. The aforementioned smartie, Ling Li, was just a resident in a small apartment on Victoria Road in western district. Elvis Lai, another transfer student from St Paul's Boys, lived in Tai Koo Shing. Elvis worked at Castle Peak Hospital, handling patients in a mental assylum, yeah literally. Mina Cheng and Loretta Chu graduated from True Light Primary School. Mina became one of the best surgeons in town and Loretta practiced medicine in the UK. Jacqueline was from Rosary Hill; Sarah Mui lived in Quarry Bay and graduated from The Church of Christ in China Kei Wan Primary School. Cheung Ka Wai, a graduate from St Paul's Convent and a resident at Sai Wan Ho, went out with the most sought after leaders of SPCC, Adam So and later Keith Wong. Annie Chan, also from St Paul's Convent, became a dentist. Jessica Mak, from South Horizons and St Stephen's Girls, majored in political science and theology and worked in a church as a full time staff for many years before becoming self employed. Elaine Tang was an artist from North Point and she wedded our classmate, Sze Shing Wai. Yes, finally another couple as high school sweethearts. Katrina Ng, from Chai Wan and SKH St. Michael's Primary School, studied political science at Oxford University. Our most beloved Samantha Lam, also from The Church of Christ in China Kei Wan Primary School and the district of Shau Kei Wan, worked at google as a sales ad manager in Beijing.

As you could see, most of the elites at SPCC came from a SKH or neo-Christian background, with almost no representatives from the Catholic community, including of course my alma mater and any other schools in the Canossa circle. They thought that they had all the best students from the top schools in Hong Kong, whilst omitting a big chunk of missed out representatives from schools like WYHK, WYK, La Salle, DGS, Maryknoll, Good Hope, St Mary's, King's, Raimondi, St Jo, Ying Wah, Ying Wah Girls, St Clare's, etc. The traditional band 1 circle was much more diverse than that. It was this lack of diversity that drove many SPCCers into delusions that I was a DGS headgirl or the diva-wannabe Charlene from Marymount.

SPCC was a cradle for hillbillies. Keith Wong thought that he was all that, just because he could play the violin. Actually, I would give him more credits than that. He was also the chairperson of the music department in our school. Wow, marvelous. I had been to his home, Kent Mansion on Fortress Hill Road, which was just a block from his sister's school, BPS, and from my previous residence at Fortress Garden. We even played mahjong at his place. Everyone thought that I had a thing for him, but no.