Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths by Maisie Chan

Author:Maisie Chan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bonnier Publishing Fiction

13

Lychees and Bingo Balls

Nai Nai and I arrived at the Longdale Community Centre and followed the arrow signs for ‘BINGO’, which were in big, bold letters. They led to a large hall where tables were laid out in rows and the lights were dim. On stage was a screen; it showed bingo balls bobbing up and down in a glass cube. Pink, green, blue, yellow and white balls jostling for space and attention.

I had enough money for twelve bingo cards, and I got Nai Nai a triple pack of marker pens that were red, because even I knew that red was lucky in Chinese, and a token for a cup of tea or coffee and a custard cream at break time. These old people had it good. It was warm, they had snacks and they could basically sit in here all afternoon and play games. Sounded like a good life, if you asked me.

As I returned to the table where I’d left Nai Nai, I saw that a group of the old people had gathered around her. There seemed to be a commotion. I could hear people saying things like ‘ashamed’ and ‘no way, Jose’. I hurried over with the cards and pens under my arms.

‘Hello? Hi? Excuse me? What’s going on? Where’s my gran?’ I squeezed through a wall of grey hair and knitted bags.

‘Oh, you’re with her, are you?’ a voice said. It belonged to a very wrinkly lady who had bright blue candyfloss hair. She was tall and gawked at me as though I was a cockroach.

‘Yes, I am. Nai Nai, are you okay?’ I said, getting closer to her. I realised that even though Nai Nai was only little, she stood out like a sore thumb because she looked different. I knew how she felt.

‘She has to move,’ another voice chimed in. This time it was a man. He was wearing a jumper the same as the blue-haired lady’s. ‘We always have these seats – without fail,’ he asserted, and his leg began to twitch. As I peered through the crowd of bodies that had formed around us, I saw row upon row of empty seats.

‘But there are loads of other spaces in here,’ I said. ‘Can’t you sit somewhere else?’

‘Cheeky little so and so!’ said Mrs Blue Hair. I wanted to finger-joust all of them away from Nai Nai. She didn’t seem so mighty with all of these people jabbering around her. In fact, she seemed small and a little lost. She was looking around at the scowling faces, wondering why they were angry at her. She put her apple core on the table, rummaged into her bag once more and pulled out a kiwi, offering it to the woman next to her.

‘Look, she’s new here, okay?’ I said. When the woman shook her head, Nai Nai proceeded to get out a small teaspoon, cut the kiwi in half and start eating the inside with the spoon.

I heard a gasp and then a tut.

‘You should call management, Enid!’ the man in the jumper demanded.

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