Grandparents own a restaurant called Guan Yin Café. It’s right behind Grandparents’ house. One day, while visiting the restaurant, Laura meets an elderly grandpa who wants Laura for a disciple. The grandpa knows how to Ba Mai to see what people’s illnesses are by putting two fingers on people’s wrists, and he can see from Laura’s facial features that she’d be a fine pupil. Laura starts meeting the grandpa everyday for two hours to learn Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Grandparents start employing a pianist to play in the restaurant, and the first time Laura hears it, she would not go home until her parents tell her they’re going to buy a piano for her too. Laura starts taking lessons and practicing two hours every day.
Dad teaches Laura an hour of English and an hour of Chinese, while Mom teaches her an hour of math and an hour of science and social studies every day. She’s also given three hours of homework every day.
When Laura is at the school age of seven-years-old, she skips right to tenth grade. First aunt makes a scrapbook for Laura out of all the pictures of her life before school. Laura looks at these and comments to first aunt, “I wish we could attach videos to scrapbooks as well.” First aunt takes the suggestion seriously and develops a cheap glass film that could be attached to scrapbooks, where each film shows a video with controllable fast-forward, rewind, pause, and volume change. First aunt makes it big out of her business, calling her new invention Phideos. Phideos catches on like wildfire, and first aunt earns $134 million dollars the first year.
A distant boy cousin from U.S. comes to visit Laura during winter break one day. He flew on the airplane all by himself, taken home by Dad. When Alan first comes in, he holds in his hand a greeting present for Laura, a big, complicated, and beautiful makeup box. It is made of glass with stainless steel on the sides, and inside is everything. Perfume, nail polish, eye shadow, you name it.
Dad teaches Alan how to play Chinese chess. Laura has fun watching them and playing against Alan from time to time. They go play in the snow outside and some healthy video games that Laura’s parents approve of together. That means no violence and no mindless games, but educational or brain-bending games. One game that they play is an on-line analogous version of I Spy. Alan, being the smart alec, writes down all the password for all the games so they could skip to a specific game without having to start from the very beginning.
At night, Alan and Laura sleep together in a makeshift bed in the living room. They talk for a long time, trading stories, until they fall in to dreamland. At day, when Laura has to be tutored, Alan tags along to learn Chinese medicine, English, Chinese, science, and math. Even though Laura already goes to high school, she still gets tutored outside of class. Alan can play the piano too, and they play songs they know to each other for fun, like Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, and Chopin. Laura is better at piano than Alan because she practices more, but Alan knows some simple classical songs too. They have fun playing Chopsticks and Heart and Soul.
Alan goes away to US at the end of winter break. Laura uses her nail polish and perfume. Mom tells her that she can’t use it, but girls at her high school all use it, and Laura wants to follow all the other girls to be popular. Gilleah even commented on how beautiful her nails were the other day, and even her English teacher said it was beautiful.
Gilleah invites Laura to a slumber party, and on her card it says RSVP, so Laura goes home and asks Mom. Mom gave an outright “no.” Mom tells Laura to come pick stringed beans with her and catches her red-handed with blue nail-polish on her fingers.
“What’s this? Nail polish! What have I told you about wearing makeup?” Mom demands.
“But what’s wrong with makeup? Everybody else at school all wear it.” Laura replies.
“You need to focus on school and not girly stuff, Laura,” Mom says, “scrub off your nail polish this instant!”
Oh how much does Laura admire the other girls with their perfect lives. Just look at the way they carry themselves while wearing their makeup! Every which way that they move, every sound they speak, is always right! Plus they get to have a social life with parties that normal kids go to! Laura goes to scrub off her nail polish. Even Sailor Moon and her Scoutes from the TV wear nail polish when they fight. Laura comes to tell Mom this.
“Oh, Laura, you’ve been toyed with by the social media. You have been brainwashed to want to be like Sailor Moon and to follow the stereotype that girls wear makeup. It’s only a stereotype. Can’t you see you are perfect just the way you are? You are more perfect than any other girl who tries too hard to be a girl. Can’t you see the gifts that you have right here, right now? You don’t need to go to parties or wear makeup to be normal. You are Laura normal. You have your own life. Why did Da Yu go tame the flood after his father died doing the same thing? Because it was his family’s duty and tradition. If you’re born into this family, you have to follow this family’s traditions and carry out your duty. Other girls from other families, I don’t care the least for. But I care about you, and you are following my rules. Don’t you ever think that anyone else is better than you. You are a beautiful, holy, godly being, just the way you are,” Mom rubs Laura on her nose playfully. “Dare to be different, to stand out from the crowd. Why would you want to be a wannabee who wanna be like somebody else?
“I give you one word: virtue. Make this the center of your life. With this you’ll win in life. When you win and get first place, who cares if you only wear only one pair of pants? Your Dad was first place out of the entire school in high school, and people would say, ‘Look at that kid with one pair of pants, he’s number one.’ A beautiful girl is nothing without a beautiful heart. It’s not all about appearances. There’s something else deep beneath the surface that counts for much more. Don’t you ever judge anyone else either by his or her appearance.”
“But how do I say ‘no’ to the party?” Laura asks.
“Don’t try to please other people,” Mom says, “Be bold enough to say a ‘no’ without having to explain yourself. Now, you and I are going to the garbage outside to throw away this makeup box.”
This sounds a little bit absurd and drastic. Laura didn’t think it was this big of a deal, but she obeys Mom without question. It is raining outside. Without an umbrella, Laura and Janet go outside to the dumpster, Laura holding the makeup box in her hand.
At the dumpster, Mom says, “Give it to me.” Laura gives the intricate and delicate box to Mom. Janet puts it with an official air right by the dumpster. “Let’s go.”
The rain is still pouring, washing away the follies of the past. Laura heads home with her Mom, her mind on high with what Mom has told her. She still has so much to learn in the world. She’s going to write down everything that she remembers Mom saying. Dare to be different, Laura repeats to herself. I will dare to be different. This is another day that Laura will never forget.
