With Saturday gone, the peaceful Sunday arrives as in logical terms it not only is the end of the week but the new beginning of a new one. It was also consider to the Sabbath day for Catholics and a day of rest where they go to church to pay tribute and listen to the priests, bishops and cardinals upon the words of God. In the esteem school of Milson’s Point Grammar Academy, Sophie was still sound asleep on her bed in her dormitory as Shirley was up and doing morning aerobics as she often does aerobic exercises on the weekends. She was literally dressed in an orange sports vest and wore black flexible track pants with white socks and sneakers.
“One and a two…One, two, one, two…”
As Shirley continues, Sophie wakes up and sits up straight with Shirley noticing her friend has finally woken up from her quiet and peaceful sleep.
“Oh…Good morning, Sophie.”
“Good morning, Shirley…How are you?” asked Sophie as she rubs the back of her head with her brown fair hair all fussed and in a bit messy.
“I am good…You certainly slept well last night.”
“You can say so.”
Sophie then gets out of bed who was in her plain light blue pyjamas as she heads to the bathroom to clean herself up and brush her teeth.
“So, Shirley.”
“Yeah?”
“You and Simon are definitely going out tonight?”
“Without a doubt.”
“Well, I feel quite happy for you that the two of you really like each other.”
“Thanks, Sophie…I could not have receive a nicer compliment…Especially from my best friend.”
“You are welcome.”
Sophie then puts some toothpaste on her blue toothbrush and starts to clean her teeth using her right hand while at the same time she uses her left hand to pour some water into her cup. She stares at the mirror and wonders why is she so dazzling and beautiful.
“Hmm…Beauty, kindness. I may have those but do I really feel happy with my life?”
Meanwhile, in the room 1201 in the same block, Patricia Wong was up and doing some wrist and leg stretches while wearing her black and white gym short sleeve top with white shorts as she does her stretches barefooted.
“Up and down…Stretch!”
Catalina was in her purple and pink coloured pyjamas as they had cute little puppies patterns on it. She was sitting on a chair at the dining table reading a book on Customer Servicing, which would help her role as the Librarian of the school.
“Hmm…Very interesting.”
“So, you still reading that book, Cat?”
“Yeah…It is a good read. Very um…Very plain and easy to absorb.”
“I can imagine.”
“Well, I want to be a librarian when I grow up…Maybe the librarian of a large library.”
“Oh…Like the one in Macquarie Street?”
“Perhaps.”
“Or some other branch in the north shore?”
“I don’t know…It is still a bit early to decide, Pat.”
“I think so.”
“Say, what about you, Pat?”
“Well, I am not sure at this point…Maybe I will go into university.”
“University, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“And what subject would you take?”
“I don’t know…I will make up my mind eventually.”
“That’s good.”
“So, what are you planning to do today?”
“Well, I am not sure.”
“Not sure?”
“Maybe do some tidying up in the library.”
“You really love books, don’t you?”
“I do.”
“Maybe you should do something today that doesn’t relate to books.”
“You reckon so?”
“I am sure.”
“Right.”
“Well, I think I will make myself some breakfast.”
“Oh, what are you planning to have?”
“Well, Milo cereal with milk…Always good to start the day.”
“I am sure.”
Patricia opens the pantry door and finds her large packet of Milo cereal and she shakes it to make sure there were still a considerable amount inside.
“Hmm…Still quite full.”
“That’s good news.”
“Yes.”
“Say, I think we may need more jam in the fridge.”
“I suppose so…Let me double check on that.”
“Okay.”
Patricia then heads to the front of the refrigerator and opens it to see if there was any jam inside the fridge itself.
“Well?”
“None whatsoever.”
“Boy, looks like we have to buy some.”
“I agree.”
“I think I might go out and buy some groceries at the local supermarket.”
“Oh, you mean the one that is located close to the Milson’s Point train station, right?”
“Right…But it doesn’t open until 10 and now it is only half past eight.”
“Of course…It can wait.”
“Now, I am going to turn on the television and see what’s on TV.”
“Yeah…Maybe some good cartoons would be on or some other programs that are good taste as well.”
“Let’s find out.”
Patricia then picks up the remote control and turns on the television and it turns on straight to channel 11 as Catalina was last night watching a classical TV program.
“Channel 11…I kind of like it.”
“Me too…It shows some of the classics that you might not be able to buy on DVD.”
“Indeed.”
“Well, I better start making my breakfast then.”
“Sure, you do that.”
Suddenly, someone knocks the door and Catalina decides to go and answer it.
“I will check to see who it is.”
“Okay.”
Patricia makes her breakfast as Catalina goes to the door and she checks to see who it was outside by looking through the door hole on the door itself.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Kathy.”
“Kathy? What’s up?”
“Listening…Are you both busy?”
“Um…No, not really.”
“May I come in?”
“Well, I cannot see why not...Just give me a second.”
“Okay.”
“Hey, Pat.”
“Yeah?”
“Is it okay if Kathy comes in here?”
“Sure, I don’t see a problem.”
“Okay…Kathy!”
“Yeah?”
“Pat and I say is okay.”
“Thanks.”
Catalina then opens the door and literally Kathy Taylor herself was standing there dressed in a pink and blue long and short sleeve shirt and wore long dark blue jeans with white sneakers. She literally tied up hair up and has a short ponytail, which made Catalina think that maybe it is a good idea to have one as well.
“Well…Morning, Kathy.”
“Cat…How are you?”
“I am well, thanks.”
“So, are you two busy?”
“No…Not really. Come in, come in.”
“Thank you.”
Kathy then makes her way into the room as Catalina closes the door behind her.
“So, are you planning to do anything with Kevin?”
“Well, he’s still sleeping over from last night.”
“Last night? Oh, let me guess…From the men’s dinner, right?”
“Right.”
“So, how did you know, Kathy?” asked Patricia as she sat down at the dining table with her bowl of Milo cereal and milk in hand as she starts to eat it.
“Well, I um…I called him on his mobile and we only had a brief conversation before he hanged up on me.”
“Hanged up on you?”
“Yes, Cat…Isn’t that rude.”
“Indeed.”
“How brief was the conversation, Kathy?”
“You really want to, Pat?”
“Just um…Just curious. Nothing more.”
“Okay…He just said five words to me on the mobile.”
“Five words?”
“Please let me sleep, Kathy.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it, Pat.”
“Right…Well, I think the same would be for me if I called Michael.”
“And from Ken.”
“No doubt…So, why don’t we have some fun together?”
“You have something in mind?”
“Maybe a board game, cards, UNO…”
“Hmm…A board game then.”
“That would be good, Cat.”
“I will fetch it from my personal plastic container tray…Please, Kathy. Feel free to make yourself at home.”
“Thank you. You have any drinks?”
“Sure…There’s some cans of Sprite and Pepsi in the fridge so help yourself.”
“Thanks, Pat.”
Catalina then gets out her personal plastic container tray and opens the lid and finds the board games that were put at the bottom of the pile with the top being the two books she adored the most as well as other personal items that she has shared with only a few people.
“Aha…Shall we play um…Titanic?”
“Titanic…The board game, right?”
“Indeed, Patricia…I got it as a present from Sophie last year.”
“Good for her.”
Patricia knew that as well while Kathy didn’t have a clue herself as she opens the fridge and gets herself a can of Pepsi.
“Sophie brought you that board game, Cat?”
“Yes…I love this game and it is not easy to find one such as this.”
“I can imagine.”
Catalina then takes the Titanic board game out and afterwards she closes the lid and pushes the plastic container back under her bed.
“So, shall we play this?”
“Yes…But let me finish my breakfast first?”
“Of course, Pat.”
“So, how do we play this?”
“Easy…Here are the instructions on how to play the game.”
“Right.”
Catalina then hands the instruction booklet of the board game to Kathy who reads it from the first page.
“Aha…I see. Hmm…Easy to understand.”
“Say, Kathy…You planning to organize a cheerleading practice sometime?”
“I am not sure yet…I will have to get back to you on that one.”
“Take your time.”
“Cheerleading…Is it really fun?”
“Yeah, it is, Cat. You will enjoy it…Right, Kathy?”
“Without a doubt.”
“That’s good.”
Patricia then finishes her Milo cereal breakfast and joins her two friends at the dining table ready to play the Titanic board game.
“Okay, shall we get started then?”
“I am ready when you are, Pat.”
“That makes two of us, Cat.”
“So, which colour can we choose?”
“I have already chosen purple…My favorite colour.”
“I bet you have, Cat.”
“And I have chosen yellow…My favorite colour since I was a toddler.”
“I knew you would say that, Patricia.”
“And your colour would be blue no doubt, yes?”
“Well, light blue actually, Pat…But since there is no light blue then simply plain blue will have to do.”
“So, if I remember correctly…There’s three men and three women characters.”
“How can we find that out?”
“Well, check the passports…I will be banker as well.”
“You do that, Cat.”
“Here…Care to take peek at the characters of the color that you have chosen?”
“Sure.”
Catalina passes two game issued passports to Patricia and Kathy who has a look at the character’s faces and Patricia likes when the character she is playing is a beautiful Chinese woman.
“I am playing an Asian woman.”
“Good for you, Pat…Looks like I am beautiful woman too.”
“That’s good.”
The two give each other a friendly high five as Kathy was quite astounded to see that she was playing a young man.
“Oh, crap…I am playing a man. This is ridiculous.”
“Ha ha…He’s handsome nonetheless.”
“Indeed.”
“So, how should we start?”
“Well, Pat…Who rolls the highest shall play first but wait a moment…”
“Okay.”
Catalina then hands $750 dollars to Patricia, Kathy and then herself.
“There that’s done.”
“So, what about those small circle things called: ‘bellhops’?”
“Bellhops.”
“Yeah?”
“In due time you will know.”
“Right.”
“I will go first if that’s okay.”
“Sure.”
Catalina then picks up the single red dice and throws it and it lands on an even number, number 4.
“Well, I am four.”
“That’s good.”
“My turn then.”
Patricia then picks up the dice and gives it a decent throw and it landed on an odd number, number 5.
“Oh-rah…I am five.”
“So, if I want to go first then I need to land on a six, right?”
“Indeed you do, Kathy.”
“Yes…All the best.”
“Of course…No need to remain me of that.”
Kathy then picks up the red dice and gives it a good shake and she prays to herself that it would be a six.
“Come on, six…Six, please.”
Kathy then throws the dice and it lands right on the number she least expected.
“What? One?”
“Ha…Guess you have to go last, Kathy.”
“Fine…I am not mad.” replied Kathy scoffing in disappointment.
“Then why did you scoffed?”
“Well, Pat…”
“Everyone feels that way when they lose at something.”
“You feel like that?”
“Sometimes but not always.”
“Right.”
“Okay, let’s begin…Pat.”
“Of course…Kathy, the dice if you please.”
“Very well.”
Kathy sulky hands the red dice to Patricia who then prepares to give it a roll.
“I wonder…I wonder who shall win this game?”
Meanwhile, in the girl’s common room located on the ground floor of block 11, Hilde, Xianghua as well as the other girl prefects, Chae Lim and May Lee were in their casual clothes. Chae Lim and May Lee are both students of the well-known Taekwondo champion master, Kim Khaphwan. Their master figure it would be best for them to continue their studies at a good and well academic school such as this since Kim himself was close friends with the deputy principal and General Alcazar. Hilde herself was in her purple long sleeve shirt and blue jeans with nice white sneakers, Xianghua was in her white collar shirt, long black tracksuit pants and pink and blue coloured running shoes.
“Nice shoes, Xianghua…You brought them recently?”
“Yeah, at the Athlete Foot’s store in Chatswood Westfield.”
“I see.”
Chae Lim and May Lee were wearing their favourite casual clothes with Chae in a dark blue T-shirt and a short green skirt with black stockings and a pair of black penny loafer shoes. May herself was wearing a purple T-shirt with a white jacket as she also wore simple dark blue jeans with blue sneakers. The four of them were having a talk about how to run a prefects’ BBQ lunch day as it would help raise money for ‘Project Compassion’.
“So, any thoughts about organizing this prefects BBQ lunch day?”
“Well, I have…A little bit, Hilde.”
“Any ideas, Xianghua?”
“Not really, Chae.”
“That’s not good.”
“Hey, girls…Should we console with Maxi as well?”
“Maxi? Well, shall we also console with both Dong Hwan and Jae Hoon as well?”
Apparently both Dong Whan and Jae Hoon were the sons of Kim Khaphwan and they too were send here to enroll in the school on request from their father.
“Well, we should.”
Suddenly, Hilde’s mobile rings and she checks to see who it was calling her.
“Excuse me.”
“Of course.”
Hilde eventually notices it was Maxi who was calling her as notice by the display of his thumbnail face and number indicating Hilde had put him down in her phonebook.
“It’s Maxi.”
“Maxi?”
“Yeah, I wonder what he wants?”
“Maybe about the exact same thing that we are discussing right now.”
“Perhaps so, Xianghua.”
Hilde then presses the button to answer the call.
“Hello, Maxi.”
“Hilde…Morning to you. How are you?”
“I am well…How about yourself?”
“Preachy…So, what are you up to at the moment?”
“Oh, not much.”
“Just discussing the prefects BBQ lunch day, yeah?”
Hilde was astonished that Maxi knew of this as she fell silent for a minute or so and Maxi on the other end was quite surprised that Hilde was not answering back.
“Hilde? Hilde, you still there?”
“Oh, sorry…I am sorry, Maxi.”
“You must be wondering how I knew of this, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Well, it was your good pal and friend, Chai Xianghua told me.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes…Don’t be mad at her. I am sure she was just doing the right thing by keeping me in the loop.”
“I suppose so.”
“So, could we have some personal time together out at the park today?”
“I um…I reckon so.”
“How about we go to the library?”
“The school library?”
“No…On the contrary, the one up in Miller Street.”
“You mean, Stanton Library, correct?”
“That’s the one.”
“Well, I suppose we could.”
“Well, if you don’t want to go that’s fine…I mean, Sunday is suppose to be a day of rest for all of us.”
“No, Maxi…I will go.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, I am sure…We could also discussing about the final details of the prefects BBQ lunch day.”
“Right…I will be out in the playground courtyard in fifteen minutes.”
“I will be there.”
“Excellent.”
Hilde then disconnects the call and looks most pleased and happy with herself, which surprises Xianghua as well as Chae Lim and May Lee.
“Are you…”
“Maxi himself asked me out?”
“For a date?”
“A date? No, May…It’s purely just two friends getting together. Nothing more.”
“I see.”
“Well, nevertheless…You both have a good time.”
“Thanks, May.”
“Yeah, you both really get along work together both on duty and off duty.”
“Thanks for noticing, Xianghua.”
“I have an eye for detail.”
“Okay…Catch you all later then.”
“Later.”
Hilde then heads out of the girl’s common room and Xianghua asks both Chae Lim and May Lee of how type of food shall they serve during the BBQ lunch.
“So, we go with the usual stuff?”
“Yeah…Sausages, beef steak, bread, tomato and mustard sauce…Same old and same old.”
“I was thinking, Chae…”
“Yes, May?”
“Would it be a good idea to serve lamb chops with mint sauce?”
“Huh?” asked Xianghua as she clearly dislike the idea.
“Well, I suppose it might be a good idea…But maybe not everybody is fond of lamb chops and mint sauce.”
“That someone would be me.”
“Right.”
“Anyway, it would probably go with a western or European style kind of dinner. We should just stick with the basics and default items.”
“I suppose you are right, Chae.”
“Good…You happy with that, Xianghua?”
“Sure I am…To think we will serve bread with lamb chops and mint sauce. Yuck.”
“You don’t like it?”
“Not as much, Chae.”
“Well, to be honest with you…I hate mint sauce too.”
“That makes two of us.”
Life in the school on a Sunday went quite peacefully with all taking some time off to chill out and have fun including the teachers as Carriedas, Alcazar, Tintin, Heihachi and Steve Fox were all playing some mini-golf on the rooftops of one of the buildings.
“Say, we could one time should all go and have some real golf fun at one of the golf courses in the vicinity.”
“Oh, any thought of which course, Laszlo?”
“Well, Ramon…Perhaps maybe at Homebush Bay.”
“I suppose.”
“Perhaps at Killara or the Royal Australia one at Kent Road located at Rose Bay.”
“Yeah…Maybe some time next week.”
“So, Tintin, amigo mio…What do you think?”
“I think that is a great idea, general.”
“Indeed it is…Don’t you think so, Steve?”
“Indeed, Heihachi.”
“Well, I wonder how my granddaughter is doing?”
“I am sure she’s fine, Heihachi.”
“Yes, I never had such a beautiful granddaughter.”
“I know.”
“Oh, well…Maybe someday I will spend some time with her.”
“Yes, that would be a good idea, Heihachi.”
“Thanks, Steve…I trust you would help me?”
“Sure…We are now friends.”
“Yes…Okay, your turn, Steve.”
“With pleasure.”
Elsewhere in the school grounds, Pyrrha and Natsu were at the library doing some reading together of fairy tales as they like to do this in their spare time.
“Say, you like reading this one?”
“What is that one?”
“Uh…Sleeping beauty.”
“Sleeping beauty…You mean the one from Walt Disney productions?”
“That’s right.”
“Well, I think it’s quite good and the evil villain was scary.”
“You mean Maleficent?”
“Yeah, that was her name, yes?”
“Yeah.”
“It gives me the creeps, Natsu.”
“Well, in a fairytale…Having a good guy is not good comparing to having a bad guy or villain as well.”
“True.”
Sure enough, Amy and Talim joins them as they both wore their P.E uniforms much like Pyrrha and Natsu.
“Hey, girls.”
“Hey, Amy…Talim.”
“Girls.”
“So, what are you both doing here?”
“Well, you need to ask, Talim?”
“Sorry…Actions speak louder than words, yeah?”
“That’s correct.”
“Well, you two are reading some decent fairy tales, yeah?”
“That’s right.”
“Anyway, the two of us thought we do some workouts at the gym. Want to come?”
“Well, Pyrrha and I were going to do some swimming since we are wearing our swim gear underneath and all.”
“I say we should work out first, Natsu.”
“Hmm…If that is what you wish, Pyrrha.”
“Great…Let’s go.”
“Right…I better go and borrow this book.”
“Oh, what book is that?” asked Talim.
“Sleeping beauty.”
“Hey, that’s a nice book…Don’t you think so, Amy?”
“Yes, it most certainly is.”
“Well, we will meet you outside the sports building then.”
“Okay.”
Amy and Talim make their way out as Pyrrha and Natsu uses the self borrowing machine as the loan desk was emptied and the only person in the whole library besides them was Jun Kazama who takes over Catalina’s librarian duties during the weekend.
Meanwhile, back at Sophie and Shirley’s room, both girls were playing a game of chess on the dining table. Both girls were literally quite decent and good players and it was a very close game for both of them.
“Gee…This is a close one.”
“I know.”
Shirley and Sophie thought to themselves of how to proceed with their next move.
“Okay, what should I do? Move my knight to take her castle…No, no. That will leave my king vulnerable.”
“I wonder…I think I shall castle my king to protect it. Would Shirley really move her knight?”
“Well, I think I should move my bishop and that way I could gain the upper hand.”
Shirley eventually moves her bishop and now she has pinned against Sophie’s bishop and knight.
“That’s a good move, right?”
“Yes, I agree…However…”
“Huh?”
Sophie casually castles her king and at the same time it allows her rook to check Shirley’s king.
“Check.”
“Check? Damn. I have to move or protect my king and miss the chance of a pin.”
“What, Shirley? Didn’t you see that?”
“Well, not really…I was too busy thinking of other things.”
“Oh, like the big night out with Simon?”
“Yeah, no need to remind me of that.”
“Come on, your move, Shirley.”
“Okay.”
Shirley then makes her move as she moves the king out of harm’s way from check as Sophie moves her queen right up close to Shirley’s king and checks it.
“Checkmate.”
“Damn…You are good with chess, Sophie.”
“Well, more or less.”
Shirley knew she had lost since no other pieces to move into defend her king nor capture Sophie’s queen. She also can’t move her king to a safe place let alone take Sophie’s queen since it was protected by her castle.
“So, drink.”
“Uh, what kind of a drink?”
“Oh, Iced Lemon tea?”
“That sounds good…Want to play another game?”
“Nah…I say we play something better.”
“Oh, like?”
“Gin.”
“Gin? I am not good with that.”
“So am I…Blackjack.”
“Blackjack sounds good.”
“Okay, let’s play it…Say, Sophie.”
“Yeah?”
“You certainly have a taste for clothes.”
“Why…Thank you, Shirley.”
Sophie was dressed in her black collar shirt top with her wearing nice blue jeans, belt, white shoes and a nice cross of Jesus necklace around her neck and her hair was now as smooth as silk itself. Shirley gets their packet of cards from their two chest drawer table and checks to make sure all 52 cards are inside.
“I have something um…Weird to ask you.”
“Huh, what might that be, Shirley?”
“Have you ever thought of um…Changing your hair colour?”
“You mean to dye it?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I haven’t thought about it.”
“I think you might look fancy in um…Some other colour hair.”
“Like?”
“Well, yellow for example.”
“Yellow?”
“I think it would look fantastic on you.”
“Hmm…”
Sophie decides to go and have a look at herself in the mirror and pictures herself in yellow hair.
“Well, I suppose I may look good.”
“So?”
“I think that’s a point in what you said.”
“Right…Well, come on. Let’s play Blackjack.”
“You mean twenty-one?”
“Whatever…You deal on I will deal?”
“I will deal if you don’t mind, Shirley.”
“Sure, sure…Since you won that round in chess I think it’s logical that you have the right the decide.”
“Okay…Let’s begin.”
Sophie shuffles the cards with some skill and then hands out four face up cards to Shirley and at once Shirley was not pleased of what she got.
“Oh, man…Such a drag.”
“Don’t get moody just yet.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Sophie then hands out another four face up cards to Shirley and this time however she was quite pleased with what she got.
“Well, well…That’s more like it.”
“I am glad you feel that way.”
After that, Sophie gives herself a single face up card, a black ace of clubs.
“An ace?”
“Yes.”
“Gee…You have a big chance of getting blackjack.”
“In theory…I have a chance of 16 out of 52 so to simplify it would be…”
“It’s 3 out of 13. I know. I know this mathematic stuff too, Sophie.”
“I am sure you do.”
“Okay, let’s begin…Hit me.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, I got a twelve here.”
“Well, if you insist.”
“I insist.”
Sophie then hands Shirley another card face down as Shirley then takes a look at it and she was quite pleased with the result.
“Well, twenty…So, I will stick on that one.”
“Okay, next pair.”
“Hmm…Eighteen. I think I will stay. Wouldn’t want to risk it.”
“Fair enough…Next.”
“Well, well…Thirteen.”
“So, hit or stay.”
“Hit me.”
Sophie then hands Shirley another card and this time she was not so happy of what she got.
“A king…Damn.”
“Busted.”
“Yeah, busted.” scoffed Shirley in disappointment.
“Don’t feel bad…Last pair.”
“Okay, last pair.”
Shirley then looks at the last pair of cards she got.
“Well?”
“Uh, Split.”
“Split?”
“Yeah, they are both twos so I thought…”
“Of course…Hit?”
“Yep.”
Sophie then hands out one card to Shirley as she compares it with one of the split ones she was holding.
“Hmm…”
“Well?”
“Hit me again.”
“Right.”
Sophie hands her another card as she was literally quite satisfied with what she got.
“Okay…I will stay.”
“And for your other one?”
“Of course…Hit me.”
Sophie casually hands a card to Shirley and this time she was a little disappointed with what she got.
“Oh, come on…Hit me again.”
“Right.”
Sophie repeats what she did and once again Shirley was not happy.
“Again.”
“Oh, going for the five card stud, are we?”
“If you say so.”
“Okay.”
Eventually, Shirley has five cards of her last split pair and all she got was sixteen.
“Sixteen…I reckon I will stay.”
“That’s fine…My turn.”
Sophie then draws a card and she was quite thrilled to find that she draws a card that would Shirley downright jealous.
“Well, I guess I win.”
“Huh?”
“Blackjack.”
Sophie turns her second card over and reveals a king of spades, which left Shirley in astonishment and falls her head on the desk sulking.
“Darn it…After all that?”
“Want another one, Shirley?”
“Oh, you bet I will.”
“Okay, how about this time you will be the dealer?”
“That’s what I am talking about.” replied Shirley as she sounds much more confident and happy then she was a minute ago.
“Okay, your turn to shuffle.”
“Right.”
Sophie and Shirley piles up their deck of cards together and Shirley starts to shuffle them when suddenly she gets a text message on her cell phone.
“Wait…I got a message.”
“A text message?”
“Yes, let’s see who it is from?”
Shirley then checks her cell phone and looks at unread messages.
“Well, I will be damned.”
“Who is it from?”
“It’s from Simon.”
“From Simon?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“He said that it’s on for tonight?”
“Tonight?”
“Yes, tonight at six.”
“At six?”
“Yes, I um…I mean we shall meet him at the train station.”
“Okay…Sounds good.”
“Delighted.”
“Well, you absolutely don’t mind if I tag along too?”
“Of course not, Sophie…I need to have someone like a good friend to help me with some um…Some personal and life stuff.”
“I see.”
“So, shall we get to it?”
“Of course.”
Meanwhile, in the gym on the 4th floor of the sports building, Chris Peasley was working out on weights and dumb bells alongside his good friend, Simon Law with them in their full sports P.E gear.
“Well, we worked out for nearly an hour.”
“An hour, Chris? Gee…Time sure does fly by when you are having fun.”
“I agree.”
“So, um…Chris?”
“Yes, Simon?”
“I want to bounce something off you.”
“Go ahead.”
“You really think Shirley is my kind of girl? I mean…You know what she is like better than me since you both are in the same class.”
“Well, she is a kind girl yet alluring.”
“Alluring?”
“Your typical paparazzi type of girl who is always hunger for the big story.”
“I know.”
“Anyway, she likes you, Simon.”
“Yes.”
Chris can tell that something else is troubling Simon greatly and asks him what was it.
“Hey, buddy…Is there something bothering you?”
“Ah, yes…Yes.”
“You don’t mind telling me what it is?”
“Well, it’s Kazuya.”
“Kazuya? Kazuya Mishima?”
“Yeah…My former employer.”
“I see…He’s after you.”
“Yes, as long as he is alive I will not feel at ease. Every night I had this same dream of Kazuya coming and to exact fresh revenge upon me.”
“I see.”
“And I spill the secret of what he is.”
“What he is?”
“A devil.”
“A devil?”
“The devil himself.”
“My, my…No wonder.”
“He will come for me…I know it.”
“Well, I will help you, my friend.”
“Thanks…But if the worse shall happen would you promise me something?”
“Anything.”
“Look after Shirley for me.”
“Of course…I promise.”
“Well, thank you so much, Chris…You are one of the few good friends that I can really count on.”
“Take that as a good compliment.”
“Indeed.”
“Well, why don’t we concentrate on this happy day? Where the two of you can enjoy a nice and quality-like evening.”
“I suppose so, Chris.”
“Well, I will definitely come as your um…Good friend.”
“Right.”
“So, what do you say we go and do some basketball training?”
“Certainly…But there’s only two of us. We will need at least two other people.”
“Well, most of my fellow classmates are still asleep and exhausted from last night.”
“I see.”
“But maybe some of the girls?”
“Girls? Like whom?”
“I don’t know…Veronica and possibly Anna.”
“Really? So, you and the two are…”
“We are just friends, Simon.”
“Right…Forgive me for being curious.”
Later that day in the late afternoon, Xiaoyu and Alisa make their way to Sophie and Shirley’s room as they were accompanied by both Michelle and Ivy who were now quite friendly altogether.
“So, we are confirming that we are going to go out with Sophie, Shirley and who knows how many others, yeah?”
“Yeah.” replied Ivy smiling.
“So, is this their room?”
“Of course, Xiaoyu…Go ahead and knock.”
“Uh, right.”
Xiaoyu then strolls up to the door and gently knocks on the door itself.
“Anyone home?”
“Is that you, Xiaoyu?”
“Uh, are you Shirley?”
“Of course it is me…Now who else would it be?”
“Right.”
Shirley then opens the door to find four of their fellow year group students with two from her own class and the other from class 10B.
“So, what’s the occasion?”
“Well, we like to ask that um…”
“Ask what?”
“Can we come with you and Sophie out tonight?”
“Go out?”
“Yes, please.”
“Well, it was supposed to be just four of us…Myself, Sophie, Simon and probably his good buddy, Chris.”
“Hi there, girls.”
“Hey, Sophie.”
Sophie stands beside Shirley at the door and was quite happy to see them all.
“So, you four want to come out with us tonight?”
“Why…Certainly.”
“We will be honoured.”
“Well, you girls can hang out while we have our own quality time…Would that be okay with you, Shirley?”
“Hmm…I don’t see that as a problem.”
“Great…When do we meet?”
“Out here at quarter to six.”
“Quarter to six.”
“Yes, Shirley says that Simon will be meeting her at the station at six.”
“Sure, sure…We will be here at quarter to six.”
“Later.”
“Later, Sophie.”
Xiaoyu, Alisa as well both Michelle and Ivy heads off with Sophie gently closing the door behind her.
“Well, looks like we have quite a bit of company tonight.”
“We sure do.”
“So, you don’t mind it, Shirley?” asked Sophie who replies with little to no emotion on her face. “Not at all?”
“No, of course not.”
“Well, that’s good to hear.”
“Anyway, I am going to take a short nap. Wake me up at 5 or so.”
“I sure will.”
Therefore, Shirley crashes back onto her bed and takes a short nap with her sleeping most peacefully. Sophie decides to do some reading to help pass the time as she picks one of her favorite books from the small bookshelf that was located beside the television.
“Okay, let’s read on where I find the part breath taking.”
Sophie was literally reading a book called: ‘A Journey to the Center of the Earth’, which was written by famous science fiction writer, Jules Verne and ironically the restaurant in the Eiffel Tower in the city of Paris, France was named after him. Sophie was getting to the part where the character Lidenbrook found the gateway to the cave systems, which would lead them to the center of the Earth.
“Hmm…Very interesting.”
She reads on page by page and could listen to Shirley snoring and eventually Sophie decides to make herself a cup of ice chocolate and after that, she continues to read on in her favourite book.
Eventually, time flies by with Sophie waking Shirley up exacting five in the afternoon.
“Okay, Shirley…Rise and shine.”
“Gee…You are punctured with your timing, Sophie.”
“My master taught me that…Be never late nor early but to be precise.”
“To be precise, right? I think I heard that somewhere before.”
“I bet it’s the way the Thompson twins talk, yes?”
“Indeed, Sophie. Well, I will take a shower and get myself ready.”
“Sure.”
“Say, you do like reading that book?”
“Of course.”
“So, where are you at this point in the book?”
“Well, up to the part where they have found some large tall mushrooms.”
“Tall mushrooms?”
“Yes…Like a mushroom tree.”
“How interesting…So, are there dangers yet? Wait, I think I know what happens next.”
“Care to tell me, Shirley?”
“Is there a monster hiding somewhere in the area where the large tall mushrooms grew?”
“That’s correct…An ancient lizard or dinosaur. A flesh eater.”
“Yeah…Anyway, I go and shower now.”
“Very well.”
Shirley therefore heads to the bathroom and she gets herself undressed and then hops into the shower and has a nice hot and warm shower while Sophie continues to read her favourite book. She eventually gets a SMS message from her mother, Jun Kazama telling her to always be happy despite her background as a Mishima.
“Thank you, mother.” said Sophie to herself when she finishes reading her mother’s text message.
She then checks her Inbox for any other unread messages and unfortunately there weren’t any so she exits and goes back to the main screen before putting it back in her pocket.
“I wonder…I wonder if I would have someone that I like? Maybe it’s Alex.”
Later, at five minutes to six, both Chris and Simon were waiting near the Alfred Street entrance to Milson’s Point station with them in their smart casual clothes.
“So, Chris?”
“Yeah?”
“How do I look?”
“Well…” began Chris as he examines the clothes Simon was wearing. He was wearing his dashing orange polo long sleeve shirt as knowing Shirley likes that particular colour and gray pants with leather belt and boots. Simon had his hair groomed and washed as he too washed his face and hands.
“You look…Great?”
“Great?”
“Oh should I say…Dashing.”
“Thanks, buddy. I could say the same for you.”
“Much appreciated it.”
Chris was wearing his green polo shirt with a gray sweater and blue jeans. He too had washed and groomed his hair with him wearing his black sneakers.
“I have to tell you…This is your night.”
“Indeed, Chris…Indeed. Now where are they?”
“You mean Shirley and Sophie, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Fear not…They will come.”
“Now I am reassured.”
“Hey, boys!” uttered an alluring tone of voice as both Chris and Simon knew at once even without looking that it was Shirley herself. “Boys, we are here!”
“Hey, Shirley.”
“Simon…Chris.”
“Shirley.”
“Hey, Sophie.”
“Chris…Simon.”
“Girls.”
“So, you like my outfit, Simon?”
Simon looked at the alluring outfit Shirley was wearing as she wore a black plain T-shirt with a camera logo on the front and wore mini blue shorts with black stockings completed with shining black running shoes. Shirley also wore a single heart shape earring on her right ear and she put on a bit of makeup on her face and mouth.
“You like?”
“Well, you look…Fabulous.”
“Thanks, Simon…You are quite handsome yourself.”
“Thank you.”
“Sophie…Um…”
“Chris…You look quite well yourself.”
“I could say the same for you.”
Sophie literally wore a dark blue sports singlet with a black leather jacket. She also wore some light blue naval coloured pants and nice white and blue shoes. She even puts on makeup on her face and all as she often likes to do this every once in a while.
“Well…Sure we go?”
“Indeed, Sophie…Shirley?”
“You bet, but…”
“But what?” asked Chris sounding most curious himself.
“We have some more friends wanting to come.”
“More? How many?”
“Oh, four or six.”
“Four or six?”
“Yes, Simon…I am sure you won’t mind?”
“No, Shirley…Not at all.”
“Ah, here they are.”
“Wait up! We are coming!”
Xiaoyu was racing towards them with Panda running beside her and Alisa, Michelle, Ivy, Veronica and Anna were also among the crowd as they were all dressed in their fine casual clothing. Simon was astonished that they have quite a group now and he originally planned to have him, Shirley along with Sophie and Chris but he doesn’t mind if more of Shirley and Sophie’s friends decide to tag along.
“Quite a group we have here.”
“Indeed, Simon…You are okay with this, right?”
“In a way, Chris…I don’t mind.”
“I know…But Sophie and I will arrange something.”
“Thanks.”
“So, everyone here?”
“Yep.” replied Xiaoyu with a wide smile on her face.
“Present.” answered Alisa with a normal smile on her face much like Xiaoyu.
“So, where are we going?” asked Ivy eager to go out into the city and have some fun.
“Well, I say we head to Town Hall.” suggested Sophie as Ivy wonders if that was a good idea.
“The district of Town Hall?”
“Yes…We will head there first and then decide what to do.”
“I see.”
“Shirley, Simon?”
“Well, it’s all right, Sophie…Let’s head there first and then we can decide what to do then.”
“Right.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
“Let’s get going.”
“We should keep our guard up.” suggested Veronica as they are about to venture into what appears to be the gang areas of bloodthirsty dogs and cheeky wolves. “Knowing we are going into the gang zones.”
“I concur, Veronica.” replied Sophie in total agreement.”
“That is why Veronica and I are armed.” said Anna as she and Veronica shows Sophie and the others their side arms.
“Armed?” asked Xiaoyu looking astonished. “What kind of weapon is it?”
“Standard issue…0.35 Smith and Wesson.”
“Good gun?”
“Eight rounds and easy to reload and to handle.”
“Wow.”
“Sophie.”
“I too am prepared myself.”
“We have no doubt about that, Sophie…Right, Anna?”
“Indeed.”
“You are carrying too, Sophie?”
“Yes…My Beretta.”
“A Beretta?”
“Yes, it’s an efficient gun made from Germany somewhere…Am I right, Sophie?”
“You are, Alisa.”
“So, can we go? I want to get to the city and have some fun.” uttered Xiaoyu eager to go and looking quite impatient and anxious.
“Okay, Xiaoyu…Let us go then.”
“Thanks, Shirley.”
“Let’s go, everyone.”
“Yeah!”
(“Indeed!”) roared Panda.
Therefore, the group of girls and boys head into the train station itself and first purchase a return ticket from the city.
“Since we are students we get concessions, yeah?”
“You should? You sort that out with Mr. Carreidas, Xiaoyu?”
“Of course, Michelle…We ask grandpa yesterday to help us.”
“I um…I see.”
“So, once we get there then what?”
“You will know, Ivy…You will know.” replied Shirley reassuring her that everything would be fine.
“Oh, that’s a relief.”
The ten of them head up to the platform and gather in the middle area of platform one as the train platform itself was not as crowded as they thought to be.
“Strange? Not many people tonight.”
“I can see that, Ivy.” replied Veronica.
“Well, here’s our train…Let’s go.”
“Hey, is that a new one?” asked Xiaoyu pointing at the incoming train itself.
“Yes, Xiaoyu…That is one of the new ones.” replied Sophie with a slight smile on her face.
“Yeah, they got those out some time ago…The public complained about not having new upgrades to the train system.”
“They did, Shirley?”
“Of course…Wouldn’t you be?”
“Well?”
Xiaoyu thinks about what Shirley said as she used a tone to make Xiaoyu know that the people of the Sydney Metropolitan need to have good and comfy transportation so she now totally agrees with her.
“Indeed you are correct.”
“Good.”
The new train then stops with the P.A making its regular announcement of where the train stops and its final destination was. Sophie, Shirley, Chris, Simon and the others boarded the train and they all took their seats on the upper deck of the train carriage. Sure enough, the train departs from the station and begins making its way across the Harbour Bridge and into the CBD of Sydney itself.
“My, my…What comfy seats. Don’t you think so, Alisa?”
“Indeed they are, Xiaoyu.”
“So, I wonder…Where should we go on this night out?”
“Beats me…Someplace good.”
“If you say so.”
Panda wants to sit beside Xiaoyu but finds the seats too narrow and sulks in frustration.
(“Damn…These seats too small.”)
“Oh, Panda…Why don’t you stand guard down below on the main level where the um…”
“The seats for the elderly and disability people?”
“That’s right.”
“Sure.”
Eventually, two transit officers in their gray uniforms pass by and immediately they both inform Xiaoyu that animals are prohibited on the train.
“Sorry, young lady…But animals like that are not allow on the train.”
“Not allowed?”
“Yes, you know you can be fined for that.”
“But, but…”
Suddenly, Sophie stands up and moves to deal with the matter.
“Excuse me, officers…She’s with me.”
“And you are?” asked the other transit officer the one with a buzz haircut and a small moustache. Sophie then shows her ID to the officers and much to Xiaoyu, Alisa and even Panda’s surprise the officers apologize to Sophie for their inconvenience.
“Lieutenant, ma’am…Please forgive me.”
“Not at all, officer…Those girls are new here and not really accustomed to the laws here yet. I will take full responsibility for them.”
“If you insist, ma’am…Good night.”
“Yes, goodnight.”
The two transit officers head off as Sophie sits back in her seat with Xiaoyu looking at Sophie with a flabbergasted and astonished expression.
“I don’t believe it…She sorted it out in a flash.”
“Nor can I, Xiaoyu.”
It wasn’t long before the train arrives at Wynyard Station as the platforms were not particularly crowded with people.
“This is Wynyard, right?”
“Yes.”
“Hey, Sophie.”
“Yes?”
“Town Hall is where we get off, yes?”
“Indeed.”
“Got you, Sophie. And um…Sophie?”
“Yes, Xiaoyu?”
“Thanks for that.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Although Xiaoyu doesn’t like girls taller than her she finds Sophie to be okay and someone who is very nice and friendly despite she often remain emotionless. The train then departs from Wynyard Station and makes it way to the next station along the line: ‘Town Hall’. Sophie and Shirley gets up from the seats and heads down to where the automatic retractable doors were with Chris, Simon and the others following suit.
“So, let’s head up to the front of the QVB building and then decide what to do.”
“The QVB what, Sophie?”
“It’s the abbreviation for the Queen Victoria Building, Xiaoyu…Another heritage site.”
“Ah, I see…Thanks, Shirley.”
“We will go to where the Queen Victoria statue is.”
“Okay.”
Finally, the train stops outside Town Hall station on platform two and Sophie along with the others make their way out of the train carriage and make their way up the steps to the main station area.
“So, where do we go from here?”
“Follow me, Xiaoyu.”
“Okay, Sophie.”
They all head through the ticket booths and afterwards make their way up the stairs and onto the busy George Street itself as they were at the intersection of George Street intersecting both Park Street and Druitt Street and the place was filled with a lot of people.
“Gee…It’s quite crowded here.”
“It is.”
“Follow me.”
Sophie, Shirley, Chris and Simon lead their friends across the street intersection when the pedestrian lights turned green. They all then arrived right outside the Queen Victoria statue as Xiaoyu and Alisa were quite astonished of the statue itself.
“Wow…It looks legit.”
“It sure does, Xiaoyu.”
“Okay, this is where we go and do our hang out with our own group.”
“Free time you mean, Shirley?”
“Yes. While Simon, Sophie, Chris and I go on our private um…Private thing. The rest of you can hang out around here.”
“Anywhere?”
“Yes, Xiaoyu…But remember not to stray too far to the west or east. If you know what I mean?”
“I will bear that in deep thought, Shirley.”
“I have no doubt about that.”
“Michelle? Ivy?”
“The two of us might hang about at the area near Goulburn Street.”
“That plaza, right?”
“Yes, Sophie.”
“Okay, just keep an eye out for the enemy then…No fighting and violence unless absolutely necessary.”
“Very well.”
“No problem.”
“Veronica, Anna?”
“The two of us might hang out in the QVB building.”
“Okay then…Xiaoyu?”
“Yeah?”
“Yes, you Alisa and Panda.”
“Well…I don’t know. This place is still kind of new for me.”
“I think there’s a place you might like.”
“Where?”
“Shirley, Michelle, Veronica, Anna…”
“Yes?”
“You know the place?”
“Of course…But answer me this, Xiaoyu?”
“Yes, Shirley?”
“You like books?”
“Well…Some. Comics, graphic novels and cartoon strips.”
“Then the Japanese Kinokuniya Book Shop will be the perfect place for you. You will feel right at home.”
“You sure about that, Michelle?”
“Without a doubt.”
“It is quite a good place…Filled with numerous books and some are even in different languages like Japanese and Chinese.”
“Wow?”
“There’s a Japanese restaurant nearby and a café inside the book store itself.”
“That sounds like a good place, Michelle.”
“That’s right…Wouldn’t you agree, Ivy?”
“Indeed, sir.”
“Okay, let’s go and hang out…We shall have dinner together at one of the good restaurants nearby.”
“Any recommendations, Sophie?” asked Anna.
“Not yet, Anna…Not yet but we will meet back here in about…90 minutes.”
“One and a half hour…I say, two.”
“Two, Xiaoyu?”
“Well, maybe some of the others want to spend more quality time with each other or something.”
“Why…That’s kind of you to say so, Xiaoyu.”
“Really, Simon?”
“Yes…So, sure we?”
“Of course.”
“Be back here in two hours then.”
“Jolly good!”
“Indeed.”
“Well, be careful though…Try not to draw attention to ourselves.” suggested Sophie warning everyone again not to get into gang fighting with Paul Phoenix’s gang and Hwoarang’s gang. They all take note of Sophie’s warning without a doubt and gave them her word.
“We will!” replied them all at once.
“Good…Let’s go and um…Have fun.”
“Yeah!”
Therefore, Sophie, Shirley, Chris and Simon head off to Hyde Park as Shirley and Simon wanted to spend some quality time with each other alone with Sophie and Chris as their best man/woman.
“So, shall we go Hyde Park then? It’s peaceful and quiet there.”
“Well, okay.”
“I think we should watch out for the bikers there. After all, they often hang out there too.”
“My thoughts exactly, Chris.”
“Mine too, Sophie.”
“Hey, I say we all go and have some coffee?”
“Coffee, Shirley?”
“Well, perhaps milkshake.”
“Milkshake?”
“Yes, Simon…You like milkshake, yes?”
“I do. I think that would be a good idea.”
“Great.”
“There’s that Starbucks coffee shop nearby…If it’s still there.”
“I am sure it is, Chris.”
“Then let’s go.”
“Right.”
All four then make their way to the Starbucks coffee shop not too far from where they were. At that moment, Veronica and Anna were strolling in the deserted area of the Queen Victoria Building but still a few shops remain open.
“I couldn’t believe some stores are still open.”
“Things change, Anna.”
“So, any place in particular that you want to go, Veronica?”
“Well, not really.”
“I say we go get something to drink.”
“Good idea…I will bet a convenience store is still open for business.”
“Then let’s go.”
Meanwhile, Xiaoyu, Alisa and Panda make their way to the Japanese Kinokuniya Book Shop as the moment they made their way outside the front doors, the security guards prohibited Panda from entering as animals are not allowed in the shop itself.
“Sorry, girls…But your pet is not allowed in the store.”
“Oh, really?” asked Xiaoyu looking flabbergasted.
“I am afraid it is, little girl.”
“Little girl? Now just wait a minute…” began Xiaoyu looking quite irate and acting a little childish as Alisa steps in to prevent the minor incident from escalating further.
“It is all right, sirs…We will do as you say.”
“Glad to hear it…You can leave your pet outside and go and enjoy reading the books.”
“Good day.”
The two security guards then head off back into the shop as Xiaoyu sulks to herself with her folding her arms in front of her chest.
“Damn…Little girl? Seriously, I may be little but I am strong and determined.”
“I don’t want you to get into trouble, Xiaoyu.”
“Thanks for looking out for me, Alisa.”
“You are welcome…Now shall we go in?”
“After you.”
“After you.”
Both Xiaoyu and Alisa heads into the shop as Xiaoyu decides to go to the English language manga section as she likes to read manga books every once in a while.
“Wow…Look at these manga books. It’s so awesome.”
Alisa meanwhile goes to the magazine section where she likes to read them and find out what kind of things are on it.
“Hmm…Most interesting.”
Meanwhile, Michelle and Ivy head down to Goulburn Street as they both decide to check out the plaza there that was built not too long ago. However, only one or two stores were open meaning their choice of some window shopping is quite limited.
“Gee…This place is not quite crowded.”
“Of course it isn’t, Ivy. It’s Sunday.”
“Right you are, sis.”
“So, I say we head to Chinatown.”
“Chinatown? But that is Hwoarang’s turf.”
“I know…Let’s keep a low profile there.”
“A low profile it is.”
“Okay, let’s go, Ivy.”
“I really wish we could come on a Thursday night maybe Friday or something.”
“I will keep that thought in mind.”
Then the two of them head out of the plaza and head straight for the Chinatown area and prays that they won’t be noticed by Hwoarang and his gang thugs.
“So, where are we going to do some window shopping in the Chinatown area?”
“Well, we will soon far out which stores are still open.”
“Maybe Paddy’s Markets?”
“Perhaps.”
“Or um…Other stores?”
“We will soon find out.”
“Right.”
Therefore, the two twins head to Chinatown as they both knew that trouble could be waiting for them around the corner. They make it to Sussex Street as the street itself had numerous members of Hwoarang’s gang hanging around. Michelle and Ivy decide to walk as quickly as they could and try to avoid direct eye contact.
“We are like lambs strolling through wolf territory, sis.”
“Indeed.”
Michelle leads Ivy to Little Hay Street before making a turn and they both find themselves in the pedestrian walkway of Dixon Street, the main centre of Chinatown.
“Boy, this place is packed with people.”
“Restaurants, diners and bars are open of course.”
“Well, we are going to have together anyway, aren’t we, sis?”
“Correct.”
Suddenly, they see someone eerily familiar making his way out of the Eastern Ocean Restaurant, it was none other than Hwoarang who was in his new dashing black and pink suit.
“Is that…”
“Hwoarang.”
“Gee, he looks unhappy.”
“Yeah…Wait.”
“What’s up, sis?”
“He’s getting out his cell…Making a call to someone important.”
“Then let’s eavesdrop on him, shall we?”
“Sure…But first let us find a safe spot where he won’t see us.”
“Good idea.”
Michelle and Ivy manage to find a place that they could see and eavesdrop on Hwoarang and not get noticed by him.
“Hiding behind a building column…Couldn’t we do better than this?”
“It will have to do, Ivy. This is as far as we could be. Any closer and we would be…”
“Spotted…I know.”
Hwoarang dials a number on his speed dial and listens to the dialing tone and finally gets a response on the other end.
“Hello?”
“Marshall, that you?”
“Sure, it’s me.”
“Say, that deal in the fish market went okay, yeah?”
“It most certainly did.”
“That’s a relief.”
“What’s the matter? You sound quite down.”
“Oh, it’s nothing big…Anyway, I think I might pop over to your place in a minute or so. Maybe a little later if that is okay?”
“Sure…My son and I will be here until 10.”
“Good…That is good.”
Hwoarang then disconnects his call and puts his cell phone back in his blazer pocket as he then strolls towards the ‘The Marshall Law Restaurant’. Michelle and Ivy decide to move back to avoid being seen as they decide to see where Hwoarang was going next.
“He’s off again.”
“Yeah, is he going to Marshall Law’s place at Golden Circle?”
“Yes…Marshall changed the name apparently.”
“Right.”
Hwoarang then meets up with a couple of his fellow gang members as both Michelle and Ivy moves in for a closer look and tries to eavesdrop on what they were saying.
“Hey, boys…Any news?”
“Any news of what, boss?” asked one of the dumb gang members scratching the back of his head as Hwoarang enlightens him by grabbing him by the ear.
“News of Alex Choi, dumb brain.”
“Oh, him…Well, not yet, boss.”
“Yeah, we search all over the city, boss.”
“Come on, boss…We aren’t your secretaries or clerks.”
“That piece of a scum lures me right into the dogs and I got myself bitten badly with my suit ruined.”
“Ouch!”
“Yeah, it was a nice three hundred dollar suit and it was my favourite too!”
“I see.”
“Now go and find him! ON THE DOUBLE!”
“Uh, okay.”
“Got it…Oh, one thing, boss.”
“What is it?”
“When you said the dog bit you was it figuratively speaking or relatively speaking?”
All of a sudden, Hwoarang kicks the goon right in the face knocking him flat on his back as he was certainly not in a mood for bad jokes.
“Get going, you scums! Find him now so I can give him my regards!”
“You are the boss, boss!”
“We will not let you down!”
“Good…Move it!”
“Come on, guys.”
Sure enough, Hwoarang’s five gang members head off with Hwoarang grumbling and mumbling to himself angrily as both Michelle and Ivy heard everything they said including the part where Hwoarang wants Alex to pay for ruining his reputation as well as his favourite suit.
“Man, he’s really hot for getting revenge on Alex.”
“It would seem so, sis.”
“I think we should warn him.”
“Right.”
“So, shall we tail him and find out what Hwoarang is up to?”
“Perhaps…Stay here and I will go and check it out.”
“Stay here?”
“Yes, you got your walkie-talkie with you?”
“Sure…You mean the one we both got when we were only ten?”
“Of course…They still work, yes?”
“Yeah.”
Michelle and Ivy take out their small gray radios and both first check to make sure it was working.
“Testing…One, two and three.”
“Yes, loud and clear, sis.”
“Okay. Wait here and I will relay to you what I see so that the two of us will know.”
“And if something bad happens?”
“Then you rush back to Sophie and the others…Tell them what we have learned.”
“I hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“Me too…Promise me if it happens.”
“I promise.”
“Thanks.”
Michelle then puts her walkie-talkie back in her pocket and prepares to tail Hwoarang as his younger sister wishes her luck.
“Sis…Be careful.”
“Thanks. Oh, keep the volume on that thing down to a minimal to the degree that only you can still hear it.”
“Sure. No problem.”
Michelle therefore tails Hwoarang from a distance with Ivy remaining behind. Hwoarang himself arrives outside of the ‘The Marshall Law Restaurant’. There were some bodyguards and bouncers that Marshall Law himself had hired and from Michelle’s observation they were packing some serious heat from semi-automatics to shotguns.
“Marshall is a careful man indeed.”
Hwoarang gives all the guards out front a five dollar bribery fee as they allow him to go inside and eat and drink all he wants as it was on the house.
“Mr. Law is expecting you, sir.”
“The manager himself, sir.”
“Thanks, guys.”
Hwoarang literally shows respect to Marshall Law’s guards as they were cleverer, smart and not to mention serious in their line of work. Michelle shadows him from behind a tree as Hwoarang makes his way inside the busy restaurant with many people coming to enjoy the great food and dim sums served by Marshall Law and his brilliant cooks.
“My, my…This place is packed.”
“Hwoarang.”
Hwoarang notices someone approaching him and he looked almost identical to Marshall. It was Marshall’s son, Forest Law who was study Hospitality and Tourism at Meadowbank TAFE College. He was studying his Certificate IV but was doing some field work and gaining experience helping his father in the restaurant business and apparently he has got one semester to go and from his grades they were excellent, which made his father quite proud of him.
“Forest…You look well.”
“Thanks.”
Forest had dark brown hair and the same haircut as his father and he wore a waiter’s outfit with white business long sleeve shirt, bowtie and the works with a pencil on his left ear and a notepad to take food orders in his hand.
“You look a little gloomy.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Father is out back making sure the good King crabs are cooked well and up to their standards.”
“King crabs?”
“Yeah.”
“Man, it has been ages since I had one.”
“Maybe I could…”
“Nah…One single person can’t eat all that except for a sumo wrestler.”
“Of course…Like Mr. Ganryu?”
“Yeah…So, you heard from him?”
“Uh…Not really.”
“That’s too bad.”
“So, why don’t I show you to a table…A V.I.P table.”
“Oh, where?”
“Upstairs.”
“Upstairs…Gee, your old man has extended the place hasn’t he?”
“Yes, recently…He was thinking of extending another floor up where it would be a place for playing pool and snooker.”
“Indeed…That’s clever thinking of him.”
“Follow me, please.”
“No, Forrest…After you.”
“Nope…Guests and customers always come first.”
“Well, okay.”
Hwoarang heads off first with Forest leading the way up the next floor where it was the V.I.P level with no one sitting at any of the tables.
“So, this is the V.I.P level, yeah?”
“That’s right…As you can see it is empty and those who are allowed to sit here must book in advance.”
“A booking? I see.”
“So, please…Help yourself to any seat here.”
“Thanks.”
Hwoarang then helps himself by sitting down at a table close to the windows as Forest then goes to serve him some tea but first he heads back to the table and asks what tea Hwoarang would like to have.
“So, what tea would you like to have?”
“Uh…What kind is there?”
“Well, there’s sunflower, jasmine and…”
“I think I will have sunflower.”
“Good choice…It cleanses the mind and body.”
“You know your stuff on tea, my friend.” replied Hwoarang with a friendly smile.
“Wait a moment.”
“Sure.”
At that moment, Michelle knows she has to get inside somehow to eavesdrop on what Hwoarang is planning so she decides to go in as a customer and eventually, a waiter asks how many seats she needs.
“Evening, ma’am…How many?”
“Oh, just one seat, please.”
“Follow me.”
“Thank you.”
Michelle checks her wallet first to see if she has enough cash and she sighs to know that she has more than enough to spare.
“That’s good.”
The waiter shows Michelle her seat and she sits down in a small table intended for two people.
“Thank you.”
“What tea would you like to have?”
“Uh, jasmine.”
“Very well.”
The waiter heads off as Ivy calls in to check.
“I calling M…I calling M.”
“M here…Go ahead, I.”
Apparently, Michelle and Ivy used the first letter of their first names as a way to communicate on their walkie-talkies.
“M…Are you in the restaurant?”
“Affirmative…Ivy, I will try to find out where Hwoarang is. If I am correct he is upstairs.”
“You saw him go up?”
“Well, I glance all around the main floor and there was no sign of him and I could see a set of stairs so…”
“Good observation, sis.”
“Thanks.”
“Listen, we have to meet the others back at the QVB area in 90 minutes.”
“I know…Hopefully I could get out as soon as possible.”
“Oh, well…A good night of rest turns into a night of detective work.”
“Ivy, this is a chance that we cannot pass up.”
“Yes, I suppose.”
“Listen, are there any of Hwoarang’s boys around where you are?”
“Stand by.”
Ivy then glances around as there was no sign of Hwoarang’s men anywhere.
“Uh, no.”
“No?”
“Yeah, I don’t see anyone of them.”
“I see.”
“That’s bad, yeah?”
“In a way…Listen, you better head out of Chinatown for now and stand near the Capitol Theatre.”
“The Capitol Theatre at Campbell Street, right?”
“That’s the one.”
“I will be touch…Over and out.”
“Out.”
Michelle then decides to ask the same waiter who shows her to the table as he comes with a teapot full of jasmine tea.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes?”
“Where can I find the restrooms?”
“Just near the stairs, ma’am.”
“Thank you.”
Michelle then stands up and head to the restrooms but of course her real intention was to find out what Hwoarang was planning as she makes her way quietly up the stairs with no one watching. She stays low and peeks around the corner to find Hwoarang sitting all alone at a table drinking sunflower tea.
“Hey, Forrest.”
“Yeah?”
“I would like to speak to you old man now.”
“Right away.”
Forest Law then heads for the stairs as Michelle then finds a place to hide as Forrest makes his way pass him.
“That was close.”
Michelle waits as she could catch a glimpse of someone coming up. It was none other than Marshall Law himself who was dressed in a nice black suit.
“Hey, Hwoarang.”
“Marshall.”
Hwoarang stands up as he and Marshall exchange a friendly hug and all and afterwards they withdrew slowly away from each other.
“Glad you could make it.”
“So am I.”
“Shall we sit down and talk?”
“Sure.”
Marshall then sits down in the chair on the opposite side of the table where Hwoarang was sitting as he pours himself and then Marshall’s cup some jasmine tea.
“Here you go.”
“Thanks.”
Both men drank a large sip and then get right down to business.
“So, I take it your businesses are not going too well, yes?”
“Yeah, even having the casino doesn’t help much.”
“Well, maybe you could take over the business assets in the west.”
“In the west?”
“Say, the Parramatta area.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that sounds like a decent proposal.”
“Indeed…The west areas of Sydney are quite good with businesses and have numerous industrial areas.”
“Yes, that would be of great benefit to me.”
“Indeed…Let’s drink to that.”
“Of course.”
Both raised their teacups and proposal a toast as Michelle peeks around the corner and overheard what they just said.
“So, how about you, Marshall?”
“Yeah, what about me?”
“What are your business plans?”
“Well, I was thinking about expanding south.”
“South?”
“Yes…To Hurtsville. I know there are a lot of Asian restaurants down there and hopefully I could set up shop and feel right at home.”
“I hope so.”
“I can tell, friend…That you want to get revenge on that Alex Choi.”
“Indeed I do…Somehow he always escapes my grasp.”
“Ho ho…You need not worry. I will take care of this for you.”
“Oh, really?”
“In return, you will help me to run security of Chinatown and the Paddy Markets on Wednesdays and the weekend. Deal?”
Hwoarang thought about this for a second and literally agrees to Marshall’s terms.
“Deal it is.”
“Right.”
Both shake hands as Michelle knows that she has heard everything she needs to and decides to get out while she still can but suddenly someone hits her right in the forehead with a tire iron and knocks her out flat and lands on the ground with a loud thud sound. Both Marshall and Hwoarang heard that and decide to both investigate it.
“What the…”
“Who’s there?”
“It’s me, dad.”
“Forest…What just happen?”
“I had this weird kind of feeling that someone was eavesdropping on the two of you. My martial art senses sense something amiss.”
“Oh, really?”
“Well done, son.”
“So, there’s an intruder?”
“Yes, Hwoarang.”
“Mind if you show us?”
“Sure…See for yourself.”
Forest shows both Hwoarang and his old man of what he meant and both looks down to see the unconscious body of a young teenage girl lying face down on the floor as Marshall kicks her body as it faces up and Marshall knows the person.
“Well, if it isn’t one of the Lau girl twins?”
“You know her, Marshall?”
“I have my sources.”
“Oh, right.”
“Father, what shall we do with her?”
“Well, she obviously heard what we say so in order to keep it a secret then…”
“Oh, allow me, Marshall.”
“Hwoarang?”
“Yes…Allow me to handle the girl and make sure she is silenced…Permanently.”
“Silenced?”
“Yes…But I have to make it like an accident so no one would suspect a thing.”
“Uh, okay.”
“I will call my guards and have them take the body out back.”
“I will get the car.”
“Forest.”
“Yes, father…I will get the guys.”
Forest then heads off with Hwoarang and Marshall staring down at the unconscious Michelle Lau with a venomously and evil smile on their faces.
“Ha ha! She is so going to regret ever crossing with us. Wouldn’t you say, Hwoarang?”
“I concur, Marshall.”
