Meet David, his friends call him Dave. There’s really nothing so remarkable about David, he’s in his last year of secondary school and currently applying to study in second-rate universities in Hong Kong. His mother told him to get his grades up, but he just couldn’t pull it off.
For the past seven years he’s been going through the same routine weekday after weekday, year after year, and now that he’s going to university, he’s looking forward to change. He wakes up at six in the morning, school starts at eight, and he gets home at about six after his afterschool activities. The academic environment is tough, everyone’s learning some extra skill after class be it an instrument or a language. So naturally, out of the fear of missing out he packed in an extra-curricular activity every afternoon.
Mondays he’d teach afterschool science classes to pay for his violin lessons. Tuesdays are for violin classes so he could prepare for orchestra practice on Wednesday. Thursdays are dedicated to robotics club because since he watched Gundam Seed for the first time as a kid the mechanical world captured his imagination. Though most of his friends went out on Friday, for David, it was reserved for extra math classes so he can ace his math exam and get into the physics major he dreamed of.
Nothing was up today, just another dreary Tuesday afternoon. He carried his violin case and walked out of the school gates after violin class. David was just going home from school and changing trains at Kowloon Tong Station. He’d pass by twice a day and admire the large mansions from the train window.
He hated his commute between his school in Mong Kok and his home in Tai Po, sometimes he wished he’d lived closer so he didn’t have to wake up so early in the morning. If he got rich, the first thing he would do is to buy a big house on Cornwall Road in Kowloon Tong where he could have three kids with a beautiful wife.
“Ah, dreams!” He thought to himself. “I don’t even have a girlfriend.”
He used his mobile app to check the real time arrival of trains so he could catch them just as they arrived. He ran up the stairs to the East Rail Line platform just as the train doors close.
“Darn.” He cursed quietly. “Missed it again.”
He thought that if he were just a little more athletic he’d have better luck catching trains on his daily commute, and not to mention catching girls. He walks up to queue next to a girl who was carrying a cello case.
“Bad day eh?” He laughed. “I miss this train every afternoon.”
“It’s not that bad, another one will come in a minute.” The girl smiled politely.
“You play the cello? I play the violin!” David asked, trying to think of a topic of conversation with the lovely girl.
“Yeah, it can be troublesome though, I have to get home before six in the evening otherwise I have to wait till after rush hour.” She sulked.
“Oh? Why’s that?” David asked.
“Stupid rules.” She sighed. “I need this permit thing to carry a large instrument onto trains, claims I’m an obstruction.”
“What? What about those cross border passengers doing milk powder runs?” David exclaimed in disbelief.
“I know right!?” She agreed.
Just then, the train on the opposite platform departed at speed and the girl’s two Dutch braids wallowed in the wind like a ribbon dancer’s performance. She quickly pressed down her Qipao and David tried awkwardly to look away, except he couldn’t. Her fair complexion captured his heart; she had the figure of a Coca-Cola bottle figure, which was complimented by the tight fit of her blue Qipao uniform. She had a petite physique, a slender waistline that was no wider than her shoulders. Her hair was tied in a neat bun with a dark wooden chopstick and just for a moment his dark hazel eyes met hers.
“You’re staring.” The girl joked as she looked away and broke eye contact.
“Oh I’m sorry, where are my manners?” David stuttered. “My name is Dave…David…my friends call me Dave.”
“I’m Abbie, you go to school around here?” She asked
“Yeah…no…nearby…like one station down.” He pointed south as he tried to look composed for Abbie.
They boarded the next train together and both got off at Tai Po. Abbie lived just east of the station and David lived just west of the station. He thought he couldn’t let this chance get away from him; he knew he had to do something. He wanted to stop dreaming.
“Hey Abbie, mind if I get your number?” He asked.
“Oh, sure, I don’t see why not.” Abbie smiled.
“Maybe we could play together sometime, us both being string buddies.” David suggested timidly.
“Yeah, maybe.” Abbie looked at her dark polished shoes.
“Hey, I’m gonna see you again, right?” David asked.
“Every Thursday afternoon, five in the evening Kowloon Tong Station northbound platform.” She said with certainty.
Boy was he glad he missed the train – a change in luck at last. Maybe he’ll get that big house and beautiful wife after all.
