Silence. Then, from the front row, a boy named Raj, who always sat alone, turned around. He gave Wei Jie a small, almost invisible nod.
They moved through the answers. Three ways Singapore promotes religious harmony. Jun Hao had them: the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act, Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles, and common spaces like community centres. Wei Jie had written: 1. Don't pray too loud. 2. Share cookies during CNY and Hari Raya. 3. The teachers shout at you if you make fun of someone's turban.
The fluorescent lights of the Singaporean secondary school hummed a low, monotonous tune, a soundtrack to the collective dread hanging over Class 3A. It was the first day of Term 3, and that meant one thing: the return of the dreaded "Huo Dong Ben" – the Activity Book for Social Studies. Huo Dong Ben Answers Sec 3
Instead, his mouth opened. "Ms. Priya, I… I didn't write a model answer."
For the first time that term, he didn't close the book. He left it open. Silence
The class turned. Wei Jie felt the spotlight. He could lie. He could parrot Jun Hao's answer: "One should foster an inclusive environment by demonstrating empathy and active listening."
Wei Jie looked down at his battered Huo Dong Ben. He didn't erase his answer. Instead, he drew a small star next to it. He finally understood that sometimes, the right answer wasn't in the teacher's guide. It was in the messy, brave, terrifying space between the lines. They moved through the answers
Wei Jie had tried on Section 3. He really had. He'd written about racial harmony, about the importance of National Day, about not judging someone by their favourite hawker food. But his answers were scribbled, desperate guesses. He stared at his first answer: "List two benefits of a diverse society." He had written: 1. More types of food. 2. Can learn new swear words in Tamil and Malay.
He took a breath. "I wrote about the Chinese Orchestra tryouts. How I didn't fit in. And… I wrote that the only thing that would have helped was if someone just… said I could sit next to them."
Wei Jie froze. He looked down at his Huo Dong Ben. For this one, he hadn't written a joke. He had written the truth.