| CHAPTER 4: PUPPY LOVE An autobiography by Leslie (1985) ~ Commercial Radio (Source: Leslie Cheung Cyber World- http://www.lesliecheung.cc/biography/autobiograph/index/index.htm) Puppy Love In Primary School Brace yourself; itÕs time for Cheung Kok WingÕs tale of love. Now, the main topic, exciting isnÕt it. LetÕs start with my experience of Puppy Love. The first time was in Primary School, wouldnÕt you say I mature early in life. I was roughly 7 at the time. Her name is Kwong; her last name is Mun Yin. What did I said, if I am to reveal, IÕll reveal everything. At that time, she was a real beauty to me. In retrospection, I wasnÕt wrong, she is a beauty. She had long hair hanging over her face, one length, straight cut. Remembered my friends, Lau, Kwan and Cheung as well as Hui, all of us hanging out with each other. Mrs. Kwong knew my mother through some gathering. At school, it was considered quite desirable to have a girlfriend. And somehow, I manage to find myself a girlfriend. She was quite little, smaller than me, though not by too much. She sat two rows in front of me. I used to write her things and throw paper letters at her. ThatÕs how I experience Puppy Love. However, there wasnÕt a good ending to this Puppy Love. By Primary Four, she and her family immigrated to Canada. At Primary five and six, I was rather studious in the hope to be promoted to Secondary level. Hence, I wasnÕt too involve in relationship matters, in fact I doubt if I really know anything about relationship at the time. It was in Secondary one (Form one) that I truly miss her. One day she returned to Hong Kong, and disaster struck. How did that happen? Well, by Form one, I have an awful haircut, what they call, Luk Kwan Chong (Army style). And I loved swimming and developed a real tan, like a piece of charcoal. When she returned, I invited her out. And she accepted my invitation. When I saw her, she looked completely different. Maybe girl matured faster than boys at age 13-14. She looked like a big sister to me, and taller than me by at least a head. I think she was not too please with my appearance either. This was the first time I felt truly humiliated by the opposite sex. During the course of the date, she was a little girly, insisting that she wonÕt go here or there and the rest. It really did spoil the date. The night before, I could not sleep in anticipation of meeting her. I remembered going to the barber (not the salon we have nowadays) to crop my hair, not that there were plenty hair left to be styled (with Luk Kwan Chong). Thinking I looked cool, but when she saw me, it was a truly humiliating experience. Puppy Love In Secondary School (1) Then in Secondary School, there was another tale of Puppy Love. Her name is Nancy (she has the same name as my sister-in-law). I knew Nancy in Form One. It was considered embarrassing if you donÕt go out with girls. Our school can be considered a little as ÔBad Boy SchoolÕ, well not really Bad Boy, maybe itÕs just me; IÕm the bad boy. How do we chat girls up? Basically the girls and boys are separated in secondary school. There was not really any time to meet girls. This is because the boys recess were earlier than the girls. By the time we finished our recess, only than the girls were allow to have their recess. I knew Nancy through Sport events. We will always participate in sport events because it enables us to play in the field, otherwise you will be left sitting alone in the class. So through participation, you can meet girls on the field. And girls who participate in sports were normally outgoing and easier to talk to, and those who do not participate are normally quite studious. We are considered ÔplayboysÕ and so naturally we like chatting up ÔplaygirlsÕ. And there I was, I met a Ôreal playgirlÕ. It was only after I know Nancy that I know she has lots of boyfriends. It was quite embarrassing at the time; I only get to know girls who humiliate me. She asked me if I knew a song by Donny Osmond called Sweet and Innocent. She said, Ō Ask me out after you listen to this songĶ. This song implied that I was too innocent for her. So that was it, after a little heartache. Then when I was about to move on to Form Two, I met another girl. Puppy Love In Secondary School (2) Her name is Wong. This girl, I would say, was very important to me in my life. I believe she really was my first love. She had long hair and I knew her through Badminton. Having said that, it seemed that I knew all my girlfriends through sports. At that time, there was another girl called Che Wah Sau. She is now a famous runner. I think she is training new athletes at Lam Wah Club in short run. Wong competed with Che, and of course Wong lose to Che. They were both very competitive. Nevertheless this girlfriend of mine do excel in Badminton. So I often compete with her in Badminton. In Form two, I was reluctant to have short hair and long hair was very popular. At that time, I began to skive off school. Well not really skiving as such. Whenever the bell rang, it was not until the very last minute would I go back to class, hoping that the teachers will not notice me. Later, it had become rather strict and I ended up climbing up through the back entrance. Still I was reluctant to cut my hair. My studies were so poor at that time with the exception of the English Language. Despite having numerous private tuitions, I did not excel. I really struggled with Maths. As a result, my parents were called in to meet the teacher. Talking about meeting the parents, it was also sports-related. I love basketball at that time. The sports teacher was quite nice to me. There was a sport teacher named Koo Yue Wing. We were disrespectful I suppose, especially at that age. He was actually quite playful with us. For example, he would allow us to hit his stomach with the ball. Then one day, while we were waiting for our bus, we yelled his nickname, Koo Wak Wing (Cunning Wing). He was stunned. Then the next day, I was summoned to see the teacher. The teacher warned me ŌCheung Kok Wing, see me at the office. Take your bag with youĶ. By then I knew I was in trouble, ŌI am sure you know what you have done. Disrespectful to teacher. We will see your parents and you will be suspended for two weeks.Ķ I was quite frightened, you know being suspended for two weeks. So my dad was called in to see the teacher. It was quite hilarious. The two of them was like discussing business, they exchanged business card. DonÕt laugh, this is true. And my dad would ask the teacher to look after me and guide me. It was really old-fashion, like discussing business. I began to realize that suspension was not fun at all. I really missed my schoolmates. It was really awful and I didnÕt ever want to be suspended again. Maybe I was superstitious. Every year around March and April, there was always something bad happen to me. So I was suspended that March for two weeks. The following year in March-April, something bad happened again. I went to the cinema with my sister and her husband. I donÕt know if you remember there was a film called ŌYau To Siu Gum KongĶ. It was about Judo. Judo was quite popular at that time in Hong Kong. Well anyway, after the movie, we went to a store and bought a tin of mix fruit salad, wrapped in a wafer-tinned bag. Water was dripping from the tin of fruit salad. The tin then slipped from my hand and landed on my toe. I picked up the tin and found that I could not walk. By the time I reached my sisterÕs car, blood was oozing out from my toe. That was March, a year after my suspension. And so, I was forced to stay in bed for a week. This time, it was not suspension. The next time I went back to school, I had to wear slippers, my toe wrapped up in bandage. So that was my experience in Secondary School in Hong Kong. As I said, I did not do well in my studies except English. After Form one, I was retained for the year. Then Form two, I almost have to retain for another year. It was Maths again. My dad was very angry, his face almost clouded. He needed to save face. I went to see him in his office, and he said to me, ŌI doubt you can really make it here in Hong Kong. Have you thought about studying abroad?Ķ I felt ashamed but think that it was a good idea. Maybe it was avoidance. Even if you canÕt make it abroad, no one will know. At that time, I felt that my dad did indeed love me. But now, I have a different view. Maybe he felt ashamed of his son being retained twice in Secondary school and felt the need to Ōget rid of meĶ. Luckily, there was a schoolmate of mine in Form two who have applied to study in England. So I have all the information needed to apply to apply to study in England. I had never thought about studying in America or Canada. The application process was less complicated in England. At that time, England operated on the basis of your income. What does it means? Well so long as you are rich, you will be all right. You wouldnÕt believe it. That was what they call exam. Well, we sent off the application form, they send us an exam essay question. When you answered the question and returned it, you will be considered pass. Well of course, I asked my sister to write the essay and no doubt I passed. The application process only took two months. Before I even pass the exam, they already sent us an acceptance letter provided that we pay the fees. All in all this was a speedy process. Well in the next chapter, I will tell you about my experience studying abroad. |
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| Leslie's Autobiography Chapter 4 Translated by Puppet |