That was the theme based on which I had to write a short story for the Talent Day Contest at school this academic year. I ended up winning 2nd place for my piece:
The Long Way
Melanie
Beckett walked through the glass doors that led to her school. She had a solemn
look on her face. It had been two weeks since her close friend Siwon moved away
to Canada, and she was finding it hard to concentrate on anything else other
than the undeniable void that was present in the school. Every part of the
hallways & classrooms held a deep sentimental value for Melanie; laughter
lost, they always reminded her of an incident with Siwon by her side. One might
think that such memories would continuously upset her, but they did quite the
opposite; they were her escape from reality. Like walking dreams, they’d come
to life before her eyes & give her the comfort that she had that memory to
hold onto.
Today, she decided that she would take the long route to her classroom. School was due to close within a week, so teachers wouldn’t be doing much. As she passed by a hallway, she noticed a patch of wall with a dull silver coat of spray paint…
“Come on Siwon! We need to get the charts done!” announced a worried Melanie. There she was on tenterhooks while Siwon casually strolled down the hallways, a classic epitome of calm. “I’m right here!” replied Siwon as she bent down to pick up a bottle of spray paint, “Now how does this work?”
“Let me take a look at the instructions” said Melanie, stretching her arm out. “No, I’ve got it.” replied Siwon and pressed down on the can. There was the sound of a spray, but there was no paint on the chart. Melanie checked her uniform – no paint. She then turned around to see that Siwon had sprayed her own shirt; inevitably getting some on the wall. Melanie stood there with a hand on her head while Siwon burst out laughing at herself…
Melanie’s brief departure into her thoughts was disturbed by a hall monitor, who urged her to get to class. Melanie continued to her classroom, shaking her head, her lips curving into a smile. She reached the staircase which led up to the first floor. The same staircase which was the site of many incidents; one standing apart from the rest…
Melanie & Siwon were both late to leave class, the rest of the section had assembled in the courtyard and would leave for the field trip shortly. They were running as fast as they could go, and reached the top of the flight of stairs, Melanie ran down, while Siwon took a leap in order to skip a few stairs. It was evident that a miscalculation took place when she landed on top of Melanie and they both tumbled down the flight of stairs, Siwon landing head first and Melanie sitting dazed at the bottom of the stairs. She looked up to find Siwon, hair messed up, tie askew, but with a big grin plastered on her face. She was laughing too hard to be upset with her…
Melanie started climbing the stairs, her hand passing over the hand rail. At the top of the stairs, she felt the dent in the hand rail, the same one put in by Siwon when she tried to see whether her thermos flask could dent it – and succeeded.
Then she passed by the water fountain, the one place Siwon would run to if she was in the middle of pursuit. She was infamous for drenching anyone who came in contact with her when she was being chased or when she was pursuing someone. She then passed by the washroom, the background for all the nasty dares, deep secrets and untold incidents that went on between them. The one place Melanie knew she could find Siwon if something went wrong. Melanie passed by her old class; the one room that held a deep meaning for her, as it was where she first met Siwon…
It was the day of the inter-house sport competition; Melanie walked into class to get her bag when she walked straight into a girl. She stepped back, rubbing her head and apologized to the girl. The girl responded by laughing and mentioning that she didn’t mind. She added that she was accident prone and enjoyed the fact that she was. Melanie took an instinctive liking to this girl and asked her what her name was. She replied by saying that it was Siwon.
Melanie kept walking down the hallway, coming to a halt in the passage that separated the rest of the school from the senior-most grades. A junior bumped into Melanie and apologized but she was lost in her thoughts again…
October the twelfth, she remembered the day crystal clear. Siwon had brought her to the same passage. Melanie was all smiles, but they vanished when she saw the sombre expression on Siwon’s face. She looked down, avoiding Melanie’s eyes, and slowly told her that she would be leaving school and migrating to Canada. She added that she wanted to tell Melanie the last because she felt horrible about leaving and knew that it would leave Melanie deeply hurt. It did. Melanie walked down to the bottom of the stairs, leaving Siwon in the passage, and buried her face in her hands. She didn’t want to let people see that she was crying. Of all the happy memories the school contained, of all the misadventures & follies that took place, this memory was in a league of its own. One that she had to relive every time she walked to class. Though, looking at the totality of things, it was just one unpleasant memory amidst a sea of pleasant memories. When Melanie walked into class, she didn’t see the monitor delivering a harsh harangue to one of the students, nor did she see the drama club practicing in the corner of the class. All she saw and all she heard were her memories, memories of the last few weeks spent with Siwon. Melanie was well aware of the fact that it would take a while to get used to school life without a good friend by her side and that maybe eventually; she might find a friend as engaging as Siwon was. But nothing could replace the friend she had physically lost or erase the memories she had with her. After all, what is a person without their own memories?
Today, she decided that she would take the long route to her classroom. School was due to close within a week, so teachers wouldn’t be doing much. As she passed by a hallway, she noticed a patch of wall with a dull silver coat of spray paint…
“Come on Siwon! We need to get the charts done!” announced a worried Melanie. There she was on tenterhooks while Siwon casually strolled down the hallways, a classic epitome of calm. “I’m right here!” replied Siwon as she bent down to pick up a bottle of spray paint, “Now how does this work?”
“Let me take a look at the instructions” said Melanie, stretching her arm out. “No, I’ve got it.” replied Siwon and pressed down on the can. There was the sound of a spray, but there was no paint on the chart. Melanie checked her uniform – no paint. She then turned around to see that Siwon had sprayed her own shirt; inevitably getting some on the wall. Melanie stood there with a hand on her head while Siwon burst out laughing at herself…
Melanie’s brief departure into her thoughts was disturbed by a hall monitor, who urged her to get to class. Melanie continued to her classroom, shaking her head, her lips curving into a smile. She reached the staircase which led up to the first floor. The same staircase which was the site of many incidents; one standing apart from the rest…
Melanie & Siwon were both late to leave class, the rest of the section had assembled in the courtyard and would leave for the field trip shortly. They were running as fast as they could go, and reached the top of the flight of stairs, Melanie ran down, while Siwon took a leap in order to skip a few stairs. It was evident that a miscalculation took place when she landed on top of Melanie and they both tumbled down the flight of stairs, Siwon landing head first and Melanie sitting dazed at the bottom of the stairs. She looked up to find Siwon, hair messed up, tie askew, but with a big grin plastered on her face. She was laughing too hard to be upset with her…
Melanie started climbing the stairs, her hand passing over the hand rail. At the top of the stairs, she felt the dent in the hand rail, the same one put in by Siwon when she tried to see whether her thermos flask could dent it – and succeeded.
Then she passed by the water fountain, the one place Siwon would run to if she was in the middle of pursuit. She was infamous for drenching anyone who came in contact with her when she was being chased or when she was pursuing someone. She then passed by the washroom, the background for all the nasty dares, deep secrets and untold incidents that went on between them. The one place Melanie knew she could find Siwon if something went wrong. Melanie passed by her old class; the one room that held a deep meaning for her, as it was where she first met Siwon…
It was the day of the inter-house sport competition; Melanie walked into class to get her bag when she walked straight into a girl. She stepped back, rubbing her head and apologized to the girl. The girl responded by laughing and mentioning that she didn’t mind. She added that she was accident prone and enjoyed the fact that she was. Melanie took an instinctive liking to this girl and asked her what her name was. She replied by saying that it was Siwon.
Melanie kept walking down the hallway, coming to a halt in the passage that separated the rest of the school from the senior-most grades. A junior bumped into Melanie and apologized but she was lost in her thoughts again…
October the twelfth, she remembered the day crystal clear. Siwon had brought her to the same passage. Melanie was all smiles, but they vanished when she saw the sombre expression on Siwon’s face. She looked down, avoiding Melanie’s eyes, and slowly told her that she would be leaving school and migrating to Canada. She added that she wanted to tell Melanie the last because she felt horrible about leaving and knew that it would leave Melanie deeply hurt. It did. Melanie walked down to the bottom of the stairs, leaving Siwon in the passage, and buried her face in her hands. She didn’t want to let people see that she was crying. Of all the happy memories the school contained, of all the misadventures & follies that took place, this memory was in a league of its own. One that she had to relive every time she walked to class. Though, looking at the totality of things, it was just one unpleasant memory amidst a sea of pleasant memories. When Melanie walked into class, she didn’t see the monitor delivering a harsh harangue to one of the students, nor did she see the drama club practicing in the corner of the class. All she saw and all she heard were her memories, memories of the last few weeks spent with Siwon. Melanie was well aware of the fact that it would take a while to get used to school life without a good friend by her side and that maybe eventually; she might find a friend as engaging as Siwon was. But nothing could replace the friend she had physically lost or erase the memories she had with her. After all, what is a person without their own memories?
This piece's inspiration was drawn mainly from a friend of mine that had to leave abroad, it was quite sudden - one might say. Despite this, the story is meant for all my friends who not only left school, but went abroad.
Too many, too soon.
I miss you guys.
I miss you guys.
