Nama : Vickry
Kelas : 4EA11
NPM : 17212572
Title : Rainbow Troops
Author : Andrea Hirata
First Copy Right Date : July,
2007
Type of Book : Fiction
The Rainbow Troops, chapter 1:
Ten New Students
THAT morning , when I was just a boy, I sat on a long bench
outside of a school. The branch of an old filicium tree shaded me. My father
sat beside me, hugging my shoulders with both of his arms as he nodded and
smiled to each parent and child sitting side by side on the bench in front of
us.
It was an important day: the first day of elementary school.
At the end of those long benches was an open door, and inside was an empty
classroom. The door frame was crooked. The entire school, in fact, leaned as if
it would collapse at any moment. In the doorway stood two teachers, like hosts
welcoming guests to a party. There was an old man with a patient face, Bapak
K.A. Harfan Efendy Noor, or Pak Harfan—the school principal—and a young woman
wearing a jilbab, or headscarf, Ibu N.A. Muslimah Hafsari, or Bu Mus for short.
Like my father, they also were smiling.
Yet Bu Mus’ smile was a forced smile: she was apprehensive.
Her face was tense and twitching nervously. She kept counting the number of
children sitting on the long benches, so worried that she didn’t even care
about the sweat pouring down onto her eyelids. The sweat beading around her
nose smudged her powder makeup, streaking her face and making her look like the
queen’s servant in Dul Muluk, an ancient play in our village.
“Nine people, just nine people, Pamanda Guru, still short
one,” she said anxiously to the principal. Pak Harfan stared at her with an
empty look in his eyes.
I too felt anxious. Anxious because of the restless Bu Mus,
and because of the sensation of my father’s burden spreading over my entire
body. Although he seemed friendly and at ease this morning, his rough arm
hanging around my neck gave away his quick heartbeat. I knew he was nervous,
and I was aware that it wasn’t easy for a 47-year-old miner with a lot of
children and a small salary to send his son to school. It would have been much
easier to send me to work as a helper for a Chinese grocery stall owner at the
morning market, or to the coast to work as a coolie to help ease the family’s financial
burdens. Sending a child to school meant tying oneself to years of costs, and
that was no easy matter for our family.
My poor father. I didn’t have the heart to look him in the
eye. It would probably be better if I just went home, forgot about school,
followed in the footsteps of some of my older brothers and cousins, and became
a coolie …
My father wasn’t the only one trembling. The face of each
parent showed that they weren’t really sitting on those long benches. Their
thoughts, like my father’s, were drifting off to the morning market as they
imagined their sons better off as workers. These parents weren’t convinced that
their children’s education, which they could only afford up to junior high,
would brighten their families’ futures. This morning they were forced to be at
this school, either to avoid reproach from government officials for not sending
their children to school, or to submit to modern demands to free their children
from illiteracy
1. when I (Subject) was just a boy, I sat (Verb 3)on a long bench outside of a school
2. My father (Subject)sat (Verb 3)beside me, hugging (Verb) my shoulders with both of his arms
3. Yet Bu Mus’(Subject) smile (verb)was a forced smile: she was apprehensive(verb)
4.Her (Subject)face was tense and twitching nervously (Adjective)
5. The sweat beading (Adjective) around her nose smudged her (Subject)powder makeup
6. Anxious (Adjective)because of the restless (Adjective)Bu Mus(Subject), and because of the sensation of my father’s burden spreading (Adjective) over my entire body
7. Although he seemed friendly (Adjective)and at ease this morning, his (Subject) rough arm hanging around my (Subject) neck gave away his quick heartbeat
8. It would have been much easier (adjective)to send me (subject) to work(verb) as a helper (verb) for a Chinese grocery stall
9. The face of each parent showed (verb) that they weren’t really sitting(verb) on those long benches
10. Their thoughts, like my father’s(subject), were drifting off to the morning market as they imagined (verb)their sons better off as workers
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