2 Chapter 1 - The Daily Life of Thong Tran

Into the late hours of the night, a man with a mask and a man with an older appearance exchanged blows, sweat dripping off of them as they changed blows, the one in the mask struggling to push the attacks away. As the fighter in the mask continued to block the attacks, a punch stopped moments from his face, the masked fighter stumbling back before falling to the ground.

???: Once again, you focused far too much on defense. You need to block but also go in for strikes, Thong.

Thong: Your strikes are too fast, how am I gonna catch those, dad?

Thong's father reached out his arm, picking Thong up.

Anh Minh Tran: I think that's enough for today. We worked up a good sweat, right? Let's get back home.

Thong: Haha, yeah.

Thong and his father walked home, a home that could likely be in better condition. Squeaky floorboards and dimly lit halls.

Thong: I'll just go to my room and take a shower in the morning. Night, dad.

Anh Tran: Hahaha, alright. Sleep well, Thong.

Thong entered his room, collapsing on his bed. He blinked before sinking his face into his pillow. Reaching out, he turned on the fan on his desk before drifting to sleep.

…

Waking up in a drench, Thong Tran sat up in his bed, looking at the fan that sat on his desk. It has stopped working at some point during the night.

Thong: I was wondering when it would eventually get to it.

Thong changed into a black shirt and a pair of jeans before slipping into his shoes, hearing the squeaking of the floorboards under his steps. He looked at his watch, noticing it was already 8 am. He walked out of his room, noticing the lights of the hallway were off, but the chattering of his parents could be heard from the kitchen.

Hoa Tran: We can't keep going on like this. Why don't you just sell that dojo?!

Anh Tran: I can't. It's been in my family's lineage for years, and so many people need it.

Hoa Tran: No one other than you and Thong use it! Because you decided to keep pulling out money to keep it going, we're going to lose the house at this rate!

Thong could see his father raise his hands to cover his face. Their daily life was not always this bad. Thong cannot remember exactly when it started, but at one point, people had eventually stopped coming to his father's dojo. Was it because of the changing times? Do people no longer see the need to practice martial arts? Whatever the answer was, Thong surely didn't know it. Despite the failing business, Thong and his father had continued to work at the dojo, Thong learning all he could about Wing Chun from his father. But with the lack of incoming funds, Anh Tran struggled to get any money to keep the dojo that had belonged to his family for generations. Having acquired some funds from less than trustworthy loaners, Anh Tran had slowly dug his family into a deeper and deeper debt which began to heavily impact his family's life.

Thong stared at his father through the door crack. He noticed the extremely barebones meal that his mother barely managed to scrape together with whatever money she had remaining from her own job. Thong entered the room, pretending not to have heard his parent's bickering, having a silent breakfast with his family. Thong placed his dishes away, too afraid to turn on the faucet to clean the dishes, not wanting to face the fear of the loss of their water. As Thong began to head out, his mother stopped him.

Hoa Tran: You nearly left without your breakfast.

Thong, placing on his black mask, bit his lip as he looked at the small lunchbox in his mother's hand.

Thong: Don't worry, ma. I can make do without it.

Thong struggled to say those words, looking at his mother's tired expression, feeling the sadness from her as she feared her son was too afraid to eat what remaining food they had left. Thong hesitated before taking the lunchbox from her hands.

Thong: Thanks, ma.

Thong headed out to his old college campus, which he was barely paying off his loan with small side jobs he had been working every once and awhile. After using the campus gym for a light workout, Thong had met up with two of his closest friends, Michael Taylor and Tiana Tsruddich.

Mike: Yo, Thong, you've been awfully quiet today. Looking at your eyes, I can tell it's with your dad again.

Tiana: You have to be more considerate, Mike. If he wanted to say something, he would've done so by now. Don't try to force him.

Mike: But he tries to hide his family situation all the time. If he doesn't say anything now, when will he?

Thong: It's alright. Things have just been getting rough at home lately.

Mike: Yeah, I can tell. You immediately went to the showers in the gym before class. Even I can tell you aren't showering at home anymore.

Tiana: Mike, can you ever just shut up?!

Mike: I'll say things how I see them!

Thong felt at ease when he saw these two argue.. It allowed him to escape from the situation he'd have to face again once he got home. The trio eventually found an area to sit down and enjoy their shared lunch.

Tiana: Summer is so close. Why can't it just be here already?

Mike: Summer is annoyingly hot. I usually just stay home with the AC on and enjoy a nice ice cream.

Tiana: For being such a slacker, you're oddly fit. What's up with that? You don't seem like the type to workout.

Mike: Well… y'know… It's for my job. Yeah, that's it.

Tiana: You holding a stable job is the hardest part to believe.

Thong chuckled as he opened his lunchbox. Noticing a simple sandwich, a banana, and a bottle of water. He took down his mask as he took a bite.

Mike: I don't know why you always wear that mask. It's burning around here.

Tiana: He always wears it. Maybe he's sick. Here, Thong, let me check.

Tiana leaned over the table Thong casually continued to bite into his sandwich. Tiana moved her hand under his black bangs, feeling his forehead.

Tiana: Not even sick, huh?

Thong: I never said I was. It just fits me, I guess.

Mike: Yeah, did ya forget that Thong ain't one for fashion?! Hahaha!

Tiana: I think it looks nice.

Thong looked at Tiana, wearing a bright orange t-shirt with a knee length white skirt. Her orange, bushy hair seemed to nearly glow in the light. Mike nudged Thong's shoulder before leaning in.

Mike: Getting a nice view, eh?

Thong pushed Mike away, taking the final bite of his sandwich. Mike was like a total opposite to Tiana's brighter presence. He wore white pants with a black belt on and a simple blue shirt hanging over it. However the part that stood out to Thong the most was Mike's face, with Mike's quiff hairstyle and golden tooth. But beyond that, Thong noticed the slight bruises and cuts on Mike's face. They barely stood out, but to Thong they were clear as day.

Tiana: What are you two whispering about over there?

Mike: Nothin' much! What time is it?

Thong looked down at his watch.

Thong: It just hit 12pm.

Tiana: Wait, really! I'm about to be late to class! Thanks for the heads up, Thong. See ya around!

Mike: Oi! You should be thanking me!

Mike slumped in his chair as Tiana ran away in a hurry. Thong closed up his lunchbox, pulling his mask back up, as he noticed a smile grow on Mike's face.

Mike: So, you want to finally explain your financial issue with me? I know with Tiana here, I would never be able to get something out of you.

Thong: Waiting for your moment to strike, as per usual.

Mike: Hey, we've been out of college for barely a year now. Tiana seems dead set on getting a Masters, meaning I have more chances to back you into a corner about this stuff.

Thong let out a sigh before catching Mike up to date on his familial issue. Thong had been friends with Mike for a few years now. Having met him during orientation, Mike and Thong had hit it off. Having met Tiana around the same time, the three of them had been close friends ever since. Thong knew he could trust Mike, Mike not saying the single word as he listened to Thong's story.

Mike: Holy fuck, man. That's just awful.

Thong: Yeah, but I try not to let it get the best of me. Since I don't want to burden my family too much, I try to stay out most of the day to prevent using power, and I work as many small jobs as I can to pay off my college loans.

Mike chuckled as he kicked up his feet onto the table.

Mike: Yo, Thong. I know a way you can get money faster than those shitty side jobs.

Thong: Whatever job you can promise me now probably won't be enough to pay off all these debts.

Mike: How does a few thousand from just a single job sound like?

Thong's eyes widened as his attention focused entirely on Mike's smug face. He could easily tell that Mike wasn't messing with him.

Thong: C'mon, man. Don't mess around like that, you almost got me good.

Thong could feel himself sweating as he saw Mike's smile got wider.

Mike: Oh, I ain't lying. Remember that job I mentioned earlier? I know you're pretty strong yourself. So how about it? Want to come join me at the Eclipse?