Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 12 | Page 465

Tim ' s Homework
St Stephen ' s College Preparatory School , Woo , Timothy - 10

O nce upon a time , there was a boy called Tommy . He lived with his parents , a sister and a brother in Hong

Kong . Tommy loved to read science books and loved writing in his science journal . He spent most of his time in his room thinking about what machine he could make or invent , that ' s why his parents called him the ‘ The Scientist ’. He was also interested in old Shanghai , where Grandpa was born . He wished that he could make a teleport device to go check out the old Shanghai , where Grandpa had spent his childhood . He used to hear exciting and fascinating stories about old Shanghai and the things that Grandpa did seemed really fun , like being born there and surviving the Second World War , playing in the Yangtze River Bund and eating all the delicious Shanghainese food that made Tommy ’ s mouth water everytime Grandpa described it . He also wanted to visit the buildings there , because all of the buildings were nice and old-fashioned .
One night he was just daydreaming and writing in his science journal when he dozed off . When Tommy woke up he was shocked to find a strange looking machine sitting right next to him . It was a donut-looking machine that was made out of metal and even smelt of doughnut . Just when he was wondering what it was , he saw a note right next to it . The note read “ This machine will help you teleport back to old Shanghai , have fun !” Tommy could not believe his eyes , in fact , he rubbed his eyes and pinched himself to make sure he wasn ’ t still dreaming , and sure enough , he wasn ’ t . He was really excited and really wanted to try the machine , but he was also scared that the machine would be fake , what if he got stuck somewhere . After staring at the machine for an hour , he decided it was worth a go . He plucked up all his courage , said a little prayer and then with shaky hands he pressed the button . After that , he fainted and he felt like he was falling into an endless pit .
When Tommy gained consciousness again , he slowly opened his eyes and looked around . He found himself sitting outdoor by some strange river , he said to himself “ If the machine worked , I should be in old Shanghai , could this be the Yangtze River that Grandpa told me about ?” He looked around and saw a crowd of people bullying a boy . He looked closer and found out that the boy looked exactly like Grandpa in his childhood photos . Could that be him ? Anyway , Tommy could not stand bullying and he would help that boy even if he wasn ’ t his Grandpa . He went over to the bullies and said , “ Hey bullies , I called the police because of what you are doing and they are coming right now !” When the bullies heard the word ‘ police ’, they were so scared that they fled . Now Tommy was left with the guy that looked like Grandpa . After the boy thanked Tommy , Tommy asked for his name , he said Alex , that was Grandpa ’ s name ! Alex stared at Tommy ’ s cloths and said , “ Is this dress up day ? Your fashion is all weird , where do you come from ?” Tommy decided to tell Alex the truth and told him that he was his Grandson teleported from the future . Alex was so shocked that he fell to the ground . When he stood up , he said , “ No way !” Tommy said , “ Yes way !” Alex starred at Tommy ’ s face for a while , then said , “ You do look a little like me , but I think I ’ m better looking ! Since you saved my life , I ’ ll try to believe you , let me show you around old Shanghai !”
Alex started showing Tommy his favourite spots around the Yangtze River banks . It looked really beautiful , like nothing Tommy has seen in Hong Kong . Next , he took Tommy to the famous Nanking Road , where there were lots of shops and it was the busiest shopping street in town . After that , he showed Tommy the horse racecourse . Alex told Tommy that he and his family would come here to watch the races and he and his siblings would go and play football next to the racecourse . Alex and Tommy played football for a while and they were both good players .
They were both hungry after playing football , so Alex took Tommy to the International Hotel for some ice-cream . Tommy thought that the ice-cream here was better than the ice-cream in Hong Kong , because it was sweeter . Alex took Tommy to his home after the ice-cream treat . Alex and his family lived in an