"Geed outa our way , Chopdick!", yelled Chopper to the little rat of a boy who was always lurking behind the two girls , especially when they are preparing for a fireworks nite fiasco. Fai Chee, or Chopsticks as he is known to his pals, had a major crush on Kopi Susu. He was fascinated by her big hazel eyes, and sun-burnished skin. But most of all, he was just fascinated by how she dared to be different.
Just last week, a costume jewellery peddler had patronised the town's TianTianFatt (Prosper Everyday) coffeeshop. Over coffee, she boasted of her skills at piercing flesh to two aunties from the local apothecary. Lulu, as it happens, was very fortunate to be there buying CharKoayTeow for mum. She could not help eavesdropping on the ladies' chatter. She introduced herself to Miss Annie from Kuala Lumpur, and without hesitation, fished out the magazine cut-out from her wallet. It was a picture of Cindy Lauper with nose studs. She begged Miss Annie to create the same look for her. "Girly, I think your mother may not approve. But ... maybe I can make something for you that is less conspicous, ya". With that, she dragged Lulu to the back corner of the shop by the sink.
"Get me some Guiness Stout, quickly", she hissed to the scrawny 10-year old boy beside the Chee Cheong Fun stall. Who, happened to be, Chopsticks. As he plonked the bottle of beer on the table, Miss Annie had already laid out her shiny pierce-gun, plus fancy gold and silver studs. Chopsticks could not help but cringe a little at the sight of that instrument of torture. He stole a glance at Lulu, who sat, beaming , not an ounce of fear on her face. Miss Annie proceeded to mark Lulu's right ear. One blue dot at the base of her lobe. And another dot just above it. . and another.. and a final one. He witnessed the first piercing. Not a whimper from Lulu, maybe a slight jolt. Then, the second.
"Two hot Cham for table 4!". Chopsticks was glad to move away from the "torture chamber" to serve table 4. In less time than it takes to make the cham, Lulu was waving goodbye to him, with an extra glint in her eye, and, despite her shoulder-length unkempt hair, he could see the four new shiny star-shaped studs on her right ear. He fell in love with her from that day onwards.
He knew Chopper and Lulu were close friends, he just did not know how close. He was quite happy to be in their shadows and to soak in Lulu's occasional glance or smile. One time, at recess, he was staring at the two girls eating noodles, with a silly grin on his face. In two strides, Chopper had walked right in front of him and delivered a punch into his groin. "Watch it, Stalker!" Chopper warned him.
That did not dampen his resolve at all. October that same year, he was 13 to Lulu's 15. He decided to confess his love to her. "Aww, you are such a sweet boy.. but..I am in love with someone else".
He was devastated. Of course he was no nitwit - it had to be Chopper.
In December, after the finals , SRP exams, he was not surprised to hear that the girls had decided to quit school and move to the bright lights of Kuala Lumpur.

Goldtooth hated Shigeru.

For she had the hots for the Datin.

Just like Chopper.

“Lan, Jings, lan!” shouted Nakamura, in his signature Japlish.

So, it had boiled down to this. The final battle of flesh and blood. Nakamura had no choice, although the choices were clearly his to make.

Those eyes, those angry eyes stabbed Nakamura. His hands were trembling. He knew the day would come. And he would never forgive himself for doing this. But he had to.

The body that carried those eyes ran towards Jings. The room shook. Nakamura protruded towards the body and pushed it away. “Don’t make me do this! You hear me?!” he said. The body, which was much larger and stronger than Nakamura let out a loud roar and threw him to the floor. That broke his left leg.

It picked Nakamura up and threw him even further away. He landed against a pair of terracotta warriors. Their spears penetrated his chest and punctured his lungs. Breathing became difficult.

“Geto buru karla botaru. Fwadster!” Nakamura told Jings, pointing at the glowing, grenade-like device, placed on the shelf, hidden behind a figurine. A Maiko holding an umbrella. With no eyes.

Gasping.

Dying.

Those eyes got angrier now. It turned to the helpless Nakamura. With just a soft blow, Nakamura flew to another corner of the living room. Jings rushed towards that broken boyfriend of hers.

Nakamura had the grenade-like device in his hand now.

He didn’t want push the button. He shook his head and said something in Japanese. But the body marched forward and eventually charged Nakamura.

A perfect throw. It exploded right in front of the eyes. No fireworks. Nor was there a tremor. Just a burst of glowing, blue-coloured liquid. The body fell to the floor. It let out a painful cry. The liquid adhered to the skin, propagated to the other parts of the body and eventually covered it completely. Blue turned red and the body was now shaking violently. As if corroding, the body shrunk with every painful scream, emitting an unbearable, ammoniac stench. It got warmer, gradually. As if temperature adversely proportinated the decay. Jings watched in disgust as the body transformed into a pool of emerald-coloured semisolid fluid.

Slurpee.

She turned to check on Nakamura. He was not breathing.

Slurpee.

Pengyi arrived. With the news.

Lulu's mother never quite recovered from the shock. Her unscheduled pregnancy had crushed all hopes of her returning to Kirkby, so she took up an internship in a tailor shop on Labrooy Road, where she spent the rest of her years pedalling the sewing machine. She did eventually marry a fellow tailor, Loo Ah Kim, who subsequently adopted Lulu legally and thus bestowed upon her his surname. Her name, with the new addition of the surname, had far too many syllables of the same sound, and once she was old enough to realise it, Lulu changed her name to Virginia, partially as a declaration of her chaste state, and her repulsion for men in general, once she had discovered her bastard status.

Nevertheless, her childhood wasn't all bad. Running from shop house to shop house, and having the whole row of them to play hide and seek in, and the animated chatter of all the other children who lived there, made for a community in an otherwise lonely life. During these years, she forged very close relationships with a few of the other girls, especially the daughter of the bicycle shop owner. Her nickname was Chopper, after the most popular bicycle of that era. Chopper's real name was Tan Kim Lian, and because she had no brothers, her father saw fit to bestow upon her that terribly masculine nickname.

Goldtooth could never understand why she was two shades darker than the other chinese girls, and the meaner once would taunt her with name like "kopi susu", and Chopper would literally give them a most unladylike karate chop.

The explosion had reminded her of her first love, Chopper, hence the smile on her face as the police continued the interrogation. Chopper and her would empty the gunpowder from firecrackers and make home made bombs. It was a wonder that no one ever lost an eye, though she did lose a tooth.

Forty years earlier, Goldtooth had gone by a much more subtle name with an even gentler personality. Her mother had named her Lulu, after the Scottish singer who had made her acting debut in the movie, To Sir With Love. She was conceived while the hit single To Sir With Love was playing on the radio.

Those schoolgirl days, of telling tales and biting nails are gone,
But in my mind,
I know they will still live on and on...

They were only 17 and childhood sweethearts. He was being groomed to take over the family business, a successful importer of consumer goods like coffee and powdered milk, while she was going to the Teachers' Training College in Kirkby, England on a government scholarship.

But how do you thank someone, who has taken you from crayons to perfume?
It isn't easy, but I'll try...

It was a balmy Saturday afternoon. They stripped off their school uniforms, more in eagerness to feel the cool air on their skin than to satisfy their increasingly compelling cravings for each other.

If you wanted the sky I would write across the sky in letters,
That would soar a thousand feet high...

The cane furniture in his parents’ living room in Kenny Hills creaked under their weight as they clawed each other in hunger and desperation. Lulu’s yearnful strain accompanied their climax.

If you wanted the moon I would try to make a start,
But I, would rather you let me give my heart,
To Sir, with Love...

They lost their virginity in his living room in Kenny Hill while being observed by monkeys.

Thirty eight weeks later, Lulu Loo Ai Ling came bawling into the world. She was born 11 miles away from Ipoh, in a small attap house in Kampung Baru Chempedak, a Chinese new village, far from the prying eyes of gossiping aunts who would have felt it their duty to announce to the world that their unwed niece, only 17, was already blemished with the seed of a Malay boy.

She was butch to say the least, this Goldtooth. Sporting a punk hairdo, a few earrings and a gigantic tribal cross tattoo on her left arm, she could have easily been mistaken for a rock star. The limited edition Metallica T-shirt she had on was a worshipping object for many a rock fan. The Celine Dion and Siti Nurhaliza in Jings and Sheena would not have known that. But a goldtooth? Ironic.

Instead of feeling sorry for herself over the ruined café, she looked as if she was looking forward to more of the explosions. As the interrogation ended, she returned to the counter.

And grinned.

news abt n? Too late now.

Jings tried to call Pengyi but the cell was dead. The first of a series of lightnings struck. A shadow erected from below. Perfectly contrasted against the white wall facing Jings. With each spectacular show of lightning, the shadow grew larger, which means it was moving towards Jings.

The shadow took form of a silhouette of a man. She braved herself to turn around. To face what she had gotten herself into. To embrace regrets and be devoured by retribution. She wished Pengyi was not not there.

By equatorial standard, it was impossibly freezing now.

The sound of heavy breaths took the bass while the trebling raindrops hit the nearest spot they could find. It was not Jings. And the foul smell was getting stronger.

The pair of luminous green eyes stared at Jings while she stood there, staring motionlessly.

“No!”, shouted Nakamura from the front door.

"It's Moondog", hissed Jings at Sheena. "What should I say", she asked.

"Tell him my phone's run out of battery, and that everything is fine. I don't want him to miss his game or worry about this", said Sheena. "EXCUSE ME, you nearly died, and you are worried about not distracting his bloody soccer game? Are you MAD?", Jings sputtered. "Pass me the phone", Sheena said.

Fortunately, Jings was not a believer in voice mail, and the phone continued its annoying drone, which was Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On. Sheena grabbed the phone from her and cleared her throat before answering, "Hallo Darling. Yeah, everything is fine. My phone's dead. (in her mind, she thought, so was Mina, a moment ago) Jock? Nah, he's probably hungry or needs to take a crap. What? Yeah, I know but he's wrong this time. We're having a gala time. Jings is about to do a flaming lamborghini", she said as she saw some embers of burning coasters and other unidentifiable objects. "Okay darling, Mwah mwah, oh, who's winning? Ah, good, those hot Turks, yummy...okay, see you in a bit".

"What is the matter with you", Jings exclaimed again in utter disbelief. "This is a mini 911 situation and you let the guy think I'm having a flaming bloody Lamborghini?". Sheena replied, "What do you expect him to do? No point all of us suffering. Hey, where did Pengyi disappear to?" she tried to distract Jings.

The wailing sirens interrupted their slight argument, and the cops stormed in without having to break down any doors. "Is anyone hurt?" yelled out one cop. The pianist continued playing the Requiem as if in denial. Goldtooth was remarkably composed for someone who just had her premises blown up. She directed the cops at the direction she thought was the source of the blast and continued talking to them.

Turkey was playing Greece, and winning. "Mew...mew". Jock stared unblinking, at the human on the couch. He was getting nervous.
"Its 5 minutes to half-time, can it wait, Cat", implored Moondog. He wanted to pee too, but this match was gooood. He could not budge for the moment.
"Meew...meeww...meeewww". Moondog looked at the cat out of the corner of his eye, and was somewhat taken aback. The cat's back was arched up, and its ginger and white fur on the spinal ridge stood on end. Something was wrong, this cat is no ordinary feline, it has six sense. Nothing seemed amiss in the apartment. "I better check on Sheena".
He picked up his cell and speed-dialed Sheena. Damn, he only got through to the answering service. She's with her loon friend, Jings. He dialed her number.

The pianist, surveying the scene around her, could not comprehend the chaos and mayhem.
She knew nothing about first-aid. All she had to offer right now is music. Satisfied with her intention, she launched into her most somber " Funeral March by Chopin" , appropriate for the occasion.

The revived Datin Mina, lulled by the music, murmured, "My hero..". She buried her head in Shigeru's arm, which was becoming quite numb because, he noticed, her head was quite enlarged... "Must be the big hairdo, or perhaps a wig?", he wondered. He was quite happy to leave her be, having done his good deed for the day. "I must remember to re-charge. That elixir of life-breath really wears me down." Now, back to Sheena. As he untangled himself from the hairy heap in his arm, she dug her claws in deeper.
"Please take me home, " Datin Mina pleaded with her hero.

Jings shook her head in disbelief. She was not about to be sidelined again. The Bitch is not walking away with two of her men in one night!
She jolted as her hip vibrated involuntarily. It was her cellphone, tucked in the backpocket of her tight mini. She swiped her phone out and glanced at the caller name on the display. Moondog.

The body of the stranger was gone as well. The pool of sangria had turned emerald. The sequins changed clothes. Shigeru touched the remains. Cold.

“Shit!”, Jings exclaimed as she observed the remains of the stranger. Slurpee-like substance. Missing body. Japanese. Fragments of the intrusion of Hiroshi Nakamura’s grave started to reassemble on her mind again. Like a jigsaw puzzle she never intends to complete. Never.

Judging from the condition of the coffin and the symmetrical scattering of unearth soil, it appeared that the intrusion came from within. Perhaps an explosion. The police didn’t buy that. They couldn’t explain the Slurpee as well. One thing’s for sure. The body was gone.

Nakamura was an interesting character. Always immersed in books, this writer has not much of a life other than hitting the gym. And Jings, of course. Well, for the last few months of his life, at least. He was way too good with words and that hit Jings at her softest of spots. The amazing positions had Jings crying out for dear life. But they had never spent time together after midnight. He would leave at 11.55 pm, everytime. “Why?”, Jings asked one too many times. The answer was always silence.

Pengyi hated Nakamura. He thought Nakamura was weird. Jealousy played a part as well. 10 years of friendship with the last 5 as a couple, Pengyi and Jings were so close to tying the knot. Until Nakamura came along. They remained good friends and naïve Pengyi still laboured hope that one day, she’ll return to him again.

Came one night when Jings decided that she had had enough of this midnight joke. It was raining heavily when she parked her car a block away from Nakamura’s double-storey house at Desa Hartamas. At 1 am, the house was obviously dark. And Nakamura was probably asleep. But the gate was wide open. So was the front door. The living room was freezing (definitely not the air-conditioning system) as she entered. “What’s that strange smell?”, she asked herself.

Her phone beeped. It was an SMS.

i hv news abt n…coming over now..i luv u.

The sender was Pengyi.