Fan Fiction |
by Mimosa
“Hey, wait!” Kevin hollered from his car at Ada and me. We were already late for our first Monday meeting with the volunteer committee, and what we needed the least now was listening to Kevin’s preaching of being organized and punctual and all that. We played deaf and broke into a quicker pace, but Kevin didn’t give up. He put the car in reverse and caught us with ease.
“Later, Kevin!” Ada stared at him threateningly, tapping on her wrist watch “We’re having a meeting in negative 13 minutes!”
“I gave you two a wake up call, and I came early, and…”
“Cut!” Ada yelled, and Kevin retreated a step, shaking his head.
“So what do you want to say, Kev?” I was just as impatient as Ada. I wouldn’t want to be late for the first meeting. That would look rather bad. Well, by late, I meant lat..er than the 13 minutes that had already elapsed. We couldn’t really do anything about it now.
“Here!” Kevin passed us each a printout of what looked like a schedule. Well, it was a schedule, accounted to every minute. Ada twirled her fingers around her temples and stuck her tongue at me. Kevin paid her a reproachful look, before turning to me “Flora, remember! You have to be back right to this spot” He stomped his foot “at noon! Or else we won’t be able to find you!”
“Hello?” Ada knocked Kevin’s head with her cell phone “What is this little thing for, huh Kevin?”
“What if her phone loses signal?” Kevin retorted, rubbing the pain away. “What if the battery goes flat? What if…”
Ada and me were only saved by the bell. That was just a figure of speech, since there was not really any bell, only the sound of a tire stretching as a red convertible turned into the side road we were standing on. We jumped off the road just in time. It would just take a second later and we’d all be history. Before the curse left Ada’s lips, she swallowed it back and widened her eyes excitedly.
“Annie?”
“Who’s that?” I asked, watching keenly as the red convertible pulled into parking behind Kevin’s car. Stepping out from it was a girl in a clever-tailored white suit. She beamed brightly at us
“Hi Kevin”
“You’re loaded, Annie!” Kevin teased, eyeing the vehicle “Bought it yourself?”
“Yeah right!” Annie laughed “It’s my special belated graduation gift from my brother!”
“That’s very late!” I remarked "Assuming you're in Ada's league!"
“Better late than never!” She grinned “Who is this, Ada?” She extended her hand at me “Annie Lo, I’m three years their junior, actually!” She tilted her head at Ada “I’ve just started last year!”
“Nice to meet you!” I liked her already “Flora!”
“Oh, you’re Flora!” Annie jumped up excitedly “I’ve heard tons about you from these two! So you’re staying here, for how long?”
“About two months, and I’m joining Ada and Kevin on the Hope program!”
“Are you really?” Annie clapped her hands “Welcome! I’m on that committee!”
“Woa! Didn’t you say you’ve just started?” I squinted my eyes, looking at the petite girl.
“Well,” Ada chuckled “What would you expect? Her brother initiates the program, Flora!”
“Really?” I asked with full enthusiast “I thought your advisor is the one?”
“Well” Annie laughed merrily “They join force! My brother obviously needs someone to keep him on the surface of the Earth. Sometime I think he does not belong here!”
“If not, then where?” I raised my brow, amused
Annie pointed up, giggling. Ada filled in “Middle space!” I couldn’t help but laughed.
“Hey girls!” Kevin leaned on his car, looking hurt “Am I invisible?”
“Aww, sorry Kevin” Annie said soothingly, while Ada grunted
“Aren’t you supposed to get to your lab, Kevin?” I hinted
“Fine, if that’s what you want me to do, my lady!” He chuckled, and hastily got into his car before I had a chance to give him a serious whack on his head.
We rushed to the meeting room to find it’d already packed with about 20 other volunteers. We fought our way up to the first row, the only row that was still left empty.
“We’re VIPs” Annie giggled
We’d obviously missed the welcome talk, but in perfect timing for Ada’s advisor introduction to the program. He came up to the podium with brisk steps. He scanned the audience, then his glance rested on the three of us. He nodded smilingly. From what Ada told me, he was an affable man. A very desirable bachelor, to be exact! Only 33 years of age, Doctor Nick Cheung’d already appeared twice on the cover of BMJ, been the primary author of 5 text books, directed 2 research centers, and captured the heart of all his female students. Well, maybe not all! Tomboy Ada was somehow “immune” to his charisma. We had no idea why!
“He looks even better than the picture you send me!” I leaned over and whispered into Ada’s ear
“Neutralize him!” Ada scribbled on her notepad “I’ll support you!”
“Nah!” I wrote back “Other pathogen detected!”
She turned and gave me a long are-you-serious stare. I winced.
Annie followed up with a brief, concise, and informative presentation on the task and timeline through out the whole volunteer program. Hope turned out to be more extensive than I thought, and Annie at the podium turned out to be a total contrast of the girl driving the red convertible. She was impressively professional.
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During lunch, I inquired her about her brother, and Annie said he will make his appearance at the orientation cocktail that night.
“What’s your brother doing exactly, Annie?” I asked casually “He’s affiliated with the university?”
“Well, yes, in a way” Annie smiled warmly “But he doesn’t teach! He doesn’t have time!”
“He’s a surgeon, Flora!” Ada’d just come back holding a tray full of deserts “Now forget about Annie’s brother, let’s tell us about your newly found pathogen!”
“You’re a pathologist?” Annie asked innocently, causing Ada to break into laughter
“We meant her new prince charming, Annie!” Ada managed to say while catching her breath
“Talking about me?” Kevin appeared from nowhere…
“He is?” Ada said in pretended shock.
“Yeah, right!” I rolled my eyes,
“Kevin wouldn’t be a pathogen!” Annie said in his defense
“Right, he’s only a constant plague!” Ada nodded with a straight face
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The constant plague Kevin threw Ada a dangerous look before gallantly opened the cardoor for me.
“Care to join us?” he asked Ada grumpily
“Actually” Annie looked at Ada “She wants to test drive my new car!”
“Then I’ll have to get back to the lab anyway” Ada sighed comically “So Kevin will be your designated driver of the day! Have fun Flora!” She waved off Kevin and me. “I’ll see you at home!”
“Okay Kev, where are we heading?” I asked, fastening my seatbelt. It was still a little strange for me to seat to the left of the car.
“Let’s see, according to this…” Kevin took out his Palm Pilot
“Arggg…” I grunted.
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“Kevin!” I groaned “I can’t possibly see all of Hong Kong in half a day!”
“But you will be very busy starting tomorrow” He said with reason, “You won’t have too much time to visit all the places you want!”
“We could always do some of it on weekends?” I negotiated “I have weekends!”
“Flora” Kevin halted and looked at me “You’ve heard Annie! We don’t work on the regular working week!”
“Fine!” I gave up and let him proceeded to the next bullet point on his list. “But I need to be home by 6” I warned him “The reception started at 7!”
“Girls!” Kevin exclaimed
“Say it again!” I said in a grave tone
“Extraordinary girls!” He grinned sheepishly.
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Ada and me fought over the bathroom the second time, then Ada got into a fit for unable to find her ocean blue dress. Kevin stared frightfully at the clothing and make-up articles that Ada had scattered all over the sofa and on the floor. Gingerly, he sat himself down on the edge of the loveseat, and immediately bounced back up.
“What the…” He looked with distaste as he held up the little pinkish tube
“Hey Ada!” I called out “Kevin found your lip gloss!”
“Thanks God!” Ada rushed out, still in her short and T-shirt. She snatched the tube from Kevin’s hand “Love you!” She gave it a kiss.
“Urg!” it was my turn to wink in disgust
“What?” Ada asked
“Er…” I hesitated “It’s just that… Kevin has just found it from under himself.”
“Kevin!” Ada turned slowly back “You are so dead!”
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[Hong Kong - Marriot Hotel - Reception Hall]
It was amazing that we still managed to arrive at the reception hall just in time. Annie’d already been there, this time in an elegant white tea-length shantung dress. She seemed to love white. We followed her to navigate around, shaking hands to others, exchanging a few words, just mingling for a good time. Ada’s advisor was busy talking to a group of older professors, but didn’t fail to notice us. He came around a few minutes later and toasted me a welcome. He was nice, and he integrated himself naturally into the group, without invoking the sense of superiority.
“He’s young at heart!” Ada said teasingly.
“And you’re a man at heart!” Annie nodded.
“Hey, speak for yourself!” Ada retorted “He pays lot of attention to you, too!”
“That’s different!” Annie laughed “He has to keep an eye on me, all because my beloved brother requests him so!”
“That reminds me!” I chimed in “Where’s your brother?”
“I don’t know!” Annie tipped on her toes to scan the room “Too many people. Hey, you’re taller than I am, it’s easier for you to look, Flora!”
“But how do I know how he looks like?” I laughed at Annie’s silly remark, but scanned the room nonetheless.
Then I saw him!
Not Annie’s brother, but him!
He was standing right at the doorway in a black suit, facing slightly the other way. I didn’t get a clear view of his face, but I couldn’t possibly mistake the broad shoulder and the distinctive jaw line. I turned away, heart drumming inside my chest.
“Flora, what’s wrong?” Kevin was the first who spotted the look on my face
“Oh my, you look as white as a sheet!” Ada exclaimed
“Like you’ve just seen a ghost” Annie confirmed
“Not a ghost, but my worst nightmare!” I whispered
“Huh? Where?” My friends whispered back. They were obviously enjoying teasing me. But I was in no mood to retort back to them.
“9 o’clock” I managed to say “The main entrance!”
“9 o’clock, or the main entrance?” Kevin was being silly “The main entrance is at about 9:15 position to me!”
“Does it matter?” I snapped “And don’t stare! You guys draw the attention!”
“Hmmm… ” Kevin grumbled
“Well, ” Ada remarked with a chuckle “I say he’s decent!”
“He’s your nightmare?” Annie asked. I could hear a mix of surprise and amusement in her voice.
“Guys, stop staring!” I pleaded “I don’t want him to see me!”
Annie and Ada turned to me with mischief in their eyes. They were both about to say something when Dr. Nick Cheung approached us. The girls exchanged a few words with their advisor, and run off together, I guessed, to attend to some errands.
“Kevin,” Ada said with a wince “Be on your guard!”
But Kevin soon turned restless “Flora” he turned to me “I think I should go move the car! We’re parking on the restricted zone.”
“No,” I panicked “Stay here! I don’t want to be alone!”
“But I don’t want to get a ticket” Kevin shook his head “Do you want to go with me then?”
He should still be right there at the entrance. If I went with Kevin, I’d have to pass him “You go ahead, Kevin” I sighed “I’ll just wait for you here!”
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I didn’t dare to turn back and look. I just kept staring at the tray of fruit in front of me as if it contented the key to the cure of AIDS.
I just pray for him not to come this way for whatever reason. Then a hand placed on my shoulder. I jumped and turned, it was only Annie
“Don’t do that again, Annie!” I whined, placing a hand on my chest to calm my wild tumbling heart.
“Sorry,” She stucked her tongue out “Just want to introduce my brother to you!” She danced a step sideway and gestured somewhat a theatrical bow.
I extended my hand as I looked up.
Then my hand went to cover my mouth.
“Flora, Gallen Lo, my brother. Dai Gor, Flora Chan. She’s from US, she’s joining Hope for the summer!”
He nodded politely.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Chan!”
“Likewise,” I stammered “Dr. Lo”
“Please, call me Gallen!” His eyes smiled knowingly “And thank you for volunteering for Hope!”
“My pleasure, really!” I said, feeling myself blushing under his look.
“I’ll trust you to entertain my friend, Dai Gor!” Annie said in a commander's tone “I still have someone to say hi to!”
“Annie!” I said hopelessly
“Yes, ma’am!” He playfully saluted his sister and gestured to stop one of the waiters “Would you like something to drink, Miss Chan?” He asked
“Just sparkling water would be fine!” I said, secretly confused. He was acting as if we were meeting for the first time.
He picked up the glass of water for me and a red wine for himself. I mumbled a thank. He sipped the wine and led me to the window overlooking the bay.
“How do you like Hong Kong, Miss Chan?” He asked
“Very nice!” I said, then decided to keep silence. Maybe it was the best way to prevent shooting my mouth off like the last two times. He seemed to respect my choice of not having a conversation. We stood there sipping our own glasses, then my wicked curiosity urged me to steal a side glance at him. For a moment I thought I saw a very far-away, very dreamy look on his face. But he must have sensed that he was being watched. He turned back to face me, leaning slightly against the panel with his left elbow on the wooden rail. I didn’t have time to avert my visual, and we locked gazes for a moment.
He had very nice eyes!
I turned away as soon as I realized how much I had enjoyed the brief moment. I scowled myself! He must have been laughing at me now, secretly.
Then he broke the silence. His question threw me off guard
“Do you happen to have a twin sister, Miss Chan?”
“Huh?”
“Pardon me for being a little frank. But you look exactly like a girl I’ve met!” He said
Slowly, but I realized what he was driving at.
“But you’re so much nicer than she is!” He laughed quietly “You don’t jump on people and make accusations”
“You!” I turned bright red. “I know from the beginning you’re not going to let me off that easily! You must bring it up, don’t you? Fine, it was my fault for wrongly accusing you about Kelly, but must you make fun of me? You know what! You!” I stopped to catch my breath, and suddenly realized what I was doing. Oh my god, not again! Not the third time!
“You ARE her!” He whispered amusingly “Do I know what?”
“That’s just me!” I said sulkily “So laugh all you want!”
“I won’t!” He said. Something in his tone was very sincere. It made me look up.
He pressed his handsome lips together, obviously in an effort not to grin “You said it yourself, that’s just you!”
I stared at him. I wanted to stare him down. The corner of his lip twitched… I kept staring, and a grin finally spreaded its way accross his face. That was it! I slammed the half-empty glass down the tray, and busted out of the room. I thought I probably shoved a couple of people off my way, and most likely caused their drinks to spill.
Those people may think something was wrong with me, but I didn’t really care.
He said he wouldn’t laugh at me, yet he did. Well, it was nothing more than a grin, but it was all the same!
I hate him!
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