There was one morning in September 1976, our year 6 homeroom teacher walked in with a new boy. His name was Tran Sinh Duc. (陈称德) He got introduced to us and sat next with my friend Tong Tieng Hung (董进兴). He was a neat looking boy unlike our clothes which was never ironed. All the girls eyed on him and said he was so handsome. I didn’t pay too much attention on the opposite sex at that time. During recess, most of the girls in the class surrounded him just like bees see honey. I was annoyed when my best friend Hua Sieu Kim (许秀金) joined the group of girls. During one lesson in Mathematics, Tong Tieng Hung used a rubber band slingshot to fire some paper made bullets over to the girls’ side. It went passed me and I couldn’t resisted not to return one. So I fired a paper slingshot back to the boys’ side. (In our class, boys sit on the left-hand side and girls sit on the right-hand side.) It went straight to Tran Sinh Duc’s right ear. He wailed out loud and our maths’ teacher, Thay Quang, turned around and asked what happened. He said nothing but with tears in his eyes. All boys thought he was a softy. I went to him after recess and said sorry. He looked at me with dismay expression. That afternoon, I told my childhood friend Phuoc about Tran Sinh Duc. Most of my conversation was on him until Phuoc got sick of it. From then on we greeted each other every morning and I started to notice him. He sure was handsome. I was not the top of the class in Maths but somehow our Maths teacher asked me to assist Tran Sinh Duc. He was a fast learner. He picked things up quickly.
The same year Hua Sieu Kim organized a Christmas party at her house. I got invited. I was excited when I found out that he was going too. When I got there, somehow I got to sit next to him and exchanged gifts with him. I was thrilled. We had a great time. I think I was in love with him. When our eyes met, his face blushed and had a sweet smile. The party went well until my brother-in-law banged on the door. My mum sent him to pick me up early. I got so furious and told him off. That was the last time I’ve seen him. Hua Sieu Kim told me he escaped Vietnam after the party and never heard from him.
