I’m sure that most of you aren’t good with
goodbyes, parting ways with friends that we have known for a long time. From
strangers to housemates; from parallel lifelines
to intercepting lifelines. We dine together, laugh and cry together; we share our
thoughts and problems together, overcome obstacles together. But no matter how,
the parting will happen when the time has come.
27 April 2014, we held our annual leavers’
night for the leavers this year. They put themselves on their best dinner
outfits, hoping to have the most fabulous night. Their vivacious laughter and
voices echoed in the common room when we were waiting for the bus. It’s hard to
accept the fact that after summer holidays, these won’t be there anymore.
It was raining cats and dogs. It was the
sky mourning for their loss.
After an hour of travelling by bus, we
finally arrived at the Bangi Putrajaya Hotel. Awaiting us was a delicious
buffet with scrumptious desserts which had us drooling at the sight of those
gastronomical delights. We gave the leavers our handmade cards, an envelope
with their group photo in it and chocolates as souvenirs. It was glad to see
that we successfully put a smile on their faces.
We kick started the night with our dearest
Housemistress, Ms Angie’s speech. It was one of the most memorable speeches
given as she confessed that this was one of the best batches for 5i and Upper
Sixth that she has ever had. Later, we had our first performance, by
non-other than our 4i; The Cup Song. It was a combination of creativity and
talent as they used cups to produce beats as they sang along. After that, we
had a fairly challenging game organized by the Form 4 where all the leavers
were required to dance to the music and freeze when it stops. For a player to
not be eliminated, they must refrain themselves from laughing as the other
girls tried their best to make them crack their demeanour. The difficulty rose as the game moved on, from making them laugh
without touching them until we could make them laugh by tickling them. Everyone
had their share of laughter and fun, including the ones that didn’t play.
We then continued the night with giving of
our own of version of “Certificates” with hilarious titles for each leaver. House
Prefects’ certificates were given out as a form of appreciation for everything
they have done for Irinah. After the
certificate giving ceremony, the entire ballroom blacked out. Merging out of
the darkness was the Irinah Lower Sixers, lining up side by side while marching
out to the stage with candles in their hand as they sang the Irinah version of
“Hey Jude”. Before the night ended, our House Captain, Jia Hui and Ili Nadhira
sang a farewell song dedicated to the Upper Sixers. Tears were shed as the
prospect of farewell loomed in everyone’s hearts. Once an Irinian, always an Irinian.
The pain of parting is nothing to the joy
of meeting again – Charles Dickens
Written by Sie Kei Wong & Nicole Yoong