Wet, Wet, Wet

The Memoirs of Nighteyes
~
Through the eyes of yet another one of Nicholas Pang's Junior Cronies

Tonight was the dinner party for the house of Garnet, where after about a week of sending letters back and forth to unknown pet bros and sisters, we would be 'repaid' for our efforts (or lack of) with a warm celebration to welcome us into the family. After spending the evening doing slave labour, all us Garnet juniors gathered at the Japanese Garden, waiting anxiously to be let into the Saad Square where our loving pet brothers and sisters waited for us, all with (evil) smiles on their faces. Surprisingly, even those who couldn't identify their designated brothers and sisters were let off easy (or so we thought). All we had to do was give up and wait until we were claimed, which we all were eventually. No sign of eggs, flour or anything else we had been threatened to be punished with. And with food, long (boring) speeches and performances on queue, not to mention the fact that we were graciously convinced by the MC that we were going to be let off easy, seeing that the seniors were 'merciful', we put our fears of being punished behind us and settled down for dinner with out pet families.

As far as the performances went, the night had its ups and downs. With vocal performances from well-known seniors Abby and Bad, and even more singing from a band of juniors, the night seemed to be all about singing. Undoubtedly the sexy duo of Punitha and Farah stole the show with their screeh- er... I mean singing (They performed Kelly Clarkson's 'Behind These Hazel Eyes'. You could say that they were as good as the original singer if you had earplugs on) But the seniors understood that the performances weren't merely about talent, but they were also about spirit. And so they cheered the two girls on (hopefully the duo won't get overexcited over their new fanbase and plan an early comeback). And even after that performance, we still had... more singing, this time without backing music as the juniors emulated an audition session for American Idol, with Noreen, Punithaa and me (complete with a fake British accent in a desperate attempt to emulate Simon Cowell) as judges. Determined not to let the two girls get away with all the fans, Azmi eagerly displayed his (lack of) singing and dancing abilities, once again with the audience cheering him on. It makes me feel sorry for the other singers who were actually quite good- the fact that they weren't pathetic garnered them less sympathy and thus less love and support from the crowd.

The only performance that did NOT involve singing came from a group of dancers, led by our very own Qin (who was also dancing during the Senior Batch Anniversary) to a Hindustan beat. Despite not being able to change clothes in the blink of an eye like Hindustan people do so often on TV, they were convincing enough, and we loved them nonetheless.

And with the last performance behind us, we were led on to the photography session, were all us naive juniors gathered outside the walkaway on the right side of Saad Square, posing and showing as much teeth in our smiles as humanly possible. It was to the sound of 'CHEEEESE' that we recieved our 'rewards' from above (the second floor).

The reward came in the form of pails of detergent water. Lots of it.

So the seniors weren't that merciful after all. But frankly said, after what the Diamond juniors had to go through, we didn't feel so bad. At least, being doused in detergent water saves us from having to do any actual washing. Those 'clever' juniors who managed to evade the water were given an even better reward- a free trip into the fountain in the center of Saad Square. So we all got wet, one way or another.

In the end, it got me thinking of everything. Samurai, limboing into the Great Hall for the Garnet House initiation, dousing us with pails of detergent water, making us write love notes to people we barely knew, getting involved with all of these wacky traditions only make us feel more and more like we belong here, and if I'm not mistaken, you people have got loads more in store for us. (what's this about trees and birthdays?)

To be honest, I can't wait. Bring it on.