Piece of the Moon - Part One

Today marks the first day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. In another fifteen days, the mid-autumn festival begins. I've written a short story which I will publish over the next fifteen days in three parts for this event. It's a silly mishmash of two teachers in love that involved kids who misinterpreted their adult behaviour. Without further ado, here's the first part after the break:

Piece of the Moon - Part One

It was a fine morning with clear blue skies. The kind of blue which made any photographs stood out nicely, which also meant that the sun was in full blast. Despite that, the temperature was pretty mild. Maybe it had something to do with the heavy downpour late last night. Little Doug and his friends were playing mini soccer in the mini school field. Their physical education teacher had given them a free rein today “while I go settle some urgent matters.” The game had only just began but half of their bodies were already covered in mud. Someone did a sliding tackle and managed to turn himself into a terrifying mud boy.

The game seemed like it would end with neither side scoring. If any hope was to come by, it was in the last five minutes when Doug got hold of the ball and lobbed it across the field to mud boy. As soon as he got his foot on the ball, mud boy kicked it towards the goal. Everyone held their breath because it looked like it was going to be a goal. Or not. The goalkeeper jumped, stretched his right hand as far as he could to deflect the ball. His fingers barely touched the ball but it was enough to cause it to swerve upwards and ricochet off the top post into some shrubs in the distance.

Squish, squish… Doug jogged towards the shrubs to retrieve the ball. When he reached the undergrowth, he thought he heard a familiar voice. Beyond the shrubs he saw his PE teacher, Mister Liang having a conversation with his brother’s Mathematics teacher, Miss Yuet. They were holding hands. Mister Liang leaned forward to say something to Miss Yuet that caused her to giggle.

“... moon… pieces...” Doug managed to pick up some of the words that Mister Liang was saying to Miss Yuet. “… right price…”.

“... dynamite!” she replied enthusiastically.

Doug found the ball lodged between some branches. He managed to pry the ball loose but not without causing a ruckus. Both teachers looked apprehensive, their eyes darting left and right as if caught in the act of committing a crime. When Miss Yuet saw Doug, she reflexively pushed Mister Liang’s hand away.

“Ahem,” Mister Liang cleared his throat and stood, “Doug, it’s time to wrap things up. Let’s go get the rest.” He said, unconvincingly. He had the word guilt written all over his face.

To be continued...

Part Two, Part Three (Conclusion)