SINGAPORE: It’s 1987, and today is the first day of extra institution for me, who is 13 years old. After years of the ancient Uncle” Tortoise” ferrying me to school in my early years, taking public transportation made me feel like I was in a zombie video.
By six in the morning, the bus stop was crowded with students, first change workers, and a confused me who was about to learn about the dangers of post-dawn public transport.
There was pushing and shoving as each vehicle arrived, and this was before the actual board. Each bus was a real sardine can, crammed to the gills with anxious people from all walks of life vying for time to reach their final destinations.
Even though I was able to board the bus, it was only the first of three that I had to do so in order to get to class before the dreaded class bell rang.
Naturally, this second ride had to get worse over time.
The following bus ride was no different, but this time there were seasoned wet market shoppers carrying incredible fish-filled damp plastic bags as they bulldozed through the crowd. My college shorts, which were repeatedly grazed by those bags, carried a bad fresh seafood smell the rest of the time because there was nowhere in the bus for me to push out of their way.
The number of commuters had increased dramatically by the time I arrived in Bukit Timah to board the following ride, causing a hive of silent aggression to appear on numerous school uniforms. From secondary colleges that lined the section of the main street where I was going for the night, I counted at least six even wines.
But the morning’s key activity was saved for the rear end of my journey. I felt a tap on my leg as I peered through the crowd in search of my stop, wedged between the shaft next to the loss and what appeared to be an upper extra student rugby player.
Look! Another 13-year-old boy, haggard and pale, was motioning for me to leave. This poor man had a large meal, which was obvious to everyone as he ate it repeatedly on the vehicle floor.
Despite everything, I arrived at school on occasion.