by Pauline Loh
Ying Ying glanced at her watch, then whisked Ricky to an interview she had arranged with Adeline Quan from LeoWorld At Large.
“Hi, Adeline,” Ying Ying said with a bright smile, dragging Ricky by his arm. “I’ve been longing to introduce Lion Legends’ newest and brightest star to you! I emailed you Ricky Kang’s resume a few days ago. Have you gone through it?”
Adeline was a pretty rookie reporter and appeared intimidated by all the famous personalities around her. As she shuffled through the papers on her arm, she dropped some of them. Ricky’s natural compassion kicked in. He stepped forward and collected her papers for her. While handing them to her, he said in a friendly whisper, “It’s okay if you don’t know anything about me—nobody does. Just fire away!”
Gratefully, Adeline smiled and opened her notebook. She stumbled over her questions, but Ricky patiently answered them and fed her information she had overlooked.
“Are you set to take over Zeus’ position as he gears up for his varsity entrance and national service?” Adeline asked.
Ricky answered without hesitation, “Oh no, nobody can ever take Zeus’ place! He’s the best! Did you like my performance on stage just now?” He leant closer to her.
Adeline blushed nervously; she obviously had. “You’re so different from other dolls. What was that move you made at the end? The one after the triple jump?”
“That’s my signature move.” He laughed modestly. “I’m so pleased you noticed it! I call it the Big Head Birthday Cake! And if me being a doll makes you smile, then I shall make it my life’s mission to continue being one. Would you like that?”
Adeline simpered at his outrageous flirting. The interview was coming to an end. Ying Ying signalled the Green Lion, who swaggered up to Adeline. “Group hug!” Ying Ying called out, whipping out a camera. Ricky and the Lion sandwiched a startled Adeline and struck a cheeky pose. Ying Ying posted the photo onto the Legends’ Instagram account, which thousands of fans would soon see, and which would oblige Adeline to write up the article.
CHAPTER 16
A NOBLE CONTEST
Ricky, Ying Ying and the Legends returned to the hall and stowed their collateral away neatly. Ying Ying had been wearing a preoccupied frown for the whole ride back, which made Ricky feel puzzled and uneasy. Didn’t I turn on my charm for the interview? Why does she still look so dissatisfied? he wondered.
On their way to the office, they passed the inner courtyard where two skinny boys were doing drills with clothes poles. Well, they were supposed to have been doing their drills but, at that moment, they were engaged in a duel with imaginary lightsabers.
Ying Ying stopped and shouted at them, “Hodge and Derrick! You are disgraceful! Stop goofing around, or you’ll never become decent pole carriers!”
The boys stood shamefaced in front of her. One hastened to explain, “Shifu is busy. He said to wait for further instructions.”
“This is what happens when we don’t have a proper pole carrier!” Ying Ying ranted. “What was the last drill Shifu asked you to practise? Just keep doing it until he returns! Have some self-discipline!” She whipped away, still muttering darkly under her breath.
“She’s right,” sighed the older boy, whom Ricky remembered was Hodge. “We’re nowhere near ready for the Pole War. Shifu tries to teach us, but he’s a lion dancer, not a pole carrier.”
Ricky gave the two boys sympathetic fist bumps. He hurried after Ying Ying, but she was gone. A cheerful rapping on the lobby door drew his eyes to it. Leaning nonchalantly against the doorway was a figure that made Ricky frown. Hercules had changed into fashionable cargo pants, a sleeveless tee that showed off his bulging biceps, and high-top sneakers. Ricky decided spitefully that the shirt needed to be at least two sizes larger.
Zeus popped out from another room. “Zeussie!” Hercules yelled, throwing his arms wide open. “I heard you were pining for me!”
The two boys comically fell into each other’s arms. Hercules pretended to kiss Zeus, but Zeus fought him off. Apple appeared and leapt onto Hercules’ back. The older boy was so much taller and more muscular that Apple looked like a baby bear piggybacking on a grizzly.
Ricky stood to one side, arms folded in disapproval at the boyish shenanigans. Hercules shuffled towards him with his right hand extended. Apple was still draped over his back and Zeus was trying to wrestle him to the ground. The combined weight of the brothers managed to slow him down only slightly.
“How much do you weigh, Ricky?” Hercules asked quizzically, eyeing him up and down.
Ricky frowned even more. That was surely an insult to his compact frame! “It’s all muscle!” He lifted his shirt and slapped his taut abs.
“We should have a round in the gym,” Hercules continued relentlessly. “No need to show me the way. I know Legends Hall like the back of my hand.”
Hercules made his way to the gym, which had a mirrored wall. There, the four boys launched into maniacal round robins of push-ups, crunches and burpees. Apple was the only one competing in earnest. Hercules was the first to collapse. He excused himself: “Hey, I just came from a Pole War, which I won. Cut me some slack.”
Ricky bowed out next. It was down to Zeus and Apple. All friendliness had evaporated. The brothers wore grim expressions as they tried to outdo each other. Zeus was older, but Apple was born with natural stamina. Apple slowly but steadily pulled ahead.
Zeus’ sweat-slicked hands slipped during a burpee and he crashed to the floor. “Gotta let the little guy win sometimes,” he panted.
“I won fair and square!” Apple retorted.
But the older boys were no longer listening. Hercules and Zeus had retired to the reflection room next door. It was formerly the smaller of the two bedrooms in the old villa and was spartan and unfurnished. The central wall was dominated by a huge framed calligraphy artwork of the Legends’ name. The other walls were covered with yellowing pieces of paper that had been mounted with Blu Tack. The two boys sat down cross-legged on the polished parquet floor, facing the bits of paper.
CHAPTER 17
A PLACE TO RETREAT
Ying Ying came into the room and joined Hercules on the floor. There was no space between them, so Ricky had to content himself with sitting on Ying Ying’s other side. He seldom came into this room but he was curious about it. Of all the old and decrepit parts of Legends Hall, this room was the most humble and plain. Ricky wondered why nobody had thought of clearing all the debris from the wall and giving it a fresh coat of paint.
He had seen other boys meditating in this room before, much like what Hercules was doing now. Some came involuntarily, such as when they were being punished. Others came to seek some tranquillity in the midst of hectic schedules. Ricky curiously perused the notes on the wall. They appeared to be notes written by the disciples in Chinese and in English.
On one, someone had written, “Private ethics and public morality? There should be no line between the two.”
And on another: “From Shifu, I learned that my family is precious. I am learning to appreciate my parents.”
“Integrity is when everybody sees the same ‘you’.”
“A single tree cannot make a forest. The Lion Legends is not about me. I must work with my brothers in mind.”
One anguished note started out this way, “I don’t think I’m cut out for this. The lion head is too heavy, my legs are too short and the other guys are so much better than I am. Should I quit?”
However, the same note had a postscript. “I didn’t quit after all. I’ve been here two years! My arms are stronger, I’ve grown taller and the guys are my brothers. I LOVE LION DANCE!” The note was signed, “Prome”.
Hercules pointed at a sheet of paper posted high above the rest. The paper was filled from top to bottom with spidery script. Ricky squinted but could not make out the words.
Hercules said, “That’s my reflection. I lost count of the number of manuscripts that Shifu tore up before he finally allowed me to pin that one up.”
“That’s because you talk too much,” Zeus said. “You should learn from me!” He stuck his thumb out at a two-by-four card with beautiful Chinese calligraphy. Ricky translated: “Love and loyalty are thicker than blood.”
Hercules snorted. “You copied that from a book.”
“Where’s your reflection?” Ricky asked Ying Ying. He squinted at the papers but could not see any notes bearing her name.
“I don’t need to reflect. I was born into the traditions of this hall. ” Her tone did not sound proud—in fact, it bore a hint of bitterness.
Hercules turned to Ricky. “And where’s yours?”
Ricky shook his head, still trying to read the notes. Hercules raised his handsome brows. “Oh, you haven’t reflected yet? I guess you’re not one of us then.”
Ricky bristled. “Bro, you’re getting your pronouns all mixed up. There’s ‘us’,”—he drew a circle in the air with his finger around Zeus, Apple, Ying Ying and himself—“and there’s you, way over there in Hot Lions. In fact, why don’t you take your two-bit school essay and go stick it in your hall.” Ricky jumped up and yanked Hercules’ reflection off the wall. The aged paper tore in half.
“Hey!” Hercules shouted, sounding angry for the first time. He grabbed Ricky’s wrist and wrestled the paper from his hand.
“Ricky!” Ying Ying scolded. “Only Shifu gets to say what goes on or comes off this wall! And look, you’ve torn it!”
Ricky was mortified. Not only had Ying Ying berated him in front of their peers, but she had taken Hercules’ side. He seldom backed down from any confrontation, as he always believed in his ability to win everyone over with his charm. But now, he felt as if these Legends had ganged up against him. Turning his back on them, he stormed out of the gym.
He climbed to the top of the building and sat on the flat concrete roof. He counselled himself, “C’mon, Ricky. You’ve been the noob before. Remember the Kowloon Koolest B-Boys? They tried to keep you off the street, but you led the crew to the breakdance finals.”
His face brightened as inspiration struck. “That’s what I’ll write for my reflection! ‘You can’t keep Ricky Doll down.’”
CHAPTER 18
THE CUB OF THE LITTER
It was evening by the time Ricky climbed down from the rooftop. The light was on in the gym. He wondered if Ying Ying was still there. When he walked into the gym, however, he saw Apple furiously attacking a punching bag.
“Wassup, bro?” Ricky asked cheerily.
Apple whirled around, his eyes red-rimmed from crying. He balled up his fists and held them up to Ricky. “I can beat you too,” Apple said in a choked voice, “with my hands tied behind my back!”
“Whoa, whoa!” Ricky held up both palms in a gesture of surrender. “I believe you, bro! You’re stronger and faster than I am, and just sli-i-ghtly less good-looking.”
“I’m better than all of you!” But Apple spoilt the fierce effect by sniffling like a child.
Ricky flopped onto the floor and patted the space beside him, inviting Apple to sit down.
“Those jerks picked on you again, didn’t they?”
Apple sat down next to Ricky and dashed his hand across his eyes. “I won! But they said it didn’t count. As long as Zeus, Mercury and Prome are around, I’ll forever be the loser of the lion world. They will make sure of it!”
Ricky nodded forcefully. “I think there’s only one thing to be done—we’ll have to give them a blanket party. You know, when you throw a blanket over a dude’s head and pummel him hard for a few minutes. Then they will start taking you seriously.”
“Beat up my brother? I don’t think anybody can do that. He’s too smart and too fast. And Mum would be heartbroken if I did that to him. My dad would kill me! It would be nice to whop Mercury, though,” Apple added wistfully.
Ricky cast him a sidelong glance. “Did Mercury beat you at something?” he asked shrewdly.
Apple kicked at the polished parquet floor. “He came in a few minutes ahead of me during the 10 km run, and he’s never let me forget it,” he confessed dully.
Ricky punched Apple lightly on the arm. “It’s only because his legs are longer. But you’ll be so much taller next year.”
Apple chewed his lip. “If my legs are longer than Mercury’s, I’ll be able to beat him!” His face brightened.
“That’s right! I can feel it in here.” Ricky thumped his chest. “You’re gonna make him eat your dust.”
Apple drove his fist into his other hand. “Yes, I’ll beat him one day!”
“But there is something we can do right now to get people to notice you.”
Apple turned a curious face towards Ricky.
“That competition that’s coming up tomorrow?” Ricky said.
“The one where I will be going solo in the baby lion costume? I’ll just need to act cute and tumble around.” Apple shrugged.
“I’ve got a better idea for your act,” Ricky said and leant forward with a conspiratorial air.
Apple listened to his idea and reared back in shock. “No! Ying Jie won’t allow it!”
Ricky scoffed. “Real men don’t need permission to be the lions we were meant to be! It will be Apple’s coming-of-age ceremony!”
Apple cracked his knuckles. “Coming-of-age…? Yeah! Zeus, Mercury and Prome will have to show me some respect then!” Then he swallowed and turned nervously to Ricky. “But you will be on stage with me, won’t you?”
CHAPTER 19
COMING OF AGE
The day of the competition dawned bright and sunny. Ricky put on his doll costume—a smart neon green jumpsuit that showed off his trim figure. He tested a carefully prepared prop, which contained a small phial of bright liquid.
Grabbing his precious steel box, he made his way to Legends Hall. There, he and the rest of the troupe checked the equipment they were bringing to the competition site and loaded them into the lorry. When Apple entered the room, he exchanged secretive glances with Ricky. Apple looked excited, but scared.
Ying Ying misunderstood Apple’s edginess and said to him, “You don’t have to be nervous, Apple. You’re great as the baby lion. The audience will love you. Zeus will be coming with us to help.”
Apple shook his head. “I’m cool! I don’t need Zeus’ help! I’ve played the baby lion lots of times.” He coughed and cast down his eyes. “Ying Jie, I hope you’ll like today’s performance. I’m going to put my heart and soul into it, so I hope you will support me.”
Ying Ying looked taken aback by his sudden sincerity. “Of course! Apple, I will always have your back, because I know how hard you work! Don’t worry and knock ’em dead!”
She gave him a fist bump and bustled off. Ricky sidled up to Apple and whispered, “She practically ordered you to do some killing, and we have to listen to Ying Jie, right?”
Apple grinned and nodded.
The Legends travelled with their precious cargo to the competition site at Marina Barrage. The venue was already full. It was testimony to the popularity of Leopop that the audience was composed of every segment of society. There were uncles and teenage boys who appreciated the popular art form of lion dance. There were media reporters, photographers and talent agents. But the bulk of the seats was taken up by young female fans.
A section in front of the stage had been cordoned off for a formidable battery of video cameras from various broadcast stations, both local and regional. The unblinking red lights atop the cameras showed that this was a live broadcast and thousands of people were keeping abreast of the competition in their living rooms.
The front of the cordoned-off section was reserved for a panel of four judges: a martial arts instructor from a prominent China troupe, two Leopop media executives and an attractive actress-singer called Candy Peach from Singapore’s biggest entertainment company. Candy Peach was not a very good singer. In fact, netizens had nicknamed her Candy Screech because of how shrill her voice was in songs that called for a higher range, but she had a consi
derable social media presence as an “influencer”.
Ying Ying hurried up to Apple and Ricky just before their turn. Ying Ying herself was scheduled for a drum performance later in the show, so she was all made up and had twisted her hair into an elegant chignon secured with her lotus hairpin. She had changed into a figure-hugging cheongsam, the shoulders cut inwards towards her delicate collarbones to free her arms for some powerful drumming later.
“Whoa!” Ricky said appreciatively.
“Go get them, Apple!” she cheered gaily, ignoring Ricky.
Decked out in his baby lion costume, Apple leapt onto the stage and rolled straight into half a dozen cartwheels and tumbles, hardly stopping for breath. The audience murmured their appreciation of his stamina and athletic ability. A mob of girls holding Apple-emblazoned posters started chanting his name.
Meanwhile, Ricky, in his green jumpsuit and big head, entered from the side of the stage. He carried a battery-operated prop whip with lights and wicked sound effects, and began acting his role of an evil ringmaster teasing the innocent baby lion. The little lion pranced around, always just beyond the reach of the whip. The audience booed the evil ringmaster good-naturedly. While the rest of the judges mechanically checked off items on their score sheet, Candy Peach scorned checklists and leant forward enthusiastically, showing off a milk-white cleavage for the camera that was permanently trained on the panel of judges.
So far, the performance was progressing as rehearsed. But the ringmaster was becoming steadily more evil. He advanced on the hapless animal, whirling the flashing whip above his head and setting off ominous cracks every time he slammed it onto the floor.
The boos became more heated. Ying Ying, who had been watching from the back of the theatre, started pushing her way to the front.