As usual Cheng was late again. At first, the frown on Lam's face was full of concern -- a brotherly frown. After all no one wanted to be thrown into the canal again. However with the Gang out of sight and out of mind, the frown began to seem more and more oppressive. The brother became the policeman. So whenever Cheng arrived late, he avoided looking at Lam.

Lam was stretched out lazily on the wooden plank. It was a hot day, the air was languid, and Lam was feeling lethargic. He took the cigarette from his lips, exhaled and watched the smoke rise and disperse towards the ceiling. Left to itself the smoke dissipated into...nothing.

“Yawn...aw, I'm so bored.” Mun announced stabbing his cigarette butt at the sandy floor.

“Yeah boring.”

“So boring I could die.”

“It's private here,” Lam said without taking his eyes off the ceiling.

“But there's absolutely nothing to do here.”

Silence.

“Let's go and catch spiders,” Soon suggested

“In this hot sun?” Lam responded.

“The Haunted House,” Mok stirred from his corner, “we can mine the place and scare the shit out of anyone who steps through that door.”

“Nah, too much work,” Lam said.

Silence.

“Alright let's go tee-gum tee-gum,” Mun chipped in, referring to a lottery where by paying five cents a child could choose a slip of paper from a board, tear open the slip and claim the prize indicated therein.

“Yeah, Cheng's eyes lit up, “yesterday I won a bar of chocolate.”

“Really?” Mok's eyes were round, “I didn't know they gave away chocolates as prizes. The Sweet Shop?”

“No not our Sweet Shop. The other one – at the other end of the construction site.”

“Yeah, yeah okay,” Mun responded excitedly. “How about it?”

“Sit down will you!” Lam barked at Mun, “You're getting the sand in my face.” Then in a more conciliatory tone, “they're all the same anyway. Relax. Sit down.”

Lam could feel the three of them exchanging glances. It had happened before. The Group was getting more restless, more irritable. And those three donkeys had been exchanging glances. Lam closed his eyes. Donkeys! Braying, kicking donkeys. But they would stop their nonsense and come to their senses soon. After all it was scorching hot outside. There were cigarettes in the room. Enough to keep everyone happy.

“Let's vote,” Cheng said evenly, looking at Mok and Mun.

“What?” Lam's eyes sprang open.

“I say, let's vote.”

“What do you mean by 'vote'?” Lam gazed intently at Cheng. Donkeys! Why could they not see that it was better here, no hassles, he thought.

“We vote when there are different opinions...”

“So we can see what the majority wants,” Mok ended for Cheng.

Lam was incensed now and he sat up. “Voting is like fighting. You want to get your own way, you fight. You want to get your own way, you vote.” Lam's hands waved in the air in explanation, “See, no more unity, no more group.”

“Then how do we ever decide what we want to do?” Cheng demanded.

“The group decides,” Lam said.

“And how does the group decide?” asked Cheng.

“What do you mean by 'how'? The group just decides,” Lam grated.

“Well when do we know the group has decided?”

“We know, that's all!” Lam's voice rose.

“How?” pursued Cheng.

“When I say so, that's how!” Lam exploded, glaring at their inquisition, at their insolence.

“But you don't decide for us!” Cheng cried out.

“I always knew what was best,” Lam yelled back, “I decided for everybody. When you were thrown into the canal you came to me. You had no complaints then!”

“But that's different,” Soon chipped in defensively.

“What's so different?” Lam demanded.

“Things have changed,” Soon said.

“Nothing has changed,” Lam declared, “We are still the same. Tell me what's so different?”

“Things were different then,” Soon shook his head.

“Yeah that was when the Gang were bullying us,” Mok carried on, “Now...”

“And now what?” Lam interrupted, “I was the one in-charge when we had to stand up to the Gang. Without me the Gang would still be here. And you'd still be crying your pants off.”

“But we have frightened them off,” Mok pointed out.

“So that's it. When the Gang beats the hell out of you, you run to me. When I help you to get rid of the Gang, you gang up on me. Snakes huh!” Lam pointed his finger at them one by one accusingly: “Snakes!”

“We're not ganging up on you,” Soon tried to reason.

“We just want to see what the majority wants. It's fairer that way,” Cheng continued.

“Alright, you think that the Gang is no longer here. Suckers all of you. That's just what they want you to think. They're just across the canal. They can come over anytime. They can get over their fear of the Haunted House. See? We've got to stick together,” Lam ended breathlessly.

Silence.

“But we are sticking together. We just want to see what the majority wants. Besides we haven't seen the Gang for ages. They're gone. No more,” Cheng argued.

“Don't give me that kind of bullshit!” Lam yelled again, “Alright, I say we stay. What do you say?” Lam challenged them, glaring at each one of them in turns. Mun hesitated and turned to Cheng and Mok. Cheng glared back.

Soon watched the entire scene with disbelief. What happened? Why were they quarrelling?

“I say we vote,” Cheng insisted, “I want to go.”

“Me too,” Mok added, turning to Mun.

Mun's eyes darted from Mok to Lam: “ I guess so.”

They turned to Soon. Soon was torn between the desire to go with them and... what? Loyalty? Or plain cowardice? Soon shrugged his shoulders and said lamely, “Think I'll stay.”

Silence. Then the other three got up and paused to look at Soon. Cheng moved first followed by Mok. Mun scurried after them and glanced back at Soon in bewilderment.

There was a moment of silence as Lam puffed at his cigarette and blew the smoke at the ceiling irritably. Left to itself the smoke dissipated into ... mutiny, each molecule constrained by the laws of physics to fight and strain against their collective centre.

Then Lam sprang into a sitting position, and threw his cigarette out of the window. “Bastards, snakes, that's what they are.” He glared at Soon as if challenging Soon to contradict him: “Idiots. Stupid idiots. Break up the Group. Just what the Gang wants. Stupid idiots.”

Silence.

“You saw the fight coming... should have given way a little. You were too stubborn,” Soon whispered hoarsely.

“I'm not the one to blame,” Lam shot back angrily, “those donkeys are too conceited to see how stupid they are.”

“Can't you see that things have changed?”

“No, nothing has changed.”

     “No you don't understand,” Soon shook his head exasperatedly. He could not understand, let alone explain, why the absence of the Gang was such a fundamental change, but he could feel it in his bones. Things could not continue as they were before. They had to change with the times, but Lam could not change.

Soon shook his head sadly as Lam continued to mutter angrily to himself. When it was time to go, they simply got up and walked to school in silence.

n