Mission Accomplished

It was roughly 12.45 in the afternoon. The oppressive silence was murderous. As we all held our hands in prayers, our opponent sat coolly behind us, watching. And there we were, expecting the worst, yet hoping for the best.

Barely hours ago, we were running around the hall. No, not training for the running events, but warming up. And we reached Yuk Chai at 10.30 to calm ourselves down. After some light-hearted chat in the canteen, we smuggled ourselves to a quiet corner not far from the canteen to warm up. After that, we made our panicky way up to the auditorium to test out the stage.

Nicholas banged his head on the speaker on the way down, which, as everyone speculates, caused a little "mental havoc" in his head temporarily. He was the only one "dancing on his chair" before we went onstage. He affected Foo Wai too, who was sitting next to him. At least we had 2 clowns around to keep us from gearing ourselves into full panic mode. Plus, Nicholas was 2 seats from me (next to Shoen-Wei [oh, no! I can't spell her name!]) while Foo Wai was 3 seats away (Both were on my left).

We sang around 11.35. The whole performance was so intense that I think I actually entered a trance-like state whereby I can't think or remember anything else other than the present moment.

After our performance (no more Nicholases were hurt throughout the entire competition), we went back to our seats and bit our nails while listening to the others. In the end, after many complicated invitations.......*drum rolls*, it was the moment of truth.

The 3rd to 6th places were announced. The biggest shock was when CHS was announced 2nd runner-up. That only left Bandar Utama 4 and us.

Everyone held each other by the hands and closed their eyes. The silence in the auditorium was deafening. The emcee, Mr Eugene, was mean enough to keep the suspension going on for a long time.

Who will win?

Well, we proudly bring back the news that today, on the Thursday of the 30th of April 2009, the forms 3-5 of Damansara Jaya 2009 managed to break free from a 7-year chain which restricted our choir team from championing the Petaling Utama district. At last. After SEVEN YEARS.

Yes, scream and shout!!! We won!!!!

You should have seen our reaction when they announced Bandar Utama 4 (BU4) as the runner-up. That could only mean that we won!! Everyone had delayed reactions, since we weren't expecting something like this.

Initially, we thought we would lose to Catholic High School (CHS) and Bandar Utama 4. But when they announced the 3rd place to be CHS, we thought we had a chance, mainly because BU4 wasn't that suicidal in their first song. Their "Phantom of the Opera", however, was quite hair-raising for the first few moments. They later sank to a less scary performance.

While I'm trying to get the videos from those who have recorded the whole thing (The first time I did not bring a camera to a competition. How pathetic), I might as well say random things.

Firstly, we were "unlucky" enough to fish for the first performance TWICE while balloting. Twice because one of our students balloted on behalf of Pn Cecilia. When Pn Cecilia sensed we got the first performance, she decided to ballot herself. Voila! It came out as number ONE again. While most saw it as an omen, some thought it would be a setback as we would be all "tensed up". We were just told in the bus by Pn Cecilia (and reinforced by Keefe) that the only word in our vocabulary throughout the whole event (except our lyrics) was to be "ONE". So, let us be [number] one from all aspects.

Miss Tracy told us to set a high standard, since we were the first school to kickstart the competition. We're not quite sure how we did in the end either, since none of us saw the video yet. We have yet to hear Miss Tracy's comments on Monday's practice anyway. Altogether, it proved that we DID manage to hold the benchmark high enough. Hooray!!

The most interesting random facts is that the BU1 people thought our uniform was "kinky". Actually, they didn't mean to tell that right in our faces. They said that to Zi Ying, who was a reserve and therefore wasn't wearing our "kinky" uniform. According to her, the conversation went something to the lines of these:

[Unidentified BU1 girl]
[Zi Ying]

Hello. Which school are you from?
DJ.
Oh, okay. Have you seen that school over there, that one with the kinky uniform?
What kinky uniform?
The group that's wearing all black. (Geez, she makes us sound so morbid. It's actually DARK BLUE, missy.....)
*Whispers urgently to Jhia Yim, then turns back to the girl* Oh.....oops.......I think that's us.
Oh. Alright. *Looks really disgusted and walks away*

When we heard that we won, everyone screamed like mad people. Zi Ying took this opportunity to scream at the BU1 students, "IN YOUR FACE!! (Suckers!!)".

Oh, everyone cried while jumping like rabbits. I think this is the first time I've ever truly hugged anyone, especially bear-hugging. I admit I was so overcame with emotion that I actually hugged so many people, even including the guys. What a rare phenomenon. Wait, actually this is the first time. Wow, I sound so cold. It's like I've never hugged anyone before. Oh well, it was a great feeling anyway, being able to hug someone knowing that you've achieved your dreams. Zi Ying was strong enough to carry me up and swing me around.

Heh, I see we've risen up to DJ's debating and cheerleading reputation. The doors are opening up, at last.

As Jessica puts it, "Keep up the good work!"

The ambiguous details point that maybe, just maybe, the state levels could clash with our mid-term examinations. Unlike the other genius, Mel, I'd be glad to skip mid-term to compete for the state. But then again, the "details" were given by a so-called inefficient lady. Bleh.

Famous quotes from choir members (stolen from Zi Ying's blog):

If Zi Ying could, I'm sure she would jump down the second tier the moment the results were announced. -Mel-
Nicholas banged his head and went nuts. -Liiyung-
You coconut! Where are my shoes?! Why did you take my shoes?! -Nicholas-*said to Zi Ying*
It has been a "long" journey. -Keefe-
We'd better make it into Nationals so that the boys can wear their black shirts. -Rachel-
We are the first team to go up, the team who got first, and the last team standing here waiting for our bus. -Pn. Cecilia-





Note to self: In case I look back on these picture decades later, I'm the one standing in the last row, fourth from left.

Seafield up next!