"Hey Quang!" Vic shouted after swallowing the last scoop of pho. He dropped his spoon into his empty bowl and leaned back in his chair, looking through the window. "You almost done in there?"

Quang kept his back to the window as he chopped away at ingredients. "Yeah, yeah. I'm almost done."

"Awesome."

"Almost done with the first half! This order is absolutely insane! I know we need the money, but this same-day order policy is going to require me to stay here a few more hours."

"What? That's ridiculous!"

"Working a job is that wild to you, eh Vic?" Hualing said with a coy smile. She slipped in another bite through her lips as she gave the vagabond across from her an arrogant gaze. "Because that's what adults call 'doing what you're supposed to do for hours on end.'"

"And that's why I don't do it." Vic dismissed the singer with a flick of his hand. "Life's too short to be making ungrateful people happy for a couple minutes. Besides, didn't you just quit your job?"

Hualing's confident smile immediately inverted.

"Yeah. Looks like we're in the same bum boat!" Vic put his hand over his stomach and started laughing. "Never thought I'd see the day where me and Hualing would be in the same career!"

"Don't worry about it, Hualing. Lorenzo said you weren't really off the payroll," Selene said softly with a comforting voice. "You can come back anytime you want."

"Ugh." Hualing buried her face into the palms of her hands. "I know. It's going to be humiliating having to crawl back to that bar and beg for my glorified karaoke job back, but in this economy it's my only choice. Better than pleading for each of my meals."

"You got a place to stay?"

"No. Not anymore. Just got kicked out of my apartment the other day. Came back after work and my stuff was thrown out on the sidewalk. Looters already got anything that was valuable. At least I managed to make off with a suitcase of some of my clothes." 

"Where would that be?"

"Back at The Family Stone."

"Good thing Lorenzo's the forgiving type."

"Yeah." Hualing slumped against the back of her chair and huffed. "Being broke sucks. I don't know how the rest of Isla Lucrecia does it."

"It comes naturally." Vic lifted his bowl and started to chug what little remained of the soupy liquid at the bottom of the bowl. "Kinda like how Canadians are just good at hockey."

"Right..." Hualing replied in a drawn-out manner. "Selene. Do you know any place around here that lets you rent a place... without a deposit?"

"You've got all the alleys to choose from." Vic's statement was interrupted by a long burp. "Take your pick. No deposit. No hidden fees. Nothing like that."

Selene rolled her eyes before looking at the singer. "I think I get what you're saying, Hualing. My roommate would usually be against the idea, but a bit of persuasion might convince her otherwise."

"You got enough room for a third person in there?"

"Well..." Selene scratched the back of her neck. "Technically… there's room for you to fit inside."

"But I won't get an actual room to myself I'm guessing." Hualing shrugged her shoulders. "I can make do."

"The thing is... the living room is my room. I've been using the sofa as my bed."

"Oh." Hualing's tone became damper. "Then where would I sleep?"

"We could pick up a sleeping bag on the way back home!"

The singer sighed in silence, wearing a long frown as she stared off into the distance. "Okay. That works for me."

"I'm positive you'll get out of this rut, Hualing!" Selene got up from her seat and patted her on the shoulder. "It's just temporary. If you managed to make it to the top of the charts before, I'm positive you can do it again," she said with a smile. 

"All you gotta do is pick another classic to profit off of," Vic added. "And that's not even me trying to be mean. There's a reason why those tunes are all timeless. They've got the melody and lyrics that people can connect with. You just gotta find a way to make it work for the modern crowd. Change up the instrumentation a bit. Maybe tweak the tempo a little. Keep it similar and fresh at the same time."

"I know you and Vic see eye to eye on basically nothing, Hualing, but maybe he has a point. Passion and Patience was a huge hit. Maybe you could work the same magic with another cover."

"Maybe. But without the money to market, I'm basically stuck." Hualing took another bite of her food, stirring her spoon in a small circle as she chewed. "I don't know. Honestly, I don't think I want to talk about it now."

"Fair enough," Selene said. 

The rattling and clanging from the kitchen stopped. Quang emerged from the kitchen, a frown across his tired face. He tugged onto his tank top with one hand while a holding onto a hot bowl of pho in the other. The he plopped down in the seat between Vic and Hualing and hovered over his dish. 

"You finished?" Vic asked.

"Nope." He blew away the steam from his bowl towards the middle of the table. "Halfway there. Just taking a break for now."

"What time is it due?" Selene asked as she watched Quang slurp down a mouthful of noodles. "Do you have time for a break?"

"Don't know. But it's not like anyone is going to come and pick this up. Anyone could see that this was a scam order."

"You going to finish it?"

"Doubt it. Just going to tell my folks that the customers never showed up. Not going to waste anymore ingredients and time on some loser that doesn't have anything better with their time."

"What about what you've already made now? You going to throw it out?"

"I'll help you take care of the leftovers!" Vic interjected.

"Nah. I'm just going to let them chill in the fridge. At least they ordered our restaurant's bestseller. There's a slim chance someone might order it within the next few days." 

Quang scooped a large chunk beef into his spoon. As he brought the food to his lips, the sound of thunderous stomping came from upstairs. Like a deer in headlights, his eyes opened wide as the noise became louder. 

"Quang!" Mrs. Nghiem pushed the door to the main dining area wide open with one hand. The four patrons turned to her, staring at her angered face. She marched towards Quang who remained frozen in preparation for a bite. 

"Y-Yeah Ma?" Quang muttered as he lowered his spoon back into his bowl.

"Why aren't you working in the kitchen?" she pointed towards the vacant room with one finger. "You saw how big that order is!"

"Because it was clearly a scam, Ma! We never had an order of that size before!"

"What if it's real, Quang?" Mrs. Nghiem shifted her hands so they were pressed against her hips. "Think of all the money we could lose!"

"Think of all the wasted ingredients if I kept cooking! You shouldn't have taken that order, Ma. I would have told them that we don't do catering and would have hung up the phone."

"And that's why we're struggling! All because you and your father hate working!"

"I don't hate working, Ma." Quang turned his head to the side, avoiding eye contact with the older woman. "It's just that there's nothing to do here because we never have any customers."

She moved her hand in a circle, directing her fingers towards the other three at the table. "Two of them are customers!" She then looked down at Vic's empty table. "That better have been your only bowl!"

"He actually paid this time, Ma. No need to go off on him."

"Great. Now he only has three hundred more to pay for!"

"Can't we talk about his later?" Quang got up from his seat and faced Mrs. Nghiem, making the contrast in their heights all that more visible. "I've got to—"

"Always later with you!" Mrs. Nghiem stomped her foot and crossed her arms. "If you won't do it then I will!" She marched towards the kitchen only to be stopped as Quang stood in front of the door. 

"I told you already! That order's nothing but a prank. You'll be wasting time and ingredients if you finish the rest!"

"Move Quang!" Mrs. Nghiem picked up a towel hanging off the closest chair and wrapped it tight. She brought her arm back, ready to strike. "Don't make me treat you like you're a kid."

"In front of my friends?" Quang said as he moved to the side. "You sure do know how to embarrass me!"

"My job isn't to make you seem cool. My job is to make food! Now move!" Mrs. Nghiem pointed away from the kitchen door with her thumb. Quang kept his hands up, ready to defend himself as he moved away from the rolled towel. Defeated, he took a seat back at his spot on the table. Selene turned her head, placing her hand over her mouth to hide her giggling.

Hualing didn't attempt to hide her laughter. She smiled wide as she bounced up and down in her seat. "Thank you, Quang," she said. "I really needed that. Helped me to get my mind off things, even if just for a few minutes."

"So glad that some good came out of my suffering."

"You going to let your mom work in the kitchen by herself?" Selene asked, recovering from her extended snickering. "If I were you, I would have worked side by side with her."

Quang's shoulders slumped down. "Really?"

Selene nodded. "We respect our parents in South Africa. They're always right."

"Fine." Quang scratched the back of his head. He promptly downed another bite of pho before getting up from his seat. "I'll help Ma finish up the last part of the order. It'll just make her realization that I was right that much sweeter."

A bright light poured through the front entrance. All four turned around, staring at the open door. Two silhouettes emerged from the light and stood in the middle of the restaurant's entryway. 

"This is the place Ulyssa insisted on ordering from?" a soft yet deep voice said. The man was tall and slim with a light fawn tone to his skin. Despite his thin physique, the contours of his chest muscles were visible through the open buttons of his dress top. He wore a crisp and sleek dress jacket on top. Silver swan wings adorned one shoulder and the opposite corner on the front of his jacket. A pair of equally tidy white pants covered his legs, all the way down to his matte dress boots. A thin cloud of smoke rose from the cigarette that he carried in one of his hands that were covered in half-gloves. He raised it to his lips and inhaled. "Of all the places in this city to use feed the troops..." he said with disappointment. 

Fátima stood beside him. She brushed her hair back, taking a quick glance at the lone group sitting at the table before focusing on the woman working in the kitchen window. "I've got a feeling why Ulyssa picked this of all places."

As he closed the door, the dark black strands of his ponytail shined from the receding sunlight. He looked at Hualing with his dark brown eyes before scanning the rest of the restaurant. The man reached to the inside of his jacket and pulled out a small rod. With the press of a button, the object extended to become a full-length bo staff.  "Looks like things might get dangerous in this part of town."