A COMPOSITION A WEEK - PSLE QUESTION

This question appeared in one of the PSLE in the last five years.


You and your friends were at a bus stop when you noticed an elderly woman walking in an unsteady manner towards you.

Based on the above situation, write a story of at least 150 words.

You must make use of the points below in your story:

• what happened to the elderly woman
• what you and your friends did next
• what happened in the end

You may reorder the points. You may also include other relevant points.

Extracted from 2008-2012 PSLE Examination Questions

If you were faced with such a question in the examination, what sort of story would you write?

Remember that you have five minutes at most to plan the story. Obviously the old lady is a central character so your story must centre around the old lady. Some possible stories come to mind:

• the old lady collapsed and you and your friends rushed to her rescue
• the old lady wanted to cross the road and you and your friends help her to do so (if you want a story with a twist here, you could discover that your valuables were missing after helping her - she was a pickpocket in disguise!)
• the old lady was carrying many bags of groceries and she either dropped a bag or one of them burst, scattering her purchases onto the ground and once again you and your friends would have to play the role of the Good Samaritans
• the old lady was not right in her mind and she dashed out onto the road

For this week's story, we'll choose the last topic. Sit back and enjoy this story contributed by an anonymous writer!

AT THE BUS STOP

The faded orange seats at the bus stop were not exactly inviting but with my heavy backpack, I decided not to be fussy. Smoothening the back of my pinafore, I perched myself gingerly on the plastic seat. Su May plopped herself on the vacant space next to me while Elaine continued to stand, although there was another empty seat.

I was not surprised. Elaine hailed from a wealthy family. She stayed in a landed property in Bukit Timah and she actually had a chauffeur! The only reason why she was taking the public bus with us commoners was because her parents wanted her to learn how the average Singaporean lived. Frankly, I did not understand these rich people. If you are rich, you are rich. Why pretend to be normal?

My thoughts were interrupted by an odd sight. A woman with sparse grey hair was staggering towards us. She was dressed in strangely mismatched clothes that had definitely seen better days. A greyish and badly-stained blouse that was once white and which was too big for her, so that it hung loose on her gaunt frame, and a scarlet floral skirt that would have been painful on the eyes if not for the merciful fact that the bright redness had faded into a still loud pink after numerous washes.

The woman’s behaviour was stranger than her clothes. She was muttering to herself. Occasionally, she would raise her voice and gesticulate to the air in front of her. As she came towards us, the smell that emitted from her body was unmistakeable. I wrinkled my nose and tried not to breathe, an impossible task.

Although I was worried that she might take offence and attack me if she saw me staring at her, I could not pull my eyes away from the repulsive yet fascinating sight. From the corner of my eye, I saw that Su May and Elaine were as repelled and enthralled as me. Suddenly, the woman began shouting and then, to our collective shock, she flipped her skirt up and began to adjust her underwear in public. I could feel my cheeks burning and a side glance showed me Su May’s large-as-saucer eyes and Elaine’s gaping mouth.

After a few seconds, I regained my composure. I was just wondering if I should do anything to help the obviously mad woman when I saw Bus 76 trundling towards the bus stop. It was the bus we were waiting for. In the same instant that I got up, the woman blithely stepped out onto the road, into the path of the huge SBS bus. The bus driver honked and braked abruptly but he was not going to be able to stop in time.

I opened my mouth to scream for help but Elaine was faster. She shot past me like a swift arrow, grabbed the woman’s grimy wrist and yanked her back onto the kerb. The woman was taken aback by Elaine’s unexpected action and began wailing at the top of her voice while other onlookers circled them and asked if they were all right. Amidst the noise, I dimly saw someone dialling for the police and others asking the old woman where she lived or who her relatives were.

In the commotion, one thing stood out vividly for me – the sight of Elaine’s clean and white hand grasping the woman’s dirt-streaked and clawed hand. It was a sight I would never forget.

By Anonymous