Chapter 7: Enter the Chan Clan
October 7, 1968
In the month since the dinner party at Blake Mansion, Shaggy, Scooby, Fred, and Daphne have become closer as a group and it soon became a regular occurrence for the quartet to gather together for lunch and after school, often studying together and finishing their homework and assignments.
The school day started out all the usual that October morning with Shaggy doing the radio announcements, then along came the morning classes. A major deviation from the usual daytime routine came as word began to get around that a new student is transferring to Central High.
It didn't take long for the rumours to reach Shaggy, Fred, and Daphne's ears, for when they met up during lunch period and sat at their usual table for lunch, the topic about the new transferee was the first to come about right off the bat.
"Like, I heard that there's someone transferring to Central today." Shaggy remarked as he ate a triple-decker sub.
"Yeah. A lot of guys were talking about that during my English class." Fred nodded.
"I sure wonder who that new student is." Daphne wondered.
"Ri rink ri have re ranswer." Scooby said as his tail pointed towards a certain direction, prompting Shaggy, Fred, and Daphne to follow its lead.
At a table not far from theirs sat a young boy with short black hair and wearing an orange shirt, green pants and a pair of brown sneakers.
The boy is accompanied by a middle-aged woman with long black hair tied into a ponytail and wearing an orange dress, and both of them appeared to be of East Asian descent.
While the boy was having his lunch, he and the woman, who the quartet presumed to be his mother, had exchanged some words occasionally.
"Could be him all right." Fred quipped. "Where do you suppose he and his family are from?"
Trying his best to listen closely to the mother and son's conversation while not appearing to be listening in, Scooby remarked, "Ri rink they're Rinese."
"You could be right, Scooby." Daphne said as Fred and Shaggy both nodded.
Around the same time, over at police headquarters in downtown Coolsville, Sam was seated behind his desk in his office and reading a file with his reading glasses on.
Seated across the desk from him sat a middle-aged man of East Asian descent with short black hair and dressed in a blue suit, and Sam momentarily took a sip of coffee from his mug as he read through the file.
The papers and photograph in the police file identified the man in front of him as Lieutenant Charles Hangpeng Chan (陳恆平), and the biography noted that he's the second in his family to be named Charles.
As he skimmed through Chan's file, Sam was dully impressed by his time serving in the San Francisco Police Department. He noted several highlights and nodded before putting the file on his desk.
"Well, having had gone through your file, I must say your service record is very impressive, Lieutenant Chan." Sam said as he took off his glasses. "You're just the man I need here in Coolsville. Your files does indicate you've got the leadership material needed to lead the detective team here in headquarters to produce results."
"I'm flattered to hear, Chief." Chan nodded. "And you will get my best work, sir."
"Glad to hear that." Sam said. "Because when you take over the Homicide Special unit, you wouldn't be just working to clear cases. You will be having a squad of up to a dozen lads reporting to you, and juggling between those leadership responsibilities and all those cases the lads are working on can be a struggle."
Standing up from his seat, the police chief began to pace around his office as he continued, "Mind you, I've only been appointed as chief of police for a year, but you'll be surprised what a man in a leadership position like mine sees in the span of a year."
Pausing and turning towards Chan, Sam continued, "Often times, I've seen one too many members of the command staff, lieutenant and above, letting the power and responsibilities of their positions get into their heads, so much so they've lost track of the basic principles of being a police officer, instead concerning themselves with statistics, rates, the politics of their positions, and bureaucratic red tape."
"Sounds like the result of having a command staff dominated by those that met the bare minimum years of service and passing promotion tests, rather than experience on the streets or working cases." Chan frowned.
"Yes, that's the gist of it." Sam nodded as he returned to his desk. "And when you have this disconnect between the rank and file and the command staff, it becomes a liability for an organization's ability to function properly, and in our line of work, that becomes a problem of public safety if neither side trusts one another and the public cannot count on us to do our jobs."
"Not to mention as easy as it is to turn the case counts into numbers being cited for working more efficiently, that certainly would not fly when the victims are reduced to mere footnotes of statistics, which in turn does away with the human aspects of police work." Chan nodded as well.
"I'm glad you recognize that, Lieutenant." Sam nodded and sat back down. "And reading the references from the men under your command in your file, I see nothing but praise of your leadership, which also shows me you've got what it takes to be leadership material here in Coolsville."
With the file resting on his desk, Sam glanced at the front page and then said, "So tell me, Lieutenant. The file says that you're the second in your family to be named Charles. Who is the first?"
"He's my father." Chan responded. "He arrived at Honolulu in Hawaii shortly after the turn of the century as a teenager, and he was actually influential in me joining the police department, as he himself joined the police department in spite of his then-limited English."
"Impressive." Sam nodded. "I suppose he was the amazing Charlie Chan whose exploits we've came to learn so much about?"
"The one and only." Chan nodded. "So much so that he actually had to return to his hometown in China to escape the publicity. That's also where he met my mother."
"I see." Sam said. "By chance you were also born there?"
"In my father's hometown? Yes, that's where I was born." Chan replied. "His hometown Rampoo is in the Pearl Delta region, halfway between Canton and Hong Kong."
Sam inhaled. "You said that your father was influential in you joining the police department. Out of curiosity, how was it like dealing with the publicity from his exploits at work? A lot of men here still hold reverence to your father's work."
Chan shrugged. "To tell you the truth, sir, he was initially hesitant when I told him about joining the police department. He didn't want his fame to cast a shadow over my achievements, telling me that I am my own person and shouldn't be judged based solely on his achievements."
"We're certainly in shortage of celebrity parents who recognize that." Sam nodded. "And the fact none of your references brought up your father's accomplishments in support of yours is just the cherry on top of what makes you a perfect fit here in Coolsville."
"Once again, I'm very flattered, Chief." Chan spoke.
Outside the office, Sam's adjutant Lieutenant Terrance Connelly was seated at his desk and going through files when the elevator door opened and out came his old partner, Detective Nelson McCormick.
"Hey Terry." McCormick said in greeting. "I'm here to pick up the new lieutenant."
"Ah yes, I think the chief's wrapping things up with him in there, Nelson." Connelly nodded.
Walking to Connelly's desk, McCormick leaned on it as he asked, "You had the chance to assess him before the chief sent him in?"
"I sure did, notwithstanding the fact his father's the legendary Charlie Chan, this guy's a solid guy that knows his stuff with leadership material." Connelly replied.
"That's good." McCormick nodded. "As long as he ain't one of those paper-pushers that sits on his behind all day, I'm all for it."
It was then that the desk telephone rang, prompting Connelly to pick it up. "Yes, Chief?"
"Terry, is Detective McCormick outside?" Sam asked from the other end.
"Yes sir." Connelly nodded.
"Excellent, send him in." Sam said.
"Right away, sir." Connelly said as he hung up the phone and nodded towards the office door. "Chief wants you in, Nelson."
When McCormick entered the office, Sam wasted no time introducing him to Chan, who has his newly-issued police badge clipped to his belt.
"Lieutenant Charlie Chan, Jr., meet Detective Nelson McCormick." Sam said, prompting McCormick to extend his hand.
As the two men shook hands, Sam continued, "Nelson is the squad second-in-command of the Homicide Special unit, of which you will be taking charge of, Charlie."
"It's a great pleasure meeting you, Lieutenant." McCormick said. "And welcome to Coolsville."
"Likewise, Nelson, and please just call me Charlie or Chuck, I don't mind." Charlie smiled as he shook McCormick's offered hand. "And thank you. I look forward to jumping into the action."
"Excellent." McCormick nodded before turning to the chief and added. "I will take the rest from here, Chief."
Sam nodded and put his reading glasses back on, which was their cue to take their leaves.
After lunch, Shaggy and Daphne arrived at their chemistry class for third period.
As they took their usual seats, they both spotted the boy cautiously entering the classroom after taking a glance at what appeared to be his school timetable.
The teacher, Mr. McDabble, saw the boy and went over to greet him.
"Mr. Henry Chan, I presume?" He asked.
"Uh, yes, sir." Henry nodded.
"I'm Mr. McDabble, and I'll be teaching your chemistry class for the school year." The chemistry teacher introduced himself.
"Nice to meet you, sir." Henry said as he shook Mr. McDabble's offered hand, and Shaggy thought he could detect a slight trace of an accent in his voice.
"Likewise, Mr. Chan." Mr. McDabble nodded before getting the attention of the whole class. "Now everyone, listen up!"
When the class all turned their attention towards him, Mr. McDabble continued, "I'll like to introduce Mr. Henry Chan, a new student from San Francisco who was transferred to Central just this morning."
Facing each of the students in the classroom, Mr. McDabble said, "I expect all of you to make him feel welcome during and after classes and to treat him with respect, just like how every one of you will like to be treated with respect from your peers."
Following the introduction, the teacher continued, "Moving on, today we're continuing to work on your group lab projects for the end-of-semester selection for the state science fair, so everyone please split up into your groups and carry on from where you've left off last week."
Without any delay, the class proceeded to split into their groups with Shaggy joining W.W. of the Mysteries Five school band, and Tinker.
Eying that Shaggy's group is the only group to have only three members while the other groups each have four, Mr. McDabble signalled Henry over and walked over to Shaggy's group.
"Mr. Rogers." Mr. McDabble said to Shaggy.
"Yes, Mr. McDabble?" Shaggy asked as he, Tinker, and W.W. turned towards the teacher.
"Are you boys alright if Mr. Chan joins your group?" Mr. McDabble asked. "Based on what I've reviewed from your hypothesis', I've felt that your group may suit Mr. Chan best for him to catch up on what was taught from the past month, plus it will mean you boys will have four like the other groups."
"Like, of course, Mr. McDabble." Shaggy nodded as he beckoned Henry over and said, "Come right in, Henry."
As Henry joined them, Mr. McDabble took his leave and said, I'll leave you boys to bring him up to speed on your project."
After the teacher took his leave, Henry extended his hand and introduced himself. "Henry Chan, guess you can say I'm the new guy."
"Don't worry about it, man, you'll fit right in." Shaggy said as he shook Henry's offered hand. "The name's Rogers, by the way. Norville Rogers, though most people call me Shaggy."
"Walter Wilkinson, most people just calls me W.W." W.W. added as Henry shook hands with Shaggy.
"Paul Tinkering." Tinker added as he and W.W. took turns shaking Henry's hand. "I usually go by Tinker."
"Nice meeting you all." Henry smiled as he sat down.
Although Henry was momentarily overwhelmed by the subject matter of their hypothesis, in no time did Shaggy, W.W., and Tinker brought him up to speed on what they are working on for the semester.
During the downtime, Shaggy leaned over and asked Henry, "So I take it that you grew up in San Francisco, Henry. Were you born there as well?"
"Actually, I was born in Hong Kong." Henry replied. "My family primarily speaks Cantonese at home, though it is more often for the younger siblings, who were born in San Francisco, to converse in English instead."
"I see." W.W. remarked as Shaggy and Tinker nodded understandingly. "What does your parents do for a living?"
"Well, my father is a police detective and my mother is a nurse." Henry responded.
"A police detective, eh?" Tinker commented. "I guess he's now working with Shag's father, who is the city's police chief."
"Oh, really?" Henry asked as he turned to Shaggy.
"Like, that's right." Shaggy nodded. "He was only made chief last year, but before that, he spent about twenty years solving cases. Seems to me he likely read up about your father's exploits and lobbied hard for his transfer here."
"I see." Henry nodded. "Guess I should also mention he's not the first in the family to become a police officer, as his father, my grandfather that is, was also a cop, albeit in Honolulu."
"Wow, that's interesting to hear." Tinker remarked. "My dad's a locomotive engineer at the Southern Pacific and mom a secretary."
"My dad's an army medic, while my mom is a teacher at Tex Avery Middle School." W.W. added.
"And my mother's a nurse." Shaggy added.
"Nice." Henry remarked.
After directing Henry to the classroom for his final period class, Shaggy met up with Daphne as they made their way to their civics class.
"Like, I honestly don't know what I was thinking when I selected civics class for the final period while building my schedule for the school year." Shaggy quipped.
"It's not just you, Shag." Daphne agreed. "It's been a month since the start of the school year, and I still find myself dreading Day Bs like today, having to finish the day on a boring note."
"You said it, Daph." Shaggy said.
As they walked down the hallway, Daphne continued, "I saw you speaking with the new guy, were you in Mr. McDabble's class together?"
"Yes he is." Shaggy nodded. "His name's Henry and he's transferred from San Francisco, where he grew up."
"I see." Daphne nodded thoughtfully. "Was he also born there?"
"No, he was born in Hong Kong." Shaggy replied. "He mentioned his family primarily speaks Cantonese at home."
"Cool." Daphne remarked as they arrived at their civics classroom.
"I've never visited Asia before." Fred remarked later after school as the four friends met up at the school entrance. "Sure, I have been to Europe before on trips, but I've never step foot anywhere in Asia, especially East Asia, before."
"I've been to Japan a couple of times, both of which were during one of those business trips my father goes to." Daphne spoke.
"How was it, Daph?" Shaggy asked.
"It is something alright, getting to experience a totally different culture, and seeing how futuristic Tokyo is was definitely something." Daphne replied. "In fact, the last time we were there, it was three years ago and I got to ride on the new bullet train. According to Dad's business associate there, the specific train we were on was actually sold out."
"How about that." Fred remarked. "Do you think we will have something similar here in the States in the future?"
"It will sure be nice for sure." Daphne nodded as she turned towards Shaggy and asked, "What about you, Shag? You've ever been to Asia before?"
"Scoob and I have been to Asia a couple times, though only for flight transfers via Tokyo and Singapore en route to Australia this one time." Shaggy said. "We never really visited any place in Asia at all. That said, I really wouldn't mind trying out authentic Asian cuisine."
"Oh, do you guys ever think of something else other than food when it comes to other places?" Daphne teased.
"Well, like, my mind will be thinking properly if someone didn't eat my triple-decker sandwich while I wasn't looking during lunch time." Shaggy replied as Scooby smirked, revealing himself to be the culprit responsible for eating Shaggy's sandwich.
Fred laughed as he watched Scooby making the smirk. "Maybe that should teach you to keep a sharp eye on your food at all times, Shag."
"Don't worry, Shag." Daphne smiled as she patted Shaggy's back. "I might whip something up for you when I get home so you won't get too hungry."
"Like, that sounds like a groovy idea, Daph." Shaggy smiled as they walked through the main entrance doors.
As they headed towards the main sidewalk, they saw Henry being picked up by his mother.
Henry spotted them and waved his hand, prompting them to join him.
"Hey Shaggy." Henry said as the group walked over to him.
"Hey Henry." Shaggy smiled as he shook his hand. "Like, you're heading home now?"
"Not quite." Henry replied. "My mother is taking me to the hospital for a checkup."
"I see." Shaggy nodded before turning to his friends and continued, "And by the way, this is Daphne Blake, Freddie Jones and my old buddy Scooby Doo."
"Nice meeting you all." Henry smiled as he shook each of their hands (Paw for Scooby's case.)
"Likewise, Henry." Fred nodded as he shook Henry's hand. "Welcome to Coolsville and I hope you all enjoy your stay."
"Thank you." Henry smiled before gesturing towards his mother and added, "By the way, this is my mother Diana."
After introducing them each to his mother, she smiled as she said, "Nice meeting you all."
"Likewise, Mrs. Chan." Shaggy smiled as the group nodded.
After getting on the car, Henry added, "In the meantime, my appointment is in about fifteen minutes, so we'd better to get going. See you guys around."
"For sure. Have a nice day!" Daphne nodded as the gang waved.
After pulling out from the side of the street, Henry's mother asked, "佢哋係你的新朋友嗎?" (他們是你的新朋友嗎?) (Are they your new friends?)
"係啊。" (是的。) (Yes.) Henry nodded. "薛吉和我一起上化學課，我跟佢一起同組。" (Shaggy and I are in chemistry class together, and I got assigned the same group as him.)
Briefly looking back towards the school's direction, Henry added, "佢哋都很友善。" (They are all very friendly.)
Diana nodded. "看得出來。" (I can tell.)
October 13, 1968
That day after school, Shaggy, Maggie, and Daphne were walking Scooby in the park as usual when they spotted Henry with a group of kids.
Henry was the first to spot the quartet, and he promptly waved them over. "Hey Shag."
"Like, hey Henry." Shaggy nodded as they walked over. "Nice day for a walk in the park, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it sure is." Henry agreed before gesturing to the kids that were at the park with him and continued. "By the way, guys, I'll like you all to meet my siblings."
Gesturing at a thirteen-year old boy wearing a green shirt, Henry said, "This is my brother Stanley."
Then, turning to a twelve-year old girl in a light blue dress who quite resembled Daphne in her early-teens, he continued, "This is my sister Susan."
"Please call me Suzie." Susan said. She was pushing a stroller with two occupants.
Gesturing at a ten-year old boy wearing sunglasses, an orange shirt with a pink vest, he continued, "This is my brother Alan."
Turning to a ten-year old girl wearing an orange shirt with white overalls and an orange cap, he continued, "This is my sister Anne. She and Alan are twins."
As Shaggy, Maggie, Daphne, and Scooby nodded, Henry gestured at an eight-year old boy in a brown shirt and white vest and continued, "This is my brother Tom."
Turning to a six-year old boy in a light green shirt and by the side of Suzie, he continued, "This is my brother Felix."
"I don't mind going by Flip." Felix said.
Gesturing at a four-year old girl in a light purple dress and carried by Stanley, he added, "This is my sister Nancy."
Finally, he turned their attention towards the two toddlers in a stroller pushed by Suzie, Henry gestured towards them and said, "And these are our youngest brother and sister, Mimi and Scooter."
He then turned to his siblings and said, "Everyone, these are my friends from Central: Shaggy Rogers, Scooby Doo, and Daphne Blake."
"Like, nice meeting you all." Shaggy smiled as Scooby and Daphne all waved their hands. Gesturing to Maggie, he continued, "And this is my sister Maggie."
"Call me Sugie." Maggie added.
"Hi Sugie." Suzie said as she and her siblings walked over to greet the quartet.
"Hi Suzie." Maggie smiled as they exchanged hugs.
As the quartet exchanged hellos with Henry's siblings, Daphne remarked, "Jeepers, you sure got a large family, Henry."
"Like, I know of those with at least six, if not seven siblings, but wow, ten of you in total, that's gotta be something!" Shaggy remarked. "Must say your mother must be tough as nails."
Just then, there was a ruff and Henry quickly realized something and added, "Oh, how can I forget our pet dog Chu Chu?"
"Here Chu Chu, come and meet Scooby Doo." Tom said, and out came a small light-brown-furred dog sporting a red tag.
"Rowdy!" Scooby barked as the small dog faced him.
The dog responded by howling, which almost sounded like the siren of a police car, shocking Scooby and causing him to leap in Shaggy's arms in fright.
"Ripe!" Scooby exclaimed as he leaped into Shaggy's arms.
"Oh, sorry about that, Scooby." Henry said. "Chu Chu just howls like that."
"Roh. Ri ree." Scooby nodded understandingly before getting off Shaggy's arms and proceeds to lick Chu Chu, something which the small dog seem to enjoy.
Watching the two dogs sniffing at each other, Daphne commented, "It seems that they're becoming fast friends."
"Yeah." Henry nodded as they all smiled.
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