by Lees, Julian
‘‘We never ‘ad no Chinese in here before.’’
‘‘Are you serving lunch?’’ asked Adrian.
The publican slewed his eyes at Lu See, more in curiosity than anything else, before grabbing a dimpled glass. His Cambridgeshire accent was slow-paced. ‘‘Oi got me a choice of ploughman’s platter – Stilt’n or cheddar – shepherd’s pie and cold bangers with grey-vee.’’
‘‘What do you want to eat, goosey?’’
Both Lu See and Sum Sum looked bewildered.
‘‘How about we order three Stilton ploughmen’s,’’ Adrian offered.
They sat at a table by the window.
Lu See wanted to bring up her forthcoming interview at Girton. ‘‘So tell me, what kind of questions will they ask? My interview is next week, on March 2nd.’’
Adrian sipped his beer. ‘‘They’ll start with your academic record.’’
‘‘I received a high pass in my Cambridge Senior School Certificate. They even printed my name in the Malay Mail. I was on a list with about thirty other pupils.’’
‘‘Then they’ll want to know what you intend to read.’’
‘‘Theology. The church back home has always been important to me. Perhaps more than ever now that I’m looking to replace the pipe organ.’’
‘‘What about fees?’’
‘‘I have money from my aunt. She’s made a deal with me. If I can find her a suitable pipe organ for the new church at Po On Village by the autumn, she will support me. I just have to get the organ shipped in time for Christmas.’’
As they chatted, an angular man dressed in a buff waistcoat and cream jacket minced through the door. His face was smooth and long and very pale. He stopped to admire his blond coiffure in a mirror and then swung his shoulder round theatrically to face the room.
‘‘Adie!’’ he cried.
‘‘Hello, Pietro.’’
‘‘I was just on my way to Heffers to grab the new book about Stalin’s reforms. You really have to applaud the man. The Webbs are all for what Russia’s trying to achieve.’’ He touched his hair and grinned at Lu See, showing her his left profile. ‘‘And who might you be?’’
‘‘Me? I’m Teoh Lu See.’’
‘‘Tea-oh loo seat, Tea-oh loo seat …’’ He stuck a finger to his chin, trying to place her. ‘‘Brah-haaa! Of course!’’ He laughed a hyena laugh. ‘‘The girl you told me about, Adie. Oh, what a beautiful face you have. And you?’’ He flipped the same finger at Sum Sum. ‘‘Who are you?’’
‘‘My name is Sum Sum.’’
‘‘Samson! What a delightful name! Jawbone of an ass and all that! You look more like a Delilah if you ask me. Lovely hands, beautiful fingernails, dahling. Anyway, I must dash.’’ He capered out the door.
‘‘Who on earth was that?’’ asked Lu See with a giggle in her voice.
‘‘That was Pietro. He’s a second year at Christ’s studying political science. Half-Italian, but hates Mussolini and the fascists. We share similar world views. He’s deaf in his right ear and asks everyone to stand on his left.’’
‘‘Adie?’’ Lu See regarded him.
He shrugged. ‘‘That’s what he likes to call me.’’
‘‘His head’s a bit of a funny shape.’’
‘‘It’s what we like to call an intelligent forehead.’’
‘‘It looks like a milk bottle.’’
‘‘You have a high forehead.’’
‘‘Nonsense.’’
When their lunch appeared Sum Sum’s eyes widened in disbelief. She studied the objects on the plate: four large pickled onions, a droopy spring onion, a dollop of brown chutney, a bread roll and a sweaty slab of veined cheese that smelled of feet.
‘‘What do I do with this?’’ she asked Adrian.
‘‘What do you mean?’’
‘‘Is it supposed to smell this way, lah, like rotting shoes?’’
‘‘Have you never had Stilton before?’’
Sum Sum shook her head, blinking at the stinky, sweaty triangle. ‘‘My grandmother’s legs used to look just like this.’’
‘‘Break off some bread and have a slice of the cheese with the chutney. It’s nice once you get used to the odour, a bit like eating durian.’’ He pushed her plate closer, almost teasingly.
She took a bite and almost gagged. ‘‘Aiyo! No wonder we only people eating here! They trying to poison us.’’ She washed her mouth out with a swig of ginger ale.
Adrian speared a bit of crumbly Stilton with a fork and stuck it in his mouth. ‘‘It’s actually very nice with a pickled onion. What do you think, goosey?’’
‘‘To be honest I feel a bit nauseous.’’
‘‘Funny you should say that, my sociology lecturer this morning was talking about the many herbal treatments for nausea. Things found in the jungle and in the Tibetan plains. Arrowroot works best. Also good for infants with urinary complaints.’’
‘‘Aiyo! What are blue things in the cheese?’’
‘‘Mould.’’
She lifted her eyes and stared at him. ‘‘You joking now, meh? I smash you if you’re joking.’’ He wasn’t. ‘‘Mould? Do people in this country always eat like this?’’
Adrian dabbed his mouth with a paper napkin, trying to hide his smile.
The publican thumped his hand on the bar counter. ‘‘Time! Drink up please.’’
Adrian looked at his watch. It was 2.40 p.m. ‘‘Right, I suggest you girls go home and take a nap. I have a surprise for you tonight, after supper. Remember to wear your most comfortable shoes.’’
That night Adrian met the girls outside their door at Portugal Place at 8 p.m. He lit a cigarette and tossed the matchbox on to the cobbled ground. ‘‘Listen,’’ he said, almost in a hush. ‘‘I’d like you both to squeeze my hand. I want to see how strong your fingers are.’’
‘‘Why?’’
‘‘Just do it, goosey.’’
Lu See gripped his hand as tight as she could and then came Sum Sum’s turn.
‘‘Good. Finger strength is vital. There’s something I want to do. Something I want to show you.’’
‘‘What?’’
He caressed the nape of Lu See’s neck. ‘‘See that matchbox on the floor? That’s what other buildings look like from the top of King’s Chapel.’’
‘‘I don’t follow.’’
‘‘From that high up you feel like an eagle, like a God even. We’re going climbing.’’
Five minutes later Lu See, Sum Sum and Adrian were standing by the horse chestnut tree on King’s Parade, staring up at the stars. They were wrapped in warm coats and scarves and Adrian had a knapsack slung over his shoulders. Lights lit up the nearby Gibbs Building and the Old Lodge but where they stood it was pitch-black.
‘‘First we have to climb this tree and get over the wall into King’s College. Then we’re going to climb to the top of the chapel,’’ said Adrian.
Was he serious? Lu See took a step back. She grew as stiff as a stone gargoyle. ‘‘You’re pulling my leg, right?’’
‘‘Wahh! Fantastic exciting, lah!’’
‘‘No, it’s not, Sum Sum! It’s bloody madness!’’
‘‘Shh!’’ Adrian pressed a finger to Lu See’s lips. ‘‘We don’t want to attract the college bulldogs.’’
‘‘How high is the chapel?’’ Lu See whispered, trembling a little with a mixture of nerves and the cold.
‘‘Not sure, over a hundred and fifty feet maybe. See the lightning conductor? That’ll help us get all the way to the main roof.’’
Sum Sum was beaming. ‘‘In Tibet I was damn-powerful good climber. Many rocks and mountains in Tibet.’’
‘‘I’ve scaled nearly every college. Trinity is pretty hard. Peterhouse is the easiest.’’
‘‘But it’s so dangerous,’’ said Lu See.
‘‘Of course it’s dangerous. That’s half the fun.’’ He smiled.
‘‘How often do you do this?’’
‘‘If
it’s not raining and there’s no snow on the buttresses, once a week, more in the warmer months. I was inspired in Borneo watching the Dyaks climbing coconut trees, then later by the Sabah cave raiders who scaled these massive cliffs for bird’s nests. Are you going to give it a go? Trust me, you’ll love it.’’
Lu See shook her head. ‘‘I’m not going up there, no bloody way!’’
Adrian rubbed his chin. ‘‘Perhaps you’re right. It’s a bit ambitious of me to start you off with King’s. Let’s go with something less challenging. Come on, follow me.’’
‘‘Can’t we just go home?’’
‘‘No, goosey. Follow me.’’
They cut across the road and headed down Trinity Street.
As they walked past Trinity Lane, Lu See said, ‘‘You want to climb hundred-foot buildings. In the dark! At midnight! In this weather!’’
‘‘In Tibet when I was nine years old my brudder and I, we climbed Jade Dragon Mountain and jumped down into Tiger Leaping Gorge.’’
‘‘Climbing a mountain, maybe. But a bloody chapel roof!’’
‘‘You’re scared of heights.’’
‘‘You know I am.’’
‘‘Well, this is one of the best lessons you’ll learn in life. How to overcome your fears. Here we are,’’ said Adrian.
‘‘Here we are what?’’ asked Lu See.
He lifted his hand and pointed upwards. ‘‘The Divinity School. It’s got good sturdy drainpipes and the stonework’s not at all crumbly. You can cling to the window bars on the second floor if you get tired.’’ He looked around to confirm that the streets were deserted. ‘‘Right, who’s going up with me?’’
‘‘Me!’’ Sum Sum raised her hand.
‘‘We have to be back at Mrs Slackford’s. There’s a 10 p.m. curfew.’’
‘‘Plenty of time. It’s not even gone half eight.’’ Adrian extracted a long coil of rope and three short slings of cord from his knapsack. There was a noose at either end of the cords, which made them resemble rawhide handcuffs.
‘‘What on earth are they for?’’ asked Lu See, reaching out and touching one of the slings.
‘‘In winter the drainpipes are a little too cold to hang on to for very long. Each time you stop to rest, you can slip one end of cord behind the piping and loop it over your wrists and lean back.’’ He passed one each to Sum Sum and Lu See. ‘‘It’s much less tiring than hanging onto the wall-jams with your fingertips. Right, take off your coats and scarves and put them in the knapsack. You don’t want to be overburdened with clothes. No gloves either. With gloves you can’t feel for the grooves in the finger-holds.’’ He wound the long coil of rope around his left arm as he said this. ‘‘I’ll go up first with this top-rope. I’ll secure it to one of the chimneys and drop it down from the roof. Remember to get your fingers behind the drainpipes and bend your knees. Use your toes for climbing and your heels for securing your position.’’
‘‘God, I don’t believe this is happening.’’
‘‘We go now?’’ asked Sum Sum.
‘‘Just try to follow the route I take. If you lose your footing and think you might fall reach out and grab the top-rope.’’ He gave Lu See a coaxing kiss on her forehead. ‘‘Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. See you on the roof.’’
‘‘I don’t want to do it.’’
‘‘Remember what I told you about overcoming your fears. You’ll be fizzing with excitement when it’s all over.’’
Adrian shimmied up the drainpipe, using footholds wherever he could. Then about five minutes later, once he paid out the rope, Sum Sum began her ascent.
After a few seconds Lu See looked up and crossed herself. One hand over the other, she said to herself. She grabbed hold of the metal pipe and immediately felt the strain in her arms and back. When she felt her fingers lock, she pushed out with her knees and shinned up a few inches, then slipped left hand over right as her shoes found something to wedge into. Each time she did this, she transferred her weight from one hand to the other, creeping skywards like a crab, forcing her feet into the slippery holds of the ribbed stonework.
She edged heavenwards. All the time the long top-rope dangled by her side. Ignore the rope, she told herself. Use it only as a last resort, otherwise you’ll overbalance and topple sideways. Use it only if you fall. Her fingers and forearms began to burn. One, two, three … up! She kept on going. But then the drainpipe made an odd moaning sound, as if the metal was beginning to strain. God, what if one of the brackets gives way?
Her heart started to pound but she refused to panic. Without her coat, the air was bracing but Lu See soon found herself perspiring. She could feel the sweat prickling her skin beneath her sweater.
Eventually she reached a small ledge and rested. Puffing hard, she drew in great gulps of air. With one hand clutching the drainpipe and another gripping the mossy wall, she hugged the building for all she was worth. I can do this, she told herself. Actually, it’s quite good fun. Just take your time.
Some of the green moss came away in her fingertips as she pressed her face to the icy parapet and panted for breath. Her eyes darted about. Bloody hell! This is pretty high up! She felt precariously exposed.
Suddenly she felt something strike her hand. Lu See screamed.
THRUP! THRUP! THRUP!
A foot from her face a bird burst out of one of the deep crevices, beating its wings and scattering feathers.
THRUP! THRUP! THRUP!
‘‘It’s okay, goosey!’’ Adrian yelled down. ‘‘It’s just a pigeon. It’s flown off now.’’
Despite herself, Lu See began to laugh. She was alight with excitement.
Peering upwards she saw Sum Sum’s bottom and thighs in shadow as she scrambled over a ridge.
Lu See flexed her fingers and thumbs. The joints of her hands were killing her. Suddenly, from below, a car drove by. A wide beam of headlights illuminated the length of the street. Lu See gasped as she looked down. The car was the size of a packet of cigarettes. With renewed energy, she dug her feet into a slanting ledge and hauled herself onto a flange to grasp hold of an overhanging shelf. Pulling herself up, she came face to face with her own reflection. She’d reached the second-floor windows. Crouching and positioning her feet sideways on the frame, she seized the iron bars of the window. They were icy cold.
‘‘How are you doing?’’ It was Adrian. He’d shinned down to check on her.
‘‘Oh, I’m just fine,’’ she replied with a laugh. ‘‘A surprise attack by a killer pigeon when you’re dangling on the edge of a building is really fantastic fun.’’
‘‘You’re doing a brilliant job.’’ He smiled. ‘‘The next part is a bit tricky, however, so I thought I’d lend you a hand. Ready?’’
‘‘Onward and upward.’’ Lu See snatched at the sides of a narrow chimney, wrenching herself up, jamming the tips of her shoes into little recesses for leverage and hauling her body higher.
When she reached the next level, she swivelled her hips to face him, grinning. ‘‘I’m going to kill you for this, Adrian Woo.’’
Just then she slipped. One of her footholds came loose as tiny bits of masonry crumbled and fell away. ‘‘Oh God!’’
Her hands groped for something to grab onto and she seemed to hang there, suspended for a second. Clutching at air, she missed the rope and felt herself dropping backwards, away from the wall.
Her heart was in her mouth. She began to fall.
D
O
W
N
‘‘I’ve got you!’’ said Adrian. He seized her by the waist. He drew her close to him. Lu See’s eyes were swimming.
‘‘I think from here on you should use the rope and I’ll support you from below with your feet on my shoulders,’’ he said.
Her knees were shaking now. She felt weak and jelly-limbed.
‘‘Just take your time, goosey.’’
A few minutes later they were at the top, leaning back against the slanting roof. The musc
les all along Lu See’s arms were twitching. Her heart was thumping. But she was laughing, bubbling over the views of the river and the spire and lanterns of Trinity College nearby.
Sum Sum pushed the hair back from Lu See’s face. ‘‘Look at the lights over there, so far away, lah. Look like fireflies!’’
‘‘Quite an adrenaline rush, isn’t it?’’ exclaimed Adrian.
Lu See plunged her head between her knees and continued to laugh. ‘‘I don’t think I’ve ever felt so alive,’’ she said, panting. ‘‘My hands are torn and sore, my elbow’s bleeding and my back aches.’’ She raised her head. The river looked purple in the moonlight. The tips of the college buildings resembled ornate wedding cakes. She let out a cry of exhilaration.
‘‘You cuckoo-clocks crazy!’’ Sum Sum said, giggling.
‘‘Did you see how I almost broke my neck? That pigeon was huge!’’
‘‘As big as ostrich, lah!’’
‘‘I thought your eyes were going to pop out of your skull,’’ said Adrian.
‘‘I think I peed my pants!’’
All three of them were roaring with laughter now.
‘‘Next time I’ll bring a thermos of hot chocolate.’’ Adrian said, lighting a cigarette and inhaling deeply.
‘‘Next time?’’ cried Lu See.
Adrian pressed a finger to her lips, grazing her cheek lightly with his thumb. ‘‘Shhshh! That’s fear number one put to bed. You’re now an official nightcrawler. You’ve had your climbing cherry broken. Enjoy the moment.’’
5
Monday, March 2nd 1936. The day of the interview and Mrs Slackford was up before sunrise to fire up the stove.
As Sum Sum worried her prayer beads, Lu See sat with a cup of tea and read the newspapers, circling with a pen all the bits she thought would be relevant to her evaluation. They were sure to ask her about current affairs, she decided, yet most of the headlines were of Edward VIII’s doublespeak and rumours of his relationship with Wallis Simpson. She reached across and rubbed Ganesha’s tummy for luck.
An hour later she rode her rented bicycle up Castle Street, passing through the avenues of cedars and oaks and poplars on Huntington Road, arriving at Girton College a full thirty minutes early for her 9 a.m. appointment.