The Strongest Force (ON HIATUS)

Chapter 3: New beginnings

The years passed quickly. Soon both of them were in their final year of primary school. They were preparing for their PSLE's (Primary School Leaving Examinations). In Chinese, they were seated beside each other, by a miracle as most teachers knew no to put them together. But this time they had a new teacher. Everyday Christopher would whisper something and Elizabeth would argue about it in 'whispers'.  Ok... more like arguing in their voices which don't echo through the whole school. But ,Christopher never failed to do something silly to annoy her relentlessly.Everyday.

 Their arguments lowered the tension levels of the students greatly. They studied hard and played equally well. They did get slightly unfocused and it was up to Elizabeth to pull them together. The best of the batch was Elizabeth as always throughout the 5 years  of primary school  ,with her friends close behind. 

Christopher wasn't as good as Elizabeth in his studies but at athletics he was better than her. He was in the school athletics team. Elizabeth was a fast runner but she wasn't good at other athletic skills like jumping and throwing. They each had individual talents which made the special.

 Results came out. Sweat was pouring down their faces. The drop dead silence increased the mounting tension. The results came out. All of them had passed. Not just borderline pass but with around or above average scores.  They put down their selections for secondary schools. After a few days of waiting, the admission forms came to them. Elizabeth went to Raffles Girls Secondary with a few of her friends while Christopher,and his friends scraped admissions into Raffles Institution. 

But after the end of school,their group of friends split apart till there were only around 6 to 7 people left. But Christopher and Elizabeth did not mind that. Their group of friends just became closer and closer and scheduled 'meetings' to see each other on a regular basis. Now it comprised of Hui Xuan, Jennifer, Ru Han , Elizabeth, Christopher, Aaron, Hao Ming. On a positive note, they were all 13 year olds, teenagers. They were no longer the little kids in Primary 3, they were 'cool' teenagers now. And they could watch PG13 movies in cinemas! Their group now comprised of Hui Xuan, Jennifer, Ru Han , Elizabeth, Christopher, Aaron, Hao Ming

The year was over quicker than they expected. Not many happenings. Everyone was mainly focused on settling in. Luckily their classmates were to a certain extent nice. Thank god they didn't have to face the bullies. Unfortunately, they were the youngest in school and thus by the secondary 'school hierarchy system' they didn't get many clubs.  But since this year they were in Secondary 2, they weren't mocked as being the tiniest or the smallest and would be gaining equal amount of respect for their achievements. 

Hui Xuan was well versed at composing music and took music related clubs like Brass Band. Jennifer was a good talker and was very social so she decided to develop on her social skills. Ru Han like Christopher was very athletic and was a good 100m and 200m runner. Elizabeth as we know was good at academics and had a natural flair to drama and art. Christopher, as discussed before was an athlete and often held races with Ru Han but only won her in long distance. Aaron was good with technology and worked with computer studies and technology. While, Hao Ming was a skilled craftsman and worked with design and woodwork mainly. They each had different skills and personalities making them an interesting bunch in their neighbourhood. They helped each other with what they knew and never let them down. They disguised each others flaws and worked as a team. The 7 of them shone above the others with their teamwork.

Of course they had to deal with the typical teenage despair, Puberty. None of the girls were spared. Before half term every Secondary 2 girl in Elizabeth's class was worrying about their acne breakouts. Rumors of miracle acne treatments were spreading like wildfire through the school. The girls had tried a few before deciding ,none worked. The usually calm Elizabeth and Ru Han were relentlessly fretting on the changes they were going through. No it was not just acne, there was a whole list more. The boys weren't spared either. Fortunately they had less on their plate with only acne and voice breaking as main problems. 

And there was the usual turmoil of growing up, the awkward stages... The guys were blushing more around girls and even the bravest girls with loud voices giggled like squeaky mice around boys. Suddenly all the gossip was who had a crush on who and who was going out with who. Our heroes and heroines of this story hadn't fallen into their awkwardness yet... but who know what will happen next?