Capture The Elusive Mandarin

"Hasegawa Dana! Why in the world would you want to celebrate your eighteen birthday in China!", her mother exclaimed, using her full name, like any other Filipina mother does when they are about to pull their daughter's hair out of anger.

"Ellise will be there, and since Jess and I weren't able to attend her birthday we decided to have a triple birthday celebration," she said trying to calmly explain her decision to be in Shanghai for her birthday. And it's not because she really wants a triple celebration nor the other girls. In the first place, Ellise's birthday was five months ago, and Jess's birthday won't be until Christmas day which is four months from now! But of course, she won't tell that to her mother if she wants her plan to actually materialize.

Ellise doesn't even have an idea yet that she wants to have a super late birthday celebration, she tried calling but she can't reach her and her messages are left unseen, so as of the moment only Jess knows about her plan because after seeing the photo last night in Ellise WeChat's Moments, she immediately sent her a direct message in Instagram to call her ASAP, which she did, and after telling her all that happened she joined her in the celebratory screaming feast and straight away agrees to fly to Shanghai, for her to have a reason to be in China

She was screaming and rolling in her bed like a crazy bee after the call, then she jumped into action and drew a blueprint for the clandestine operation she named -- I Want Chinese Mandarin.

And the first and most important thing in succeeding with her scheme is to have on her side the only person that could win an argument with her mother. Hence, at one o'clock in the morning she sent a three digits code to her aunt, the set of numbers, she was taught to send when she is in a tight spot and needs rescuing.

She is now sweating bullets in handling her mother, but her aunt isn't here yet!

"What is this noise so early in the morning?" asked Akihito Hasegawa - a renowned Japanese calligrapher, painter, businessman, and her father.

Her mother sent a dagger look on her way, before answering her husband, "Nothing dear, your daughter and I were just having a discussion about her upcoming eighteen birthday. The miso is shimmering on the stove, would you like to have your breakfast now."

Dana makes faces at her mother with how quickly she changes from a roaring tiger to an agreeable kitten in a snap of a finger in front of her father, is beyond her.

"Dana, join me for breakfast."

Dana was surprised, and tried to control her facial muscle before answering, "Yes, Otosan."

Her mother turned to face her and grimaced when her father asked her to join for breakfast.

Dana can't do anything but sigh and pray that her aunt would hurry home.

---

"Did we miss breakfast?" a beaming Joy, followed by her husband enters the dining room.

"No, sit down.", her mother automatically stood up from the table and prepared two more sets of meals.

"Sorry for the intrusion," he said, bowing to her father before pulling a chair on the left of the table.

"Why are you late?" she said pouting.

A cough was heard from the head of the table before her aunt could give her an answer.

"Sorry." she apologized to her father and scowled at her aunt.

"Did Dana call you here?" she heard her mother suspiciously asked.

"Dana said there will be a big meeting about her birthday." smirking from her coffee mug, she said. "Are you going to throw a debut party?"

"Twenty is the coming of age, why do I have to have a debut?" she quickly reasoned out, one of the many excuses she prepared last night for this face off.

"You are a Filipina, as you are Japanese. What's wrong with celebrating both?" Her mother plays the importance of celebrating the difference in culture since everyone knows her father is a sucker for cultural heritage, which is ironic being no Filipino blood running in her veins.

"Indeed there is nothing wrong Okasan, except for the fact that to celebrate a Filipino style debut I have to have eighteen friends to do all the eighteen things of the party, and Jess told me that there is more than one set of eighteen something that must be done, like eighteen candles, eighteen roses, etc. but I only have two friends!" she said, throwing a - I'm pitiful, I don't have a lot of friends, to her father at the head of the dining table.

Her mother, knowing exactly what game she is playing, pinched her leg under the table.

Dana bit her cheeks and tried hard not to show the pain she is experiencing in her face as her skin is being rolled under her mother's thumb and first finger.

Her father turned to her aunt, who was clearly having fun watching the drama unfold, "How about you, did you celebrate your eighteen birthday?"

"No." her aunt curtly answered.

"Yes, you didn't, and you know how it broke your mother's heart." her mother sighs dramatically.

Dana, looked at her mother's face dumbfounded at how she could guilt trip her thirty-something aunt about a party that she refused to take part in so many years ago.

Joy watching Dana's crestfallen face across the table grinned inwardly and decided she had enough fun, and now it's the time to rescue her. "I didn't celebrate my eighteen debut, because I had my quinceanera as a celebration of my Spanish heritage."

"Quinceanera?" she said in a loud voice. "How many big parties do you have to do?" Dana, convinced that she already lost the game of getting what she wants from her mother, throws the pity party she is playing and gives in to her curiosity not minding her father's silent warning.

"A lot. I did a lot of big parties compared to the standard of your party growing up. My grandfather had all my friends fly to Japan to celebrate my seventh birthday party in Disneyland, sadly without me - the birthday celebrant, because I had chickenpox."

"A birthday party at Disneyland!?" Dana's jaw dropped with the idea of such an extravagant party, even if they are not by standard poor, still having a child's birthday in another country is a bit too much.

"Then, of course, I had my fifteen birthday or quinceanera. It was a princess theme party." the last sentence was said directly to her husband.

"But how about your eighteen party?" Dana, still in awe, asked eagerly.

"At that time, I find that kind of party is an enormous waste of money."

Dana ignored her mother snorting in disbelief upon hearing what her aunt said.

"So what did you do?", she asked impatiently.

"Dana." her father called her in a reprimanding voice.

"Well as your mother said, my mother was extremely disappointed that my father had to mediate until we came up with an agreement to forget the over the top celebration and just have a small party for family and friends instead. My birthday happened to fall in the full moon, so my friends and I had a full moon beach party in the backyard, while the adults had a formal sit down dinner at home."

"Otosan, even the formal sit down dinner is too much. If you invite all your friends with that intention, they will think you're already throwing me out for marriage!" horror written in her face and voice as she swiveled dramatically to her father to grab the line of opportunity her aunt threw.

Averting her mother's glaring face, she threw everything she got to deliver the most compromising idea to her father, "Let just have a photoshoot at Kyoto, celebrating my Japanese heritage, then Jess, Ellise, and I will have a Filipina theme photoshoot for my Filipino heritage when we get together in Shanghai, as a remembrance of my eighteen birthday!" she declared with finality.

"Dropped it young lady." her mother trying to win a losing battle said, "How could you be in China on your own?"

"I'm not alone. I'll be with my friends."

"I can take you with me since I'll visit Ellise next week to check if she's settling down in her new place nicely."

She gave her aunt a triumphant smile with what she said and stared at her father's face waiting for the verdict on who won the battle of - getting what I want against my mother.

"Errm." Her father coughs ceremoniously before saying, "Well it looks like you girls already agreed on it." He avoids his wife's laser eyes and seeks aunt Joy's husband's attention instead. "Would you like to join me for a game of shogi in the garden?"

She stood up as soon as her father's out of the dining room and said, "I have to inform Jess and Ellise." running to her bedroom, escaping her mother's wrath.