2016 May 8

"I'm going out! Bye!" A brown-haired boy jumps over the counter, flings open the glass door and bolts outside. The doorbell is still ringing when Chelsea rushes out of the kitchen.

"Don't run off! It's your turn to watch the shop today." Chelsea is wearing her official shop head scarf and carrying a pot filled with custard as she runs after Lance, shouting.

The whole street can hear Chelsea's shouting ring out, and her neighbors smile knowingly.

"No way, I don't want to. Silly sister can do it! Bye!" Lance turns around, pulls a face, and escapes away even faster.

In the blink of an eye he disappears down the street corner.

"Damn it. He gave me the slip again." Chelsea gives chase until she runs out of breath. She happens to stop in front of an old-fashioned local specialty store. "What was Dad thinking? He saw Lance running out and didn't stop him..." Chelsea keeps stirring the custard as she complains.

"He ran off again?" The store owner steps outside laughing. The neighbors are used to Lance’s escapades, as they provide entertainment in their somewhat uneventful lives.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Chan. I'm sorry about the disturbance..." Chelsea turns around to see Mr. Chan holding a box of Lan Kong Town treats.

"It's fine, it's fine. We're old neighbors. Here, have some."

"Wow... thank you so much." Chelsea quickly bows to show her gratitude and spills some of the custard in the process.

"I'm... I'm so sorry." She kneels down to clean it up and drops the treat on the floor, making a mess.

The shopping district is always busy on the upcoming summer weekends.

Today Chelsea devised a brand new dessert preparation technique.