Fiction: Group 2
A Magical Expedition
Singapore International School, Ng, Xiu Yu Jamie - 11, Fiction: Group 2
id
I
ever
tell
you
about
this
crazy
research
expedition
that
happened
last
Christmas?
No?
Well,
it
is
about
time
I
do!
It
was
the
night
before
we
set
off
for
the
Pearl
River
Delta
expedition.
I
was
in
my
flat
in
Hong
Kong.
The
wind
blowing
fiercely
outside
was
as
noisy
as
a
pack
of
wolves
how
ling
together,
that
every
time
I
tried
to
doze
off,
I
was
unsuccessful.
I
should
turn
in
early
for
the
trip
tomorrow.
I
tired
myself
out
so
much
by
rereading
the
Harry
P
otter
Series
that
I
was
finally
falling
asleep...
An
apparition
appeared,
whispering
slowly,
“Marin
a,
your
wardrobe
is full
of
mysteries
and
secrets.
Use the knowledge of magic on your trip, it is time
to
show
how
well
you
know
the
spells.”
“ MARINA!”
“AHHH!”
I
woke
up
and
screamed.
“Darling,
hurry
up
and
get
ready,
we
need
to
be
on
board
the
ship
at
Lantau
Island
in
two
hours!
Have
you
packed
yet?
We
are
staying
on
the
boat
for
a
few
days!”
Mum
said,
all
in
one
breath,
then
left,
banging
the
door
behind
her
in
a
hurry.
I
nodded,
too
dazed
as
I
was
still
thinking
about
my
dream.
I
vaguely
remembered
why
we
had
to
make
the
trip.
Working
as
a
journalist,
Mum
had
an
assignment
to
write
about
t
he
effects
of
pollution
on
pink
dolphins
in
the
Pearl
River
Delta.
Right,
my
dream!
In
two
stridi
ng
steps,
I
had
made
it
to
my
wardrobe,
flung
it
open!
“Wow!!”,
my
wardrobe
was
bursting
with
a
mountain
of
books,
but
best
of
all,
I
saw
a
WAND!
I
was
excited
to
get
started
reading
and
learning
all
the
charms,
but
how
was
I
supposed
to
fit
all
of
them
in
my
suitcase?
An
idea
popped
in
my
mind,
not
a
bad
idea
at
all.
In exactly
ten minutes, I was
ready.
Why?
Magic.
I
frantically flipped through the pages of A
Beginners Guide
To Charms, looking for the
’Undetectable Extension Charm’.
I simply could not believe that
with one
flick of my wand and the muttering of the incantation
“Pack”, everything had packed itself neatly
inside
my
now
‘extended’
suitcase.
It
was
past
noon
as
we
set
sail
from
Lantau
island.
To
carry
out
Mum’s
research,
the
plan
was
to
stop
by
some
of
the
major
cities,
like
Shenzhen,
Dongguan,
Guangzhou,
Zhuhai
and
Mac
au
to
conduct
interviews
and
collect
information.
As
I
stood
on
the
deck
of
the
boat,
I
saw
shoal
s
of
brightly
coloured
fish
swimming
in
the
water,
but
I
could
see
so
much
trash
in
the
sea
too.
What
once
is
a
lovely
sea
of
blue
had
turned
into
a
colour
as
grey
as
a
stormy
cloud.
Now
I
u
nderstood
the
notorious
pollution
problem
in
the
region.
No
wonder
the
habitats
of
pink
dolphins
were
being
threatened.
On
the
third
day
of
our
trip,
Mum
suddenly
burst
into
my
cabin,
clutching
a
newspaper
i
n
her
hand,
with
a
wild
look
in
her
eyes.
She
thrust
the
newspaper
into
my
hand
and
slumped
o
ver
in
the
couch.
The
headlines
read
“PINK
DOLPHINS
IN
PEARL
RIVER
DELTA
MYSTER
IOUSLY
DISAPPEARED”.
I
scanned
the
article
and
realised
that
there
were
less
than
fifty
pink
d
olphins
in
the
region
now.
If
we
could
not
find
out
the
cause
soon,
it
would
only
mean
one
thi
ng
—
the
extinction
of
pink
dolphins
in
the
Pearl
River
Delta.
Alarmed
by
the
bad
news,
I
had
a
restless
night.
As
dawn
approached,
I
was
awakened
b
y
strange
noises
—
splish
splash,
splish
splash,
SPLASH
—
I
fell
out
of
bed,
heart
pounding
madly.
I
looked
out
of
my
cabin
window
and
saw
an
unmistaka
ble
flash
of
light
coming
from
a
fishing
boat.
Curiously,
I
went
up
to
the
deck
of
our
boat
for
D
