Open Parental Guidence

[Jingyi Huang]

Jingyi was being dragged around Brightstone by his father, but the young boy was not really complaining about it too much, it was cool to get a look at the interesting shops. He had just been trailing behind his dad, but suddenly his attention had been caught by something in the Honeydukes window, his feet coming to a complete halt as he moved to get a better look. Now he just really wanted some sweets, and he was sure his dad wouldn't mind and would get some for him if he asked really really nicely. But first, he needed to ask, so he turned around and... his dad was gone. "Bà?" He called out, blinking as he looked from side to side just to see if his father was hiding from him, but there was no sign of the man. He had seemingly just up and vanished from right in front of him.

"Bà!" He called out again, feeling the panic of being lost in a sea of people starting to rise in his chest, biting down on his bottom lip as it started to tremble, tears almost threatening to spill from his eyes. He couldn't even bring his feet to move, just awkwardly standing there in the middle of the street hoping that his dad was suddenly going to appear and save him.

*Bà is Chinese for dad

 

[Molly Burke]

Molly's mum and brother had decided to drag the poor nine-year-old girl around Brightstone. She didn't want to go shopping, she wasn't really in the mood for it, but her brother had bragged her by saying if she kept quiet, he would give her lollies, so she just had to take that offer.

Molly was skipping around the village, ahead from her brother and mum. The village was crowded today, which was a little strange for her as she had never been in a crowded area before. Molly was skipping in her own little world until she saw someone in the middle of the crowd, who looked a little sad. "Hello!" Molly says with a smile and a wave, as she came up to the boy standing in the middle of the street. "Why are you sad?"

 

[Jingyi Huang]

His hands were shaking just a little from how tightly he had clenched them into fists, his teeth anxiously biting down on his lips to try and stop it from wobbling so much. He didn't want to cry, big boys like him weren't supposed to cry. He was sure his dad was going to come back at any moment now and tell him off for running off and not paying attention. But the longer he stood there and saw no sign of his father, the more worried and scared he was getting and more and more the tears were threatening to spill from his eyes. What if his dad never came back and he was left standing in this street for the rest of his life? Jingyi didn't want that, he wanted to see his mum again and sleep in his bed and play with his toys.

But then he blinked with surprise as a girl appeared, trying to straighten up when she so bluntly asked why he was sad. "I'm not sad!" He quickly tried to protest, sniffling as he wiped his nose on the back of his hand, "I just can't find my dad."

 

[Molly Burke]

Molly watches the boy as he denies the fact that he's sad, though she did feel a little sad herself that she saw someone else sad. "Oh, okay, you aren't sad then," Molly says with a nod and smile, as she pretends to agree that the boy isn't sad. She looked around as the boy mentioned that he couldn't find his dad. She remembered that she was lost a couple of times. Molly was also sad, and even cried looking for her mum or dad. "Oh, maybe we can go look for him if you want? Or we could go over there and find your daddy better" Molly says with a small smile, as she points to the side, where the shops were. She was getting pushed and shoved by these big humans that were walking past them. "I even have some lollies my brother gave me if you want some!"

 

[Jingyi Huang]

The last thing Jingyi wanted was for some strange girl to see him upset about something. He was supposed to be big and brave and not scared of losing his dad. No getting upset, he was sure his dad was looking for him. "But what if he comes looking for me here and I'm not here anymore?" He didn't know whether it was a good idea to move from this spot to try and find his dad or not. If his dad came back and Jingyi was gone they might never find each other again. Just thinking about how long it might take to be reunited was making his bottom lip start to wobble a little again, but the nine year old refused to show how upset he was feeling about the whole thing. But the girl said something about lollies and he was instantly interested, though tried to play it cool as he questioned ever so casually, "what kind of lollies are they?"

 

[Molly Burke]

"Oh, I guess we can stand around here if you'd like," Molly says with a shrug and a giggle. She didn't want to leave the boy alone, and maybe she could make a friend! She loves making friends and meeting new people. Even if the was constantly being bumped by these huge humans walking by. "I can stay with you if you want, so you aren't lonely?" Molly suggests to the boy. It was okay if the boy didn't want her to be there, she'd probably stay anyways if the boy told her to go away. Her mum wasn't too worried about her, as she knew that Molly would always wonder to the Honeydukes's since Molly LOVED lollies. Molly could stare at the lollies for hours, with wonder and fascination. Molly giggles when the boy asks what type of lollies they were. "I have so many! I have chocolate frogs, the every flavour beans, some more chocolate and some Jelly Slugs, a whole lot!" Molly says with a giggle, as she takes a bag filled with all the goodies like they somehow magically appeared, but really they were behind her back the whole time. Molly couldn't remember the actual name of the beans though, it was just too long for her to remember.

 

[Jingyi Huang]

Though he wouldn't say it out loud, Jingyi was pleased that the other girl was here and he wasn't left standing by himself in the swarm of tall grownups walking past. "You don't have to," he did have to mention when she offered to stay with him, at least wanting to look like he was a grownup himself and didn't need someone and he could manage just fine all by himself. "But I would like it if you did," he eventually added in an innocent sounding voice, rocking on his heels just a little as he shoved his hands into his pockets. And he did have to grin just a little when she pulled out her bag of sweets, though when she started telling him what was in there he did have to pull a face, wrinkling his nose up as he tilted his head at the girl. "You said there were lollies, those are just sweets," and he had been looking forward to lollies. But he supposed he wouldn't say no to some sweets as well if she was offering them.

 

[Molly Burke]

Molly smiled as the boy told her she didn't stay but would've liked it if she stayed. "Okay, I'll stay," Molly says with a nod, as she opens her bag of lollies, she then turns to the boy confusingly when he had mentioned about lollies and sweets. "What's the difference between sweets and lollies?" Molly says curiously, her little and young Irish accent lingering into her words. She wasn't sure what the difference between the two was. They sounded and looked the same to her either way. "Well, you can pick whatever you want that's in the bag!" Molly says with a smile, as she offered the bag to the boy. Molly looked up and around the place. She was wondering what the boy's daddy looked like, maybe she could somehow help with finding her dad from the spot that they were in. "What does your daddy look like by the way? Also, what's your name" Molly says curiously, looking towards the boy, before taking another bite of one of her sweets or lollies, she wasn't fussed on what these were called, she just wanted to snack on these.

 

[Jingyi Huang]

He did feel a little better when the girl decided to stay with him. Now he didn't feel like crying anymore as he wasn't alone anymore. "Lollies are the ones on sticks, aren't they?" That is what he had been taught, but maybe he was wrong as English wasn't his first language. While he had been brought up speaking both, he was still far more comfortable with Chinese than he was with speaking English. But he still smiled when she offered him the bag of sweets, peering in to take a look at what she had before picking a couple of jelly slugs out of the bag. "Thanks," he mumbled, nibbling on the corner of one of them as he continued to peer curiously around the street for any sign of his dad. "Well he's um, tall, dark hair like me, has this big round glasses on," he paused, trying to think of what his dad had been wearing, but he couldn't remember. "Im Jingyi!" He could remember that, smiling as he offered his name, "But you can call me Jin if you want to."

 

[Molly Burke]

"Oh, you mean lollipops! Those are so yummy! They have many different flavours!" Molly exclaims with some slight excitement. She was still a little confused wondering what the difference was, but she didn't want to touch onto the subject anymore, as it seemed that it was a little bit boring to talk about. Molly listened carefully to what the boy said about what his dad looked like. She looked up at the big humans that were walking up, down and around the village. There was a lot of people who had matched that description, though maybe they weren't the boys' dad. Molly then turned to the boy again as he introduced himself. "Hi, Jin! It's nice to meet you! I'm Molly and I'm nine!" Molly says with a smile and a wave with a little excitement, as she took another piece of chocolate from her bag and took another bite. Molly loved sweets. But she could sometimes be hyper on them. "I'm sure we can find your daddy soon! Was he with her mummy or sister or brother?" Molly asks curiously, as she looked all around for anyone that matched with the description Jin had mentioned. Maybe if his dad was with someone, he would be easier to spot!

 

[Jingyi Huang]

He nodded his head, "Yeah. Lollies. Lollipops." They were the same thing, lollies were just the shortened version of lollipops in his head. The bag she was offering him was just filled with sweets. But he didn't think it was really worry arguing about the matter, he didn't want to make this girl angry or upset with him, not after she had been nice and offered to stay with him while he was waiting for his dad to come back. Maybe he could even make a new friend! That would be cool. "I'm nine too!" He responded excitedly when she offered her age as well, grinning a little, rather pleased that they were the same age. Even better if they were going to be friends! But the questions about his dad had him shaking his head, a small pout back on his lips as he anxiously nibbled around the edge of the jelly slug in his hands. "No, it was just me and him."