Oh Shit.

She's actually doing what I say. Now that I think about it, that is what she's meant to do. But wow, it's just, surreal, I guess. A breathy laugh escapes me. I am outside, on the street, after dark, without supervision.

This is weird. If it wasn't clear already, I have never done this before. Where should I go, what should I do? Guess I'll walk around a bit and see what I find. Pulling my hoodie closer around me, I set off.

I decided to stick to the main road, so there would be people around. Though there isn't many people around to begin with. It's not like this neighbourhood is dangerous, but all the stories from school and my parents still freaked me out enough for me to be cautious.

After a short while, I made it to the Sherwood shopping centre. But all of the shops were closed, except for Woolworths. Maybe I can go sit in the park next to where Susi has guides, ooh, or maybe I could go visit Susi... at 7 pm. Maybe not such a good idea. But what else can I do, I mean other than go to the park at Graceville, or walk all the way to JoJo's house in Oxley or Matilda's, but again, I really shouldn't be visiting people at this time of night. Besides, how would I explain why I was out here? Especially because 'I' was at home the entire time. And I can't stay out long either, I still have to go to school tomorrow. Maybe.

Man, why can't I go somewhere cool like Spain, France, Scotland, or even China! At least I can understand the people there. Maybe I could even share my experiences at Chinese camp next week. I can even imagine it.

The bright, bustling city, the crowded cries of the market and the titanic towers and temples. Wow, I can smell it. I open my eyes.

I can even see it apparently.

I'm standing in an alleyway, the lights of nearby skyscrapers winking down at me. Oh shit. I'm actually in China. But I can't be. But I am.

"What... how the hell... 我现在处于一些深刻的困境..."

Ok, first off, how did I get here? Unless I'm dreaming, or hallucinating. I smack my hand against the wall. "Ow." I have got to stop doing that. By now, more and more people were walking by the alleyway, and I was drawing some curious stares. I need to get out of here, before someone asks questions. My Chinese isn't that good.

Stepping out of the alleyway, I surveyed my surroundings. It seemed I was in some side street, with a couple of shop fronts dotted throughout.

In the distance, I could see a bunch of skyscrapers all lit up in different fluoro colours. That must be the city then. I should probably head there to get my bearings. But I probably need to ask for directions to just get there. Except there aren't a lot of people around, and they don't seem very friendly either.

Hopefully, there are more people down the street, or perhaps a market.

After a couple moments walking, I spotted an opening on to a large road, perhaps a highway, with lots of cars, and a clear view of most of the city. Wow, there are a lot of towers in this city, including a weird shaped one. With huge spheres. Seems familiar. Maybe it's Beijing. At least there are more people around. Last thing I need is to be kidnapped in a foreign country. That would be VERY hard to explain.

I still need to figure out where I am. Even though the last thing I want to do right now is talk to strangers. Who also don't like talking to strangers. But I don't have a choice. So I walk up to a woman standing in the doorway at the end of the side street.

Her hair was a bright purple, shaved off on the left side. She wore skin-tight revealing clothes that seemed to be made of leather. A whip hung at her right side. Her tall, lean frame covered up part of a neon sign. Why did I have to choose her to talk to?

" 你好." The woman glanced at me. "我- 我现在在哪里？"(1) She rolled her eyes. Guess I seemed like an obnoxious tourist, if I think about it. Shifting from one foot to the other, I realised I wasn't wearing any shoes. Goddamnit.

"You want to know where you are?" I nodded meekly. "You in Shanghai, you need help?"

"uh, 不, 不, 而, 谢谢!"(2) She dismissed me with a wave of her hand, returning her gaze to the city. Well, now that I know where I am, I should try to find my way back. But only after I've explored first. I am a nerd in a different country after all.

If I'm in Shanghai, then that must mean all those buildings are the Bund, and that strange tower is the oriental pearl tower. It also means that if it's past 7 o'clock in Australia, it's past 5 o'clock in Shanghai, which would explain why the sun hasn't set yet. I'm sure the nightlife here is interesting though.

Where to go first. Maybe a restaurant. Though that doesn't guarantee I'll find a market, and I don't have any money, either. But it's still better than nothing. So I stop a man wearing a suit to ask him directions. "哪里有好吃?"(3) He seemed a little surprised, probably because I was Caucasian.

"西一百五十米."(4) Pointing me in the direction he came from.

"谢谢!"(5) A little less fearful and more confident, I started walking a tad slower than normal. I wanted to take in the sights. Wish I had a camera. But that would be another thing to explain. I was too enraptured with the city to notice the woman in the doorway stand up and start following me, uncovering the sign, reading 妓院.(6)

On my walk to the restaurant, I noticed I drew a couple a stares. Probably (I'm just going out on a limb here) because I was a young, Caucasian girl, out by herself at dusk, wearing an outfit that's a bit sketchy (I was in my PJs). I drew into myself a bit more and sped up, not feeling so safe anymore. Luckily, the restaurant the man mentioned came into view.

Unluckily, a pair of hands reached out of an alleyway and pulled me into it, along with a sharp pain to my head. I blacked out.

Next thing I knew, I woke up bound to a chair in some empty building with a disturbing lack of clothes.

"哎呀."(7)