Take Two | Tom Holland

05

Chapter 05

My black pen leaves little stains all over my paper as I quickly write down the words that come to mind. After what seemed like eternity -but actually only were a couple of days- I finally found a topic to write about for my investigative journalism class: internet censorship in China.

It turned out China almost completely blocked the Western world by "the Great Firewall". Many Western apps had been blocked, like YouTube, Google, Facebook and many others. Instead, they were replaced by Chinese apps. It was really intriguing to see how much control the Chinese Government has on its citizens. This topic would definitely get me some good grades.

The sun shines on my laptop, making it hard to read the sources I downloaded back at the apartment. It's still hot out, so I decided to take my stuff with me and sit in the park for a bit. To soak up some of the sun before it disappears. It had also been over two weeks since I found Tessa and met Sam and his family. I figured that because I found her in the park, she'd be taken on walks here often. And I kind of wanted to see Sam again. He was so nice to me and I still hadn't managed to make any friends except for Julia. So befriending him would be nice, if I could ever talk to him again. I would contact him via social media, but I didn't ask for his last name.

I shake off the thought and focus on the work in front of me again. Winnie the Pooh has been banned in China, I read. There were memes circulating that compared president Xi Jinping with the animated character. It started with censoring the memes, but later on, the whole character was banned. I continue reading about different movies, characters and even YouTubers that have been banned in China until I feel a wet snout push against my shoulder.

I look up to see Tessa standing there, a little twinkle in her eyes. I didn't know dogs could be this pretty. She has the toy I bought her in her mouth and looks at me expectantly, like she wants me to grab it and play with her. "Hi, girl!" I squeal as I pet her on the head. I take the toy from her and throw it as far away as I can.

"I'm so sorry, she usually doesn't go up to strangers like this," a voice says from behind. That doesn't sound like Sam.

"Oh, it's fine. I'm actually not a stranger, I found her two weeks ago when she ran away from home," I shrug my shoulders as I turn around, "She's such a nice- Spider-man?" Holy shit.

Really Nova? Spider-man?!

"Well, in the movies, yeah," he awkwardly says. Facepalm.

A/N Please leave a comment! XXX