Girlfriend

Morning, in a train. A woman talking to a man.

“Sorry what did you say to my father just now?”

“I told him I have a Philippina girlfriend.”

“We come from China.”

“Oh, China is closer.”

“Well, they are neighboring countries.”

“We’ve been together for a year, but we are both poor so… You know. Text messages, video calls.”

“Yes.”

***

Do we have to?

Morning. A group of under five-year-old kindergarteners with two teachers walking in the rain.

“Ok then, let’s move on. Who’s hungry?”

[Kids] “Meeeeee…..!”

“Who’s tired?”

“Meee…!”

“Who wants to go play in the park?”

“….? ”

[Two kids] “… me?”

“Great, let’s go then!”

***

Constructive

On a train, evening. A couple discussing.

” [reading] The roof is usually chosen on the grounds of aesthetics. A tile roof is quieter during rain than a tin roof. A tile roof is more expensive to install. A tile roof requires to be placed on a waterproof roofing… We’re so getting a tin roof.”

“I’m sure that won’t be the deal breaker.”

***

Immigration 

On a bus stop, afternoon, two men discussing.

Man 1: “Oh, yeah. The grub is different, isn’t it?”

Man 2: “Here it’s potato, mostly potato, yes? We’ll there it’s rice. Rice, rice.”

Man 1: “Are your parents here, are they living here or…?”

Man 2: “No, not yet, no, but I would like them to come, hopefully they will be able to come some day.”

Man 1 to a woman approaching, shaking coins in a paper cup:

“No, no money, go away.”
***

Brothers

Afternoon at a large garden glasshouse. Two boys.

“I’m gonna take some pictures with my Instagram. Do you have Instagram? It’s just great for taking photos. [click, click, click, click]. Take some photos. [click, click] Make mom and dad jealous they didn’t come. [click] I just took the best selfie.”

“A selfie, up your bum?”

***

Breaks

Noon. Two school girls sitting on a bench.

“Officially it’s 30 minutes but when the bell rings…”

“You have to go?”

“You have to start going, otherwise you won’t make it. They ring the bell five minutes… so the break is actually 25 minutes and then they ring the bell five minutes before. And there are two breaks like this.”

“That sounds horrible!”

“Yeah, it’s really tiring.”

***