The Look

Ever had those 'Who is he/she? i definitely know him/her' moments?

I had them just now..while was queuing up at the supermarket with 3 pairs of chopsticks..this person suddenly caught my eye and our gaze locked for a split second..and since then, i've been besieged by those thoughts..who is she to me?

And while fussing over my cat just now, the lightbulb came on - She was from my sch! That's right and that's all.. she is to me. Someone from the same sch. She wasn't even a friend, we never spoke before and i didn't know her name. She was probably some friend's friend's friend, afterall it was just 2 or 3 degrees of separation in school, isn't it?

She was in the next class, so every morning(at least those mornings when i was in time for assembly), she would be sort of standing next to me. In fact, i would notice if she wasn't around; it had become, more or less, a habit for me to look out for her during assembly. (and before any of you had any thoughts running, NO, i did not have a crush on her)

Of course the fact that she was in the next class meant that we would bump into each other quite frequently. Most of the time, we would sort of 'acknowledge' each other with a 'look'. This looking business continued throughout school and after graduation, we went on with our own lives and i kind of forgotten about her existence.

Throughout these years, i have bumped into her twice maybe? By 'bump', i meant she saw me and i saw her and we exchanged 'the look'. My guess is she probably went on to a decent job(going by her dressing) and maybe even married with kids(going by national statistics). If she ever wondered about me, she would be thinking 'why is this person always in tshirt and shorts? no need to work meh?'

It's been more than 15 years since we first looked at each other(literally)..For me to recognise someone after so long is quite a feat (esp if the person changes her hairstyle). Hmm..she didn't change that much..maybe just 120% of what she used to be..and a bit more matured of cos..and i, well, looked the same..plus some 10 years..

but i certainly recognised the 'look'.