Shisha Girl

CHAPTER ONE - Shanie

"Shinaze!"

What now, she thought.

"Shinaze!"

Shanie Roberts-Pham turned over in her messy double bed, her thick,long, brown-black, dead straight hair cascading over her shouldersand across half her face. She squinted at the alarm clock on thebedside table. MONDAY, 05:32 AM, said the digital clock face,brightly.

"Shinaze! Get up! It's time for school!"

Her mum's insistent voice broke through her slumbered reverie. Itwas Monday morning, time for school.

"OK, Mum! I'm awake!" she yelled out, testily. Mum was alwaysright on schedule – which was great for her appointments at thenail salon but very annoying for an overtired teenage girl who hadjust turned eighteen.

Shanie swung her long, elegant legs off the side of the bed andstood up. She held the back of her dressing table's chair, sat downon it and looked in the mirror. Her long, thick, straight hair had agentle wave as it framed her face, then highlighted her alabasterneck before resting on her shoulders, the ends just touching thepeaks of the bustline that was visible through her nightgown. Herolive-skinned, oval face was accentuated by her slitted eyelids,which opened wide to reveal larger-than-normal orbs that stared backat her with a twinkle. Her nose was longer and more aquiline thanmost Asian girls and the lips of her mouth were wide but not toofull.

Seemingly satisfied with what she saw, she stood up, the nightgownlong and flowing, highlighting her long torso, pronounced hips andlong legs that completed her five feet ten inch frame.

Oh, well, she thought, going over to the wardrobe. Opening thecreaking door, she pulled out a white blouse and tartan skirt, whichwere neatly ironed and on one hanger – her school uniform. It wastime to get up. 

"Hurry up! Sit down!" said her mum, as Shanie came breezingthrough the kitchen door. Of course, she said it in Vietnamese("Nhanh len! Ngoi xuong!"), which sounded a lot ruder than theEnglish version. Not that Shanie cared, plonking herself down on thewooden chair, one of six surrounding the elegant pinewood table thather mum had imported into Vietnam at huge expense from the IKEA shopin Singapore. She poured herself some cereal into a bowl and addedthe milk.

"And you shouldn't eat cereal for breakfast every day, like someforeigner," Mum went on in Vietnamese. "Why can't you eat a bowlof pho or hu tieu like other people in Vietnam? It's much morehealthy."

"Whatever," mumbled Shanie with her mouth full.

"You'll put on weight, too. A girl your age should watch what sheeats. You'll get fat in no time and then who will want to marry you?You should let Chi Hai teach you cooking. Then you can eat healthyfood all the time. Plus you'll be able to take care of your husband."

Stuff that, thought Shanie.

Pham Thi Thuy Linh looked at her daughter with exasperation. With anattitude such as hers, Shinaze was unlikely to find a suitor when thetime came. Finding a husband was important. At least, it had beenwhen Linh was young. That was how every girl got out of poverty andthe humdrum drudgery of life in a Vietnamese village. "Findyourself a good man," her mother had told her. "Don't dream toomuch and keep your head down. Men don't need much looking after. Justcook for him and keep him warm at night." Her mother had doneexactly that with Linh's father – even though her dad had been apain in the neck at times, her mum had fed him and ironed his clothesevery single day of his life until the stupid fool died. Mind you,Linh was a fine one to criticize Shinaze. She herself had longed fora better life, moving away to the city despite being hardly thebrightest student in her class at school. School in the countrysidewas a waste of time, anyway. Bored, unmotivated teachers babysittingbored, unmotivated students about boring, unmotivating subjects. Shehad got away as fast as she could, moving to Saigon, finding a job ina coffee shop and renting a small room above it from the coffee shopowner, a fat, middle-aged Saigonese woman who was irritable andshouted at her husband. Then Linh had used her good looks and sexyappearance to attract male customers, who drank in her long, black,lustrous hair, full red lips and curvy body just as much as they drank their "cafe sua da"iced milk coffees. Finally, she moved onto becoming a secretary,learning English, changing jobs to a foreign company with a shiny newrep office in Saigon. That's where she had met her husband. Hermother could scarcely believe the news when she heard. Linh smiled toherself. She had always been more ambitious than the sleepy, countrybumpkin brothers she had grown up with. Now 41, she still lookedgood, although nowadays the foundation and lipstick supply in hermake-up bag was lower than it used to be and there were wrinklesaround her eyes and she was a little heavier than she wanted butstill a whole lot better than that fat middle-aged woman who sold the"bun bo" noodles in her polyester pyjamas at the end of thestreet on the corner.

"Good morning, everyone," said a deep voice. Shanie's fatherwalked in. James Roberts was tall, medium to heavy build, in a blackbusiness suit and slightly bouffant black hair, with some hints ofgrey near his temples that gave him an air of distinguishedrefinement. Nearly six feet tall, the double cuffs of his white shirtbeneath his jacket featured a chunky pair of eighteen-carat goldcufflinks, his black-socked feet topped off with a pair of smart andslightly worn black leather Oxford brogues. He grabbed the seatnearest the door and eased himself behind the breakfast table as hesat down. He smiled at his wife and daughter. "How goes the day,this fine morning?"

"School, like normal," remarked Shanie, with a mouthful ofcereal.

"Yes, indeed," said James. "The party's over, birthday girl,"he said. "Now you're officially eighteen and already back toschool, I want you to concentrate on your exams."

"They're not until mid-term," countered Shanie.

"Nevertheless, it's time to knuckle down and get on with what yourteachers set you."

"I get it," said Shanie, testily.

Her father looked at the mug of steaming black American-style coffeeLinh had just put in front of him. Curling a finger around thehandle, he paused at Shanie's words. "Listen! I'm not sure you doget it. This is your last year at high school and I want to seeresults – I didn't pay all that money every month for twelve yearsto get nothing back – understand?"

"Just as long as you get your return on investment – that's allthat matters," replied Shanie. She had finished her cereal and wasnow standing up, moving over to the sink to dump the bowl and spoonin it.

James frowned, irritated. "And what does that mean, young lady?"

Shanie grabbed her bag and jacket that were hanging on the back ofher chair and made her way towards the front door. "See ya – havea great day." She bustled out of the kitchen.

"Hey, I'm talking to you! Come back here!" shouted James.

  "Shinaze!" yelled her mother but all she got in return was thesound of the front door slamming behind her daughter.