Dumb little mouse! Course they do it! Pity they didn’t do it with you, pesky, chicken-brained meimei , little sister!’
‘All right.’ She swallowed hard. ‘If it’s so bad being a girl, why would a boy dress up and pretend to be a girl, then?’ She glared at him, daring his answer.
He gave her a shove with his racquet. ‘For kicks, stupid! Old guys like Khun Paw do it for kicks. The catoys —the lady-boys—do it for the money and the presents. You’ve the brain of a goldfish, meimei !’
She was unconvinced. ‘But what do they do ?’
Her pouting baby mouth engorged him. On a sensuous impulse, he lunged, hauled her close, whipped up her lace skirt and plunged his hand down, round the smooth firm curve, into the depths of her gold-frilled briefs. Despite their stubby plumpness, his fingers were surprisingly agile and hard. It felt disgusting, like having a big, determined insect with suckerpad feet crawl upon her, bore into her. She screamed and beat at him. He pushed her down among the azaleas. She sprawled there, humiliated and furious, her face plunged in the hot earth. He jabbed at her painfully with the end of his racquet.
‘Up there! They shove it up there! One of these days I’ll have to undertake your education, meimei !’ he sniggered, eyes disappearing into his fat, round cheeks. He looked like a dimpled doughy bun, she thought. Brainless, flabby, and unappetising. Chee Laan scrambled to her feet and beat frantically at her clothes.
‘Pigs!’ she roared hoarsely. ‘It’s men that have no brains—pigs, all of you! I’m never going to have anything to do with any of you as long as I live!’
He laughed mockingly. ‘You wait, mouse! Just wait till I catch up with you! I’ll get you alone, and then…’
‘I’ll tell Ah Lee!’ she shrieked, flailing her round little arms at his grinning face. ‘I’ll tell Tsu mu ! I hate you, Pao!’
He was helpless with mirth now, shaking like jelly. ‘Tell old Ah Lee, that old fleabag, that decrepit coolie! Ooh, I’m soooo scared! And if you go blabbing to Tsu mu about her First Grandson, she will not choose to believe you!’
‘I hope you die!’ she roared.
Suddenly serious, he thrust his face close to hers. ‘Before I die, I’ll pull you down, you spoilt little brat! I’ll make you eat dirt. I’ll pump you full of dirt, little rat’s shit. Just you wait!’
Bangkok, Thailand
1961
Pao’s vengeance was to be delayed five years. His sister, watched over vigilantly, was rarely alone. Her schedule was hectic, crammed with studies, dance lessons, badminton, languages, and music. She was chauffeured everywhere, and everywhere Ah Lee accompanied her, clucking, bustling, and complaining. Pao watched, his jealousy and hatred simmering, as Chee Laan changed from a chubby pampered brat to a sleek, self-assured eleven-year-old on the brink of womanhood. She had begun already to take more interest in the family business. Pao saw with growing irritation how she began to model herself more consciously on their grandmother Sunii, toning down her own naturally ebullient spirits, her loud, cheerful voice, even restraining her young girl’s inclination for exaggerated fashions in personal adornment. The more she came to resemble their clever, powerful grandmother, the more her poise and confidence stuck in his craw. Chee Laan, for her part, treated Pao with indifference bordering on contempt. She appeared to have forgotten his assault on her dignity and his furious threats, made so long ago.
He was twenty years old, already raddled and disillusioned by too much money and too little responsibility. She was only eleven, infuriatingly intelligent, prim and proper, an award-winning paragon, a model student. At last he found an opportunity for that vengeance he had plotted and drooled over in secret. He caught her alone and off her guard in the summer house. Ah Lee, her ferocious watchdog, had taken a samlor to Chinatown to consult her astrologer; Khun
‘All right.’ She swallowed hard. ‘If it’s so bad being a girl, why would a boy dress up and pretend to be a girl, then?’ She glared at him, daring his answer.
He gave her a shove with his racquet. ‘For kicks, stupid! Old guys like Khun Paw do it for kicks. The catoys —the lady-boys—do it for the money and the presents. You’ve the brain of a goldfish, meimei !’
She was unconvinced. ‘But what do they do ?’
Her pouting baby mouth engorged him. On a sensuous impulse, he lunged, hauled her close, whipped up her lace skirt and plunged his hand down, round the smooth firm curve, into the depths of her gold-frilled briefs. Despite their stubby plumpness, his fingers were surprisingly agile and hard. It felt disgusting, like having a big, determined insect with suckerpad feet crawl upon her, bore into her. She screamed and beat at him. He pushed her down among the azaleas. She sprawled there, humiliated and furious, her face plunged in the hot earth. He jabbed at her painfully with the end of his racquet.
‘Up there! They shove it up there! One of these days I’ll have to undertake your education, meimei !’ he sniggered, eyes disappearing into his fat, round cheeks. He looked like a dimpled doughy bun, she thought. Brainless, flabby, and unappetising. Chee Laan scrambled to her feet and beat frantically at her clothes.
‘Pigs!’ she roared hoarsely. ‘It’s men that have no brains—pigs, all of you! I’m never going to have anything to do with any of you as long as I live!’
He laughed mockingly. ‘You wait, mouse! Just wait till I catch up with you! I’ll get you alone, and then…’
‘I’ll tell Ah Lee!’ she shrieked, flailing her round little arms at his grinning face. ‘I’ll tell Tsu mu ! I hate you, Pao!’
He was helpless with mirth now, shaking like jelly. ‘Tell old Ah Lee, that old fleabag, that decrepit coolie! Ooh, I’m soooo scared! And if you go blabbing to Tsu mu about her First Grandson, she will not choose to believe you!’
‘I hope you die!’ she roared.
Suddenly serious, he thrust his face close to hers. ‘Before I die, I’ll pull you down, you spoilt little brat! I’ll make you eat dirt. I’ll pump you full of dirt, little rat’s shit. Just you wait!’
Bangkok, Thailand
1961
Pao’s vengeance was to be delayed five years. His sister, watched over vigilantly, was rarely alone. Her schedule was hectic, crammed with studies, dance lessons, badminton, languages, and music. She was chauffeured everywhere, and everywhere Ah Lee accompanied her, clucking, bustling, and complaining. Pao watched, his jealousy and hatred simmering, as Chee Laan changed from a chubby pampered brat to a sleek, self-assured eleven-year-old on the brink of womanhood. She had begun already to take more interest in the family business. Pao saw with growing irritation how she began to model herself more consciously on their grandmother Sunii, toning down her own naturally ebullient spirits, her loud, cheerful voice, even restraining her young girl’s inclination for exaggerated fashions in personal adornment. The more she came to resemble their clever, powerful grandmother, the more her poise and confidence stuck in his craw. Chee Laan, for her part, treated Pao with indifference bordering on contempt. She appeared to have forgotten his assault on her dignity and his furious threats, made so long ago.
He was twenty years old, already raddled and disillusioned by too much money and too little responsibility. She was only eleven, infuriatingly intelligent, prim and proper, an award-winning paragon, a model student. At last he found an opportunity for that vengeance he had plotted and drooled over in secret. He caught her alone and off her guard in the summer house. Ah Lee, her ferocious watchdog, had taken a samlor to Chinatown to consult her astrologer; Khun
Similar Books
