CHAPTER I

A PINK PANDA

Maybe it was the cold breeze from the air conditioner or perhaps the fact that she was about to start her new life in a country so different and so far away from her birthplace, Stephanie-or she prefers Tiffany-could not stop fidgeting in her seat. She’s was sitting in a small chair inside a small office.

She could hear phones ringing and people bustling as they were busy doing their works outside the office. She glanced through the interior of the office; it was nothing spectacular, it was simply a normal small office with a small window covered in blinds, letting only small rays of light seeped through. That would have made the room darker than what it was, if not for the lights from the neon lamp up on the ceiling. There was only one desk, the one in front of her, and honestly, there would have been no need for other desks since the room was already cramped with just one. There were stacks of papers lying around everywhere; on the floor, cupboards and the desk. A few posters of girl and boy bands she could not recognize spread on the walls, and another chair behind the desk in front of her. The office was nothing special, but the reason Tiffany was there was nothing short but that.

Her mind wandered to the events not as long as two months ago. She was standing in front of the judges, singing Christina Aguilera’s “The Voice Within” as best as she could, trying to impress them. She was wearing her best Sunday dress; which was a soft pink dress with white vertical lines, a cute simple pink hair band, and a pair of white loafers with knee-high socks.

She knew of an audition held by SM Entertainment a week earlier and decided to try it out. Although it was not her long life dream to become an idol, she just thought it was a good opportunity to at least enrich her resume. Tiffany was an active teenager; she loved trying new things, to broaden her horizon. She was active in her school’s drama club and was a part of her church’s choir group. But obviously it was not enough for little Tiffany as she didn’t even think twice before registering her name for the audition. Her friends were also encouraging her, saying that it would be a waste for the beautiful-cute-talented Tiffany Hwang to miss out the opportunity to become an artist.

“You would do great,” “I wish I had your voice,” “Go for it,” were some of their reactions while Tiffany was writing her name and information on the registration paper.

“When’s the show gonna be?” her best friend asked.

“The audition’s next week,” she said as she finished filling the paper and walked away from the registration desk. “You should come too, at least it would be nice to have company,” she added.

“And totally embarrassed myself? No, thanks,” the other girl replied as she waved goodbye to their friends, “Not everyone’s as pretty and talented as Miss Hwang.”

Tiffany also waved to their friends before turning to her best friend, “Ha-ha, very funny, Liz...” Both of them then proceeded to walk home together.

“Wait, did you say next week? We’re supposed to go to Nick’s party next week, remember?” Elizabeth stopped and grabbed Tiffany’s arm. “Nick Hartington birthday party at the lake next week?”

“Well I guess I’m not coming…” Tiffany said as she looked at her friend’s eyes and smiled,

“Darn it! You know I’ve been planning this the whole week. You’re supposed to keep Sarah busy so I can talk to Nick.” Elizabeth stomped her feet and grunt in disappointment.

“Well, I’m sorry okay. It’s not my fault the audition is next week. I guess you just have to find some other way to keep Sarah off of Nick this time.” Tiffany replied while playing with her hair, smiling as she pictured Sarah and Elizabeth fighting over Nick Hartington, the school’s quarterback.

“You better win this thing or I’m gonna be pissed.” Elizabeth then said and they both continued their walk giggling and laughing along the way.

“Okay, thank you, Stephanie,” one of the judges said.

Tiffany had finished singing and her mind was filled with questions and doubts about herself. Did I sing it right? Did they like it? Did they notice how nervous I was? Will I pass this audition?

“It’s Tiffany, please.” She said as she tried to collect herself from her wandering thoughts.

“Okay then, Tiffany. Honestly, I like your singing, it was beautiful. You did well. We’ll contact you with the result soon enough.” The other judge said.

“Thank you….” Was all Tiffany could say before she gave the judges her infamous eye smile and excused herself. The judges noticed the smile and were completely awed by the sight. They could not help but to smile back and watch as Tiffany walked out of the room. They soon collected themselves and proceeded by signaling the next auditionee to enter.

On the bus ride home Tiffany leaned her head to the window. There was a sense of accomplishment that she felt after taking the audition. After hours of waiting in lines, standing, sweating; she knew she had given it her all and deep down she knew that it was just one of many more auditions she would encounter in the future. Just knowing that made her feel proud of herself. Her mother would have been proud of herself.

Mom… It’s been two years since you left us. Two years and I still miss you. If you were around you could’ve driven me to the audition. I wouldn’t had been bored waiting and I would’ve had sung better. And I wouldn’t have had to take this bus home. Alone...

Tears were falling from her eyes and she immediately wiped them. Mom wouldn’t want me to cry every time I think of her, she thought to herself. Mom would want me to keep on smiling. And with that she smiled once more and fixed her hair as she stared at her reflection on the bus’s window.

But why wouldn’t they just announce the result? Why do I have to wait for them to contact me?

The next morning Tiffany was eating her favorite chocolate cereal when her dad walked into the kitchen to make some coffee.

“How’s the audition?” he said while pouring water into the coffee maker.

“It was fine…” she replied.

She stared at the figure that was turning his back on her. After her mother died her father kept himself busy with his job that he barely had a chance to know what’s going on with his daughter’s life. Tiffany didn’t mind it much; she knew it was her father’s way in coping for the loss of her mother. But after two years their relationship had become so distant that she felt uncomfortable just by being in the same room as him. He sipped his coffee and sat across from Tiffany. He glanced at her but quickly switched his view and reached for the newspaper instead.

It’s because you reminded him of mom so much, Tiffany reminded of what her older sister said once when she told her how their father wouldn’t even look at her nowadays.

You know you have mom’s eyes, and that smile, yeah that smile…

Tiffany noticed how these two years had been treating her father; he used to be so tall and muscular and proud, but now all that was left was his height. He used to be smiling and caring all the time, but now his face could only show how he was too tired and sad. And Tiffany would always sympathize with that facts, but sometimes she thought her father was trying too hard between being a father and a mother at the same time that she felt suffocated. They fought constantly over trivial matters, like what Tiffany was wearing to school, and who she was hanging out with, and what major should she take when she would go to college. She loved him, but she was too angry at him at times to show her feelings.

“I’m off to work.” His dad said as he stood and took the newspaper with him. “Don’t you need to get to school?”

“It’s Saturday. We don’t have school on Saturdays.” Tiffany said while digging through her cereal again, annoyed by the fact that her father didn’t even remember what day it was.

Her father just left without saying a word. No good bye, no hug, no kiss, nothing. And Tiffany was already used to it. In fact she would be surprised if her father started acting like that.

I wonder if Liz is back from the lake, she thought.

Monday came and Tiffany was walking home alone. Elizabeth was pre-occupied with her new boyfriend, Nick that Tiffany felt it was rude to ask her best friend to walk home together like they used to. Elizabeth spent the whole Sunday telling her how she mustered all her courage to tell Nick that she likes him, and how Nick said he likes her too, and how that was probably the happiest day of her life. She also mentioned that Sarah couldn’t attend the party because she got sick suddenly. Her friends told her that Sarah had a food poisoning from eating a cake she got from the neighbor, Greg. Tiffany was about to mention how funny it was that Greg was also their friend and he knew that Elizabeth and Sarah were trying to get the same guy, but she refrained from doing so when she saw how happy Elizabeth was.

I’ll ask her the details next time, she thought.

“So how was the audition?” Elizabeth asked as they lied down on Tiffany’s bed.

Tiffany stopped wondering and replied, “Oh, it was cool.”

“Just cool? How was it just cool? Did you sing the song, the Voice Within?”

“Yeah, I sang that song…”

“So…? What did they say?”

“Well, they said they liked my voice, and they would contact me if anything…” 

“Well I bet you got in. I’m positive. This is like, the best weekend, and nothing would go wrong”

“Yeah, like, for you it wouldn’t go wrong…”

Elizabeth laughed and put her arms around Tiffany, “Well I’m giving some of my luck to you, so I bet you’re going to win that audition thingie.”

“Oh, well, I’m not too excited about it. I just wanted to try it out.”

“But you skipped the party for it. You ditched me and now you’re telling me you’re not too excited about it?” She asked, slightly annoyed.

“Yeah, well, me ditching you lead to you getting a boyfriend. Are you complaining?”

Elizabeth laughed again and said, “No, no, I’m definitely won’t be complaining about it any time soon.”

“Let me give you a hand now then. I know Rickie is asking around about you.” She added, winking.

“Nope, not interested.” Tiffany said as she stood from the bed. “I’m not ready for this boyfriend thingie.”

“When are you going to be interested then?” Elizabeth pursued.

“When I found the right prince.” Tiffany answered, giggling.

“Oh, like I didn’t know. Do tell me what kind of prince you always dream about again.”

“Well, you know the drill….”

“Humor me.”

Tiffany stood on the hallway, with a back hand on her forehead and the other reaching out as if there was someone above her, “A handsome prince with golden hair…” She then grasped her hand as if she had caught something, “…With eyes like the ocean and heart full of gold…”

“He pierces your heart with his gaze…” Elizabeth added.

“…He steals my heart with the sweetness of his words…” Tiffany giggled.

“…He’s brave enough to fight for you when you’re surrounded by evil villains…” Elizabeth danced around.

“…But he’s not afraid to cry and bare his heart…” Tiffany followed her.

“…And he likes pink!” Elizabeth finished as she turned to face Tiffany.

They both laughed and threw themselves on the sofa.

“So…Pizza?” Tiffany asked when they finally calmed themselves.

“Pizza.” Elizabeth nodded in agreement.

The next day all their friends could see the new couple, and they spent the whole day teasing them. Even Tiffany joined in the fun. At lunch Elizabeth sat with Nick and his friends, across from Tiffany and her friends, although usually she would sit with Tiffany. Elizabeth stared at Tiffany and mouthed “I’m sorry.”

Tiffany didn’t mind and smiled at her, flashing her eye smile to Elizabeth while mouthing “It’s okay.”

Somehow Rickie, one of Nick’s friends, caught the action and thought that Tiffany was smiling at him. He then tried to show his best smile to Tiffany in reply. When Tiffany realized what was going on, she quickly turned away and focused on the meal in front of her.

Well that was awkward, she thought to herself.

Her friends laughed at the sight and ; winking and smiling at Rickie until he realized he misunderstood Tiffany’s smile and decided to bury himself under his jacket. That made the laughs go bigger and suddenly they started throwing tissues and papers at each other.

Oh, God… This is embarrassing… When Tiffany saw Elizabeth was staring at her, smiling, and mouthing, “I told you so.”

School was over and Tiffany was leaving the classroom with her friends when she caught Elizabeth talking with Nick in the hallway. They exchanged glances and Tiffany understood that Elizabeth would want to spend more time with Nick, and probably would want to walk home together. So she smiled and nodded and walked past the couple and their friends.

And that’s how Tiffany ended up walking home alone. After saying goodbyes to her friends she continued walking while humming her favorite song. Occasionally she would remember how funny Elizabeth and Nick were behaving, being a new couple and all. But then she recalled that she didn’t see Sarah in school that day.

Perhaps she hasn’t recovered from the food poisoning thing, she thought. And while she and Sarah were not in the best of terms, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for what happened to her, and decided she should probably call her home to check up on her.

She finally reached her house and smiled; it had been a long time since she had to walk home alone, probably since 2^nd grade. She picked up the mails and head inside. She dropped the mails on top of the dining table and headed upstairs to her room. She dropped her bag and sat on her bed, thinking what she would do next.

I should probably do the homework first; she thought to herself and lazily stood and picked up her bags once more. She pulled out some books from her bag and put them on her study desk. She then sat and opened one book and started writing her assignment….

Tiffany was walking through the woods. As she was walking she could smell nature and breathed in the clean, refreshing and relaxing air. She felt so free and relaxed. She kept on walking into the woods and she noticed how beautiful the scenery was; the tress, the plants, the pink panda…

Pink panda? What’s a pink panda doing here? She thought to herself.

Confused but intrigued by the sight in front of her, she moved closer towards the unique animal.

Aww, what a cute panda… What a cute little thing…

“Hello, mister Panda… Hello there. My name is Tiffany, nice to meet you…” She said, moving closer while flashing her best eye smile at the panda.

She managed to get close to the panda, close enough to pet it. And the feeling of the soft fur between her hands made her giggle in satisfaction. The panda didn’t seem to mind her presence and just sat there staring at the human girl petting him. The panda was probably intrigued by Tiffany also, so he stretched out his hands and hugged the unexpecting girl. Tiffany was startled by the hug at first, but quickly fell in love with the warmth and softness of the panda’s fur. She put her hands around the panda’s back and tightened the hug. She then rested her head on the panda’s back, smelling a faint scent of melon from the animal.

“Awww, you’re so adorable…” She said, “Who’s the adorable panda? You are. Yes, you are…”

The panda then pushed Tiffany away softly and stared into her eyes.

“What’s wrong, mister Panda? Don’t you like hugging me?” Tiffany asked, as she tried to pulled the panda back in for a hug.

Unfortunately the panda pushed her away once more and turned around. He looked back to Tiffany once more before walking away.

“Where are you going, mister Panda?” She asked as she stood up and tried to catch up with him.

But the panda then started running towards the woods, and Tiffany was awed, “I didn’t know pandas can run.”

“Mister Panda, wait for me!” She yelled when the panda was getting further away from her.

Tiffany the started to run and tried her best to catch up with the panda. Surprisingly, the panda was a very good runner and Tiffany was having a hard time keeping up.

How can he run so fast with those short legs? Where is he going?

Oh, I’m not letting you go, cute panda. I’m gonna catch you, and hug you, and kiss you… Tiffany smiled at the thought. She has made up her mind to catch the panda again, and when she had made up her mind, nothing could stop her.

Yes, my determination is one of my strong points. She thought.

But the panda proved to be a skilled runner as the distance between him and the panda hugger kept growing. The panda ran and maneuvered through the woods with ease, while Tiffany was having a hard time because she didn’t have her running shoes. The tight jeans skirt she was wearing didn’t help, as she couldn’t freely move her legs to run.

Why did I have to wear this skirt to school…? She thought as she stared at the back of the panda.

As Tiffany started to doubt her determination and was about to give up, the panda suddenly stopped on his track.

“Finally…” Tiffany said while trying to catch her breath, “You’re tired now aren’t you?” She put her hands on her knees to support her.

“Now be a good panda and let me hug you…” She stretched out both of her hands.

“No, you can’t” A girl voice was heard.

 “Oh, I’m sorry…” Tiffany said as she was surprised to hear the panda, “I didn’t know you can talk…”

“And I didn’t know you’re a girl…” She kept moving closer. “You have a beautiful voice…”

“Stop!” The pink panda said again.

“It’s okay, miss Panda, I’m not going to hurt you,” She smiled, “I’m just going to hug you… And kiss you…”

“Who are you talking to?” The panda said.

“Hmm, what? Of course I’m talking to you…” Tiffany answered as she was now in good distance to hug the panda.

“Turn around, dummy.”

“Huh? What?” Tiffany was startled as she quickly turned around. “Oh!”

There stood in front of her a girl with a white dress. Her hair was long, wavy and golden. Her face was covered with light, making it difficult for her to see her face clearly. Her skin was white as porcelain and she stood the same height as Tiffany.

“Oh, I’m sorry; I thought I was talking to mister Panda over there.” She turned her head and pointed at the panda that was now walking towards the mysterious girl while keeping an eye on Tiffany.

The panda stopped at the feet of the radiating girl, letting her hands pet his head. Seeing how the adorable-cute-pink panda was very close to the girl, Tiffany couldn’t help but feel jealous. She walked towards them slowly, fearing the panda might run away again. Her hand was raised to pet the panda again.

“What are you doing?” The girl asked.

“Nothing… I just want to pet him too.” Tiffany answered while pouting.

“Well you can’t, he’s mine.” The girl said.

Tiffany stopped and turned her gaze towards the girl. She still couldn’t see her face clearly, but she was probably pretty. Maybe she’s so beautiful that her face shines so bright, she thought.

“What’s your name?” The girl asked again.

“I’m Tiffany. What’s your name?” She answered.

The girl didn’t respond to the question, but she sat and hugged the panda instead. Seeing that Tiffany got more jealous and she kneeled down in front of the two.

I have to persuade her to allow me to pet mister Panda.

“What’s his name?” Tiffany asked while she used her ultimate weapon; the eye smile.

“I don’t know. He doesn’t have a name.” The girl seemed unfazed by Tiffany’s weapon of mass cuteness.

“Well we should name him.” She tried again.

“Why?”

“Because… Because then he would come if we called him by his name.”

“What should we name him?” The girl asked.

“Hmm… How about mister Pink?” Tiffany said, just giving out random ideas.

“Mister Pink… I like that…” The girl said.

Tiffany could see a glimpse of the girl’s lips; those slightly pink and thin lips; smiling.

“So can I pet him now?”

“No. Not yet.”

“What do you mean not yet?” Tiffany pouted as she was upset.

“Next time you catch us I’ll let you pet him.” The girl said, her smile gets bigger.

“Next time? When’s next time?” Tiffany asked, confused.

“You’ll know…” The girl said as she stood up and walked away. The panda followed her into the woods. Tiffany tried to get up and catch them but her body couldn’t move.

“Wait, I didn’t get your name. What’s your name?” Tiffany shouted.

Suddenly a shroud of mist covered the entire forest, and Tiffany couldn’t see a thing. She tried to find the girl and the panda but they had already disappeared into the woods.

“When we meet again I’ll tell you, Tiffany…” The girl’s voice echoed through the mist.

“…Tiffany… Tiffany… Tiffany…”

“Tiffany… Tiffany…” Her father was calling her from the kitchen. Tiffany opened her eyes and realized that her face was lying on top of one of her books.

I must have fallen asleep, she thought.

She sat up, rubbed her eyes and scratched her head. Her room was dark and when she checked her watch it was already 7pm. She groggily stood up and walked towards the door.

“Tiffany?” Her father’s voice again.

“Coming, dad…” She shouted.

She found her father sitting at the dining table. She then sat across from him and checked what was for dinner.

“Did you check the mail?” Her father asked while she was busy filling her plate with the food her father bought for them.

“No.” She answered shortly. There was no need for her to ever check to mail since they were always directed for her dad.

“Well, there’s this letter addressed to you from SM Entertainment. And when I got home I got a call from the same company asking for you…”

“Wait, what? What did they say, dad?” Tiffany asked; her eyes were filled with glitters of curiosity and hope.

“Well, they wanted to ask you to come to their company on Thursday. And they said to come with your parents. I think they have something to say about your audition.”

“Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Does it mean I got it? I got the spot?” Tiffany was already jumping around the kitchen in glee.

Her father could not hide his happiness and giggled, “Well the letter also said the same thing; they are asking you to come to their office on Thursday, at ten.”

“Oh, my God!” Tiffany was struck by the news and she was overjoyed that she spun around and later jumped into her father’s arms. As they were both happy and holding each other in tight embrace, her father told her, “I’m proud of you, Tiffany. I’m really proud of you. You’re mother would be proud too…”

“I know, dad. I know…” She whispered as she buried her face into her father’s shoulder. “Thank you…”