by A. H. Shinn
She exhaled. Her pupils appeared normal, but unfortunately, her senses weren’t.
They were acting up again. She hadn’t been sure if her hyperactive senses had dissipated along with the Emotive Chi, but it seemed not. A few months ago at school, she had thought she heard a siren when no one else did. Minutes later, an ambulance was on campus to take away a student who had broken his leg.
A few weeks ago, she walked home from the corner store. When she was almost at their martial arts studio, which was situated in front of their house, she had taken a whiff of a pungent odor. When she had gotten home, she found that Master Chen had peeled a bowlful of garlic cloves.
With Zurich and Mulin’s help, she had begun to learn how to control her vision, but she knew it would take time to fully understand the complexity of all her senses.
Then she thought to try something.
The business-card holder sat on the glass case by the entrance. She threw a heel palm toward it. Nothing happened. She looked at the stack of handheld, padded bags. Motioning a cobra strike, she snapped her wrist in front of her. The stack didn’t even teeter.
Kellie had one more test. She got up and threw a tiger strike across the heavy punching bag, hanging from the ceiling. It moved from the impact, but it didn’t fly across the room. That was a relief. When she had swung at Derek, the school bully who towered over her, he had soared a few yards back. She also had blasted Hagos a great distance away with a side kick when she fought him in Shenmi Forest.
“So my hyperactive senses aren’t connected to Hagos’s Emotive Chi.”
Hagos’s Emotive Chi had given her the power to move matter without touching it and the extra force in her strikes. She no longer had those abilities, but she continued to have enhanced faculties of sight, hearing, and smell.
Kellie continued her training. She thought it would be the best way to keep her mind off her unusual gifts and her mother’s letter. For the next several hours, she executed all the forms she knew, beginning with the simplest choreographed pattern of movements. Then she decided to attempt mantis and mongoose kung fu. Master Chen had been teaching these two other animals to her since she had learned crane and tiger kung fu—from the crane and tiger themselves.
“Twist more at waist,” said Master Chen as he walked in from the back of the studio.
“Mongoose kung fu is hard,” said Kellie.
“Not hard. Challenging. When you get, it will come natural.”
“Are you going to train?” she asked.
“No. Have more paperwork to do here in office.”
Perfect.
“Well, I—uh—am done. Gonna go back to the house now. Been here for a long time. I need a snack…and I’m a little tired.” She forced a yawn as she stretched an arm upward, hoping he wouldn’t bring up the fact that she already had a long nap. “Bye!”
She dashed out of the studio before he could say another word.
In less than twenty seconds, Kellie was in her home. The front door slammed so hard, it shook the house. She darted for Master Chen’s room. The door had been left ajar. Feeling a little guilty as she walked in, she had to remind herself that the letter was addressed to her.
When Kellie saw Master Chen’s desk, her heart stopped. The surface was completely bare. He must have cleaned the clutter this morning.
But the letter was inside his desk.
She ruthlessly combed through the drawers. They were cleaned out, too! Hardly anything was left on top or inside. Her eyes scanned around his bed, dresser, and end table. She dropped to the floor to look under his bed. She even brazenly rummaged through the clothes in his closet. The letter wasn’t here. His simple decor couldn’t hide anything. Master Chen must have stashed it somewhere when she was sleeping or taken it with him to the studio.
A horrible thought then entered her mind. What if he threw it away? She would never get to read the precious words again.
Kellie felt her stomach drop and she gritted her teeth to fight the tears welling in her eyes.
The high-pitched ringing of the phone pulled her into the family room.
Picking up the corded handset, she let out a low, gravelly, “Hello?”
“May I speak to Kellie?”
“It’s me.”
“Kellie?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, thought you were Master Chen for a second,” said Jake. “What are you up to?”
“Nothing…Why?”
“My mom has to work a few hours tonight. They called her in last minute, and she wanted me to invite you to dinner. Do you want to hang out at the diner? Jory is coming.”
“I don’t know…” All Kellie wanted to do was to lie facedown on her pillow.
“Come on! It’ll be fun. We’ll order burgers and onion rings. Or you can get a hot dog with barbecue sauce and onions. It’ll be like when we were at the Lees’ house…except without all the drama.” Jake laughed on the other end.
That’s what he thinks. Kellie considered storming into the studio to confront Master Chen. But then she’d have to explain that she was rummaging through his desk. Breathe, she told herself. You have to act rationally.
“Hello? Are you there?”
“Yeah, I’m still here,” she said.
“What’s wrong, Kel?”
There was a pause.
“Come out with us…We can talk.” His tone softened.
Talk? That wasn’t a bad idea. Jake and Jory had helped her with the Legend of Anguo conundrum. They were by her side in China, and they battled wild tigers and monkeys together. If anyone could understand all the craziness in her life, it would be them. Besides, a missing letter from her birth mother was nothing compared to talking animals, healing water, and a secret cave protected by a double-horned unicorn. Jake and Jory were her best friends, and Kellie desperately needed advice.
“Okay, I’ll go.”
“Great! We’ll pick you up in ten minutes.”
Kellie hung up the phone and flew into the bathroom to freshen up. She hadn’t asked Master Chen if she could go, but she didn’t want to face him.
Instead she scribbled a note and left the phone number to the diner. Kellie had never gone anywhere without getting permission from Master Chen first, but he had kept from her the most important thing of her life. Going out without permission hardly compared.
Sitting across from Jake, Kellie stared down at her soda as she sipped from the straw.
“What’s wrong, Kel?” Jake asked again. “You’ve hardly said anything.”
For the past twenty minutes, Kellie had listened to Jory and Jake argue about Black Raven’s secret identity. French fry particles flew out of Jory’s mouth as he excitedly discussed his favorite comic book hero. Luckily for Kellie, she sat next to him and didn’t get hit, but Jake was dodging the flying pieces.
“I guess I’m just a little tired from all the training today,” Kellie said.
Jake and Jory stared at her with blank expressions. They knew her well enough to tell when she wasn’t being completely honest.
“Well, I think Black Raven is torn,” Kellie said. “She wants to be normal, but she can’t stand by as she sees injustice on every corner.”
“I didn’t know you read the comic,” said Jory, grinning.
“I don’t,” she said, sounding irritated. “Isn’t that the dilemma for all superheroes? And that’s all you guys talk about.”
“Did we wake up on the wrong side of the bed today?” asked Jake.
“I’m sorry…” said Kellie. She was mad at Master Chen and she was taking it out on her friends.
“Things have been happening…” she started to say.
Kellie saw Jake and Jory exchange a glance.
“No…nothing weird. And no talking animals are around.” She knew what they were imagining. Well…her senses were acting up, b
ut she didn’t want to discuss that tonight.
They munched on their dinner as they waited for her to proceed.
“Well…it’s Master Chen…”
They continued to munch.
“He didn’t give me a letter.”
They stopped munching, and their brows wrinkled.
“It was a very important letter…” Kellie’s heart was pounding. Hearing the words out loud and sharing her pain with her friends overwhelmed her. Tears started rolling down her cheeks, and she rushed to wipe them with her shirt.
Jory handed Kellie a napkin. “I’m sure Master Chen will give it to you if you ask.”
“You don’t understand,” she said. “He should’ve given it to me earlier.”
Jake and Jory swapped looks again.
“Can you tell us about this letter?” asked Jake.
“It was a letter from my mother, and he kept it from me.”
Both of their eyes popped, and Jake’s onion ring fell out of his hand.
“Your—your mother contacted you?” asked Jory.
“That’s terrific!” yelled Jake. His mother shot him a quiet-down glare from the counter. “This is good news, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” said Kellie. “Except the letter is gone. I accidently found it in his desk. When I went back to get it, the letter wasn’t there anymore.”
“What did it say?” asked Jory. “This is so exciting. Does she want to meet you? How did she find you? What does she look like? I bet you look like her!”
“I—I don’t know,” said Kellie, trying to remember what she’d read. “She didn’t say anything about wanting to see me, but that she’s been thinking about me…I just don’t understand how Master Chen could do this.”
“There has to be a good reason,” said Jory.
“Like what?” asked Kellie, hoping to hear a rational answer.
Jory couldn’t come up with one and chewed on his straw.
“What’s her name?” asked Jake.
“Victoria Bean.”
“We can search for her,” said Jory. “It’s easy.”
Kellie perked up. Jory was a computer genius and wannabe spy. He was perfect for this task!
“Why didn’t I think of that?” Kellie said. She leaned to the side and threw her arms around him. His glasses nearly fell off, and he adjusted them back onto his now crimson face.
“I was so wrapped up trying to get the letter back that I didn’t even think about searching for her name on the internet.”
“What are you going to do when you find her?” asked Jake.
“I’m not sure…” said Kellie. “Should I call her…or visit?”
“Sometimes family reunions don’t go so well,” said Jory. “My uncle, who is my mom’s sister’s husband, was adopted, and found his mother. She slammed the door in his face and called the police. She said there was an alien trying to kidnap her.”
“Not a good story,” said Jake, sending Jory a similar glare to the one that his mother had given him.
“Sorry,” said Jory.
“No, you’re right, Jory,” said Kellie. “Just because my mother sent me a letter doesn’t mean that she wants me to be in her life. And who knows. She may not be all there, like your mom’s sister’s husband—your uncle’s birth mother.”
“Well, that would explain a lot…” said Jake.
Kellie threw a French fry at him, and they all burst into laughter.
“I’m glad to see that all of you are having a great time!” said Jake’s mom. She was her usual perky self, except her smile was wider this evening.
“Thank you for inviting us out, Donna,” said Kellie, glad she’d decided to hang out with her friends. She needed the pick-me-up.
“Thank you,” said Jory.
Donna tousled Jake’s hair. “I’m glad Jake has two good friends.” She hunched down and whispered, “I have good news…”
“What, Mom?” asked Jake.
“They’re making me Assistant Manager!” she shouted. She quickly brought her voice down and said, “I can’t believe it! That’s why they asked me to come in tonight on my day off!”
“Congratulations!” said Kellie.
“That’s great, Mom!”
“I’m going to bring dessert to celebrate!” she said as she floated away.
Kellie was ecstatic for Jake’s mother. Kellie’s own mother was still on her mind, and she hoped she was even just a tiny bit like Donna.
“Uh-oh,” warned Jory. “Guess who just walked in...”
Jake looked over his shoulder. When he spotted the three girls sliding into a booth, he turned around and sunk into his seat.
Lisa Lassner was with her two friends, Misty Anderson and Katie Beutler. Jake was supposed to have gone to the winter formal dance with Lisa, but he’d stood her up when he and Jory joined Kellie on her journey to China.
“Oh no,” said Kellie. Lisa saw them and immediately got up from her table. Misty and Katie watched as Lisa sashayed over to Jake.
“Hi, Jake!” she squealed.
Apparently she had forgiven him.
“Uh, hi,” he said.
“How’s your summer going?” Lisa asked.
“Great.”
“It’s so good to run into you like this,” she said as she twirled a lock of blonde hair.
“Yeah, my mom works here.” Jake shut his mouth quickly. Kellie guessed he regretted revealing that information.
“Really?” Lisa asked. “I absolutely love this place! It’s my favorite restaurant.”
Kellie coughed to hide her laugh.
“Hi, Kellie,” Lisa said in a much lower, resentful tone. Her lips flipped upside down, and her eyes narrowed.
This took Kellie by surprise. She didn’t even know Lisa knew her name.
“Nice shirt,” Lisa said as she smirked at Kellie.
Kellie was wearing jeans and a red Chen’s Kung Fu Studio T-shirt. Lisa, on the other hand, was dolled up. Her hair was curled, and her pink lips shone as she batted her long mascara-covered eyelashes at Jake.
“Maybe we’ll run into each other here again,” Lisa said to Jake. “Bye!” She tossed her hair as she turned around. Her pink skirt flowed behind her as she headed back to her friends.
“What was that about?” asked Kellie.
“Who cares,” said Jake, stuffing his face with two onion rings.
“She’s jealous of you,” Jory said.
“What?” said Kellie. “I doubt that.” Lisa believed she was the most beautiful person at Milldale High. She would never be jealous of anyone.
Donna carried a tray over and carefully set it down. There were three tall glasses of hot fudge sundaes, and she hadn’t held back on the whipped cream. Nuts and a cherry topped the decadent creation perfectly.
“Wow!” cried Jory.
“That is a piece of heaven,” said Jake.
Kellie dug into the ice cream, but she couldn’t stop thinking about her mother. Could Jory really help her find her?
Donna dropped Kellie off at home. As she approached the porch, Kellie sighed. She shouldn’t have left without speaking to Master Chen first. She had to apologize to him first thing.
As soon as she pushed open the front door, Kellie heard laughter.
“Kellie!” said Master Chen as he set down a cup on the coffee table.
He got up, and so did the woman sitting next to him.
“This is Mrs. Nguyen.”
“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” she said.
So this is Mrs. Nguyen, thought Kellie as she shook her hand.
The intruding stranger wore a silk, floral jacket and matching skirt, and reeked of perfume. A gaudy, gold cat pin was stuck to her lapel. Her makeup was overdone, and her hair was stiff from excessive hairspray.
“Q
uon has told me so much about you!” she said. “But he didn’t tell me how beautiful you are—Oh, before I forget. I brought you something.”
She picked up a small object wrapped in tissue paper, which was sitting next to their good porcelain teapot and matching cups, which had been kept in their original box for years.
Kellie peeled away the paper and forced a polite thank you when she saw the small cat figurine. It was similar to the one sitting on their kitchen counter.
“I’ll keep it with the other one,” said Kellie.
“Aren’t you just brilliant!” Mrs. Nguyen cried. She laughed loudly, and Master Chen joined in.
Kellie’s stomach churned.
“Master Chen, I’m really sorry I left without—”
He put his hand up next to his smiling face. “No worrying. I called Jake’s mother at restaurant. She said she will look after you.”
Master Chen wasn’t even a little mad. It was as if he didn’t care.
“And you didn’t have to worry about Quon,” Mrs. Nguyen said. “I was looking after him.” She shrilled with laughter.
Kellie wanted to throw up.
“Oh, Quon told me how much you enjoyed the pho soup!” she continued.
“Yes, it was very good…” said Kellie. “Well, I need to use the computer.” She then darted out of the house as fast as she could.
Kellie veered straight for the office once she was in the studio. Pulling up the squeaky chair, she powered up the computer. The bulky desktop was the only one they owned, and it took about five minutes to warm up.
Kellie swiveled around as she waited for the dial-up internet to connect. She needed to convince Master Chen to get a better computer and faster internet. But she would be wasting her breath. Master Chen had lived a simple life in a monastery for most of his years. He didn’t find technology necessary. They still didn’t even have a television. When the beeping and wailing of the dial-up ceased, she blurted, “Finally!”
She typed in her mother’s name and came up with social networking profiles. Kellie looked at each link and found a variety of people…most of them being teenagers. She considered sending a message to the ones who she thought could possibly be her mother, but decided it would be wise to wait for Jory’s findings.
