I... I almost forgot just how friendly Salopians are. The hugs, the handshakes and the how-are-you's. The hellos, the goodbyes. Of course nobody from my year was there, except Lan, who by choice stayed back a year. But wow, the lower years, it's great to feel so welcome by them. I forgot how much I miss them, not just the people from my year. Nick Lawley now has a brother in the third form that looks absolutely just like him, just a tad bit smaller. How that is possible – since Nick is tiny – is beyond me. Stanley, the dog, still remembers me, though he barked at me initially with the familiar ferocity usually directed at strangers.
Did I not tell you? I visited Shrewsbury for a day trip to get all of my remaining stuff. Which was all junk. I went with Ajeeratul, who was off one stop further at Gobowen for Oswestry.
Well, I have now.
Going back to school was surreal. The whole place was familiar and strange at the same time. It felt like this was a fragment of my life that has passed, yet the familiarity and warmth of it just broke my heart. This school was a part of my life for two years, and it is now a part of who I am. The people made it that way. They forced it onto me. The laughs, the banter. The nights of recklessness. The crazy things we did, and none I regretted. The idle hours and the hectic minutes. I've made friends here, and I'll remember them. Now I'll never see a lot of these wonderful people. That's the most heartbreaking thing, the most heartbreaking goodbye I've ever said.
Having lived in Brunei for most of my life before, it was easy to bump into old friends. Just go to The Mall. But no, not the friends from Shrewsbury. There's no universal Mall where we all hang out. Each and every one of us will be in different parts of England. York, London, Newcastle, Birmingham, Oxford. All over.
The only guy from my house and year I've met is Geo, who lives in Wimbledon, London. I brought him to Cikgu Ismah's open house, and he absolutely loved the Bruneian food. Though I was a vegetarian, I still knew which food to recommend to him, and he ate them all up with enthusiasm.
He still couldn't believe that there's such a thing as rose syrup (bandung).
Today has been an emotional day.
Signing out
Over and out
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