“You remember, don’t you Rodney?” Quang asked.

“Of course I do! How could anyone forget that?”

“Tell me! What happened?” Selene shifted her eyes between the other two. Quang let out another laugh as his mind worked on recounting the day that he had met Vic.

“I couldn’t have been more than seven,” he started. “So that means Vic must have been around nine or so. It was midafternoon and my parents went to take a break and left me and my sister to watch over Pho 68. It was the first time was earning an allowance. And as a kid, it was super excited to be working with my parents.”

“If only you knew then what you know now!” Rodney butted in with a smile. Quang returned the expression.

“I know, right? Anyway, this disheveled, dirty-looking kid comes walking in through the front door. His shirt is tattered. His pants are raggedy. He’s got long, grimy hair. The poor kid comes walking in and I’m in the dining area sweeping up bits of trash on the floor while my sister is making sure all the tables are clean. My parents are back in the kitchen. I stop what I’m doing and start watching the kid. He looks at me, dead on. We make eye contact and everything. But then he keeps going through the restaurant like I’m not even there. He’s busy eyeing my sister, but not for the reason you think.”

“Wait, how old was your sister?” Selene asked.

“Let’s see,” Quang said as he tapped a finger to his chin, “I was seven at the time. So that means my sister was probably thirteen. But trust me, he was waiting for her to leave the room so he could nab a cold bowl of pho that one of the customers left behind.”

“Yuck!” Selene said with her face wrinkling in the process. “He was doing you a favor.”

“Yeah, I know. But I was just a kid. All I could think of was that he was stealing from our family, you know?” Quang leaned forward in his chair, hands dangling between his legs as he looked down at the mat while continuing to remember the finer details of the event. “Besides, he was running off with our bowl. Then, I shout at the top of my lungs. ‘Stop! Thief!’ Vic turns around with the biggest eyes and just books it out the front door.”

“The poor kid was just hungry,” Rodney remarked with a laugh.

“I know that now, but as a kid I always wanted to be the hero. That’s why I went chasing after him. Vic thought he was in the clear once he left the front door, but I was right behind him. The craziest part though? He was munching on the noodles as he was running!”

“Aww, he must have been starving. Did his family not take care of him or something?” Selene asked. Rodney and Quang both glanced at each other before looking back at her.

“Uh… no,” Quang said. “We were pretty much his only family.”

“Oh. What do you mean by that?”

Rodney adjusted himself in his seat, giving Selene a look that implied he had a lot to say. “Vic was always hardheaded,” the old man began. “As you can tell by the first impression he left on Quang. But I don’t fully blame him for it. Not like Isla Lucrecia is known for its childcare services. You see, Vic grew up an orphan. Nobody knew where he came from. Or nobody bothered to try and figure it out. He was raised in Little Haven Orphanage. Used to be right across the street from here,” Rodney pointed towards the window behind him. “That kid was always getting into trouble. Running away. Getting into fights. Stealing. That’s how I met him. I think he was seven when I caught him trying to take my sanjiegun.”

“That three-section staff thing?” Selene asked.

“Yeah. He’s been obsessed with it since. He came in here, looked around and snatched it right off that weapon rack over there. I stopped him by blocking the door and grabbing his arm. ‘Where do you think you’re going with that?’ I ask him. He didn’t tell me anything and just started flailing around. Then one of the caretakers from the orphanage comes by and scoops him up while he’s throwing his little fit. The next day they bring him back over and the kid has a completely different attitude. He’s sobbing. His shirt’s soaked with tears. But Vic was genuine though by the way he apologized. I could tell by the way he looked at me. He didn’t do that thing where kids stare at the ground when they’re in trouble. He made eye contact and said the words clearly. Even though I wanted to be mad, I couldn’t.

The caretaker said he had always been a little nuisance and that she didn’t know what to do with him. That’s when I offered to teach the boy a bit of discipline. I’m telling you, the woman couldn’t have been more enthused.”

“They let some random man watch after an orphan?” There was a sense of confusion in Selene’s voice.

“Hey, things were different back then. And Vic was better off with me than getting into trouble with the other orphans or the police. I fed him. Gave him allowance. Had him clean up the studio. Take out the trash. And most importantly, showed him martial arts.”

“That’s why Vic is such a beast today,” Quang said. “He knows his stuff for sure.”

Rodney nodded. “That’s because I’ve been teaching him for almost twenty years! He better know what he’s doing. But I remember that day Quang was talking about clearly. I had just finished showing Vic how to hold the sanjiegun he had been eyeing the first time he stepped in here. I guess all that early morning training worked up his appetite. Vic had spent all his money on some cassettes, so he had nothing. And you know me. I teach the hard way. Told him he’d have to wait until dinner time if he wanted to eat. I guess he didn’t feel like waiting, so that’s why he went over to Pho 68 and snatched a bowl off their table.”

“Then I catch up to him around the corner,” Quang sat up, smiling at Rodney as he elaborated on what he remembered. “I try to grab but he’s too fast and strong for me. Man, I don’t think had ever felt humiliation before until Vic pinned me against the wall with one hand and used his other to slurp down the pho he stole!” Everyone in the room let out a laugh before Quang continued with his story. “He said that my family was going to throw it away anyway, so it was better that he ate it than letting it go to waste. Kinda true, but as a kid I wasn’t thinking that way. He hands me the empty bowl and then he tells me about Rodney’s studio. I follow him back and my mind was blown the moment I stepped inside. Mind you, Rodney actually had pupils back then, so I got to see real martial arts in action.”

“Your parents just wanted you out of their hair,” Rodney chided.

“Yeah. I was a bit of troublemaker too. But I would have turned out a lot worse if it weren’t for Vic and Rodney keeping my head on straight.”

“See, you shouldn’t have told me this story,” Selene looked between the two, smiling as she did. “This just makes me want to help Quang out even more.”

“It’s not like you were going to listen to me anyway, Selene,” Rodney replied.

“What makes you say that?” she replied. She knew he was right, evident by the way her smile waivered.

“Because you’re so much like them. Young. Confident. A bit of talent. Only difference is that you’re smarter. Not sure by how much though. Depends on whether or not you take my advice.” Rodney got up from his seat and stretched his arms as he let out a long yawn. “I know you’re not going to stay out of this. But next time, look before you leap, alright? Think with your head and not with your heart.” Rodney tapped his forehead with his finger before reaching down to fold up his chair. The two guests also rose from their seats and began stretching.

“Alright Rodney,” Selene said.

“Don’t just say ‘alright’ to say alright. I’m over sixty years old. I know all the tricks. I know what I’m talking about. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have made it this far.”

“He’s right, Selene.,” Quang said as he rolled his neck. “People may not like hearing what Rodney has to say, but that’s mostly because it’s the truth. Why do you think I avoided coming here for such a long time? Nothing more demoralizing than getting struck in the face with a hefty chunk of reality every other day.”

Selene stepped forward towards the studio owner, arms spread open wide. “Thank you, Rodney. I appreciate you sharing your wisdom.”