Why I Skipped Class to Watch the World Cup
“Do you want to skip school this afternoon?” My parents (Asian, traditional) had never asked my siblings and me that question before. Even more astounding was the reason they were proposing we play truant: they wanted us to watch the World Cup together.
Specifically, my parents wanted to watch the quarter-final clash between England and Brazil, one of the most anticipated showdowns of the 2002 tournament.
My mom and dad aren’t particularly big sports fans, but even they were gripped by the football frenzy, especially since the competition was being held in South Korea and Japan.
For us in Hong Kong, it meant we could finally catch the matches at a reasonable hour instead of scrambling up in the middle of the night, still bleary-eyed and in our pyjamas, as we did in 1998 when the World Cup was hosted in France.
I was excited to skip class for this match, but I was also wracked with worry when I got to school that morning with the note my parents had written, stating that I’d have to leave at lunchtime due to a “family emergency”.
What if my teacher didn’t buy this story? What if she asked questions, probed, and I cracked and confessed that this so-called family emergency was just a front for us to go to a restaurant to watch the game while gorging on burgers and sodas?
I waited anxiously while my teacher read the note. She looked up with a giant smirk on her face and told me to hand it in to the administrator’s office after third period.
That’s it, I thought. I’m in big trouble.
I had butterflies in my stomach as I made my way to the office. But when I got there, I understood my teacher’s knowing grin – there was already a long line of kids outside the door, all of them holding similar notes penned by their moms and dads.
I joined the queue, my anxiety abating as I realised I wasn’t the only one in this situation. By the time I reached the head of the line, I no longer felt any guilt about lying to get out of class. In fact, it even felt right to add my note to the growing pile on the desk.
Outside the school gates, my parents were already waiting for me and my brother. My sister was in the car with them, and we drove to one of our favourite restaurants, where a giant TV screen showed the stadium as the players prepared for kick-off.
It was already past lunchtime, but the restaurant was still completely packed. I wondered why these people didn’t have to go back to the office. Then I realised they’d probably told their workplace they had to deal with a family emergency.
The whistle sounded, the match began, and all of us cheered loudly together.
