Key:

Narration

'Speaking'

'Foreign Language (Not English)'

Thinking

Stories/Tales

Special 2:端午节

The Dragon Boat Festival, also often known as either the 'Tuen Ng' or the 'Duan Wu' Festival, is a traditional and statutory holiday that originated in China.

The festival occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month according to the traditional lunar calendar, the source of its alternative name, the 'Double Fifth Festival'. The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, so the date varies from year to year on the Gregorian calendar. For example, in 2012, it fell on June 23; in 2013, it fell on June 12; and in 2014, it was on June 2. The focus of most Duan Wu Festivals involves eating zòngzi, which are sticky rice treats wrapped in bamboo leaves and racing dragon boats.

The story best known in modern China holds that the festival commemorates the death of the poet and minister Qu Yuan. The story goes that Qu Yuan, of the ancient state of Chu during the Warring States period of China, was a cadet member of the Chu royal house that served in high offices. However, when the king allied with the increasingly powerful state of Qin, Qu Yuan was banished for opposing the alliance and accused of treason. During his exile, the man wrote a great deal of poetry until twenty-eight years later, when Qin captured Ying, the capital of Chu. In despair, Qu Yuan drowned himself in the Miluo River.

The local people of the area, who greatly admired the poet, raced out in their boats to save his body. When his body could not be found, they then dropped balls of sticky rice into the river so that the fish would eat them instead of the poet's body. This is said to be the origin of both the zòngzi and the dragon boat racing.

The festival is a long marked festival celebrated in China and is considered a public holiday in places such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. However, the People's Republic of China, established in 1949 did not recognize it as an official public holiday. Beginning in the year 2005, the government had begun planning for the re-recognition of three traditional holidays, including Duanwu. Since 2008, the festival was been celebrated not only as a festival, but also a public holiday in the People's Republic of China.

The Dragon Boat festival is also unofficially observed by the Chinese communities of South East Asia, particularly the overseas communities in Singapore and Malaysia. There are various equivalent and related official festivals that are celebrated around the world, like Children's Day in Japan, Dano in Korea, and Tết Đoan Ngọ in Vietnam. In the Okinawa Prefecture of Japan, it is a tradition of dragonboat races known as hari. The capital city of Naha performs the Naha Hari as part of the national observance of Children's Day; however, in Itoman, the Itoman Hare is celebrated on the exact same day as the Duanwu Festival, as according to the Chinese Lunar calendar. On the other hand, the city of Tomigusuku also has its own dragonboat race, known as the Tomigusuku Hari. It is performed in late July, however, and misses the Duanwu Festival by a month.

Three of the most widespread activities for the Duanwu Festival are eating (and preparing, of course) zòngzi, drinking realgar wine, and racing dragon boats.

On the other hand, there are many common and traditional activities, such as the game of making an egg stand at noon. The game entails that good luck will be brought to you if you can make the egg stand at exactly 12:00 noon, though this practice is also associated with the Spring Equinox on the 21st of March every year. The practice comes from the belief that Earth's gravity is different on those dates and thus can make an egg stand up.

Many of the activities carried out during Duanwu were regarded by the ancients as effective in preventing disease or evil, as well as promoting health and well-being.

In the early years, of the Republic of China, the Duanwu Festival was celebrated as 'Poet's Day' due to Qu Yuan's famed status as China's first known poet.

Special 2: Duanwu Festival

Lucia pulled the blanket further over her body and turned over in her bed. The air conditioner was already turned off — Lucia didn't like to use the air conditioning at all; she much preferred to rely on the fan to cool her down during the warm nights. The mermaid dozed in her bed for a bit longer, ignoring light knocks on the door for a while until she tried to actively block it out.

Dragging her pillow over her head, the mermaid attempted to sleep on, but six voices chirping her name with enthusiasm forced her to give up. Defeated, the brunette sat up and yawned — she had had a long night of grading exercise books and deciphering messy handwriting. Running a hand through her very tangled brown hair, the woman opened the door.

'Lucia-nee!' Six simultaneous choruses came and Lucia found herself faced with the six girls under her care.

'Girls?' Lucia managed to ask sleepily. 'What's the matter? Why are you up so early on a Saturday?' Fighting back a yawn, she stole a glance outside at the clock that hung on the wall opposite her door. 'It's only eight.' The woman rubbed her eyes, resisting the urge to just drop back onto the bed and sleep for a couple more hours.

'But it's Duanwu!' Shu Ting protested, the younger brunette wearing her favoured golden qipao blouse and a pale blue skirt. 'You promised to take us to see the races in Penang!'

Lucia blinked twice. I did?

Lavena nodded, as if the girl had read her mind. Though, considering the girl's unique abilities, especially after gaining her pearl, the pink mermaid wouldn't be surprised if the teen actually had. 'Yeah,' she piped in, 'we brought it up during the way home last week, right?'

Oh. Now Lucia remembered. Yi Phing was complaining about an essay being assigned by a teacher that had to be about traditional festivals. Offhandedly, she had mentioned the upcoming Duanwu Festival and had suggested jokingly that she bring the girls to Penang for a short trip to watch the race. The girls had then agreed whole-heartedly with very enthusiastic answers, and the teacher had figured that she didn't have anything to do anyway and promised them she'd take them there.

She had forgotten about it due to preparations for the mid-year exams and had pushed it to the back of her mind until now. Oops. The woman sighed, gathering her hair into a mock-ponytail at the nape of her neck. 'I'm so sorry girls,' she apologized. 'I'll be ready in half an hour.'

Lavhanya checked her watch. 'Well,' she announced, 'that's fine with me. I say we all go out and lounge on the couch until she's done.' The second-youngest of the six looked relieved to have some more time — she was trying and failing to hold back a yawn.

The girls must've woken her early. No wonder she's relieved.

Lavena apparently had the good sense to shoo the girls out, though, and the oldest of the six quickly ushered the girls down the stairs, muttering something about catching the reruns of some anime.

Lucia chuckled in mild amusement, heading to her closet to get her clothes ready for the day. Always the same girls, she thought with a smile.

Special 2: Duanwu Festival

In two hours' time, Lucia and the girls were waiting patiently at the race's venue in Penang. The northern state wasn't very far from the state of Perak, especially since they had taken a train there instead of using the highway lanes. The train to Butterworth had taken one hour, and the girls had passed the time on their phones, chatting and occasionally discussing Gaito's abrasive ward.

Lucia had kept her mind on Gaito at that point as well. She knew that the other teacher was a very big fan of giving out homework — she had overheard his students' complaining in the staffroom. What was the tally again? Fourteen, fifteen books in one day? How did the man ever find the time to mark those exercises anyway?

Lucia checked her phone once, noting that the race was about to start in a couple of minutes. She looked up, opening her mouth to try and tell the girls to stay close to her, but to her immense surprise and irritation, the girls had vanished from her line of sight. 'Girls!' she called out, trying to look for their distinctive hair colours in the crowd. Alas, all the people together made it very hard to distinguish Lavena's dark purple hair, Shu Qing and Yi Phing's slightly brighter blue hair, or even Shu Ting's brunette.

Cursing lightly in Japanese, Lucia started to walk about. She took her phone out and started going through her contacts to find Lavena's number, but before she did, the woman caught sight of someone familiar in the crowd.

Gaito was standing with his arms crossed over his chest as he observed Zhi Hui standing in front of him. The girl had a notebook out and a pencil in her hand. He was saying, 'Are you really sure that this is going to be of help, Zhi Hui?'

'You're the one that insisted we do something on traditional festivals,' the bespectacled girl shot back, adjusting her spectacles. 'This is what I am going to do.'

Gaito sighed. 'So this is payback for the essays?'

Zhi Hui snorted. 'Barely. But yes, it may be, depending on your view on it. Besides, I've been wanting to see this since I was in Standard One.'

'Right,' Gaito deadpanned. He looked around, seemingly becoming aware that there was someone looking at them. When his eyes landed on her, he blinked. 'Lucia?' he asked.

Zhi Hui looked up as well, and upon seeing her, she snickered. 'Oh, what a coincidence,' she said, almost too casual to be believed. 'Yi Phing whined over an essay?' she guessed, a grin spreading across her face that was entirely too shark-like.

Lucia frowned. 'How did you know that?'

She snickered. 'One, you just told me; two, I heard her when I passed her during recess. She's loud when she's complaining, unsurprisingly.'

'Zhi Hui,' Gaito started with a faint undertone that the mermaid didn't quite catch. 'Remember what I said about talking about the girls in public?'

Zhi Hui's grin remained. 'Got it.' She looked around, pursing her lips into a frown. 'Where are they, anyway? I could've sworn I sensed them before I saw you…'

Gaito matched her look as he too glanced around. 'Are you sure, Zhi Hui?'

'When have I been wrong in this situation?' the girl shot back at him.

He rolled his eyes. 'Several,' he quite plainly stated. 'Well then,' he said, turning back to Lucia, who had been watching their banter with a small smile, 'I suggest you walk with us until we find them, then. A call might not be of much use, especially in this crowd.'

Lucia sighed, running a hand through her loose hair. 'Right…' she muttered with a sigh. 'Now,' she began softly as they started walking along in a direction along the race's path, 'I was wondering why you two were here.'

Gaito rolled his eyes, occasionally glancing back at Zhi Hui, who had chosen to trail behind. 'It's her fault,' he simply stated, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder. 'Though I suppose I could be blamed too.' He shook his head. 'Maybe giving them essays during this period wasn't exactly my best idea. Should've known what Zhi Hui's like when she gets payback in mind,' he muttered at the end.

The pink mermaid held back a small smile as they continued to look around for the six girls. Cheering started from behind them and Lucia stopped, turning to look back. 'Oh, it looks like the race's started.'

'Hmm?' Gaito muttered, also glancing back. 'Ah, it appears that it has.' They paused to look at the race as the boats rapidly shot past. The Panthalassan seemed mildly disinterested in the race though, and simply waited for the boat to pass before he slipped his hands into the pockets of his slacks and continued walking. 'So, Lucia, how have the girls been lately?' he asked casually.

The brunette blinked and continued walking to catch up with him. 'They're fine,' she said in reply, looking around again to try and catch sight of the girls. 'Yi Phing's starting to freak out about her exams again, but otherwise, they're fine.'

'Ah, yes, the exams,' Gaito mused. 'Zhi Hui's been starting to catch up on her revision recently. I thought something was up with that.' He chuckled. 'I prepared the papers early enough so that I'm not worrying about that now. Speaking of exams,' he turned to face her, 'how's the preparation going on for the mid-year Moral papers?'

She made a face. 'I'd say it's going great, but that would be lying, so no, it's not going fine.'

Gaito laughed at that, a clear, light-hearted sound. 'Oh, it's always like that for the first year,' he assured her. 'It gets better once you get used to the layout — I had the problem a few years back too.'

Lucia hummed softly to herself. 'You know, I never really thought of it, but when did you start teaching? I didn't picture you as the type who liked kids.'

'Zhi Hui's a kid,' he pointed out dryly. 'I don't exactly have a problem with her, now do I?'

'She doesn't act like it,' Lucia insisted. 'Besides, what about the rest of your class?'

Gaito frowned briefly, pausing in his tracks. 'I'm not very sure,' he admitted, 'but after a year or so, you kind of grow fond of those kids.' With a fond smile, he turned a bit to glance behind. 'Where's Zhi Hui?' he mused.

Lucia turned as well, seeing that the girl wasn't behind them as she had thought. 'Maybe she saw the girls?' she suggested.

The Panthalassan shrugged. 'Maybe. Anyway, I started teaching when Zhi Hui was in Standard Three. I managed to pull some strings and got myself landed as her form teacher.' He shook his head with a chuckle. 'Can't believe that it's already been three years since I've gotten that class onto the right track.'

Lucia raised a brow at that statement. The pink mermaid said, 'You make them sound like they're troublemakers.'

'That's because they still are.'

The brunette couldn't keep the slight smile off her face at that. Despite the sentence, his tone was anything but annoyed or irritated, instead, he sounded… fond.

I can't believe this is the same person I was fighting against eleven years ago, Lucia thought, her lips pulled into a small smile.

'Lucia-nee!'

Both Lucia and Gaito stopped in their tracks and turned around, seeing the six girls under Lucia's supervision run up to them. Zhi Hui strolled up not a minute later, writing in her notepad.

'Sorry,' Lavena said between pants for breath when the group finally got there. 'We got distracted by the boats and wandered off.'

'You mean 'meetha got distracted and we were pulled along before we could lose her,' Shu Qing corrected with a grumble.

The youngest of the six blew her cheeks out and pouted, glaring at the dark blue-haired girl. She crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her brown eyes at the older girl, who instantly put her hands up in the air.

'What?' Shu Qing whined. 'It's true!' she defended.

'Alright, alright,' Lucia said, smiling. 'You're all forgiven. Now I believe you all wanted to see the race?' She checked the watch she wore. 'And I believe the next round is starting right about… now.'

Cheering erupted again, and Lavena quickly turned to her. 'Lucia-nee,' she started almost pleadingly. 'Can we go up front? I promise we'll be right over there.'

The rest of the six continued the pleading, and no sooner did they start did Lucia relent.

'Fine,' she conceded. 'Don't get lost this time!' she called to them as the excited group weaved their way to the front. She looked at Zhi Hui, who was looking at the girls with a grin on her face. 'You're not going?' she asked the girl.

The dark-haired girl shook her head. 'No, I'm afraid not. I have things to do,' here, she tapped her notepad with the end of her pencil, 'that don't involve squeezing to the front of a large crowd.'

'I see.'

A smooth sound of a classical piano piece could be heard, and Lucia glanced over in Gaito's direction. The man pulled out his phone, checked the screen, and promptly excused himself. 'I'm sorry, I have to take this,' he apologized, heading off to an area where the crowd was much sparser.

Once Gaito was well out of sight, Zhi Hui's grin changed, turning more… shark-like. The girl folded her arms over her chest, her lips curling up. 'You can stop denying, you know.'

Lucia blinked. 'Denying what?'

Zhi Hui snickered. 'It's painfully obvious "what". Don't tell me you don't know about the bets?'

The brunette frowned at that. 'What bets?' she asked, her brow furrowing.

The Panthalassan's eyes gleamed. 'You really don't know?' she asked, mirth in her tone. 'I'm starting to wonder who's the dense one here — I've given Gaito-sama hints over these last two years, and he still hasn't picked up on anything.' She adjusted her spectacles, chuckling. 'You're the counsellor, aren't you, Lucia-sama? You're supposed to be more perceptive than this.'

Lucia was really confused at this point. She was about to ask, but Zhi Hui stepped aside and spoke, 'He's coming back.'

True enough, Gaito soon returned. He took one glance at her and turned his gaze on Zhi Hui. 'Zhi Hui,' he started warningly. 'What did you say?'

'The same thing I've been telling you for three years straight,' Zhi Hui muttered with a sigh. 'You still don't get it, and you're the smart one.' She shook her head, looking disappointed. 'Madam Donglin is going to be so disappointed in you, Gaito-sama.'

Gaito arched a brow. 'What exactly does Donglin have to do with all this?' he asked with thinly veiled confusion in his tone.

Zhi Hui smirked. 'I promised I wouldn't say anything until it came true. You'll have to wait and see.'

'Right,' Gaito deadpanned.

The bespectacled girl glanced down at her watch. 'It's nearly noon,' she reported, looking up again. 'In case you don't remember, Gaito-sama, there are still around twenty or so essays that you've left untouched. Besides,' she said, holding up her notepad, 'I've gotten all the information I need.'

Was it just Lucia's imagination, or did she seriously see a sketch on the first page?

The black-haired teacher frowned at the reminder. 'Really?' he muttered. Sighing, he said, 'Well, I suppose that concludes our conversation for today, Lucia. I'll see you at school?' he offered.

'That's sounds nice,' Lucia replied with a smile.

Gaito headed off, Zhi Hui pausing to look between him and her for a moment before she displayed the first page of her notebook, revealing a fairly accurate pencil sketch of her and Gaito talking together. The younger Panthalassan shot the mermaid a grin and walked off, rapidly catching up with her guardian and disappearing in the crowd.

Lucia just stood there in mild astonishment at the girl before she was startled out of her reverie by her phone playing the short notification jingle associated with messages. Pulling out her smartphone, she saw the window that popped up.

Lucia, how about we continue this discussion afterschool tomorrow? Our desks are back-to-back, after all. Also, I saw what Zhi Hui drew in her notepad. Do you have any idea when she had the time to draw that? – Gaito

Lucia blinked, then typed a message back. I'm afraid not. Afterschool tomorrow? Don't you have tuition?

No. That's Donglin's turn. You do look lovely in that sketch though.

Lucia felt herself blushing as she stared at the message. Without replying, she dismissed the message and turned off the screen to her phone. She could hear the girls loudly discussing the race amongst themselves as they came up from behind her, but her mind was still on the last sentence he wrote.

'Lucia-nee? You alright? Why are you blushing?' Lavena asked curiously.

'N-no reason,' Lucia defended, well aware that it sounded sketchy. 'Anyway, are you girls done?'

As the girls erupted into discussion, Lucia found her flush returning as her thoughts wandered onto the black-haired Panthalassan once more.

Oh yes, more hints of Lucia/Gaito. If the filter didn't tip you off already, this definitely will, along with the earlier chapters.