Throwing the Barbie doll on the rugged floor, Vicky in a short cotton green dress ran toward the ringing door. Her nanny, who was getting up from the couch, was a middle-aged woman with small eyes that settled behind rimmed eyeglasses. Small silver hairs rested in her short black hair as they reflected back in the sunlight. By the time she slipped her socks in her sandals, Vicky already got the door.
"Dai-Tai!" Vicky squealed excitedly as she swung the door open.
Dai-Tai glanced calmly at her. "Hi, Vicky," she greeted. She was surprised that Vicky was so excited to see her.
Vicky grabbed her arm and led her inside the house. She presented Dai-Tai to her nanny.
Her nanny chuckled. "You're already scaring your friend with your loud voice," she remarked.
"I do not have a loud voice!" Vicky declared.
"Hello, auntie," Dai-Tai said. Her eyes wandered from the friendly woman to the huge house. It just looked like those houses she and Chenglei saw in estate magazines. The living room was twice the size of her apartment and was neatly organized. The Barbie doll in the middle of the floor caught Dai-Tai's attention, and she tried hard not to make a face. Only girly girls played with them.
"Would you like to eat something?" the woman asked.
Dai-Tai shook her head. "No thank you. I'm not hungry."
"Come on, Dai," Vicky began as she pulled the girl toward the staircase.
"Dai?" Dai-Tai asked.
"Yes, it's your new nickname."
Vicky showed Dai-Tai her messy bedroom. It smelled like soap, and there were dolls littered around the floor and on her bed. The bookcase was tidied however, and it seemed it hadn't been touched. Dai-Tai thought if she ever left her home like that, she would be dead.
"What do you want to play?"
Dai-Tai returned her attention to the energetic girl and shrugged her arms. She was about to tell her about the man in the park, but she watched Vicky pull out a plastic white case in a drawer. There was a red cross sticker pasted on the middle of the case.
"Want to play doctor then?" Vicky suggested. She sat down on the floor and opened the case. Just like a typical doctor kit, there was a stethoscope, thermometer, reflex hammer, and all other sorts of things. Placing the stethoscope on, the girl said, "You can be my patient first, and then we'll take turns."
Dai-Tai examined the doctor kit intriguingly. She had never seen one before. "I'm not sure how to play," Dai-Tai replied. The games she played with Chenglei didn't involve much role-playing, except cops and robbers, but it didn't count that much. It was better than playing with dolls which she was glad Vicky didn't suggest it.
"Don't worry," Vicky assured. "I'll teach you how to play." She gestured her hands for Dai-Tai to lie down and brought the tunable diaphragm to Dai-Tai's chest.
Feeling the metallic device on her chest, Dai-Tai felt the butterflies in her stomach again. She could feel her heart pounding loudly in the silent room as Vicky examined her beating heart.
Vicky removed the stethoscope from her ears. "Your heart is beating very fast," Vicky remarked. "You probably have a fever." She took the plastic reflex hammer from the kit and gently hit it across Dai-Tai's knee. "Does it hurt?"
"No…" Dai-Tai murmured.
The reflex hammer met her knee harder. "Now does it hurt?"
"Not really."
"Now—"
"Ouch!" Dai-Tai squinted from the pain.
Vicky lowered her head in an apology. "Sorry about that. It seems that you're sick, so I'm going to prescribe you some medicine, okay?" She got out a pen from the kit and scribbled on a fake prescription note. "Here you go," she said as she handed the note to Dai-Tai. "Now it's your turn to be the doctor."
Dai-Tai placed the note down and took the stethoscope from Vicky. "What do I do first?"
Vicky lay down on the floor and cupped her hands on top of her stomach. "Check my heart, and then my knee."
Hesitating to place the tunable diaphragm on Vicky's chest, Dai-Tai glanced back at Vicky for reassurance. "Do you want me to check… here?" She let the device hover above Vicky's chest.
Vicky turned her head to face Dai-Tai and gently touched her hand. She smiled. "Yes, don't be shy. We're friends remember?" She guided Dai-Tai's hand which held the device and drew it toward her chest.
Dai-Tai blushed, and this time, she didn't pull her eyes away from Vicky's. They mesmerized her, and Dai-Tai could feel her heart pounding more rapidly.
Vicky quickly sat up letting the tunable diaphragm fall off of her body. Her dark eyes stared deeply at Dai-Tai's, and her smile grew wider. "You're so cute!" she said as she took both of Dai-Tai's hands in hers.
Cute? Dai-Tai thought. Usually she associated cute things with bad things, but for some reason, she took it as a compliment. She didn't understand why she felt so lightheaded. Why do I feel so funny? She wondered. She couldn't understand why, but she found herself liking Vicky a lot. It was that type of 'like' that made Dai-Tai want to hold Vicky's hand and never let it go.
Vicky stood up and pulled the girl along with her. Before she was going to speak, something slipped out of Dai-Tai's pocket.
The maneki neko cat was exposed on the floor. Surprised that she forgot about the keychain in her pocket, Dai-Tai picked it up and examined it on her palm. The calico cat was unharmed from the fall.
"What's that?" Vicky asked curiously.
Dai-Tai closed her hand protectively on the cat. "Oh, it's nothing," she replied.
Vicky stepped closer to her. "Can I please see it?" she begged.
Dai-Tai hesitated as she glanced back and forth between Vicky and the miniature cat enclosed in her palm.
"Please?"
"Fine." Dai-Tai handed the cat over to Vicky.
Vicky beamed. "Where did you get this? It's so cute."
"My mom bought it for me," Dai-Tai lied. Although Vicky was her friend, sometimes there were things that were better left unsaid.
"May I borrow it?" Vicky asked.
"Borrow it?"
Vicky nodded. "I'll return it to you tomorrow."
Dai-Tai frowned. "I'm not sure." She stretched out her hand to take back the cat keychain, but Vicky didn't return it to her.
Vicky pressed her eyes at the girl's in a serious manner. "I promise that I'll return it to you tomorrow." It seemed that she meant it, so Dai-Tai withdrew her hand.
Vicky threw her arms around Dai-Tai. "Thank you, Dai!"
Dai-Tai blushed remembering her nickname.
~~~
By four o'clock pm, Vicky's father dropped off Dai-Tai at her apartment. Dai-Tai thanked him for the ride and headed upstairs. Feet stopping halfway on the stairs, Dai-Tai realized that she was too absorbed in Vicky and the keychain she let her borrow that she nearly forgot about the park.
I wonder if he's still there, she thought as she walked back downstairs. She headed outside and walked toward the park.
Dai-Tai had been to Columbus Park several times although the park wasn't as popular as the Sara D. Roosevelt Park which was near Chenglei's home. Columbus Park was smaller and was more popular with old men who played Chinese checkers on the picnic tables.
As she reached the park, there were a few male teenagers playing basketball. The picnic tables and the playground were deserted; the late afternoon was usually the time people left the park to go home. Dai-Tai searched for the parkour man throughout the area, but he wasn't there. Frowning, the girl retired by the stony pavilion and seated on a black bench. She sighed and didn't realize an old man was approaching her.
"Little girl, why are you doing here out alone?" he asked politely.
Dai-Tai looked up at the old man. His teeth were yellow, and he was wearing a blue cap which hid his bald head.
"I thought the man was going to be at the park again."
"Man?" he questioned curiously. He sat down beside her on the bench.
Dai-Tai nodded. "The man that can do stunts like Jackie Chan."
The old man chuckled.
"Jackie Chan? Oh… I think I know who you are talking about. He practices parkour everyday in the morning, but he sometimes comes here in the afternoon. If you're lucky enough, he might be here again tomorrow at this time. Why are you so interested in him though?"
Her round dark eyes shined dreamily. "I want to be just like him one day!" she declared proudly.
The old man chuckled again.
"It's dangerous though. You should be focusing in school instead."
Dai-Tai shook her head vigorously.
"I hate school. I wish I don't have to go there anymore." She talked with the old man for almost fifteen minutes. He offered to walk her home, but Dai-Tai declined the offer. She walked home alone with determination hoping that the parkour man would be there again tomorrow.
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