Falling Fan

By AY
My school has a very old history, dating back to the late 1940s, when Singapore had not gained its independence yet. Although we had shifted to a new compound, that was at least ten years ago, and now the four walls of our school are not so new anymore. As a result of all these, an event was able to take place, just a week ago.

“Hi Renee!” I chirped to my best pal when she walked over, carrying a bowl of piping hot soup. Sporting a short and neat hairstyle, Renee was a bit on the plump side, but she had two very adorable dimples, one on each cheek. She sat down beside me and began to tell me about something that had happened in class. However, I was not listening as my mind was miles away. The wonderful smell of the strong Indian curry from the Indian stall, the aroma of the traditional oriental Chinese snacks from a stall run by immigrants from China and all the local delights from my favourite stall, all in one place; the school canteen were distracting me.

Just as I was about to tuck into my all-time favourite fried rice, four boys from our class sat down at our table with us. Renee and one of the boys began bickering about something that had happened, while I just beamed at my friend who was always in the middle of an argument. Suddenly, a loud creaking sound was heard. Rene and the boys did not think much of it, but as it died down, I could not help having an ominous feeling.

“Maybe it’s really nothing,” I thought to myself and started to tuck into my food.

At that moment, a louder groan was heard, followed by more creaking and suddenly, a “Whoosh!” sound. Before I knew what was happening, the ceiling fan directly above us landed on the table with a deafening crash. That was a heart-stopping moment for us. I was scared out of my wits. The impact of the fan was so great, that it sent all our food flying off the table. Renee screamed in agony when her bowl of soup scalded her. All of the boys tried to back away, but their instincts could not save them from getting food all over themselves. Several grains of rice fell onto my skirt and I was also scalded by some of Renee’s soup.

Several people around us also shouted, especially the girls. Many of them crowded around to see what had happened. Luckily, a teacher on duty happened to be nearby and he pushed his way through the throngs of pupils. Renee was howling in pain, while I scrambled out of my seat. My fingers and arms were trembling from the shock of the impact as the teacher made his way forward.

“Are you okay? Come, I’ll bring you to the sick bay,” he said, especially to Renee who was clutching her scalded arm. Between the teacher and me, we helped Renee and another boy to the sick bay. The school staff there treated Renee with some cream that made her howl again. It was almost too painful to watch. The other boy was treated for a minor cut on his arm due to a sharp piece of the falling debris that fell along with the fan. The school staff gave me some medication and a plaster for a cut on my arm. Later, I learnt that the other boys were relatively fine and had recovered from the shock. Renee’s parents soon arrived to take her home to rest.

In the later part of the day, some technicians were dispatched to survey the damage, and the next day, the school announced that they did a check on the rest of the fans in the canteen. They were shocked to find out that more than half of the fans were in danger of collapsing. Once bitten, twice shy, the school immediately replaced all the faulty fans, but this event will forever be etched deeply in my mind.