Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020 | Page 23

Hong Kong Young Writers Awards 2020
The Penniless Pearl
Singapore International School, Wong, Angelina Cheng – 11
The usual deafening chatter, the usual blaring horns-nothing out of the ordinary was
noticed that bustling morning.
In the midst of all of the chaos, though, was a dark hooded figure, striding nonchalantly
in the busy streets of Jinwan with an object tucked beneath their cloak. Clearly, they were
trying to keep something hidden, and it went unnoticed by the city’s people.
The shadowed figure turned away from the crowd and began walking towards the
quietest and dingiest streets in the entire city. As they approached a disintegrating building,
they looked both ways to make sure they weren’t being followed. Then they unlocked the
door and stomped up the stairs, the noise of their footsteps echoing throughout the building.
When they reached a unit, they knocked on the door in a specific pattern. When it slowly
creaked open, they swiftly entered, slamming it shut behind them.
“Do you have it?”
An adolescent boy stood beside a quartz countertop, looking expectantly at the figure,
who nodded and handed him the object beneath their cloak. He snatched it out of their hands
and began inspecting it carefully.
“You can take the cloak off now,” he said without looking up. “Nobody can see you here.”
The cloak fell to the ground, revealing a teenage girl with long, brownish-black hair and
dark, fierce eyes. She was the spitting image of the boy, only younger. It was obvious that the
two were siblings.
“Nice job,” the boy said when he finished his inspection, looking mildly impressed.
He stared greedily at the gilded watch. The iridescent pearls that bordered it glowed in the
light, and written in the middle with gold, cursive letters was the word Pearlmaster. He
could already imagine the headlines in the newspapers when he and his sister became rich
from selling it the sixty-six million dollar timepiece: “Ewan and Daytona McIsaac, teenage
millionaires.”
“Where are they?” Daytona asked her brother, snapping him out of his daze.
Ewan pointed towards a room. “They’re watching some boring drama show,” he
informed her, rolling his eyes in disgust. “I guess that’s the kind of stuff that you find
entertaining once you get old.” He pretended to choke.
“At least they’re distracted so they won’t hear us leave,” Daytona said, ignoring him when
he continued to gag.
“We’ll be back before they even realize that we’re gone,” Ewan promised.
The siblings’ parents were completely in the dark about the fact that their daughter had
stolen a sixty-six million dollar watch while their son had been researching what the fastest
way was to bring it to Hengqin so that they could sell it to a man who had agreed to buy it for
a good price.
They raced out the door and sped down the stairs two at a time. Daytona held the watch
gingerly as she ran, careful not to scratch it.
“You figured out what route we’re taking, right?” she asked uncertainly when they
reached the car, hoping her brother had done his research properly.
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