[December 25, 2007]
It's a cold Christmas morning in Toronto, and the Lees received a good amount of presents for the season. Although they had Christmas dinner at midnight, they decided to open their gifts after they woke up.
"Cool, it's the sweater I asked for from Germany!" cooed Mei as she unwrapped Miriam's gift for her. Although Miriam is Jewish and celebrates Hanukkah in lieu of Christmas, she nevertheless decided to give her non-Jewish besties some presents for the season the morning before.
Ming unboxed hers and it revealed a red panda figurine modelled after Mei's panda, given by Jin, who had it modelled secretly through a sculptor friend.
"Meimei, you look so cute here!" giggled Ming, calling her daughter to inspect the little sculpture modelled after her panda.
Mei held the figurine based on her panda in her hand and inspected it.
"Looks cute! Whoever made this really deserves recognition of some sort"
Jin received a leather jacket and new IKEA pots, pans, and kitchen utensils of varying sizes from Ming and Mei.
"Great, now I- I mean, WE, can cook with ease together, Ming, Mei", he smiled.
As for Ming, she didn't really want presents but Jin had wired $1500 to her bank account as a gift. And for their daughter, it was an iPhone 1, bought brand new a few days back before they picked her up from school on her last day of fall term classes.
"Wh…whaaat, this… is…. FOR ME?!" shrieked Mei looking at her brand new phone as Ming laid it down in front of her. Her panda ears popped out in excitement, and so did her tail seconds later.
Ming and Jin smiled and Jin replied,
"Definitely and globally yours, our straight-A shapeshifter!"
"That's what you get when you always listen to your mother, sweetie" cooed Ming.
Amused and thankful for her gift, Mei proceeded to a group hug with her parents. Going full panda, she lifted the two up into her arms and gave them a tight hug, which they all shared a small laugh and tender moment together as family.
"Too hard, but I love it!" squealed Jin in a muffled tone.
"Not too hard, Meimei! But… I also love it! I love you!" squealed Ming.
"I LOVE YOU BOTH! But I love sleep more." laughed Mei as she slowly dropped her parents to their seats and reverted back to her human form, then proceeded to eat their breakfast of leftovers from last night's Christmas dinner.
"Shouldn't we have waited for Boxing Day for Mei's new phone, though?" asked Ming jokingly.
"Perhaps, or I could have bought it way earlier in Buffalo last Black Friday!" chuckled Jin.
[December 26, 2007 - Boxing Day and the Besties' Karaoke Day]
It's Boxing Day and it's shopping day for a lot of the people of Toronto and the rest of Canada, and that includes the families of Mei and her besties, although the kids weren't joining. As the Lee family arrived home slightly exhausted from the chaotic crowds at the Square One Shopping Centre, having bought a good amount of stuff. Mei wrapped her presents one by one for the girls and Tyler, which she would be distributing once they met later at La Paz Bistro for their karaoke day.
"This nightgown would look so cute on Abby!" thought Mei to herself as she packed a velvet violet nightgown for Abby. She then proceeded to wrap Priya's gift, which is a graphics card she needed for her desktop.
As for Miriam, Mei didn't really know what to give her, being a simplistic lady in nature, so she simply enclosed $150 on an envelope.
"May this make her full of joy with whatever she envisions buying!" she chuckled to herself.
Now, for Tyler, it was a GameStop $100 gift card. She knows he's a fan of video games, so why not give her love interest something that can purchase some of his favourites, right?
Hours later, it was time to hit the streets, so Priya started up her family's SUV, which her parents graciously allowed her to use to go karaoke-ing to pick her friends up. They'd use her Quebec-registered sedan instead, should they wish to go out on their own.
"Take care, dear!" hugged Mrs. Mangal as she sent her daughter off for the day.
"Enjoy, but don't load up on too much junk, Priya!" added her father, Mr. Mangal.
"I'll take care always. See you later tonight!"
Priya's first stop was Abby. She was energetic and chaotic as usual despite having been stricken with food poisoning a few days earlier. Her seemingly stress-free demeanour and lifestyle contributed to her fast recovery.
"See ya later, mother, daddy!" waved Abby goodbye.
"Take care and eat something nicer this time, remember you came from the ER days ago!" said her mother.
Her dad simply smiled into the distance.
As Abby marched towards the passenger seat, she was honked at by Priya and gleefully unlocked the doors. She then entered the car and positioned herself comfortably.
"Sup girlfriend" said Priya monotonously, but she was smiling.
"Always better, always ready to have FUUUUN!" screamed Abby playfully.
Priya then opened the glove box and said,
"Here's some airsickness bags in case you puke yourself again, and extra underwear in case you shit yourself," she laughed. Priya always collected air sickness bags from planes whenever they visited India or travelled elsewhere. "Check out these diarrhoeal tabs and antiemetics, too"
Abby playfully punched her shoulder and exclaimed,
"I'VE RECOVERED AND THAT'S NEVER HAPPENING AGAIN!" she then examined the puke bags and stammered, "No….. no Korean Air?!"
"Never been to Korea nor rode the airline, sadly. But I'd love to eventually!." chuckled Priya.
The two laughed as Priya pulled out of the Park family's driveway and went to collect Mei, their next stop. Minutes later, they then pulled by the temple and Priya phoned Mei, who was waiting for them to arrive.
"Bye mom, bye dad!" waved Mei who was marching for the door, carrying with her the presents she has for her besties. She was briefly cut off by Ming.
"You're not going to panda unnecessarily, okay? Especially that your love interest is coming too." said Ming, holding her by the hand.
"I won't, I assure you!" smiled Mei.
"Have fun, and see you later at dinner with your friends!"
Mei then ran towards the temple gate and entered the back seat.
"Hey Priya, hey Park!" greeted Mei as she positioned herself at the back seat.
"Yooooo" Priya replied monotonously.
"Now you're calling me by my surname, Lee?!" laughed Abby, hearing her bestie calling her by her surname, which she only says once in a blue moon.
"It's for a change, dear"
They drove off and while waiting at an intersection for the traffic cop to direct the flow of traffic from their direction due to a faulty traffic signal, Priya called Tyler.
"Priya, what's on?" greeted Tyler as he picked up the call.
"You joinin' or bringing your own wheels?"
"I think I'm bringing my car this time, see you at the place!"
"Gotcha" Priya then hung up and the girls proceeded to Miriam's and collected her.
"Ready to knock the place down?!" asked Abby screamingly with excitement on her face.
"IT'S SING TIME, PEOPLE!" yelped Mei excitedly.
"I was born to do this!" yelped Priya monotonously.
"Das ist so aufregend!" (This is so exciting!) squealed Miriam in German. The girls looked at her weirdly, then figured out that she studies in Germany.
About 10 minutes later, the girls arrived at their destination, which was the La Paz Bistro. It was a Filipino-themed and owned resto and karaoke bar, mostly catering to the Filipino diaspora in Toronto, although they get different ethnicity customers too, such as the besties.
The girls then approached the reception and Mei, having called the restaurant days prior, did the honours.
"Meilin Lee, 5 people, karaoke room" said Mei to the clerk.
"Mei…. Meilin Lee….. Oh, right here!" replied the clerk. She then called a waiter to take them to their karaoke room and gave Mei two menu cards, giving the other to Miriam.
Tyler then entered the restaurant running and caught up to the girls. He was panting, but he immediately settled down.
"Thought I'd be left behind!" said Tyler, wiping sweat and bits of snow from his head. The girls and the clerk looked at him slightly weirdly and laughed slightly.
"Why the rush?! Don't worry, you won't be left by M-" cackled Abby then she was cut off by Mei, holding her by the mouth.
"Nobody's gonna leave you, bruv" winked Mei
"Bruv?! Maybe it's ba-" laughed Abby then she was cut off yet again by Mei.
Tyler knew what they meant, he just chose to act oblivious to it, although his heart was racing at the thought of Mei around the corner.
The waiter then led them to their karaoke room where they'd be spending the day singing and eating light snacks and some main course meals.
"Hello, my name's Ronaldo, but you can just call me Ron, and may I take your orders?" said the waiter as he pulled out his tickler and pen to collect the besties' orders.
"Ronaldo? As in Cristiano Ronaldo, the Manchester United second striker?" asked Priya jokingly.
Ron initially gave Priya a blank stare then laughed.
"Oh, so you're a UEFA fan too?!"
"Kind of, but I'm simply exposed to my dad's football fanaticism," laughed Priya. "On that note, I'm gonna be having pancit canton" (Filipino-style stir fry noodles)
"I'm having pork sisig, the usual," said Mei. Miriam and Tyler then looked at her weirdly.
"You're having innards again, Mei?!" gasped Tyler.
"Ugh, I hate liver!" said Miriam.
Mei then gave the two a playful thrust to the shoulders.
"In Asia, it's common to eat those parts IF COOKED PROPERLY!" grinned Mei.
"Yeah, true! I mean, sisig tastes delicious, and we Koreans also eat certain animal innards! They're good if cooked properly." added Abby.
"Isaw also tastes awesome and it's cool," said Priya monotonously, pointing at the said item on the menu, though she won't be having one.
"No wonder you get into trouble with food like a few days ago!" laughed Tyler slyly, hinting at Abby's recent food poisoning incident.
Isaw is barbecue made from chicken or pig intestines in a skewer, and sisig is made from parts of a pig's face and belly, added with chicken liver, seasoned with onions and chilli peppers.
"Okay, okay!" chuckled Ron. He then proceeded to take Miriam's order of chicken barbecues, then Tyler was persuaded by Mei to try sisig, to which he grudgingly agreed.
"Fine, but if something happens to me, it's on you!"
"Oh trust me, it's delicious and safe!" assured Mei.
Tyler really was no fan of food involving animal innards, but he was in for the try because his love interest persuaded him.
"I'd say somebody has to answer for me if something happened, but I guess you're an exemption" winked Tyler, in which the rest of the table including Ron looked at them with the "ooooooh" look.
"He really is into her or what?!" whispered Abby to Miriam.
"Who knows! I hope this'll turn out well."
"Even if something actually did happen to you, you can guarantee I'd offer you basic first aid," said Mei softly. The whole table gave a soft cheer.
"Okay, all orders listed, expect up to 10-15 minutes preparation time, and here's the song book and two microphones. Enjoy!"
Ronaldo then left and headed to the kitchen with the besties' orders. Another waiter then came into their lounge, giving them complimentary iced tea. As they were rummaging through the song list for a list of potential songs, Abby found her choice (they were rotating in alphabetical order of first name).
"Who wants Celine Dion?! I'M SINGING TITANIC TODAY!" squealed ABby.
"Go girl! If your sweet voice can save Jack from drowning," chuckled Priya.
She then punched in My Heart will go On on the karaoke machine and started singing. As the flute intro to the song started playing, the girls were playfully cheering for their friend.
"Every night in my dreams, I see you, I feel you
That is how I know you go on"
Everyone looked at her with stars in their eyes in awe at her husky singing voice.
"Far across the distance and spaces between us,
You have come to show you go on"
Mei and Tyler held hands together, being at awe towards Abby. They were feeling the song, although this went unnoticed to the rest of the gang as the lights were dimmed into mood.
As Abby finished singing, the karaoke machine gave her a score of 99.
"SNAP! 99?! Michyeoss-eo, jalhaess-eo!" (That's crazy, I did it well though!), exclaimed Abby playfully. The rest gave her a laugh.
"That was sick, but you could try much better next time." laughed Priya.
They then had a sing session whilst gulping on their iced teas and chewing on the snacks they ordered. The besties ordered a-la-carte food without any rice as they'd be eating at Mei's place later on, as invited by Ming and Jin.
To be continued
A/N: Apologies for the late post as I've been busy lately with life. I'll be dividing this karaoke chapter into two. I'm also sorry for what may seem to be low effort, I had writers' block and I might be busy for the next few weeks so I kinda rushed this. Don't worry, I won't mark this story as 'complete', maybe a few more chapters and we're good. ;)
Snackasm, thanks for being my top fan in these stories! I really appreciate you so much, hands down. Looking forward to more of 'Looking in the Mirror' !
Oh, and I'm a Filipino food aficionado, having been friends with some Filipinos for quite a while. :3
Have a great day, reader! :D
