Friends Forever

The first thing that everyone, including me, noticed when the new student entered the classroom was how short she was. At thirteen years of age, every one of us was at least above four feet tall. But she was barely four feet. This was because her legs ended at her knees.

            There were sniggers and whispers as our form teacher, Mrs Raja, introduced the new student, Su Lee, to us. I neither sniggered nor whispered for I, too, was handicapped, but in a much lesser degree compared to her. I was born with an extra finger on each hand, a condition known as polydactyly.

            “You’ve got twelve fingers.”

            I tried to conceal my hands under the table after she said that. When she saw what I did, a look of horror appeared on her face.

           “No! No! That’s not what I meant! I’m sorry, but what I wanted to say was that, I think that’s cool, having twelve fingers.”

            I tried to think of something nice to say, but all I could do was stare at her legs.

            “Please don’t feel bad for me. Promise me that you won’t.”

            “Okay, I promise.”

            And that was how our friendship began. We found out that we had much in common. The both of us had an unusual thirst for knowledge and a knack for languages. Very soon, we became firm friends and spent large amounts of time together.

            When Su Lee first arrived at our school, she required the assistance of a female teacher to help her move around. A wheelchair was impractical given the fact that our school was not wheelchair accessible. When I started to notice that this arrangement was becoming inconvenient for both Su Lee and the teachers, I volunteered to carry her.

             One day, as we were making our way to the canteen with Su Lee on my back, we stumbled upon Amelia and her gang. They were standing right in the middle of the corridor, blocking our path.

            “Excuse me, could you please let us through?”

            “Hey, it’s the two freaks, one carrying the other. They almost look like twins, joined together!”

            After Amelia finished her sentence, they broke into laughter.

            “Please let us through,” I said with greater vehemence.

            “So what if we don’t? Actually, I’ll let you through. But you have to crawl between my legs.”

            They laughed again. I tried to step away from the corridor, but one of them promptly planted herself in front of me, blocking my way. When I attempted to force my way through, someone shoved me. Su Lee and I fell. Their cruel laughter rang loud and clear in my ears as we tumbled onto the hard cement floor.

            “WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?”

            We looked up to see Mr Chin standing at the end of the corridor with arms akimbo. Before he could say another word, Amelia and her gang of bullies bolted from the scene. Mr Chin walked over and asked if we were hurt. Apart from some bruises, Su Lee and I were fine. I lifted her onto my back and resumed our walk towards the canteen. My bruised knees were aching by the time we reached the canteen. I rubbed them with my palms after helping Su Lee to sit down.

            “I’m sorry.”

            “For what?”

            “For what happened just now.”

            “But it wasn’t your fault!”

            “If you weren’t carrying me, you could have avoided being pushed. I…”

            “Su Lee, don’t be silly. I decided to carry you. It was my decision. And it wasn’t your fault that Amelia and her friends are nasty individuals. You must be hungry. What would you like to eat and drink today?”

            “So you don’t think I’m a burden to you?”

            “No, of course not! Come on, what would you like today?”

            “I’ll have whatever you’re having.”

            “Okay!”

            As we were tucking into our fried rice, I noticed that tears were flowing down Su Lee’s face. When I put down the wooden chopsticks and asked her what was wrong, she wrapped her arms around me and started sobbing.

            “Thank you so much, Daisy. Thank you so much for being my friend.”

            “I will always be here for you. Even if I have to fall down a million times, I will gladly do it for you because we are friends forever.”

Novel Question: A memorable event and how it affects one of the characters

In Catch Us If You Can, a memorable event that affects one of the characters in the story is when Rory helps Granda to escape from Rachnadar, a home for the aged. After taking his Granda out from Rachnadar, Rory decides to escape from the town where they both lived.

Their escape takes them to various locations and they encounter many people who assist them. Rory learns valuable lessons from these people. For instance, Rory learns about compassion and kindness from Sammy and Ruby’s family. From Rab, Annie and Norma, Rory learns that there exist people in this world who would go to great lengths to help others. When Norma reports Rory and Granda to the police, she does so out of the kindness of her heart and not out of malice. As a result, Rory is not only touched but also grateful.

In addition, Rory’s life has changed for the better when he and his Granda are reunited with Rory’s father. Now, Rory not only has a father, he also has a stepmother and two stepsisters.

Before their escape, Rory was concerned about the welfare of his Granda and the former cannot lead a normal life of a young, growing boy. At the end of the story, however, Rory’s life has improved as there are certain services provided for the elderly. Because of this, Rory can lead a normal life like the rest of his schoolmates. All these positive changes would not have occurred if Rory had not helped his Granda to escape from Rachnadar.

           

The Rhino

Note: This essay can be used for any type of question that requires you to write about a person who has made a strong impression on you, or someone you admire.

I can still remember clearly the day I first met The Rhino. I had recently obtained my driving licence, and it was the first time that I was driving my father’s car. It was a two decade-old Honda Civic. I was on my way home from school when I noticed some sort of commotion near my house. I still don’t know why I did what I did, but I parked the car and went down to have a closer look.

                The crowd became larger as I approached. I pushed my way to the front and saw an elderly man being shouted at by two younger men. The elderly man kept his head down as the men continued to hurl abuses at him. I noticed that the old man was holding an empty pail in each hand, one red and the other blue. I heard someone said that the old man had put out the flames of some burning rubbish and he was being scolded for it. I decided to intervene when one of the men started shoving the old man.

                I lied to the men that the old man was my uncle. Knowing that it was pointless to argue with them, I apologised profusely instead. Fortunately, they relented but not before trying to reason with me that what the old man did was wrong. Honestly, I didn’t care. I only wanted to get him out of there before the situation became worse.

                I led the old man to my car and surprisingly, he did not protest. As I started the car, the crowd slowly dispersed. My parents were away on vacation so I decided to take him home. On the way, I stopped by at a restaurant and bought lunch for the two of us. After lunch, I found out more about The Rhino.

                “So why did you put out the fire?”

                “Don’t these people read the newspapers? Don’t they know how polluted the air is? Right now it is so hazy and yet these stupid people are still burning rubbish! Don’t they know? Don’t they know that they’re poisoning the air? If they enjoy open burning so much, maybe they should try burning their own house instead!”

                There was great passion in his words and they made me feel guilty. After all, I was supposed to be the educated one, and yet, what have I done to preserve the environment? Certainly, I have written numerous essays but those were merely done to obtain a grade in school. It was different for The Rhino. He turned his ideas into action.

                I later found out that he did more than just extinguish open fires. Using broken branches and rocks, he fashioned warning signs for potholes on the roads.

                “It’s dangerous. I’ve heard that someone had died as a result of riding his motorcycle over a large pothole. If the municipal council doesn’t care, I’ll do whatever I can so that fewer people will die needlessly because of a stupid hole on the road!”

                This was how I found a friend in The Rhino. I would buy him lunch on weekdays and on weekends, he refused to see me because he insisted that I spend the time with my parents.

                “Your parents are not getting any younger. You should spend more time with them. I’m just an old man nobody cares about.”

                “Except for me. You’re the coolest old man I know!”

                He smiled and continued eating.

                I soon left for Canada to further my studies after acquiring my SPM results. In order to lessen the burden on my parents, my first trip home was two years later. I tried looking for my friend The Rhino, but failed to see any sign of him. I still find myself thinking about him whenever I pass that spot where I first met him. Perhaps he has gone to a better place, a place where there is no open burning and the environment is unpolluted.

Notice

I will be in class until ten this evening. Once I'm home, I will post several more novel questions. Stay tuned! In the meantime, you might want to use Google to dig for some essay material.

Novel Question: A Message that You Have Learned

                The message that I have learned from Catch Us If You Can is that we must be grateful. There are several parts of the story where I obtained this message. For instance, Rory is an extremely filial grandchild who makes many sacrifices in order to look after his grandfather. The main reason that Rory does this is because he remembers how his grandfather used to make toffee apples for him, put up Christmas trees and carry him on his shoulders during football matches. Rory also appreciates the fact that his Granda loves him very much, even though one day, the latter throws away his homework unintentionally. Despite the fact that Granda can be a bit of a troublemaker, Rory continues to take care of him and even helps him to escape from the dreaded home for the elderly, Rachnadar.

                Another instance when I learned that we must be grateful is when Rory and his Granda are helped by others. Darren Fisher helps Rory because he appreciates Rory. Although Rory did not want Mrs Foley to help him, he appreciates her concern. The people who helped Rory and his Granda include Sammy and his family, Rab as well as Norma and Nicola. Rory is extremely thankful for the help that he received from these people. The people who helped them are also grateful that such a young boy like Rory can be so matured in his thought and actions. Therefore, I have learned from the novel that being grateful is important in life.

Novel Question: Main Theme

The main theme of Catch Us If You Can by Catherine MacPhail is the challenge of growing up and learning about the importance of responsibility. Without a father or a mother, Rory has to grow up fast and burden the responsibility of taking care of his ageing grandfather who is gradually becoming senile.

                This is a big responsibility for Rory and he tries his best to perform his duty as a filial grandchild. The truth is, he performs his duty wholeheartedly. For instance, he saves his Granda from setting himself on fire and being a danger to himself and others. He also makes a decision to rescue his Granda from Rachnadar, a home for the aged, when he realises that the latter is not unhappy at all being there.

                Unlike other boys his age, Rory has not time to play football because he gives it up to take care of his Granda. He also rushes home after school so that he can buy lunch for his Granda. In addition, he hides his Granda’s pipe in order to discourage the latter from smoking. Apart from this, Rory ensures that his Granda takes his medications on time and behaves properly in public.

                During their adventure, Rory placed great importance on the welfare of his Granda, and every decision was responsibly made. For a boy his age, this is outstanding, as most boys his age would not have been able to cope with the problems.