Melody of the Soul
Copyright B.G. Q. 2000. All Rights Reserved.


ACTORS                       ACTRESSES
Tony-Gallen Lo              Cathy-Jessica Hsuan
Chris-Louis Koo             Sandy-Ada Choi
Tommy-Julian Cheung    Alice-Nadia Chan
Eric-Deric Wan               Joanne-Kenix Kwok
Michael-Sunny Chan       Tina-Mariane Chan
Jerry-Bobby Au-Yeung
Johnny-Jacky Lui

CHAPTER 11

The day of the big concert finally arrived. Behind the stage Chris and Cathy busied themselves practicing for the last time. Soon, Alice came and called them both to the makeup room. When Cathy stepped out, Chris, who finished first, stared at her dumbly. As Alice realized that Chris’s eyes were magnets sticking to Cathy, she snapped her fingers, bringing him back to reality.
Chris: (He spoke pretentiously, realizing that it might be too obvious) Hey, you look good. [You are stunning!]
Cathy: (For a reason, she was somewhat disappointed from his compliment.) Thank you. You look very handsome too. [Good? Is that all you can really say?]
Alice: Good, is that all you can really say? (Cathy looked at Alice in surprise.) Haha, I saw your magnet eyes…Hey, don’t worry Cathy, he’s just jealous because he thinks the audience will pay all their attention to you.
Cathy looked at Chris questioningly and giggled. Seeing Cathy giggling cutely, Chris and Alice could not help but laugh too.

Outside of Ocean Palace
Sandy: Hey hey, hurry guys, I can’t believe you’re even slower than girls.
Eric: That’s because you girls are always in such a rush for these occasions.
Joanne: Hey, you make it sound like Cathy and Chris are not even your close friends.
Eric: Whoa… and you girls are always good in accusing people too.
Tina: Hey, quit the bickering now. Let’s see if we’re missing anyone…
Eric: I’m here!
Tina: Yeah, unfortunately.
Eric: Hey, lighten up! What is wrong with you girls today? Always have to make a comeback…
Michael: In that case you probably should not start the conversation, Eric.
At this point, Johnny arrived and greeted the group.
Joanne: What took you so long?
Johnny: (giving her a sweet smile) There was an accident on the way; I had to clear the intersection first.
Tina: Hello ‘brother’! (referring to him since they were both cops) Great to know that there’s another dedicated cop like you. We’re of the same kind, hihi.
Joanne: Hey, how come Tommy is not here yet?
Sandy: I don’t know. He should have been here 10 minutes ago.
Tina: There he is.
Everyone turned around and saw Tommy walking toward them with a big bouquet. Joanne’s heart beat faster as he revealed his usual smile.
Sandy: Well well, I wonder to whom those pretty flowers belong…[Gee, I wonder who else loves purple so much?]
Joanne hid her smile as Sandy already said what she wanted to say, but ended up in disappointment with Tommy’s vague answer.
Tommy: (smiled secretly) We’ll see. Let’s go in! Tony’s reserving the seats for us.

First row of the audience seats
Eric: See, my brother saved all the best seats for you all.
Sandy: What an honor! We don’t have to pay extra, do we?
Eric: In your case I don’t know.
Michael: Where is Tony going to sit?
Eric: Right in front of us, the special-guests row.
Tony finally met with the rest after greeting his business counterparts. As the audience settled down, he left his seat to introduce the opening theme. The audience yelled and cheered in great joy as Chris and Cathy walked out hand in hand.
Tina: My God…they look gorgeous!
Group: Shhh…listen!
Chris warmly started the song, following by Cathy’s sweet voice. Slowly dancing to the tune, they attracted every pair of eyes, even those of the musicians. Cathy remembered vividly what the directors had told her: “When you are performing on stage, you have to transform yourself into the person in the song. Music has its own language and it is not much different from acting; put all your emotions to it” …And she really did! She had successfully put herself in the song, from her gestures to her tone, and especially her eyes, which alone spoke the language of love. Ironically, Cathy felt unusually calm, but she could see through his eyes that Chris was somewhat nervous or uneasy. As he put his hands on her waist during the dance, she tacitly wondered why Chris avoided looking directly into her eyes. She never knew that their closeness was giving Chris a cold sweat as he glanced and caught sight of the clueless Tommy in the audience seat. Chris wondered why he felt so guilty…“Not like anyone knows how I feel about her”. He finally found out that it was not because of the dance, but because of his own mixed-up feelings, the cause of his cold sweat. The first song ended with a relieved Chris. From the front rows, a pair of eyes had been watching them closely, first with excitement, but later with a frown. After the curtain closed in front of them, Cathy immediately ran to Chris.
Cathy: Chris! That was awesome! Did you see I got the moves perfect this time? (She was too happy to have noticed his silence.)
Chris: Haha, yes, I think the audience totally forgot about me this time. Their attention was completely on you.
Cathy: Stop joking! All the girls were drooling over you!
Chris: Ayya, please, no imagery!
They laughed compatibly and each got ready for their separate songs.

Sandy: (talking to a man behind her) Yes, she’s my sister…Wasn’t she dazzling?
Joanne: (whispered to Sandy) Uh, why are you talking to strangers?
Sandy: I just can’t stand it. I’m too excited. Don’t you think that was awesome?
Tina: Of course, but wait until the closing theme. It’s going to be a fast dance.
Tommy: (whispered to Eric) If people didn’t know, they would think Chris and Cathy are most likely a couple.
Eric: Hehe, something smells very sour around here. Hm…could it be…jealousy? (Tommy gave him a hit on the back.)
Michael: What are you two whispering about?
Johnny: I doubt it’s anything that we know.
Tommy: You got it right, Johnny!
Eric: Hey, Tony! Aren’t you glad that your dearest brother here brought Cathy to the company?
Tony: (frowned) Say what?
Eric: [What’s up with him?] Never mind.

The closing theme finally came with the selected Steps “Last thing on my mind”. Cathy skipped out to the stage first with the female dancers and Chris made the way from the right with his male dancers.
Sandy: Whoa! Look how short that skirt is! Tony, what are you making her wear?
Tony: Hey, it’s not even me. I’m not in charge of the costumes.
Joanne: Haha, hypocritical Sandy! Look at what you’re wearing. It’s even shorter than Cathy’s skirt.
Tina: Oh come on! Her skirt is just a bit above her knees.
Eric: True. It’s not short! Even if it were, she still has nice legs, the audience wouldn’t mind…(received a punch from Tommy) Ouch…Get away from me!
Johnny: Let’s just hope she doesn’t fall or kick too high.

Chris and Cathy sang and danced with full energy. The upbeat music took away Chris’s uncomfortable feelings earlier. In his eyes, there was suddenly no one else but the two of them. He wished that the song and the dance could last a little longer, but unfortunately, it ended with the last spin. They turned to each other with understood joy in their eyes and bowed to the audience, who were continuously tossing flowers on the stage. Many people came rushing to Cathy and Chris to give them beautiful bouquets, among them, Sandy’s group. As Cathy received the bouquet from Tommy, she gave him a slight wink that only Chris had noticed. He quickly reminds himself of their relationship and forced a bitter smile on his face. Thus the show ended.


At a sauna
Joanne: Hey Cathy, have you made up your mind of when the celebration will be?
Cathy: Depends on what you four have on mind first.
Sandy: Yeah Joanne, you were the one who thought of this idea of celebrating in first place.
Joanne: To be honest…I have no idea what we should do. It seems like every suggestion’s getting old.
Cathy: Hum…Since Alice’s birthday is coming up soon, why don’t we combine the parties together?
Tina: Whoa! That’s great, I almost forgot about your birthday, Alice.
Alice: Why am I not surprised? That’s a great idea since it will probably satisfy everybody.
Tina: Remember to have plenty of food! An occasion like this is never too good without great food.
Sandy: You and your food! You might as well marry a cook!
Joanne: That’s why she has to drag us to these saunas. They say it’s quite effective in losing weight.
Tina: Hey, I haven’t gained any weight lately! In fact I just lost a kilogram. Didn’t you see the guys out there staring at me?
Sandy: Haha, you wish…They were staring at Cathy, more likely.
Alice: (winked at Cathy) Cathy’s probably sick of hiding herself in public so for once she decides to go out undisguised.
Cathy: Oh stop exaggerating! They were staring at all of us, happy?
Joanne: Yeah, one of us is enough, but all five…Hihihi, their noses are probably bleeding right now (laughing continuously). Did you see the look on those guys’ faces? I think we better get a bowl for their drool!
Sandy: Hey, remember, we are the five dragon princesses?
Group: Yeah!
They gave each other a high five and splashed water playfully until all were wet from head to toes. Years might have passed, but the five were still the same mischievous kids that they’d always known each other to be.


At Tommy’s house
Tommy: How long is it going to take? I’m dying here!
Cathy: Just a little while…I know you can stand it.
Tommy: It’s been over two hours; don’t you think it’s time that you’d stop? (laughing)
Cathy: I said I’m almost done! Now don’t rush me.
Tommy: Haha, by the time you’re finished I’d probably die already.
Cathy: Patient! When I’m done if you don’t think this is good enough then you can get another one down the street.
Tommy: Ok, you said it (pretended to walk out the door).
Cathy: (Slammed the spatula on the counter) [I dare you!]
Tommy: (sneaked up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders) Women really get mad quickly, but I didn’t know Cathy is like that too.
Cathy: Say whatever you want.
Tommy: How can I make it up to you?
Cathy: What do you think?
Tommy: …Oh no…Do I really have to? [eat all of the food] (saw her frown)…I’m kidding, I’m kidding!
Tommy and Cathy sat staring at the food in front of them.
Tommy: Do you want to start or should I?
Cathy: I’ll let you start.
Tommy: Great…
He had already decided what’s best in her meal and for that reason he was no longer hungry. Tommy sat looking at the fish in Soya sauce and carefully picked a piece with his chopstick. As Tommy put it in his mouth, he let out an uncontrollable grimace.
Tommy: Honey, it’s way too salty.
Cathy: Is it? (tried a piece) A little salty but it’s not that bad!
Tommy: Yikes…how much soy sauce and salt did you put in this thing?
Cathy: (unhappy) Yeah, I wanted to poison you, happy?
Tommy: Um…why don’t we try something else? The chicken wings look good.
Cathy: [You better not say anything negative this time.]
Tommy: Whoa…My God this is even saltier!
Cathy: What? I barely put any salt in there! (tried the wings)
Tommy: See?
Cathy: Oh no…I must have thought the salt sprinkler was the sugar one.
Tommy: Hahaha…mindless Cathy! Don’t worry, we still have the green beans. (Cathy watched as Tommy ate the green beans.) Hum, this is not too bad (picked the beans into her bowl). Wait, actually, some of them are rather raw. I’ll put them in the microwave really quickly.
Cathy: You were rushing me; that’s why. If no food on this table can please you, then like I said you could always go down there and get something else to eat (angrily left the house).
As Cathy stepped out of the house, Chris had just arrived home.
Chris: Why are you leaving so early? Aren’t you two supposed to be having dinner by now?
Cathy: I’m stuffed up enough I don’t need another dinner to spoil my mood tonight.
Chris: What’s wrong?
Cathy: Nothing. Oh, before I leave…can you help him throw away the food? Thank you (drove away).

Tommy still sat at the table, staring at the food. He made no motion as Chris entered the house.
Chris: What did you do this time? I met her down there and she was obviously not very happy. (saw the food) Oh, so this is the dinner she was talking about…Mind to tell me what happened?
After Tommy told him what happened, Chris could not help but chuckle.
Chris: Tommy Tommy, where for art thou Tommy? Haha, where did your suave manners go? I can’t believe this. If I were she, I’d probably slap you instead of just leaving like that.
Tommy: I just spoke the truth. I didn’t know she would be like that!
Chris: “Be like that”? You don’t know how lucky you are. She spent over two hours preparing a dinner for you and no matter how bad the food is, there’s not one single reason you should not praise her…at least do it for her effort. And if you can’t say anything positive, at least don’t make any negative comments. Look, just because you’re her boyfriend doesn’t mean there aren’t guys out there lining up for her!
Tommy: (noticing Chris’s serious tone) What can I say? You seem to understand her even more than I do.
Chris: …No. I just speak out generally. You know what to do, right? If a girl opens her drawer and suddenly finds a present from her boyfriend in there, she’d be more than happy.
Tommy: Ahhhhh…Hahaha, I have to admit. Being your friend is quite beneficial sometimes! (He looked down at the food.) All right, I have no idea what to do with these.
Chris: Hey, don’t throw it away! I’ll eat it; I’m hungry anyway.
Tommy: Are you sure? (He watched as Chris happily ate.)
Chris: This is what you call salty? It’s a little salty but not that bad!
Tommy: [You sound awfully similar to her!] Uh, you should try the chicken wings then.
Chris: Why not? (took a bite) Haha, let me guess, she thought the salt sprinkler was sugar?
Tommy: How did you know?!
Chris: I did that once or twice. But really, the food is not that bad.
Tommy: Well, in that case…enjoy the meal! [What’s up with him? If that’s not salty then what is?]


Keep love in your heart.
A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are all dead.
- Oscar Wilde





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