Hahaha... this is amusing. :P

Okay, for the benefit of those whom we did not inform (which would be most of the people who know us, aside from Jie, Jie-fu, Kenny and Pam), Ivan and I are "together". Yes, this means we are a "couple". :P


Ivan and me. Piccie taken by Jie, at Jie-fu's house, with her beloved K700i phone. :) 

When we first decided to embark on this together, we decided not to tell any of the Arts Club people, knowing that we'd probably get teased like hell after all the stuff that they'd been saying about the two of us for so long.

So we kept it quiet, and only told the four people mentioned above, but we agreed that there was little chance of keeping it under wraps past Valentine's Day.

So. Today.

Met near LT 9 after our 8 am lectures, took hold of each other's hands (openly for the first time in school), and walked down AS1 corridor with our fingers intertwined. :)

The first person whom we saw who knew us was Alvin. And he did look properly surprised. :D A little way behind him was Denise, and when she saw us, the first thing out of her mouth was "Kwan and Gerri...?!??"

And we just said "hi" and kept on walking, coz she was heading to class. I was grinning like an idiot, but I didn't care.

Then we reached clubroom, where we saw Xinyan and June. I helped Yuimin set up some stuff for the booth and went to the toilet to fill a basin with water for the flowers. Later, Ivan told me that while I was off getting the water, Xinyan had asked him, "Ivan, how long already?!"

To which he replied, "Three weeks."

And Xinyan: "Three weeks?!! Why didn't you all say anything..."

And yes, this is the amusing part. I'm not sure what was more amusing; seeing our friend's reactions to us holding hands and behaving all mushily, or them finding out that this had already been going on for three weeks. :D

Take the example of when Beng Chong and Swee Giang found out.

Beng Chong: (trying to be subtle, but failing. Of course; it's supposed to come across that way :P) Ahem, Gerri, can I ask you a question ah... Just now, did we see you all holding hands?? *Cheeky smile*

Me: Yes.

Beng Chong: Oh, really, ah!!
(simultaneously)
Swee Giang: Finally; congratulations!!

Me: Actually, we've already been together for three weeks. (laughs silently, anticipating scandalised reactions)

(And she is not disappointed.)

Beng Chong and Swee Giang: AHH?!? THREE WEEKS???!?!

Ivan: You all were just slow, lah.

(After which, the two of us dissolve in laughter)


There was a similar pattern prior to this when people like Hock and Mary and others found out. Hock gave me a red rose, saying congratulations and Happy Valentine's when he found out, and said, "Ivan, hope you don't mind I give her flowers, ah.."

Lol.

After Beng Chong and Swee Giang disappeared into clubroom, Steven came out and with that impish grin of his, sauntered up to the booth and said, "Hello Ivan; Gerri.." in that way of his which says that he knows something. :P

Yeah, Swee Giang finding out would definitely mean that the rest of the Arts Club people would find out pretty fast. :P

Steven said that he'd started to suspect something about 3 or 4 days before CNY, but he hadn't been too sure. :D

By then, Ivan's and my booth duty slots were over, so we went back to clubroom; I had to make the trip back to the Cold Storage Gourmet near my house to fill up a form for a part-time job, you see. And Ivan was going to accompany me, haha. Part of our aim to stick together the whole day for our first "official" day together.

Anyway, I wanted him to open his present coz I just wanted to see the look on his face, haha... :P He kept saying that my present wasn't ready yet, but I told him, "Never mind, never mind, I want you to open yours.." haha.

So. Thus began about... um. 15 minutes of unwrapping, coz I'd wrapped it in six layers (not that much, what..) of paper, and he kept stopping after every layer to ask me, "How many layers did you wrap?!?" and I just kept telling him to keep going, haha..

After the first three layers of paper which he tore off, I'd wrapped it in a plastic bag; which, on hindsight, was quite a smart move, haha. That way, he'd be able to put the present in the plastic bag and protect it. Once he was done unwrapping, that is. :P

So, after the plastic bag: another layer of paper. And another layer of paper. Under which was a lot of strips of paper stuffing. Haha. I'd put in all that stuffing to distort the form of the present and so that he wouldn't be able to properly feel what the present was.

Ivan was laughing and asking, "What the heck is this??" Referring to the stuffing of course. Under that layer though, was the last layer of paper, so feeling very excited, I just told him to keep going.

Then as he tore away that second-last layer of paper, the tape where I'd taped it to the last layer pulled off a bit of the last layer of paper. And so there was a rip in the last layer of paper, and when he looked again, part of the back cover of the book was showing through the rip in the paper.

He saw it and went quiet for a few seconds. :D After which, in that so-happy-that-I've-almost-lost-the-ability-to-speak voice of his, he looked up at me and said, "Oh my God.. I love you, darling..."

Haha. I just sat there on the back of the couch, smiling and giggling and swinging my legs, watching as he tore off the rest of the last layer and hugged his present.

If you must know, I got him that dinosaur book which he'd spent at least an hour ogling when we were at Kinokuniya once.


Ivan's present! I mean, the present I gave him. :P Really colourful inside; every other page has full-page, full colour illustrations of dinosaurs. Some of the illustrations actually look like photographs. 

And then, he decided to give me (in his words) "Part One of (my) present". My first reaction was, "Huh? Part one?? You got me more than one thing??" 0.0

He'd wrapped it in eight layers of magazine pages, but I made much shorter work of his wrapping than he had of mine, mainly because.. well, it's hard to explain, but it takes a certain skill when you're wrapping multiple layers, such that you can watch the anticipation and excitement build as each layer is painstakingly torn off. Heehee.

Anyway.. here's my present, which coincidentally, I saw at Kinokuniya on that very same trip when he saw his dinosaur book. :D


"The Poetry of Robert Frost". The title on this book is different from the title on mine, but the cover picture is the same. :) 

Was so happy that I squealed and hugged him, haha. Think the whole clubroom went quiet for just a second there. Then I realised that I'd actually squealed "I love you!" when I hugged him. :P Heehee.

He told me later while we were waiting for the bus that that was quite... unexpected, haha. Not that he was complaining. :P

After making the trip to Cold Storage and filling up the form and buying some sweets, we bought ice cream! From the Venezia ice cream place which everyone's been telling me about for so long, haha. I had lemon flavour and Ivan had a double scoop of chocolate and chocolate chip, I think. Loved my lemon flavoured ice cream; VERY lemony, and very melty. For some reason, the ice cream is just so soft! It's like, the minute your tongue touches it, a whole lot of it just melts away on your tongue! :D

Got back to clubroom, where Steven gave me a blue rose, saying "Happy Valentine's Day".. was starting to get a bit overwhelmed by all the flowers, haha. Nobody's ever given me flowers on V-Day before!! Hahaha. Of course, that's coz I've never been attached before, hahahaha... :P

So, sat down at the big table and started twiddling around with adding the final touches to Jie's and Jie-fu's and Kenny's prezzies; was trying to tie a ribbon on Kenny's when Ivan suddenly came up beside me. Was still trying to tie the ribbon when he edged a little closer, and then I noticed the little pink bundle he was holding. :P

A small pink bouquet of pink gerberas, to be exact. :D

Haha.. yeah, that was Part Two. :D

I wasn't expecting the flowers, haha! Really. I thought that he'd probably buy me one of those books that I really really wanted and that'd be it, but I didn't figure flowers into the equation. :D But it was still really nice of him. :D :D

Later on, as the V-Day booth was closing, there were still quite a few lilies left, so he bought one for his mum, one for Jie, and one for me, haha. Dunno why on earth he bought me another flower, but I'm not complaining. :P And the lily really was quite lovely. Oh, but no one's ever given me lilies before! :D

Jie took a picture of me with my little gerbera bouquet:


My pink gerbera bouquet (or is it more like a bunch?) and me. Haha. I hate how when I smile in pictures, one of my eyes always ends up smaller than the other.. makes me look spastic. O.o Haha. :P 

Also passed Pam her V-Day prezzie, which was a tea mug with a strainer, with a hand-painted design on the outside which, I think, had a flower and the words "Chamomile Tea". Got her that coz she likes chamomile tea, haha.

Lalala... so, came home feeling very happy and very loved and basically just feeling like the happiest and most loved little girl in the world. Haha. Thus ended my best Valentine's Day ever. :D