Lion Boy and Drummer Girl

by Pauline Loh

She had wanted to tell him, “I pushed you away because I care too much about you. You…you make me nervous.” Yet when she had visited him in hospital, what had she talked about? I was blabbering on about apples and caramel sweets when I should have been concerned about him!

  Her mind skirted around Ricky’s “suicide attempt”. If Ricky’s distress really had something to do with me… I wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt!

  All this while, she had thought that she was the one sacrificing for the Legends, but the truth was that people gave in to her, not because her ideas were wiser or made better business sense, but simply because they loved her.

  Her father respected her so much that, even though he disagreed with her, he had held his tongue when she overrode his decision as Legends’ shifu and exiled Ricky.

  As for Zeus—she’d told him to stay away from Stellar because Uncle Ang did not approve of their relationship and she did not want to see his heart broken. Now they were apart and unhappy. Had she played a part in breaking them up?

  And her little brother, Apple—she knew that the older boys picked on him. She’d never confronted them because she’d thought that the pressure would toughen him up and make him a stronger disciple for the Legends, despite how unhappy he was.

  Ying Ying wondered now what twisted logic had led her to think she could play God in their lives. She felt as if all she had believed to be true was being turned upside down. She needed to talk to Ricky! She would just have to plead with the hospital staff to let her see him.

  However, once she reached the hospital, she quailed. What would she say? “Ricky, your tattoo—is that really my hairpin?” Or, “Ricky, are you depressed…because of me?”

  The hype over the hairpin could just have been made up by Sly. Ricky would laugh at her. How could simple Ying Ying be the mystery woman of “the most sought-after lion dancer in the world”?

  She walked with her head down, preoccupied with her thoughts. Suddenly, she heard voices and looked up just in time to see a melee of reporters clustering around the entrance of the psychiatric ward. They were discussing the contents of a magazine held by one reporter. Her blood chilled as she recognised it as the tabloid Sly wrote for—Leopop Weekly.

  She made a swift about-turn and crashed into one of the chairs lined against the wall. “Hoi!” she heard a reporter call out. She quickened her pace. “She’s wearing the hairpin!” another shouted. Ying Ying broke into a run.

  She lost count of the number of corners she turned, but finally there was no place left to run to. She ducked into a female toilet at the end of a corridor and there was no way out. Except… She looked up at the ventilation window. It was small, but she was slim and flexible. She hopped up onto the windowsill and manoeuvred her long legs, and then her body, through the aperture. She closed the window softly behind her.

  She balanced on the tiny ledge outside the window and gulped when she saw the steep drop to the ground six storeys below. Loud voices behind her told her that the reporters had entered the empty toilet. She tiptoed along the ledge until she came to an air-conditioner compressor, then clambered gratefully onto the metal grille and squatted down. Now, all she had to do was to wait for the reporters to leave.

  CHAPTER 50

  COME BACK TO THE FAMILY

  A nurse escorted Lung San into Ricky’s room. “Shifu!” Ricky burst out gratefully. “But I thought I wasn’t allowed to have visitors!”

  Shifu waved a piece of paper jubilantly. It was the letter that his father had written granting Lung San temporary guardianship of Ricky.

  “Your parents are on their way here in a plane right now,” Lung San said gently, gripping Ricky’s shoulder. “But they told me to come see you first because they are worried sick about you.”

  Lung San looked around to check that the nurse had left the room and then conspiratorially produced a small bottle from his pocket. “This is a Chinese tonic for hangovers, but also very good for purging the body of drugs.”

  Ricky took the bottle from Lung San gratefully and emptied it in one gulp. He felt more clear-headed almost immediately.

  “Shifu, you’ve got to get me out of here,” he pleaded. “They think I’m suicidal, so they’re giving me medication that has nothing to do with my leg. It makes me feel awful.”

  Lung San’s eyes blazed with anger. “Your parents will be here very soon and they will sign papers to have you discharged. Meanwhile, I will make sure that nobody forces you to take medicine that you don’t need.”

  Seeing Shifu made Ricky miss Ying Ying horribly. His tattoo began to burn again. His skin was reacting badly to the tattoo ink—or maybe he was just reacting badly to missing Ying Ying. Faking nonchalance, Ricky asked, “Where’s Ying Ying?”

  Shifu looked surprised. “Isn’t she here? She left the hall for the hospital before I did.”

  Ricky frowned. “Oh no, did she run into that pack of reporters camped outside the ward?”

  “What reporters? The place was clear when I arrived.”

  A young man rushed into the room and stopped when he saw Lung San.

  “Mark!” Ricky hailed. “Shifu, this is one of the Hot interns. The nicest one, in fact. Mark, meet Lung San Shifu of Lion Legends.”

  “I know who he is,” Mark said in a reverent tone. He wiped his sweaty palm on his trousers before accepting Lung San’s handshake.

  “Mark, did you manage to get my wallet and mobile phone?”

  Mark nodded and handed them to Ricky. Mark also gave him the latest copy of Leopop Weekly, opened to the page with the sketch of the hairpin tattoo.

  “What?!” Rickly quickly read through Sly Seetoh’s “exclusive” news.

  “Please excuse me, Lung Shifu,” Mark said. “Boss Ang asked me to get an update from the ward doctor.” To Ricky, he instructed, “Stay in your room! I heard there were reporters outside but they went chasing after some girl. They may return any time, so don’t show your face!”

  After Mark had left the room, Lung San cleared his throat and appeared to be choosing his words carefully. “Ricky, if Ang ever mentions letting you go… But of course he wouldn’t—you’re a talented dancer and an asset to any troupe! However, if he does mention terminating your service, I want you to come back to Legends immediately. I really need a…a good big head doll!”

  Ricky said glumly, “I wouldn’t be surprised if Boss Ang terminated my contract. With my leg like this, why would he want me back?”

  Lung San looked upset. “I’m sorry, my boy. I pushed you to Hot Lions against my better judgement. Ang is my sworn brother and I tried to preserve our family ties despite how he’d behaved towards Ying Ying. I thought I could trust him to take care of you.”

  Ricky stared at him. What had Boss Ang done to his girl?

  Lung San was still not done with apologising. “Ying Ying is feeling really bad for how you were treated in Hot. She knows very well that we are to blame. I’ll tell you the truth—she pushed you away because she was afraid of her true feelings for you.”

  CHAPTER 51

  A TRUTH FROM THE PAST

  Ricky sat up, his heart starting to thump with hope.

  “Shifu, I’m not playing with Ying Ying’s feelings. I care about her—very much. I am not a flirt.”

  “Don’t all lion dancers say that? I’m afraid my daughter has not been treated very well by lion dancers. First, there’s me. I haven’t been a good father to her. Her mother and I fought a lot when she was young and she was traumatised. Then there’s Ang.”

  Ricky said quickly, “Yes, tell me how Boss Ang hurt Ying Ying!”

  Shifu looked uncomfortable. “It happened a long time ago! Ang liked young girls. I didn’t think he would try with Ying Ying—after all, she is my daughter! But he crossed the line. He scared her, but luckily Hercules came in time and stopped him. Hercules refused to tell me what had happened, knowing my close relationship with Ang, and Ying Ying had run away to her mother’s place. I punished Hercules because I thought he’d picked a fight w
ith his shishu, his spiritual uncle. Soon after that, Ang told me that he wanted to start his own troupe. So I ordered a few of my disciples, including Hercules, to go with him to give him support.”

  Ricky listened with mounting fury, his fists bunched. “If I’d known what Ang did, I never would have gone to Hot Lions! No—I’d go, and punch the living daylights out of him.”

  Shifu said hastily, “Let’s not have any revenge talk! I only brought it up because I needed you to understand Ying Ying’s behaviour. It is Shifu’s hope that you will try to forgive her.”

  “Why didn’t you avenge Ying Ying?”

  “I didn’t know the truth for a long time. Hercules never told a soul, not even on the day he emptied his locker and left for Hot. But he submitted one last reflection essay. It was an account of what had really happened. In his way, he was trying to protect Ying Ying, and he did not want Ang and me to end up fighting. In his reflection, he wrote ‘Blood is thick. For the sake of our Legends family, I hope the bad feelings end here.’”

  Ricky was still angry. “I hope Hercules hit Ang hard.”

  Lung San rubbed his forehead wearily. “I’ve not done a good job of explaining. I didn’t mean for you to get angry with Ang. Anyhow, now that you’re a Hot member, you must give your leader your full support.”

  Ricky looked mutinous. “I’m a big head doll, remember? I don’t have to be noble like the other lion dancers.”

  “As a member of a lion dance troupe, even if you’re a doll, you must first and foremost conduct yourself honourably.” Changing the subject, Lung San asked, “Would you like to hear my assessment of your Lion Skips like the Ram?”

  Ricky sat up, eager to hear Shifu’s analysis and yet dreading his critique of the botched performance. Lung San ticked off on his fingers, “Execution was flawless—nine points out of 10. The emotions of confidence and boldness were rightly expressed—9.9 points. Landing—zero points. For recklessness and foolhardiness—minus five points. But for courage and effort to bring glory to your troupe—10 out of 10.”

  Ricky was close to tears at his teacher’s praise. Lung San looked emotional too. He jumped up and checked the clock. “You have a good rest. I’ll go to the airport to pick up your parents and bring them into the hospital by the back way.”

  Lung San peeked out the door furtively, found the coast clear and left.

  CHAPTER 52

  LION BOY AND DRUMMER GIRL RECONCILE

  Ying Ying’s stomach growled. She wondered whether it was safe for her to leave her hiding place on the ledge. Suddenly, there was a sharp click of a metal lock being turned. A short distance away, a small window creaked open slowly. Ying Ying scrambled down from her perch and cast about wildly for a new hiding place.

  “Psst!” She glanced back at the half-open window and saw Ricky’s anxious face peering out. He snaked a hand out and beckoned to her. She moved towards him and slid in through the window into a small room.

  It was a musty storeroom holding mops and brooms. Ricky, wearing a baseball cap and mask, was balancing on crutches.

  He removed his mask and said, grinning, “I would have joined you outside. It looked like it had a great view, but you know…” He jerked a thumb towards his leg, then flopped down on a storage box with a grimace.

  Ying Ying said with concern, “You need to get back to bed and rest.” She looked uneasy to be with him in such close confines, and moved towards the door.

  “I wouldn’t if I were you,” Ricky cautioned. “There’s a crowd of reporters outside. I had a hard time getting past them to rescue you.”

  Ying Ying jerked her hand away from the doorknob and sat down beside Ricky. “I don’t need rescuing!” she said, just for something to say. But it came out half-heartedly because she didn’t want to quarrel with him. “How did you know I was here?”

  Ricky looked proud of himself. “I should be a detective. If this wonky leg doesn’t heal, I shall join the police force. Women love a man in uniform.”

  “You were going to tell me how you deduced my whereabouts?” Ying Ying prompted drily.

  “Elementary, Watson. I heard that the reporters were chasing a beautiful young lady. How many beautiful young ladies do I know? They lost you outside the toilet on this floor. Everyone couldn’t figure out how the mysterious girl melted into thin air. But I know Ying Ying. Ventilation windows are no obstacle for an acrobat like her! And since this storeroom was near the toilet, I figured I would take a look.”

  He raised his hand towards her hair. Ying Ying lunged away suspiciously. “Cobweb,” he explained, wiping his hand on his pyjamas.

  Her stomach growled loudly again. Ricky stifled a laugh and picked up a rustling object from the floor. Ying Ying saw that it was a bag of seaweed chips. He shook it loudly at her.

  “Ssh,” she said agitatedly.

  “Oh right, ssh!” he said, not looking worried at all. He tore open the bag of chips and the room was quiet for the next few minutes except for their noisy munching.

  Ricky then asked, “Why did you come to the hospital?”

  Now that Ying Ying finally had a chance to ask Ricky her burning questions, she was tongue-tied.

  Ricky waited. Then he prompted, “Does it have something to do with…this?” He removed an open magazine that he had been sitting on.

  Ying Ying saw the sketch of her hairpin in Leopop Weekly. She looked away shyly and said, “Why me? You’ve so many women throwing themselves at you.”

  Ricky shrugged, “How do you explain love?”

  Ying Ying was so surprised that she turned to stare at him. “What do you know about love?”

  Ricky tried to find the right words. “Mum told me that when the right girl comes along, I would know it because she would make my heart thump like a drum. Orion said the same thing.”

  He continued, “When you tried to make things difficult for me—when you said that you would never fall for a lion dancer—I wanted to give up on us. But then I realised that I don’t get to decide who owns the drum that is my heart.”

  “Who owns your heart?” Ying Ying asked disbelievingly.

  “You,” Ricky said, perfectly serious. “And for someone who’s afraid of broken hearts, you’re doing a good job of breaking mine.”

  He suddenly gripped her hand. “To show you how serious I am, I’m going to university to get a degree. If I can’t dance any more, I will find another vocation. I won’t be a loser. Will you accept me if I give up lion dance?”

  Ying Ying shook her head vehemently. “I’m going to stop messing with people’s lives. That has never turned out well. I have nothing against lion dance—I was born…” She stopped and sighed. “Okay, the person I am afraid of is not you—it’s me! I can’t, I won’t share my boyfriend with any other woman! Haven’t you seen the women who swarm all over lion dancers? I’ll go crazy! Or kill you!”

  Ricky nodded approvingly. “If I ever cheat on you, you have my full permission to kill me. But you will never have to do that, because I will be true to you.”

  Ying Ying looked troubled, but at least she did not pull her hand from Ricky’s grasp. He took it as a good sign and pressed forward.

  “How about we seal our new relationship with a kiss?” he asked.

  Ying Ying leapt up from her seat. She opened the door a crack and peeked out fearfully. Then she flung it wide. “There are no reporters at all!” she said accusingly.

  Ricky shrugged cheerfully. “The last I heard, the hospital director had ordered security to throw them out. I guess they’re all gone now.”

  Where are reporters when you need them? he chuckled to himself.

  CHAPTER 53

  A RESCUE OPERATION

  Ricky hobbled back to his room alone. He had tried to persuade Ying Ying to join him but she had squinted suspiciously at him and said, “Goodbye!” But Ricky felt on top of the world now that Ying Ying was nice to him again.

  Mark was in his room, looking harassed. Lung San was also waiting for him, together with two oddly
dressed strangers. It took Ricky a few seconds to realise that they were his parents, who were in disguise. His mother wore a shapeless housedress with rubber slippers, and had a badly fitting grey wig on her head. His dad was wearing Golden Fishery overalls that reeked of fish.

  Mrs Kang threw herself at him and sobbed. Mr Kang burst out, “Be careful of his leg!” They fussed over him and guided him firmly into the bed.

  Mrs Kang hugged him, “Boy Boy, if you ever take your life, Mummy will follow you to the grave. You’re the most important person in the world to me! I’m so sorry for stressing you out about taking over your father’s company. You can stay in lion dance for as long as you like!”

  Ricky was struck by the irony. When he had been single-minded about lion dance, his mother and Ying Ying had belittled his ambition and pressured him to give it up. And now, when his lion dance career appeared to be over, they gave him their full support.

  Ricky tried to talk but his mouth was pressed up against his mother’s wig as she hugged him tightly. Spitting out the fake hair, he protested, “Mum, I wasn’t suicidal. I was just running away from a reporter. Oh, it’s a long story!”

  Ricky looked at his father. “Dad, you’ve gotta get me out of this hospital. The doctors aren’t treating my leg. They think I’m depressed and keep giving me medicine that makes my head feel weird.”

  Mr Kang worked his jaw angrily. “We’re leaving now! Or my name is not Kang Yong Gu.”

  Mark coughed nervously. “Excuse me, I’m afraid you can’t do that. Boss Ang says that Ricky has to stay out of sight in hospital.”

  Mr Kang loomed over him menacingly. “Ricky is my son and I decide whether he stays or goes. And you can tell your precious Boss Ang to pay me back the fifty dollars he’s owed me since we were in National Service—with interest!”

  In the end, it took an hour for the discharge papers to be processed. Lung San kept his eye on Mark the whole time so that the young intern could not sneak a call to Boss Ang. Finally, the Kang family and Lung San rode the staff elevator down to an empty loading bay. There, a rented car with tinted windows waited for the group. They left the hospital with sighs of relief and drove to the hotel where the Kangs were staying.