[upon entering the spinning studio, i was amazed to see people in action already]
es: “gee… hey what time did this class start?”
guy on bike, spinning and puffing: “12”
es: “HUH??? it’s supposed to start at 1245! it’s only 1240, i’m early!”
gun on bike: “1245 was yesterday”
es: “WHAT?? SHITE. i thought today’s tuesday!”
[climbs onto bike, clumsily adjusts the height of the seat while simmering in embarrassment.]
instructor: “hi, i just want to tell you i’m not actually supposed to let you join the class if you’re late. but it’s alright.”
es: “yeah i’m so sorry, i thought i was early, tuesday, 1245…” (obviously not making sense while trying to explain)
so all though the spinning class, or whatever’s left of it, i was brought back to my NTU days, when i took Lumpston’s lit class in NIE…
———————
[cheesy visual swirl, denoting the travel back in time]
es, strolls into class 10mins late with dripping wet hair and sits down.
prof: “hi, where were you?”
es: “oh, i went swimming.”
prof: “ok can you please leave the class now.”
es: “HUH???” (perplexed and confused, i started to pack my bag to leave, wondering why on earth was i penalised for being only 10mins late)
es, whispering to friend: “what’s wrong with him? i’m only 10mins late!”
friend of es: “no you’re not, you’re an hour and 10mins late!”
es: “oh gawd, SHITE…”
friend of es: “sir, she thought the class starts at 2pm.”
prof: “is that so?”
es: [nods profusely]
prof: “in that case, it’s a misunderstanding. you may stay.”
es: [slouches really deep into chair while the rest of the class remains amused]
———————
sigh, i really have an issue with time.
With the team, Esther went on to climb and summit mountains in far-flung corners of the world, including Mt Aylmer (2,699m) in New Zealand; Mera Peak (6,476m) in Nepal; Er Feng (5,276m) in China; Mustagh Ata (7,546m) in Central Asia, and Mt Everest (8,850m) in Nepal.