Skip to main content

Greagles

By Anonymous
Jerald Lim
 On the 11th of March, the midmorning sun was a fiery ball of torment, blasting down wave after wave of its heat onto the dedicated members of the Dalat Track Team (Treagles). The Treagles were to have a track meet at the USM Stadium, or so they thought. Upon arriving, they were greeted by a stadium packed full of people. This wasn’t the first time that this had happened. At the track meet before this one, the stadium had also been occupied. After finding an alternative location, the Treagles relinquished their ever-so-desired coarsely paved track for a slightly dewy and bumpy grass field.

Having already relocated once prior to this day, the Treagles had no problems with getting to the grassy field. At this rate, they might as well be renamed Dalat Grass Team (Greagles). Despite setbacks like this, the Greagles push forward, with the mindset of still getting a good training session. Around the green-bladed “track” the Greagles went, running the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m, 4x100m, and 4x200m. At the end of these standard eight races came the final relay: the 4x400m. For some, it was a dreaded race, but for others, like Bena Mauger (12), the Greagles’ relay superstar, it’s a chance to showcase quick feet and baton handling prowess.

One by one, Coach Grad called each relay team to their “lanes.” It was at this moment that many realized that one of the U18 teams sported a small boy: his name was Kai Ji (1), an adorable 7-year-old boy who was barely half the height of senior, Jerald Lim (12). The reason why Kai Ji stood among the seniors of the team: Bena had abandoned them in favor of another, more-highly-stacked group, filled with some of the fastest runners in the team.

Still though, Jerald, Jarrod Chang (12), and Richard Baek (11) gladly accepted Kai Ji as one of their own. Jarrod puts it perfectly, saying, “Kai Ji seemed a bit bored as the track meet went on, so we (the seniors) wanted to cheer him up by asking him to join our team. He was really enthusiastic, and he made lots of new friends while having tons of fun, which was great to see.” During the girls’ race, Kai Ji found a seat atop Jerald’s shoulders. He sat in shock as the realization of how far he was about to run dawned on him. But it was no matter to him when his turn came up to grab the baton. Like Usain Bolt, he burst out of the gates with full, minuscule 7-year-old strides. Kai Ji finished the race with deep, hastened breaths and the screams and cheers of the Greagles behind him.

Sadly, the Kai Ji-Jerald-Jarrod-Richard foursome didn’t finish first, but for a boy to stand proudly on the backs of his seniors (both figuratively and literally) is something first place can’t guarantee. Seniors do not need an elaborate plan to leave an impact on the young Dalat-ians. It is simple acts of inclusion like this one that help create the best memories. At the end of the day, the Greagles concluded with their traditional cawing chant, and Kai Ji brought home with him a memory he’d always remember. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DINGBAT DALAT STUDENT SPENDS PRECIOUS TIME CONJURING UP SELF-REFERENTIAL SENIOR SCRIBBLE RATHER THAN GATHERING LEGITIMATE WORK

By Anonymous
Yusoof Monawvil PENANG, MA - As the deadline drew near and the stars aligned in the night sky above the majestic waters of the Strait of Malacca, one particular Dalat student—Yusoof Monawvil (12), despite a plethora of school events to select and report on—opted instead to spend a remarkably well-wasted 24 minutes staring at a blank Google Docs page, fruitlessly drawing up and shooting down brainstormed ideas.  In a moment of sheer and undeniable epiphany, Monawvil deemed it only fitting to self-referentially satirize his own ingrained incompetence and dingbattery. Commenting on the flash of insight, Monawvil quoted himself, saying: “It all just kinda made sense. I went on DISCourse to look at the little rubric thing Ms. Grad and Mr. Hieber posted, and I checked if I was following all of the guidelines... And I technically am/was; [N]ot like there’s any specific direktive [sic] prohibiting self-quoting.”  In a turn of events, Monawvil did come to find his self-quoting en...
6 comments
Read more

"Spikeball, Swimming, and Sickness: The Remnants of Senior Sneak" by Ee Rynn Ong

By
“Guys, I think we’re here,” said Jonathan Ooi (12) as he peeked out of the lorry to catch the first glimpse of our Senior Sneak location. This year’s Senior Sneak was held in Nomad Adventure, Gopeng, and the organizers planned many activities for the Class of 2026, ranging from traditional games like congkak and batu seremban to adrenaline-pumping ropes courses and whitewater rafting. These scheduled activities proved to be some of the best highlights of the trip, but top of that, the seniors were also given some daily free time to chat, explore, and relax. Josh Stevens (12) had come prepared for this with two spikeball nets, which immediately attracted attention from people eager to spend time in the outdoor sun. The next five days saw spikeball veterans and newcomers alike, spending their precious one and a half hours daily around the unassuming circular net, smashing the yellow ball in hopes of a victory.  Caleb Evans (12) was one of the newbies to spikeball, learning how the g...
Post a Comment
Read more

“I Miss Her” by Nikhil Pillay

By
While most people had a fun week for mid-semester break, whether it was spent with family, or with friends on impact trips, no one had a more emotionally confusing week than Judson Kenneth Robert Nosker (12).  In the light of recent events, Judson, despite all odds, had gotten in a relationship with one of his classmates, and as the break started, he had started to spend a lot of time with her. While with her, he started to experience a new level of joy and completeness that he had never felt before. In the words of Judson Nosker, “The first half of the break was good, but the rest of it was horrible.”  The reason for such a quote and the roller coaster of emotion was because half way through the break, disaster had struck. Judson’s girlfriend had gone on a trip with her family to Thailand, leaving Judson all alone. For the rest of the week, Judson was in a state of longing for her presence.  His friends have reported numerous occasions when Judson would be sitting with t...
Post a Comment
Read more