“Twenty thousand! Twenty thousand!”
The girl’s clear and crisp voice rang out like a string of silver bells, shattering the unique stillness of the alleyway at dawn. A stray dog raised its head to look, then tucked its tail and returned to digging at a pile of watermelon rinds in the garbage. The disturbance sent a swarm of green-headed flies buzzing into the air, some of which landed on the white-and-blue school uniform of the girl. She waved them away and tilted her head back to call out again, “Twenty thousand!”
With a creak, a weathered, blackened wooden window was pushed open, revealing a boy’s head of messy, unkempt hair. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he asked, “A-Yun, isn’t today your high school entrance exam?”
“Duh! That’s why I came early to wake you up!” The girl’s face lit up in the morning sunlight, her gem-like eyes sparkling. “Don’t forget to brew medicine for your grandma.”
“Got it!”
“And I gave Uncle Huang Liu ten yuan yesterday so he’d save you a fresh fish today. Don’t forget to pick it up.”
The boy frowned. “Where’d you get the money?”
“None of your business!” The girl’s translucent face was tinged with a faint blush by the morning glow. “I’ve got to go now.”
“Wait a sec.” The boy ruffled his messy hair and disappeared from the dark window. When he reappeared, he was holding a box of pastries. The finely wrapped box stood out in stark contrast to the dilapidated wooden building, like a flower blooming amidst garbage. The boy grinned, showing his white teeth. “It’s a holiday today, so I bought you a box of mung bean cakes.” Then, he took a basket, tied it to a rope, and carefully lowered the cakes down.
The girl caught the cakes. The luxurious velvet sheen of the box made her frown this time. She tilted her head up and asked, “Where’d you get the money?”
“Don’t worry about it.” The boy wiped the sweat off his dark face by the window. “They said it’s a famous brand and tastes great. Try it!”
The girl’s brow furrowed. “Did you gamble again?”
The boy scratched his head, stammering without a word, but her face darkened. She placed the pastries on the ground and turned to leave.
The boy ran down the stairs, but the alley was already empty. Only the dirty, gray-black stray dog was left sniffing at the exquisite pastry box on the ground.
“Get lost!” The boy shouted at the dog in frustration. The empty alley bathed in the newly risen sun seemed to lose all its vibrancy.
——————————Divider of a Prestigious University——————————
“Ah! Ah! No, no! Ah… ah…”
“I can’t take it anymore… Ah!”
…
The shrill screams left a group of girls pale and startled. Everyone exchanged nervous glances while the dance instructor stood tall and called out, “Next!”
0 Comments