Triad Tourists

Chapter 22

"Nia!" I jump. I blink as I try to stop the pounding in my head. I don't know how I got into the streets, but I know I don't need to be out after what happened last time.

I put on a pair of shades from my small bag to block out the Sun. It's normal to find people asleep on the sidewalk. Nobody bothers them, being drunk out of your mind and passing out is perfectly fine here apparently. I'm not complaining since I technically am one to other people. Just a drunk woman trying to sleep after having a good time.

As I stand from the concrete, I hear a beep. A self driving car is stopped in front of me. It doesn't have a different route, so it waits. I notice it's something like Uber, so I jump on and type in my address. The car takes off, but I notice it goes the opposite direction. Before reporting a problem, something beeps and catches my attention. It's in Chinese, so I rely on the changing pictures to tell me what's happening. A road is unavailable. Instead of hopping out, I decide to enjoy the ride.

There's people walking everywhere, children with backpacks and mother's with kids. Most have only one child, but a few interact with several children. People look angry at their phones, and smile at their friends. They wear overcoats in different ways. You can know a teenage woman from a 30 year old just by the way they wear their coat. I see pink cheeks and black hair. Some even have dye in, and it's actually really cute. Nails are painted and people try different clothes and foods as they walk. They carry different accessories like umbrellas in Summer, stickers on their clothes, flashy hair pins, and they poke at their bodies, probably to point out awes and flaws. It's humanity. Different from my own reality, but alike: humanity. I used to hate it, and I still do sometimes, but for some reason today seems like a day to enjoy it.

A familiar face stops me from gazing. "Xin?" I stop the vehicle. "Xin?" I call. He stops to look for the person who called his name. "Xin!" I call after he looks every direction but mine.

He finally catches sight of me. "TaLala." He smiles.

"Tallulah." I correct again.

"Oh!" He looks embarrassed and disappointed in himself.

"You're ok. I forget my own name sometimes. Where you headed?"

"I go to buy a gift for girlfriend." He answers.

"New girlfriend?" I wriggle my brows. "When?"

He starts to blush. "Not my girlfriend: girl- urm- friend girl. My...Boyfriend's girlfriend."

Analysis: In a world like this, that could mean literally. It would be rude to ask if he said it wrong, but maybe the language barrier could cut me some slack.

"Your guy friend has a girlfriend?"

He nods. "Duì."

"Ah! I thought you.." I hold up a one and a zero.

He gets the message. "ah! No! No! Bù" he denies.

"That's so cute! What occasion?"

He shrugs. "I am good."

I roll my eyes, still holding my huge smile. "Just in a giving mood?"

He nods and smiles. His teeth are sharp and beautiful."Sounds... Totally wicked!"

I burst out laughing. After -Im guessing- replaying that sentence in his head, he laughs too.

"You're either watching American cartoons or on TikT∆k."

"Both." He smiles his signature innocent-looking face.

"Since you wanna give so bad." I press my palms together and slowly open them, keeping a side together. "Script?"