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Alak was busy preparing noodles at his street stall in Chiang Mai when a large black car with black windows drove slowly past. 'It's the new gang boss,' said one of his regular customers. 'People say he has returned after twenty years in Bangkok. Very rich and very cruel, so I heard. We should all keep out of his way.'
Ten minutes later
the car came back. It stopped. From the
front seat came a young hoodlum.
He walked up to Alak and said, 'The boss wants a
bowl of noodles.'
'Yes sir. Of course sir.' Said Alak, avoiding eye contact
with the young man.' He served a bowl of steaming
noodles which was passed
through the rear window to the boss. Two minutes later the young
gangster handed the bowl back to Alak and said.......
'The boss thinks
your noodles are the worst in Thailand. What's
your name?'
'Sir, my name is Alak. Please tell your boss that I am very sorry, and
of course, there is no charge for the noodles.'
The young gangster got back in the black car, and drove away. 'I'm glad
I'm not in your shoes my friend,' Alak's customer said, as he quickly
stood up and walked away.
Alak was in a lot of trouble. The local mafia boss now knew his name for a bad reason. And to make matters worse, Alak was worried about his twin sister. How could he tell her what had happened? He turned off his gas stove, poured away the boiled water, and packed up his things. He felt so unhappy as he pushed his hawker stall back to the small house that he shared with his sister Lek. She was already sleeping when he returned. He sat by her bed and gently woke her up. 'Something happened that I think you should know,' he said. 'It concerns you, Lek.'
I had a problem with a gang today, and I think you shouldn't
work on our noodle stall for a few days, just to be safe.' Lek was such a beautiful young
woman and Alak had always protected her while they were
growing up.
'My brother, I am old enough to look after myself. And you need my help
as tomorrow is festival day, so the stall will be very busy. I am not
going to stay at home; we need the money.'
'Please Lek, listen to me...' Alak said, but Lek turned over
and went
to sleep.
The following day was very busy and Alak and Lek had to work
very hard. At around 4pm a good-looking man came to the stall. He
smiled at Lek and sat down on one of the plastic stools.
'A bowl of
noodles, please,' he asked her.
'Yes, sir. One moment please.' Lek smiled at him and her heart started beating
fast; he was so handsome. She had not seen him before in Chiang Mai,
and she
decided he must be from out of town.
Suddenly he said to her, 'Excuse me, but I think you are a very
beautiful woman
and I am a scout
for a model
agency in Bangkok. I really think
you could become a professional
model. Please call me Billy. Here is my
business card. Please
call me anytime, and I can arrange to have some photographs taken for
you.'
Adjectives
professional:
In this case meaning 'to be paid money for doing a job.
Verbs
turn over:
When you are lying down - to turn your body to face the opposite
direction.
beat:
In this case meaning 'the action of your heart that makes blood move'.
Nouns
a stool:
A seat with no back, or only a small back.
a scout:
A person who travels around and looks for special people. Especially in
sport.
a model agency:
A business that has many models and finds them work.