I was hopeful about my new life. The moment I stepped into the class, everyone welcomed me warmly. It brought tears to my eyes. Everyone swarmed around me and greeted me enthusiastically. Questions were fired and I had a hard time digesting everything.
"OMG! Finally we have a new student!"
"Welcome to 5SC!"
"What's your name?"
"Where are you from?"
A whistle was blown. Everyone scrambled back to their seats. A beautiful lady walked into the class. She was my form teacher who taught us English. I liked her immediately.
"Settle down, everyone. Let me introduce you to a newly transferred student from Batu Pizza, Najdi." She turned to me, "There is an empty seat next to Amin. He is the classroom leader, so you may ask him for help if you have any doubts or questions." She continued, "The school camp will be held next weekend. It is compulsory for everyone to go. Please behave yourself and bring all the necessary items for camping..."
***
"Oi, pig face! Where do you think you're going?" Five boys were blocking my way. When I tried to ignore them, one of them pushed me roughly and I fell. Another took the opportunity to step on my hand and I swallowed my cry. I would not give them the satisfaction of bullying me. More people surrounded me at this time, but nobody stopped them. They were whispering and pointing at me, as if I were an exhibition instead of a human being. I hated them so much. The biggest bully kicked me in the stomach and...
...I woke up in pain. My forehead was drenched with sweat. I looked at the snoring boy next to me. Amin was fast asleep and he punched me in the stomach as he tossed around. I breathed a sigh of relief. The nightmare was over. I was never going to see those bullies anymore. When I was still lost in my own thought, a siren was sounded. It was time to get up.
Amin stretched and flashed me a wide grin. We quickly got out of the tent and gathered for headcount. It was the second day of my first ever school camp. Yesterday passed in a blur. We went to the camping site by a rented bus and upon reaching there, we set up our sleeping tent before we were fed our lunch. Then, we had some fun activities prepared by the instructors there such as flying fox and archery. I was screaming my lungs out during flying fox as I was acrophobia, but it was an experience I would never forget. My friends were impressed with my archery skill. I'd hit the bullseye every time. Even the instructors could barely score once. However, I knew we would have even more interesting activities today provided if the weather was clear and sunny.
The jungle trekking took 2 hours before we reached the waterfall. It was exhausting as my stamina was really weak, but Amin and the rest encouraged me, giving me the motivation to go on. We heard the sound of running water before the waterfall came into view. It was cooling and refreshing to soak our worn-out feet in the water. Amin even washed his face and then realised in horror that he was at downstream and the water he used to wash his face could be mixed with our feet's odour. In a moment of panic, he washed his face again with - you know it - the same water from the exact same spot. We were laughing until our sides ached.
After resting, the instructors told us to wade across the stream so we would hike around the waterfall. Being a klutz, I slipped and fell as we were crossing the stream. Thankfully, Amin caught me before I was being flushed away by the running water. Unfortunately, I scraped my knees, but it didn't affect me much. One of the teachers checked my wound and found out I had scars and old bruises on my body. Everybody was shocked to hear what had happened to me in my previous school. We continued the rest of the journey back to the camping site in solemn silence.
I was hiding inside the tent afterwards. It was until nightfall when the smell of the barbequed food enticed me to leave my safe haven. I avoided eye contact with everyone as I made a beeline towards the grill. Suddenly, someone shoved a plate of food at me. It was Amin. I stared at the food and realised they were all my favourite. I heard the strumming of a guitar. My form teacher was playing the guitar while the rest of my classmates were singing around the campfire. My heart skipped a beat when I heard the lyrics.
"You are not alone, for I am here with you~"
Once they had finished their song, they gathered around me and we had a group hug. It was a memorable camping experience for me. I was reborn. Everybody accepted me for who I was regardless of my past. I had a blast!
