Chapter 2: Friends and Family

General POV

Xia, Mei, and the rest of their friend group were walking home from another busy day at school. The cousins were busy chatting until they were both grabbed by their bags. The six of them crawled by our local shop, Daisy Mart. Xia and Mei were confused about why we had to whisper and crawl and what they were gonna show us. The six girls poked their heads from around the corner to see what they were looking at.

"Devon," Miriam sighed, happily.

There was a young man at the counter. Xia and Mei exchanged looks as if to say, "Why him?"

"My mum cuts his hair at the salon, and I felt it. It's very soft!" Abby whispered excitedly.

"Whoa, can I have some?" Priya sighed.

"Yeah, Abby, hook a sister up!" Miriam whispered.

"Ugh!" Xia and Mei groaned at the same time in disgust.

"Guys, what do you even see in him?" Xia asked confusedly.

"He looks like a hobo," Mei told them.

"A hot hobo!" Abby exclaimed.

"Devon is amazing. He donated money for the zoo last week. He even helped in raising awareness of the endangered Bengal tiger." Kendra chimed in.

"May I remind you what real men look like?" Mei smiled, taking out my 4 Town magazine and showing it to them.

"4 Town!" the three of them sighed.

"That's right! 4 Town!" Xia exclaimed before opening the magazine with Mei.

"Jesse went to art school," Mei said in a dramatic voice.

"Tae Young fosters injured doves!" Xia sighed. He was her favorite member.

"Robaire speaks French!" she sighed. He was her favorite member.

"And Aaron T and Aaron Z are like, really talented too!" Xia smiled.

"We are 4 Townies, remember?" Mei reminded them

"Ride or die!" the two cousins exclaimed.

The four of them were grinning but then Priya's smile faded.

"Yeah, but tickets to 4 Town are like, a bajillion dollars and Devon's right here," she told us.

"And free!" Abby shouted.

Before Xia or Mei could reply, they could hear the tram stopping nearby.

"Ah, fudgesicles! Cone on, Mei. We gotta go!" Xia exclaimed while we started running to catch our tram.

"Wait! We're going to karaoke today!" Miriam told them.

"Yeah!" Abby shouted.

"They already have new songs on the roster." Kendra added.

"Come with us." Priya requested, "Please!"

The four of them started doing puppy dog eyes at the two cousins.

"We... can't." Mei sighed, "It's cleaning day."

"Guys, everyday is cleaning day." Miriam complained, "Can't you two get one afternoon off?"

Xia sighed, she did have a point.

"Well, we could ask our parents to go. What do you think, cous?" Xia suggested.

"But, I like cleaning," she told them and then gasped, "Plus, me and Xia got this new feather duster and oh my gosh, you guys! It picks up so much dirt, it's bananas!"

"Fine, I'll let you guys go," Miriam told us, "If you can pass the gauntlet!"

"Mir, not now," Mei sighed.

"You two can't resist it!" she chuckled while dancing, "Come on! You guys know you want to!"

"Fine. But you owe us." Xia said as she and Mei dropped their bags and joined her dancing and Kendra, Priya, and Abby joined.

You're never not on my mind
Oh my, oh my
Never not by your side
Your side, your side
Alright!

The six girls all got into unique poses and then burst into laughter.

"You guys passed!" Miriam smiled before passing us something, "And here is your reward! 99 Australian tour with the Girl I Love Your Jeans remix."

It was a 4 Town CD!

"OMG, Mir!" Mei exclaimed.

"We'll guard it with our lives!" Xia squealed.

We both gave her a massive hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"4 Town 4-ever!" the girls exclaimed before Xia and Mei started going to the tram.

"We'll karaoke another time, we promise!" she yelled to them.

"Everything will be on us. The snacks, the tunes…" Xia smiled.

"We get it," Kendra interrupted.

"You're my jam, girls!" Abby grinned while doing a peace sign.

The two cousins got on the tram and waved at their friends through the window. As soon as the tram is out of site, the four girls dropped their smiles.

"I always knew something is off with them by the end of the day, though I am more concerned about Mei than Xia." Kendra said.

"Yep, she's totally brainwashed." Priya agreed.

As soon as Mei and Xia got off on their stop, they started running home because they knew that their moms (particularly, Mei's mom Ming) would get annoyed if they were at least a minute late.

Xia's POV

Okay. I know what it sounds like. My cousin and I are our own people (well, kind of). But that doesn't mean we can do whatever we want every single time. Like most adults, we have responsibilities.

We both arrived back at the temple and ran inside, took our bags off and put our badges on. Mine said "Xiao Hong Lee, Asst. Temple Keeper" and Mei's said "Meilin Lee, Asst Temple Keeper."

We do make our own moves. Though some of Mei's moves are also Auntie Ming's. When we walked in, we saw our respective moms kneeling down but then they got up and saw us.

"Girls, there you are!" Auntie Ming exclaimed.

"Hey mom-" Mei started.

"You're both 10 minutes late!" she said while checking us to see if we were alright, "What happened? Are you hurt? Are you hungry?"

She put two dumplings in our mouths before we could speak.

"Take it easy, Ming. Just be glad they're already here. So, how was school today?" Mom reassured Auntie Ming as she turned to us and smiled.

We both swiftly swallowed the dumplings and took out our test results, which were obviously both A+'s on each one.

"Killed it per usual, Auntie Ai!" Mei grinned proudly while showing them our test results, "Check it out!"

"Impressive!" Mom said as she clapped her hands with delight.

"Oh, that's our little scholars, Ai!" Auntie Ming smiled as she saw our tests, "Today, honor students. Tomorrow, UN Secretary General! The ancestors would be so proud."

Me and Mei both got another dumpling each before me, her, Mom, and Auntie Ming all kneeled down on the three mats in front of the table. We shut our eyes as Auntie Ming began to speak.

"Sun Yee," she spoke, "Revered ancestor, guardian of the red pandas, we humbly thank you for protecting and guiding us. Especially our respective daughters, Xia and Mei-Mei."

Both me and Mei smiled.

"May we continue to serve and honor you and this community," we both said.

"Always," the four of us all said before bowing.

We then heard a gong and the four of us walked outside. The four of us breathed in, then out deeply.

"You guys ready?" Auntie Ming asked us.

"Of course, Auntie Ming!" I smiled.

"Let's do this!" Mei grinned.

The four of us all grabbed brooms and we all started cleaning and sweeping the temple. Just as we were cleaning the red panda statues at the entrance, we heard a bunch of teenage boys laughing. We turned to see they were spray-painting on the wall of the temple. We chased them out with our brooms and they ran.

"That's right! You better run!" I screamed at them.

"You good-for-nothing hosers!" Mei shouted.

"I'm telling your mothers!" Auntie Ming yelled at them.

"And unless you take a risk again, stay out of our temple grounds!" Mom finished.

It was time for people to have tours of the temple.

"Our family runs one of the oldest temples in Toronto, and the most unique," Auntie Ming smiled while leading the tourists into the temple, "Instead of honoring a god, we honor our ancestors."

"Both from my side and Mei's side. And it's not just the dudes either!" I told them.

"The most revered ancestor of all, Sun Yee," Mom introduced while showing a painting of her, "was a scholar, poet, and well-renowned environmentalist. She dedicated her life to the creatures of the forest. Especially her favorite: the red panda."

Me and Mei slid in as red pandas and started acting.

"Which she loved for its fiery coat and mischievous nature," Auntie Ming told them, "Ever since, the red panda has blessed our family with good fortune and prosperity."

"And it can bless yours too!" Mei told the audience before ending the tour.

After a lot of that, it was finally the end of the day. Me, Mei, Mom. Auntie Ming shut the gate and let out a tired breath.

"Give me five!" Auntie Ming smiled as we both high-fived her, "Come on, Chiang is already on his way home and Jin is making dinner."

"I wonder what Uncle Jin is making tonight." I wondered as me and Mei were excited for dinner because Uncle Jin was an excellent cook.

Mom and I helped in setting the table while Mei and Auntie Ming were watching drama shows like they usually did.

"He should've listened to his mother and married Ling-Yi," Auntie Ming sighed.

"Totally. Siu-Jyu is so two-faced," Mei groaned.

"She's just using him to get to the throne, She'll probably stab him on their wedding night."

Mei nodded in agreement and Uncle Jin checked the dumplings.

"Perfect," he said.

"Yes!" Mei smiled.

Then, from the TV, we both overheard a 4 Town advert playing.

"You've heard their hits, you've seen their moves. And now you get to experience them live! The worldwide pop sensation 4 Town will be kicking off with their North American tour! Tickets on sale now."

"Oh my gosh!" me and Mei gasped in excitement.

"Who are these hip-hoppers?" Auntie Ming asked while looking at the advert in disgust, "And why are they called 4 Town if there are five of them?"

"It's probably a non-indicative name," Mom replied calmly.

"I don't know. Some of the kids at school like them," Mei told her.

"You mean Miriam and Kendra?" Auntie Ming questioned, "Those girls are... odd."

Me and Mei's excited smiles faded. Neither of us understood why she didn't like Miriam or Kendra. Before the conversation could be continued though, we were greeted by the front door opening.

"I'm home!" Dad greeted as he took off his shoes and placed his bag on the couch. Immediately soon after, it was time for dinner.

"Nobody Like U" by 4 Town was playing on the TV so me and Mei quietly hummed along while eating dinner.

Additional Voices

Kelly Hu as Ai Huang

B.D. Wong as Chiang Lee