The Ghost Who Pinched Me by Mabel Gan

Author:Mabel Gan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish International

SEVENTEEN

In the days that followed the incident on our street, I continued to hear the sound of guns firing from the beach. I stayed away from my window. I did not want to see the lorries full of men who were being taken to be shot and killed. I had nightmares where I saw Papa among them.

In one of these, I called to him from my window, “Papa! Papa!” He looked up at me and waved. As the lorry drove away, I continued yelling until I woke myself up. I looked around the dark room in confusion, my mind still filled with the image of Papa. The window shutters were slightly open, and a light breeze lifted the curtains. In the moonlight, I saw the glitter of Ying’s hairpin on the windowsill. It reminded me of her assurance that Papa was alive and gave me much comfort.

I could not fall back to sleep, and my mind drifted to something that had happened in school last year. Our PE teacher, Sister Helen, had put me in charge of the sports equipment and given me a key to the equipment room. Unlike Ying, I was hardly ever put in charge of things, and I was proud to have been entrusted with this duty.

One day, I was in a desperate panic because I could not find my key. I had always kept it in a little pocket in my book bag, but this time, it wasn’t there. I emptied out the whole bag and still could not find it. While everyone was changing into their PE attire, I ran to Ying’s classroom on the third floor. The bell for the next class had not yet rung, and she immediately came out to me.

“What’s wrong?”

“I lost my PE key!”

“Don’t worry, Sister Helen should have a spare.”

“I know, but I don’t want to tell her that I lost it.”

“She looks fierce, but she’s actually quite nice.”

“I’m sure she won’t let me be in charge anymore,” I said, blinking away my tears.

Ying paused for a moment. “Okay, wait here.”

She went back to her classroom and soon returned with a key. “Come on!” Ying said, running off.

I followed her to the equipment room for the Primary Six girls, and she opened it. We grabbed the badminton rackets and shuttlecocks and went down to the field. I was nervous about what Sister Helen would say when she saw Ying, but she broke into a big smile.

“Ying Ying! What are you doing here?” she asked in a friendly voice.

“Good morning, Sister Helen,” Ying said politely. “I hope you don’t mind using our rackets today. I’m sorry I took Bee Ling’s key by mistake, and I’m afraid I’ve lost it.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll give her another one,” Sister Helen said. “Make you sure you return everything upstairs, Bee Ling.”

“Yes, Sister,” I answered, feeling relieved.

“Thank you, Sister, and sorry for the trouble,” Ying said.

As she ran back towards the school building, I couldn’t help noticing how everyone was staring at her.

“So graceful,” someone remarked.

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