Chapter 5 - Crisis 1
Chapter 5 - Crisis 1
Even before the education reformation happened in the country, Co-curriculum had been an important part of the education system.
The government and learning institutions in the country took this matter seriously and even made that the criteria to enroll in a University would rely on the student's co-curriculum activities even if the major they chose was unrelated to the co-curriculum activities.
After the reformation happened, it was now mandatory for every Form 4 to Form 6 student to participate in any co-curriculum club and at least participate in three events organized by the club.
It was not a mandatory activity before and even if one was part of the club, without participating in anything would be fine too.
Moreover, the University selection was not that strict either. As long as the student had a good academic result with a certificate that they were part of a club, that was enough.
It was different now that they needed the certificate that they were a member of the club and three other certificates to prove that they were active in the club too.
There were two different types of clubs. The first type was non-sports clubs such as the reading club, stamp club, and art club. The second type was sports clubs such as football club, hockey club, and silat club.
No matter if it was a physical activity or not, as long as the club was registered and approved by the school, it was considered a co-curriculum club.
Co-curriculum activities were usually done after school. It could be every day or every few days depending on the club.
Usually, the co-curriculum activities would start from 3 pm until 5 pm or 6 pm. Classes would usually start from 8 am to at least 2 pm for secondary school and after that would be the co-curriculum activities.
However, since it was the first day of school, the school bent the rules a bit and let the class ends at 11 am after all the important stuff was handled properly. After that, the clubs could start promoting and recruiting new students.
"It's almost 11. I heard that we can choose our club after this," Basir spoke.
"You are right. The school did this when I was in Form 1 too but at that time it was not mandatory to participate in one. Now that we are in Form 4, we need to take this seriously," Akmal replied.
"What club were you in before?" Basir asked.
"I am not in any but because of that, the school assigned me to the reading club. I only participated a few times to show my face but never involved too much in it," Akmal replied.
"Are we joining the reading club then?" he asked again.
"I plan on doing that," Akmal replied.
"I don't want to join any sports club…" Basir mumbled.
Akmal glanced at Basir and understood why he had that plan. For someone big and chubby like him, it was understandable that he rarely exercises, or perhaps, he never exercises at all.
"There are many non-sports clubs. Even if we cannot get into reading clubs, there are others around," Akmal spoke.
His views on sports were neutral. He did not love it nor he hated it. Although he did not exercise a lot, he did go for a jog once a week.
*Ring*
The school bell rang and it was time for Form 4 to Form 6 students to rest. Akmal and Basir went to the canteen together to buy some food.
On the way there, they saw senior students preparing to promote their clubs. Some of them did it in front of the classes while some opened a small tent for that.
They decorated the promotion area with banners, posters, and brochures.
The duo arrived at the canteen and queued in the line to buy food. Akmal bought Malaysia's national dish, Nasi Lemak.
Since it was the school canteen, the Nasi Lemak was not special. It was the basic white coconut rice with a quarter of soft-boiled egg with a slice of a cucumber and the fiery red sambal.
Akmal did not add anything else and bought mineral water. He preferred plain water to sweet juices or sweet water.
As for Basir, he bought a Nasi Lemak added with fried chicken and a sunny-side egg. More to that, he also bought a few types of Malaysian traditional desert, the kuihs.
He bought Karipap, Doughnuts, Lepat Pisang, Seri Muka, and Kaswi. He also bought two bottles of sweet drinks. One was the carbonated grape drinks and the other was the orange-flavored cultured drink.
Akmal looked at Basir speechlessly. "Aren't you eating too much? Won't you get a stomachache from eating all of this?"
"Hmm? I usually eat more than this but because I am not familiar with this school's canteen, I only bought a few of them to get a taste of it. I am afraid it is not delicious," Basir replied matter-of-factly.
"..." Akmal decided to not say more.
The duo found a seat and started eating. They also surveyed around to see what other clubs were interesting
"I will definitely join an eating club… if there is one," Basir spoke.
"There is a cooking club in this school. The Seniors Cooking Club is better than during our Junior years," Akmal spoke.
(A/N: I will be referring to Form 1 to Form 3 as Junior High while Form 4 to Form 6 students as Senior High starting from this chapter)
"I am into eating but not cooking…" Basir replied.
"Since you like eating, maybe you have a cooking talent too," Akmal added.
"I don't think so. Good at eating does not mean good at cooking too. Maybe I have a talent for tasting? I do have experience in tasting many kinds of food," Basir replied.
"Whatever," Akmal was too lazy to speak more. The duo continued eating and once in a while discussed their plan.
A few minutes later, they finished eating but had to rest a bit because Basir ate too much. He belched quite a lot too.
As they were resting, the other students started applying and surveying the clubs.
Fifteen minutes later, they decided to go too. Akmal and Basir walked around but they did not register yet.
They decided to look at the clubs first before they made a decision. Since both of them had no intention to join any sports club, they did not even look at them.
It was then that Basir's face suddenly frowned.
"What's wrong?" Akmal asked.
"...I need to take a dump…" Basir replied.
"..." Akmal did not know how to reply to that. Akmal escorted Basir to the nearest toilet but they were full and Basir could not hold on much.
Thus, they went to a more secluded toilet.
"I told you not to eat too much earlier," Akmal spoke from outside the toilet.
"It is the cultured drink's fault!" Basir shouted. Since Basir had too much to let go, it took them almost half an hour in the toilet.
After that, the duo did not continue their surveys but decided to go with their first choice, the reading club.
The reason for choosing the reading club? Akmal was a member of the club during his Junior High while Basir wanted to sit in the air conditioner room. The reading club's frequent location would be the library and that was one of the places in the school with an air conditioner.
With Malaysia's hot and humid weather all year round, it was understandable why Basir's reason was the air conditioner.
So, they went to register at the reading club.
"We are sorry, the club is full," the senior student responsible for registration spoke while smiling.
"WHAT?!!" Basir was shocked.