Marco Wong

Creative writing

The bright boiling Sun scorching the world, flaming fire raining down from the sky,

leaves hanging down, melting on the branches. And me, I was a schoolboy trapped in an oven

with no escape, suffering and drowning to death in the heatwaves of the summer term.

I slowly walked down to the tennis court, carrying my sleepiness and my exhausting

legs, feeling like a zombie dragging my limbs to stop me going. I stopped at once, bent down

like an old person and kneeled to tie my shoelaces. All in a sudden, I heard a deep flat voice

behind me. “You're going to be late, hurry up boy!” shouted by my dearest PE teacher.

Straightaway, the typical fake smile was on my face. The one I’d already worn a trillion times

before deep down in my heart. I nodded my head and replied with a simply 'yea' to maintain

my reputation between teachers as the ‘good but quiet kid’. I speeded up my pace unwillingly

and followed the footsteps of my teacher, exactly like what a teacher’s pet would do,

powerless and pathetic.

Ten yards away from the tennis court, I could already sense the stinky hormones

consuming the air and I could tell that I had finally arrived without even looking at it.

Immediately, my inner peace was torn apart into pieces like a paper, and a distinct contrast

was formed between me and the chaotic noise from the crowd. I was horrified and disgusted

by the terrible flies and bugs fluttering around the musty equipment. I stared desperately at

the sky and my eyes, brain and heart were already dead inside, wondering what’s the point of

attending lessons, of going to school, of my life…

“Hey, do you want to sneak away?” My friend whispered to me in a conspiratorial

tone. I looked up and as usual, he was in his cluttered hair and disheveled clothes, as he just

got out of bed, giving out the vibe of a teenager in his rebellious stage.

“What do you mean?” I replied confusedly.

 He raised his eyebrows, wore his sinister smile on his face and looked at me with his

cocky eyes. “Of course, I meant skipping lesson. I know you hate PE the most, don’t tell me

that you’re going to stay?”

I held the ball that I despised the most in my palm, sweat drizzling down my back and

asked my friend uncertainly, “won’t the teachers scold us?”

“We can just sneak out from the side door of the sports hall while the teacher is not

paying attention to us. I have done this many times and no one finds out, so don’t worry!” He

said confidently, just like an expert.

I stood there and hesitated, literally having no clue of what I should do. This was the

fight where my tiredness and hatefulness were against my conscience, it was a battle between

the demon and the angel. My brain was exploding as I understood the consequences of

skipping but I was also convinced by my friend, putting me on the spot of solving the trolley

problem. What should I have done? The same question was wandering around my head over

and over again. Should I stay here to avoid getting myself into the detention? Or should I

leave this torturing jail? My focus was lost, and I zoned out. For a moment, everything

around me fell silent, embraced by a serene stillness, no movement, no sound and no

interruption of the air was found as the world was holding its breath.

Suddenly, my friend slapped on my shoulder vigorously, said hastily and anxiously,

“Let’s go! The teacher is looking at his phone now, it’s now or never! It’s now or never!” He

repeated himself to make sure I heard him. In a split second, he started running towards the

front door at his full speed, leaving me alone. My mind went blank, vacant and empty, but

under the peer pressure, it turned the whole table around for the devil, my frustration had

taken the lead, and I began running right away — the good side doesn’t always win.

Running on the broad road alongside with trees that were bursting with new spring

growth, soaring pigeons spreading their wings wide, gliding through the boundless patches of
blue sky, and wind blowing upon my face, rushing through my hair. For the first time, I smelt

the refreshing air of freedom, freed from the cruel and ruthless world. I smiled brightly,

breathing every single air molecule in, enjoying everything surrounding me and my face

blushed. Not because of the heat, but of the excitement, the joyfulness and the victory. At that

moment, all my pain, stress and oppression had vanished in that magnificent magical world.

Relieved.

And yet, I wouldn’t forget to look back to check if we had been discovered. I looked

at the other imprisoned inmates, and watched them being submerged in the lava, tortured by

the warden and trapped in the never-ending nightmare. I felt like like I’ve betrayed them,

piercing through their heart and shattering their trust with a dagger. Their sorrowful eyes,

pale faces, and miserable looks were speaking to me directly, crawling towards me, waiting

to be rescued. I wanted to help, but I couldn’t. Knowing where I would end up, I couldn’t go

back and surrender. I just couldn’t. All I could do was continue running, escaping this place

of confinement and live on.

‘Beep’ a sharp, high-pitched sound coming out from a far distance, out of the god

damn whistle, catapulting me back to the reality, pulling me out from my fantasy. We turned

our head nervously and gazed hopelessly at each other's eyes. “Shit!”

I was still in the PE lesson…