Book 1: Guns, Love, Roses

Chapter 2 - Arcade

"So where exactly are we going?" Daniel asked with a lack of emotion, as the three of us followed our new Asian friends we met from school who seemed to be taking us on an afterschool excursion.

"To the arcade." Phung, the leader of the group said abruptly. We looked at each other and shrugged, continuing on what seemed like a long and mysterious road on this venture to meeting this group who called themselves LRB. Michael, who was the most bloodthirsty of the family, could not contain his excitement, shadow boxing to himself, making it inconvenient for me and Daniel who had to give him space as we trodded along.

"And where exactly is that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Phung turned around and stopped, facing us as we exchanged confused looks.

"You guys live in Richmond, but don't even know where the arcade is?" He scoffed.

"Uh... We don't actually live in Richmond." Daniel pointed out. Phung quickly looked at his friends who shrugged at one another.

"Do you guys not know your way around the area?" One of the Asians asked.

"Look," Michael began, everyone looking at him with a concerned expression.

"We've been expelled three times, and aren't scared for a fourth, so to know what's what and what's where does not interest me." Michael turned back at both Daniel and I, almost as if to defend him in some way. Phung seemed almost scared of what to say in front of us; his new friends. I noticed the decline in excitement and quickly jumped in before the vibes changed for the worse.

"How about this- just treat us as tourists." I began.

"We'll try our best to be on our best behaviour." I finalised, waving my hands as if to say everything was okay.

"Okay," Phung said simply as he pointed to a building near us that we weren't aware of. We all turned around to see where he was pointing at, and saw the group of Asians turning around the corner into the side alley, turning off away from the main road of Richmond. The building was old and decrepit, highlighting the dodgy bricklaying in the infamous cream colour exterior and treacherous landscaping that caused the pavement to age like out-of-date milk; the concrete roads cracking in subtle areas that never got the attention it deserved due to the abnormal elevation that plagued the suburb roads. Because of this common run-down characteristic, the side streets of Richmond was known to be bumpy for those commuting through.

The first thing you notice about the building we were about to enter was the amateur graffiti in multiple colours and crayons scribbling phrases such as: LRB, 3121, and Little Richmond Boys. Adding to the messy artwork was a big and noticeable glossy sign with dark red writing over a black plate bolted to the exterior labelled 'Red Arcade', with small Chinese inscription imprinted below, probably an extra translation for non-English speaking customers; that or for added decoration. The entryway itself didn't have a door, but instead, a two-piece blanket with a noticeable golden tiger woven into the fabric that hung down to the ground. A black carbon-fibre letterbox nailed to the right of the entryway with the numbers 81 was embedded in gold, indicating the building number. One by one, the group began lifting the blankets out of the way to enter through and it was Phung who stopped to enter last, motioning the three of us to go before him.

"Please, after you." He smiled, gesturing us to enter. Before heading in, I quickly scanned the kids my age who were of similar ethnicity, being around sixteen and seventeen smoking cigarettes and drinking Bubblecup, some wearing their Richmond High uniforms that looked worn and seen better days with their ties off or their ties done up loosely; their bags- if worn, hanging loose down to their hips, with some students wearing black jackets instead of their school blazers.