Rose Book 1. Fisherman’s Huts
By: Ross Pitcairn
Tags: Poverty, Social Change, Social Justice, Tourism, China

Fisherman’s Huts

Chapter 2

Cars.

Cars.

Cars cars cars.

Busses trucks scooters and bikes.

I’m standing at side of Hong Kong Road. It’s raining. And I can’t get across.

But LA Bar it’s on other side of road. Got six more roses I still gotta sell. So get across I must.

There’s traffic lights less than hundred metres down road. But I ain’t going near em. Don’t like em see. Other people’ll be waiting there with me. Wearing their nice expensive clothes. Staring at their nice expensive phones. Listening to music with their nice expensive earbuds. Or laughing and joking with their nice expensive friends.

And then I turn up. Wearing holey old hand-me-down clothes. Staring shyly at my shoes. Listening to every word they say cos I don’t got no earbuds to listen to instead. Or blushing with shame and shaking with angry bout how no-fair all of this it is.

Too obvious I’m poor. Too obvious I’m thief. Too obvious I’m something you avoid. Like dog shit or spit-out gum which you walk round or step over.

So they look at me outta sides of their eyes. Pat their pockets. Make sure hangbags they’re zip-up tight. Wallets they’re in inside pockets and not outside. Sometimes they whisper to each other. Bout me? Dunno. Can’t hear. But yeah. Prolly bout me.

Maybe I’m magine it. But this it’s how it feels. Invisible girl all of sudden she’s visible. She don’t like it. And they don’t like it neither. Turning hot eyes on her and staring hard till she shuffles off and leaves em to their nice shiny lives.

Hey little girl. We’re tryna have nice time here. Why d’you come over here and spoil it?

Maybe it’s just me.

Always prefer it when I can see em but they can’t see me. When I only let em see me when I wanna. See me when it’s gonna make me money.

Nother thing. And this it’s all wrap-up with my shy feelings and my body-changes. I didn’t use to feel like this. I use to be bright and confident and quick. Now shy it falls on me like weight of world. Outta nowhere. At crosswalk or in market. And I get red-face dumb and mumbly. Jealous too. Of people and their shiny nice things. Wishing I had em. Wishing I could look shiny and nice. Look normal. Like any other coming-up teenager girl.

Rather than filthy bitta dog turd. Which it’s what genraly I feel like I am.

*

In morning Scary Uncle he sets target. Then us kids we go beg-steal try and meet it. We go to sidewalks and crosswalks. Markets and parks. Stations and squares. Shopping malls and nightclubs. Anywhere there’s busy happy drunk dumb don’t-care people. Anywhere there’s crowd. Anywhere we can hang round and bout without being seen. Pick our marks and make our plans. Then run and grab. Then run again.

In this city often there’s crowds. Specially in summer. When there’s lotsa tourists around. City famous for its sea and its sand and its mountains. Oh, and its streetkids.

We watch tourists getting offa coaches. Following young men and women with hats and flags. This way! young men and women they shout, this way! And tourists they follow in long line like baby ducks they follow their ma. We stay away from these big tour groups. Too big trouble if you’re caught beg-steal from them. Instead we wait for more independent types. Tourists they don’t enjoy being parta crowd. We follow these tourists like cats hunt their prey. Waiting till time it’s right. Then POW! We pounce.

D’you see em? asks Big Pig.

We see em alright. Couple it looks like they just done get marry. So in love with each other they don’t notice nothing else round em. Nothing ecksep nice shiny things they’re buying for themselfs in many gift shops they’re going in and outta.

Just look at em. So much happy. So much this it’s our life and this it’s what we’re born to do. Into shop they go. Out comes wallet or purse. Out comes cash or card. Into shiny colourful shopping bags goes all shiny colourful rubbish they just done buy. Then they’re back out onto street. Bags in hands. Laughing and kissing. Eyes big as bowls. Like they can’t believe this much happy it’s possible. But at same time believe it’s exackly what they deserve.

So, says Big Pig, what d’you see?

Hot babe, says Horse.

Big Pig snorts and rolls his eyes. Us littler kids we giggle.

Nice clothes, says Peony.

More eye-rolls from Big Pig. That all? he says.

They’re rich, says Snake.

No shit, says Big Pig.

There’s some push-and-shove between em. Till Snowdrop she tells em better be quiet or we’re gonna get seen.

Man his wallet it’s in his left-side jeans back pocket. Woman her phone it’s in her hangbag and she ain’t done zip it up, I take my turn.

Big Pig he nods. Grins. Like he’s way best teacher in whole wide world. There you go, he says, some kids they’re just natrul villains.

I oughtta be happy. Don’t often get compliments. But I hate Big Pig. Hate him more than ever I could measure or explain. I know this’s wrong. Know we never oughtta hate. But I can’t help it. Big Pig he deserves it. Way more than couple we’re gonna rob from they deserve their nice and shiny things.

Mind you. Telling you bout all people who I hate it’d take me way too long. Easier tell you bout people who I don’t hate.

I tell Pig Big, It ain’t no big deal.

I’ll take her phone. You take his wallet, he replies.

Gotta give him one thing. Big Pig always he’s straight downta business.

*

Now.

Hold on.

I know what you’re thinking.

Don’t matter how bad your life it is, right? You ain’t never should steal from no one and you ain’t never should hurt no one neither.

It don’t cost nothing be good insteada bad. Your parents (if you got parents and if they’re good people) they prolly done tell you this many times. One of society its most basic rules. Human beings they ain’t can live together if they always do mean things to each other.

I do know this.

Ain’t like I be living on moon and I don’t know Earth its rules.

More like … I useta live on Earth. But then I got banish to moon. For reason I don’t know why. And there don’t seem no way I’m ever coming back.

*

Cars.

Cars.

Cars cars cars.

Busses trucks scooters and bikes.

Rain it gets heavier. Traffic its lights they turn into long wet ribbons.

I gotta get cross this road. Returning to Huts with six roses in my basket? Well. That ain’t no kinda option.

*

Couple they come out nother shop. Link arms. Kiss again. How many times can you kiss before your lips fall off?

They’re showing off. Not just bout how rich they is but how happy they is. I really wanna steal from them now. Even more’n I did before.

Lady she takes phone from her bag and takes photo of em both. Big shiny smiles and many shiny shopping bags. Caption for this one? Here’s us after spending more money on rubbish! Here’s us looking real satisfy with ourselfs! Here’s us we’re selfish fools and we ain’t got no idea what’s going on in world and we don’t care nohow!

Stealing from these kinda people? It ain’t no crime at all. And anyway. If man he lose his wallet? He can buy new one. Money it’s inside it? He’s got way more than that in bank. His credit cards? He can replace em. Her phone? She can buy new one. Me? If I don’t make emough money today? Don’t wanna think bout consequence of that.

Buy rose for pretty lady! Only 10 kuai!

We smile and chant and dance. We look cute. We look sad. We look insent. Hold out our flowers and circle our mark so he can’t move this way or that. Stand in front of him so there ain’t no way he can ignore us. His wife she scowls. Seeing some cute-girl tricks she prolly in past done use herself. Prolly done use on him.

Don’t give em nothing, says she.

We pretend we don’t hear this. Keep on grinning and chanting and dancing. Blinking our big sad eyes at him. Seeing his eyes go soft and wet in return. We’ve almost got him. Just few more seconds and he’s gonna be on hook.

Let’s go, says woman.

Buy rose! we shout.

One it ain’t gonna hurt, says he.

Oh we got him. Hell yeah. We got him.

What he don’t know? It’s when he pulls his 10 kuai outta jeans their front pocket Big Pig he’s gonna creep up behind and steal wallet from his jeans their back pocket.

What she don’t see? It’s at exackly same time I spin away from group I’m gonna dip my hand in her hangbag and take out her phone

Then we’ll all run away fast as we can. That bit they will see.

*

Cars.

Cars.

Cars cars cars.

Busses trucks scooters and bikes.

Every time you think there’s break in traffic some car or bus it appears. Driving way too fast. And you think, Do I got enough time to cross this road afore car or bus it drives up and kills me? And my next thought it’s, Would anybody care if it did?

But I try and don’t think like that.

Makes you weak.

*

Each kid they run in different direction. So if somebody they catch us they only catch one.

We meet at usual place in cove near Fishermen’s Huts. Sit on long flat bitta concrete it’s got dump at back of beach. White and ugly next to cove its pretty yellow sand and red rocks. So ugly nobody they look at it. So ugly nobody they notice us.

My job it’s help Big Pig divide up our loot.

How much do we got? he asks.

Five hundred and 54 kuai … plus credit cards … and driving license, I tell him.

Nice, he says, our work it’s done. You know what to do.

Rule is all money it’s divide accord to age. So older kids they get bigger share. As one of younger ones this it don’t seem fair. But I done try and trick Big Pig in past by taking more than I oughtta. All I got in return was beatdown.

You Horse Snake and Snowdrop you each get 50 kuai, I tell him. Like ackchly it’s me who done make this no-fair rule. Scary Uncle he gets 300. Us littler kids we get 54 kuai between us.

Big Pig he shakes his head. No, he says, you littler kids you get 50 between you. Scary Uncle he gets 304. Guess I look confuse cos he then ecksplains, Give Scary Uncle exackly 300? He’s gonna know we done steal from him.

I frown. More confuse than before. But already he knows we steal from him, I say.

Yeah, says Big Pig, but make it too obvious and he’s gotta do something bout it. Don’t make it too obvious he don’t gotta.

Sometimes world of growed-ups it’s way too complicate-it. Like they do it on purpose. So no kid she can understand it. And all it’s left she can do it’s do what she’s tellt.

*

Bamboo handle it’s burning my hand. Leaving red lines cross my palm. It ain’t cos basket it’s heavy. There’s only six roses left. It’s cos I’m holding its handle too tight. Like I’m tryna break it. Like if basket gets broke it ain’t my fault and I can just go home.

None of which it’s true.

I switch it from my right hand to my left. Going home now it ain’t no option. It’s just some stupid idea which ain’t gonna do me no good. But if this it’s the true. And I can’t just throw basket away? I really do gotta cross this road.

*

Boys they done leave. Just us girls on this cold bitta concrete now. Which it’s exackly way we like it.

Boys they don’t do nothing but annoy you see. Just cos they’re stronger than you they think that makes em better. That’s how dumb boys are.

Anyway. I done get my revenge. Big Pig he forgot bout phone see. Been in my back pocket since I stole it. Plan was if Big Pig he done member it I’d say, Oh yeah. Forgot bout that. Then I’d hand him it over. But he didn’t. So now it’s ours. Peony she wanna see phone its photos. See where couple they done go on their holiday. See everything what they done. Tell you the true? I do too.

Which makes me kinda hate myself.

In first photo couple they’re on this pretty white beach with big-tall palm trees. Dress in only their swimclothes and sunglasses. Drinking from coconuts with straws. Perfeck bodies. Perfeck smiles. Perfeck lifes.

Look at her, says Peony, wish I could look like that.

Wait bout five years, says Snowdrop, and do some exercise now and gain.

Ouch. Little bit bitchy from my big sister there. Snowdrop she don’t really like Peony. Thinks she’s shallow and silly. Peony she don’t like Snowdrop neither. Thinks she’s weak and boring. S’it possible can they both be right and both be wrong at same time?

Peony she pouts. Bottom lip sticking out like duck its beak. I exercise, she says. When I stole these jeans from line I hadta run for 30 minutes.

We roll round giggling. More photos, shouts Peony.

Now they’re in some kinda snow world. Ice palaces and igloos. Slides and sledges. Wearing proper clothes now. Big puff-up coats and wooly hats and thick pants and climb-up-mountain boots. Musta cost em thousands. For some reason they’re still wearing sunglasses.

Why’d they go to such cold place? asks Violet.

Some people they like doing dumb things, Snowdrop she says.

Some people they like having fun, corrects Peony.

Some people they got more money than sense, I end their argument.

Then I grab phone and chuck it into nearby rockpool.

Dunno exackly why I did it. Maybe I’m sick of looking at this perfeck couple their perfeck photos. Maybe I’m sick of feeling jealous and excite. Maybe I’m sick of seeing how nice Earth it is from my cold faraway home on this moon.

Girls they’re furious. Peony and Violet wanna see more photos. Snowdrop says we coulda sold phone for good money. But I don’t care.

That’s why now I’m sitting all alone on concrete. With my share of loot tween toes of my right foot. Six roses in basket beside me. Dark thoughts in my head. Dark clouds in sky above.

Looks like rain.

*

Sometimes you just gotta run for it. See your chance take your chance. Don’t think bout it just do it.

I’m gonna sell these six roses. Flowers we done use to trick rich couple and steal their stuff. Can get 10 kuai for each of em. And if I go home without selling em Scary Uncle he’ll notice and he’ll beat me. Hell. Maybe he’ll beat everyone. Just to teach us all lesson.

I see tiny gap in traffic.

I step out.

I run.