On her first day of Primary 1 at Tao Nan School, Kate Tan was told by her form teacher to hold hands with one Joel Yang, who would remain her “class partner” until they were in Primary 6.
It was “yucky”, laughs Kate, now 30 and an e-commerce strategist with Publicis Media. “We had to hold hands while crossing the road and going around school. I remember not wanting to hold his hand, so we held pinkies instead.”
For the next six years, the two tolerated each other – albeit unwillingly.
“We were never invited to each other’s birthday parties, and were polar opposites. He was quite a rascal in school, didn’t get his homework done and was always being sent outside by the teacher,” recalls Kate.
Joel remembers her as very boisterous, engaging, sociable… and tall.
As it turns out, their teacher – who was also Joel’s grandaunt – might have made a better match than even she realised. But that wouldn’t be clear for quite a while yet. After the PSLE exams were done, the two lost touch.
Over the years, Kate organised a number of primary school reunions to which Joel never showed up. Then, in 2013, Joel decided to link up with old friends, and began to organise his own reunion via Facebook. He sent her a friend request, and she accepted.
She recognised him right away. “Honestly, people’s faces don’t change very much as they age, (he) still looked the same,” she says.
Joel “totally recognised her” too when they met up. She hadn’t changed very much either – “she was still tall, loud, and unabashed,” he laughs.
More at https://sg.yahoo.com/style/singapor...tand-throughout-primary-school-061924021.html
It was “yucky”, laughs Kate, now 30 and an e-commerce strategist with Publicis Media. “We had to hold hands while crossing the road and going around school. I remember not wanting to hold his hand, so we held pinkies instead.”
For the next six years, the two tolerated each other – albeit unwillingly.
“We were never invited to each other’s birthday parties, and were polar opposites. He was quite a rascal in school, didn’t get his homework done and was always being sent outside by the teacher,” recalls Kate.
Joel remembers her as very boisterous, engaging, sociable… and tall.
As it turns out, their teacher – who was also Joel’s grandaunt – might have made a better match than even she realised. But that wouldn’t be clear for quite a while yet. After the PSLE exams were done, the two lost touch.
Over the years, Kate organised a number of primary school reunions to which Joel never showed up. Then, in 2013, Joel decided to link up with old friends, and began to organise his own reunion via Facebook. He sent her a friend request, and she accepted.
She recognised him right away. “Honestly, people’s faces don’t change very much as they age, (he) still looked the same,” she says.
Joel “totally recognised her” too when they met up. She hadn’t changed very much either – “she was still tall, loud, and unabashed,” he laughs.
More at https://sg.yahoo.com/style/singapor...tand-throughout-primary-school-061924021.html