Fiction: Group 4
I mumbled a few words, not sure how to tell him how much I love Shaanxi. Despite my eagerness to live a
city life, I will always remember my home town. I looked at him and felt a gap between us. I brushed it
aside, not wanting to overreact and dwell on this.
He became my roommate and my guide in this metro city buzzing with vibrancy. We did a lot of things
during my first week here. School hadn’t started yet so we spent our day roaming through the city. Every
nook and corner was discovered and explored. Bun bought me a skateboard so we could speed through the
city maze. It was also a cheap means of transport. What astounded me the most was the feverish night life.
Irritatingly bright neon signs lit up the street late at night. Pubs and bars played loud rock music and people
chilled out, dancing to the beat or chatting loudly with friends and strangers alike. The openness and
senselessness was so different from home where night was a quiet time when most people kept to themselves
and their loved ones only.
Another major difference would be the air. Here, I breathed in polluted smog. At home, it was the clean
fresh smell of soil. Not because there were no cars back home but because there was not as much exhaust-
emitting sources as here. When I asked Bun did he find the air smoggy and hazed, he laughed half-
heartedly like I just asked something stupid, “Well, you are in ‘the world’s factory’, Chun,” he ruffled my
hair playfully, “ the nearest factory is just a few kilometers away!” Somehow, the big contrast between
Guangzhou and home made me feel energized and homesick at the same time.
The semester started in September and I spent my day between school and the part-time waiter job that
Bun found me at the Ah Kun Teochew restaurant. Mr. Chan, my boss from Chaozhou, was strict but
caring. He knew I was busy with schoolwork so sometimes he let me do my revision during non-rush
hours. However, I felt his wary eyes on me at times. I wondered why.
A lot of my colleagues were girls. They all seemed friendly and loved talking to me. I found out they all
loved shopping, especially after receiving pay. They bought loads of accessories, clothes and shoes. But I
didn’t plan to use up my hard-earned salary at once. I would save up and buy a huge house for my parents
to live in one day.
Now that I was busy, Bun got off to hang out with some friends that all have tattoos and blonde hair. When
I returned to our apartment from work, I sometimes saw them drunk, smoking and playing cards. After a
few encounters, I knew some of their names but I did not want to engage with them any further. They
seemed like thugs, people in gangs and triads. Even though I had my suspicions, I knew Bun. He knew right
from wrong, black from white. Surely he wouldn’t be that naïve and made friends with thugs. Besides, he
was kind enough to share an apartment with me, find me a job and show me around. I would be rude to
confront him over his choice of friends.
Spending time at school also found me a new group of friends. Hailey, from Australia was an exchange
student whom I sat next to in class. Although we had different cultural backgrounds, we had fun together
and quickly become good friends. Ajmal, from Pakistan, spoke fluent Cantonese. We lived and worked in
the same neighborhood so we were always together. He treated me to the exotic food from his country. I
think I may have a new favorite dish: Chicken Karahi!
But the most interesting person I met was definitely Erin. She came from Hong Kong. She had a pixie cut,
which outlined her beautiful face. Her sparkling eyes were bright as was her person. She had a witty humor.
Everything seemed funny and right when it came from her mouth. I could never be in a bad mood with her
around, always making me laugh. She was a calm and patient listener. As I shared my problems with her, I
felt consoled by her presence. She faced obstacles too but she tried to hide them from others, masked it with
her usual carefree laugh. I just wish I could comfort her the same way she comforted me and lighten her
spirits the same way she lightened mine.
I snapped back into reality and sighed as I bid Ajmal goodbye at the backdoor of the restaurant. I was an
hour early because Professor Chiu was absent today. Mr. Chan probably wouldn’t mind. I pushed open the
heavy door unexpectedly, then I saw a mob of blonde hair in front of me, all holding daggers with blades so
