Fan Fiction |
by Mimosa
So it was August… Time did fly, and much to my unwillingness, the end of my summer in Hong Kong came rushing in.
It was time to go home. In fact, I’d been delayed the trip home for more than a week already. 10 days, to be exact. Now why would I remember that precisely? Well, how could you not if your dear mother would order each and every one of your brothers to call every day of the extra week to make sure you’d be home… “in time for your surgery, Flora!”
“Tell Mom, please!” I repeated over the phone for how many times I lost count “I’m not a little girl anymore. I know I need to get home in time for the surgery, and I will. Just stop checking on me!”
“Like I want to!” all my brothers would grunt just the same way “Just book the ticket and fly home, Flora!”
But I felt bad leaving Ada and Nick to struggle with the mountain of works piled up from the HOPE program. Nick Gor almost decided to close up the program the week following Gallen’s accident, if it wasn’t for Gallen to express his wish for HOPE to continue. Little did the group know the absent of its key player from the program had created such a huge back-log…
“And now you’re leaving!” Ada tugged at her hair dramatically “Next time you come back here, you won’t see me, girl!” She threw a sharp glance toward Nick, who was sticking his nose against his monitor “He’ll sure work me to death!”
“Come on, Ada!” I rolled my eyes “It’s not all that bad!”
“Stop bad-mouthing me, Ada!” Nick grumbled, still typing furiously into the keyboard “Especially when I’m no longer your advisor!”
“What?” Nick comment’s sent both of us jumping “What do you mean by that?”
“What do you mean you’re no longer my advisor?” Ada pursed her lips “You threw me out, Dr. Cheung? What have I done?” She began pacing up and down “I know sometimes I said bad thing about you, sometimes I yelled at you, sometimes I … I… But why did you throw me out?” Ada fluttered her arms wildly “Why? Tell me why! You have to be professional; you have to give me a reason!” Her voice rose a little hysterical “And why must you break the bad news to me tonight, of all nights?”
“Calm down, Ada!” Nick appeared a little nervous as he looked up and glided his way a little further from her… “We was thinking it’s best that you stop working for me… We…”
“We?” Ada stopped in front of Nick with her hands on her hips “Who are you talking about? Who else is in this?”
“Us!” Nick placed his notebook computer down on the couch and found his way to the back of it, now having the couch as a physical barrier between him and the furious Ada. “I meant Gallen and me, Ada, we think it’s best for you to go work with him, now that he’d decided to leave Grantham and come to HKU as a research faculty…”
“That’s right,” Annie voice chimed in “My brother told me last night he’s accepted HKU’s appointment…”
“But why do you throw me out, Dr. Cheung? I don’t wish to change my advisor!” Ada cried “Why on earth would you think it’s best for me to move and work for other people?”
“Gallen isn’t “other people”, Ada!” Nick hastened to an explanation “Gallen will take over the biomaterial project, the one you’re working on, Ada! So we think naturally you’d like to work for him. Plus Gallen said I’d have more chance that way…”
Nick face suddenly reddened as he stopped short amid his sentence, realizing he’d said more than he should. Annie covered her mouth trying not to laugh. Kevin looked amused.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ada looked from one of us to the other, appeared lost. It was rare to see Ada ever appeared lost…
“Come on, you should thank Gallen for being so thoughtful, Ada!” I, too, tried hard to conceal my smile as I wrapped my arm around her waist. She appeared lost still “You don’t see it?”
Ada shook her head “No!”
“Come on, Ada!” I blurted out “Ada’s principle!”
“What?” She came to realize it “You told him… them… You told them that?”
“Told what?” Annie was being nosy “What’s Ada’s principle?”
“That’s a long list!” Kevin claimed with a straight face “I don’t remember most of them, but one of them, I remember, is that…”
“Kevin, say it and your life is over!” Ada wagged a threatening finger at Kevin, who stepped back a little, laughing.
“Tell me, Kevin!” Annie widened her eyes adoringly “Please Kevin!”
Poor Kevin suddenly realized the sticking situation he let himself in. He scratched his head, not knowing what move he should make besides smiling sheepishly.
“Well,” Nick came bravely into the rescue “Ada, I was hoping if I’m not your advisor, your professor, your teacher… You will accept me as your, you know…, your…”
“Boyfriend?” Annie was quick to offer help “Lover?”
“Thank you Annie!” Nick said without tearing his eyes off Ada, whose face had now turned all red “I mean it, Ada! And I don’t want you to have to give up your principle because of me! I love you!”
We gasped. Nick’s audacity was indeed amusing!
“You guys are all crazy!” She fluttered her arms wildly around her again “I don’t know what you’re talking about anymore! I need … I need…”
“Air?” Annie was again very quick to offer help “Time?”
“Yes, air!” Ada cried
The moment she rushed out the balcony door with Nick by her heels, we all rolled down on the couch laughing to tear.
“I didn’t really expect him to pull that trick of switching Ada to Gallen’s supervision!” I exclaimed the moment I caught my breath “Where’s your brother Annie?”
“Er…” I might be mistaken, but Annie turned slightly away and avoided my eyes “He said he felt a little headache, so he took a pill. But don’t worry Flora Jie…” she spoke rather fast “He’ll be here soon!”
Tell me why I felt something unsettling in the back of my mind. Something quite disturbing, something that was always there, but I’d never paid much attention.
7:25 …
We didn’t know what Nick did, but he was successful in getting Ada back to the room before other people showed up.
7:31…
Moses arrived punctually with his assistant and little princess Kelly. Maggie looked a little friendlier than the first time I saw her, smiling a little more as she went around mingling with Annie and Ada, while Kelly began to shower her affection on me. She was like a little canary got away from her birdcage, chirping and tweeting all the time. She was telling me about her new friend at the swimming club one minute, and her new game set the next. Her father must be in a very good mood, for him let her do whatever she pleased. I glanced at him from time to time, and caught more than one his gaze toward Maggie. It was interesting how things would evolve romantically over the course of time.
“Flora Jie,” Kelly tugged at my sleeve again and asked with her mouth full of cookies “Do you like chocolate or vanilla cookies?”
“Chocolate!” I said without much thinking, “how about you Kelly?”
“Me too!” She nodded excitedly “Do you like grape or cheese?”
“Why do you compare grape with cheese, Kelly?” I asked
“I don’t know, I like grape!” Kelly frowned solemnly “I think so!”
She picked up a grape and carefully put it into her mouth. I watched with interest. Such a little lady! She smiled, thought for a little and then decided to go on with her little game “Do you like guitar or piano?”
“Piano,” I said, and the sudden mention of piano just made me miss him so much. I glance at the clock on the wall… 8:15 already.
“Kelly,” I told the little girl “I’ll have to go make a phone call okay? I’ll be right back!”
“I like piano too!” She waved at me and claimed. Then she turned around to sit herself properly and began to hum a tune. I stopped… That was obviously “Right Here Waiting…”
“Kelly, who teaches you that song?”
“Gallen Gor!” she dangled her legs “He told me it’s his favourite song, because his girlfriend loves that song. Are you his girlfriend?”
“Now why do you say that, Kelly?”
“He draws a lot of you, Flora Jie!” Kelly said with an air of childish secrecy “He draws your picture!”
“Gallen Gor came to your place often, Kelly?”
“Yes!” Kelly appeared thoughtful “He came everyday… He came yesterday!”
Everyday? Yesterday?
“What time did Gallen Gor come to your place, Kelly?”
“After my school!” Kelly reached for another grape.
After Kelly’s school? Kelly’s summer school ended at 3 pm, I’d just learned from Maggie. 3:30 pm everyday Gallen was supposed to go to the hospital for his physical therapy. How could he end up going to Kelly’s house? So he didn’t come to any of the treatment session? What’d been happening? Why did he keep this from all of us? Why did he keep this from me? What else did he keep from me?
I sat for a little while with Kelly chirping cheerfully by my side. My head swirled. I glanced at the clock once more, 15 minutes to 9. I got up…
“Annie, we need to talk!”
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