Travel to Shanghai 1940
Clearwater Bay School , Zhu , Edward – 10
S wiveling towards the control panel , Mack pushed the on button . The time machine groaned , and the once dark room was suddenly illuminated by a purple light . “ Welcome Tony Chang and Mack Mosic . Where would you like to go today ?” The time machine spoke in a calm voice .
“ Let ’ s go to Old Shanghai in 1940 ” Mack yawned . Tony replied “ What interesting things are there ?” “ Well , I heard Shanghai has a lot of great food . There ’ s something called dumplings , it is juicy meat inside a dough ball . And I heard there are many fun things to do there , like watching cool operas ! ” Mack grinned at Tony . “ Sounds nice !” He pressed the button saying “ Shanghai 1940 ” and then ……
“ To Old Shanghai 1940 ! Hold on tight , Tony Chang and Mack Mosic ! Zaaaaaap !”
The machine roared and groaned , then in a flash of light , the machine roared again . The door of the machine fell open . The boys stared outside .
Brown buildings with curved roofs were scattered across the street . Large posters and advertisements covered walls of temples . People were walking slowly up and down , wearing dark expressions . A snake charmer was surrounded by crowds of rowdy children . Rickshaws carrying people were being pulled by exhausted and fatigued men . The stench of rotting food invaded everyone ’ s nostrils .
On a tall storeyed building waved a white flag with a red dot in the middle . “ What flag is that ?” asked Tony . Mack replied , “ This is a Japanese flag . The Japanese is now controlling Shanghai .”
Seeing the look of horror on Tony ’ s face , Mack changed the subject . “ Hey , look , there ’ s an opera going on there !” he pointed at a building covered with advertisements bearing words like , “ Kunqu Opera Theatre !” and “ Restaurant !” “ Cool !” Tony grinned . Tony and Mack ran into the building .
They found a seat on the second floor . Out of the blue , two women walked slowly onto the stage , their faces had been sprayed with white powder . One wore a long , pale green and pink dress with extremely long sleeves , the other wore a bright red dress , holding a circular fan . Calm , soft music rang through the hall , the women started singing loudly , and they spun around , did some light dance moves , then one shook her fan .
All of a sudden , a loud bang was heard at the door . Everyone turned around and stared at it . The women stopped singing immediately . A murmur of worried talking was heard . Another bang was heard , even louder this time . The murmur stopped , you could cut the air with a knife . There was another bang , then the door smashed down . Twenty Japanese soldiers armed with rifles longer than meter rulers charged inside . “ Don ’ t move ! We are here to capture the undercover agent from Chongqing !” bellowed the captain . One actress tried to hide backstage , but the Japanese soldiers saw her and raised their rifles and shot her in the chest .
“ Let ’ s get out of here !” whispered Tony to Mack . He opened a window and looked downwards . There was a pile of garbage and hay lying on the ground . “ Jump !” hissed Mack and shoved Tony through the window . He landed safely and softly on the garbage .
A Japanese soldier cried , “ Check the second floor ! I saw someone jump out of the window !” Three soldiers dashed upstairs . Since it was dark inside , the soldiers thought Mack was the undercover agent ! “ Got you !” Two large hands grabbed Mack by the shoulders , then the soldier carried him down the stairs and threw him into a truck . Mack found