The Class Picnic
Ning Hing Mak, Group 3: Fiction, TMCC Holm Glad College Secondary School
riing Briing! Briing Briing!" my alarm clock was ringing. I wiped the sleep from my eyes to
check the clock. It said 8.00 a.m. How can that be? I set it at 6.00 a.m. I was so sure!!!
I jumped out of bed and checked the other clocks in my home - sure enough 8.00 a.m. -
already too late to arrive at school in time for the coach for the school picnic.
No time to shower or even think of what to wear. I just dived into my dirty uniform
and raced out of the flat after grabbing in my hand the remains of yesterday's stale sandwich to stuff into my
mouth as I raced past my mother, yelling at her on the way to the door to phone the school and tell them I'll
meet them at the country park.
Then I ran to the bus stop and had to wait a long long time, well 10 minutes, which seems like a long
long time when you're running late.
It was 9.00 a.m when I arrived at Sai Kung country park. I could see my classmates had already arrived
so hurried to greet them. An almost unrecognisable man approached me, red faced and with large angry dark
eyes. Oh, it was my class teacher, Mr Choi. "Why are you late?" he shouted at me. "I forgot to set the alarm on
my telephone clock!" I explained. Though it wasn't quite the truth, it was close enough. I didn't want him to
think I was an idiot for setting my clock at the wrong time. He then exclaimed fiercely, "If you are late again,
you will get ICU." The threat of a one hour detention after school didn't faze me. It's happened many times
before, usually because I am a careless and forgetful girl. So, feeling relieved, I said, "Okay!" Maybe I should
have apologized to make Mr Choi feel happier, but I didn't think to do so at that moment.
Anyway, I soon forgot about Mr Choi as my best friend, Sally, came up to me and invited me to play
volleyball. Other friends also soon joined us in our game. Afterwards, we happily started to prepare for our BBQ.
I had forgotten to bring the food, but my friends kindly offered to share theirs with me - and there was plenty of
food to go around. I was just starting to enjoy the chicken wings, when I came to realise something strange - the
delicious smell of chicken was being gradually overtaken by a smell of smoke.
I looked up to see a tree not far away from us, on fire. My friends saw this at the same time as me, and
at the same time we all jumped up and shouted "Fire! Fire!" Soon, the fire spread from the tree to the grass
below. I was terrified that I would die. Thoughts of the infamous Pat Sin Leng Hill fire in 1996 suddenly came
to me, as our picnic was at the exact same place. All I could think about were the two teachers and three
students who died, and the 13 other students and other teachers who were injured. How did I know about the Pat
Sin Leng Hill fire considering it happened before I was born? Well, recently, at school, we had a composition to
write on that event after watching the video online called "Hong Kong Spirit Ambassadors" which featured
seven outstanding young people, one of whom, Cheung Yun Hang Stanley, was injured in the fire. He lost most
of his skin, some of his fingers and most of his hearing in one ear. As we ran to safety, Stanley Cheung was on
my mind and I feared the worst.
But unlike Stanley Cheung and his classmates and teachers, we were lucky and found a safe place. The
fire we had didn't spread very far before the fire fighters arrived and put it out. Thankfully, we had had rain
recently, so maybe that was why we were saved. I will never know why, as much as I will never know how the
fire started. Fate? Whatever the reason we were saved, I feel thankful for that, but at the same time continue to
be inspired by Stanley Cheung who was ill-fated but continued bravely in spite of all his set-backs.
We realise now how precious life is, and how easily and unexpectedly it could all end. Not only have I
and my friends changed through this experience, but so has Mr Choi. He knew we could all die and shared this
feeling with us. We didn't realise before how much he really cared about us. Since then, he has become less
angry and more caring. As for me, I have become more thoughtful to others and less concerned about small
things, such as late buses and school detentions. Also, I hope to become a little bit braver in the face of adversity.
That's what success means to me now.
* * *
“
B