A Wasted Wednesday
School is starting in 6 days' time. I can hardly believe it. As evidence to my growing senility, I lost my way en route to school 2 days ago. In any case, I've seldom taken the train to school and thus, my little misadventure is not entirely the fault of my senility. The tale began like this...
I alighted at Clementi MRT station on a lazy afternoon. The platform was sparsely littered with frowning youngsters muttering engineering formulae under their breathe. It was the polytechnic common tests period. Not that I am gloating but how could anyone frowned and cursed on such a glorious wednesday?
So it was with much leisure that I took the familiar right turn at the ticketing booth and strolled down to the bus-stop. The worn-down newspaper stall was peddling some glaring, glossy magazines and the football-pundit favourite New Paper. Buses were taking a longer time than usual to arrive. Students in uniform filed out of the neighbourhood fast food joint, chattering in high voices. Just another typical school day for most and for some lucky ones who have all the time in the world to waste, a holi-day. Nothing was amiss.
I took a random standing-spot at the crowded bus-stop and waited for the prominent red 154 or fading yellow 184. 10 minutes passed. 7 buses had probably unloaded their passengers. Another 10 minutes crawled slowly by. I could have sworn three 186, four 105 and blah have made their rounds. And there I was, stranded on a run-down bus-stop with peeling blue paint, no bus, no watch and no cellphone. I was as good as lost. I should thank my stars that I had a few crumpled notes and coins squashed in my bag. And so I continued my wait.
A fair-skinned girl carrying a pink backpack had stood there just as long as me. I figured out we were both victims of the highly inefficient 154 and was convinced I had seen her in a marketing class before. And (thus), I waited. And waited.
I had almost drained my 500ml of water. The sunlight was fading and the crowd was thickening. If I was not wrong (and bless me if I was), the after-work rush hour was approaching. And I was still stuck at this antiquated bus-stand! Alright I conceded that I had all the time in the world to waste but to spend this precious half-hour guarding a bus-stand? Oh man, I'd rather allocate this insignificant half-hour to a more profitable exploit such as a duel or a light snooze.
Getting grouchy and irate, I confronted the murky bus route map and thumbed through the bus numbers impatiently for 154 and goodness me, when I did find the number. I was on the wrong bus-stand! It was the left turn I should have taken 35 minutes ago at the mrt station. A 154 taken in this direction would deport me to the outskirts in Jurong. I was such an ingenius spark of a thing. Stupid me.
There was no time to lose. The roads were exhibiting the first sign of a major traffic congestion and if I wanna get home before 7 (to get comfortably and sufficiently settled for my night anime), I'd better make a quick dash for the right bus-stop.
The rest was history. Never had I, or ever again, take 1 hr to reach school from the Clementi train station.
posted by Michelle at
12:59 PM
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