Chapter 1

So there we were, lazing around in Uncle's batman car and waiting for four guys to exit.

They weren't just any normal guys, but members of a well-known Taiwanese dance group called Energy.

Milk, Kunda, Ah Di and Shuwei would be departing to Malaysia for their next stop, via the Causeway.

It was such a nice, sunny morning, where most of us would be still sleeping at home instead of waiting in a parked van outside Ritz Carlton hotel.

"Turn the volume louder leh!" Celina called out to Huiling who was seated at the front passenger seat.
The latter, whom we affectionately labelled 'Uncle's assistant' because of her help in signalling to cars during our Energy pursuit, stretched out and turned the volume up a notch.

"....ai wo ZHI BU ZHI DAO...." The music ended in perfect timing.

"Hahaha..." All of us broke into laughter, warming ourselves up a little bit.
Finally there were signs of life inside the van.

We all loved Uncle's batman car, which was actually a private van equipped with a LCD screen television that received live telecasting from Mediacorp, a VCD player, surround sound (or something of that sort) system, vacuum cleaner, mobile phone charger, karaoke system with microphone, and of course nice comfy seats.

We all loved Uncle too. He was like the nickname we gave him: Uncle Big Bear.

It was always easy to spot him among the other Maxi cab drivers with his casual dressing compared to the white long-sleeved formal wear of the others.

"Because I know that I have to be relaxed and comfortable when chasing mah... On other working days I dress just like the other drivers," he explained.

That is why we love him so much.

During times when we had to go full speed to catch up with Energy's van, he would warn us beforehand, "Sit tight ah...Uncle going to chiong already!"

He treats us like his own children, and always introduces us to his colleagues as 'wa eh za bor kia' , which means 'my little daughters' in Hokkien, to which we would call out to his colleague in unison.

"Uncle~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

"Today got how many Maxis?" asked one of us drearily.

Most of us were down with a cough or flu, due to us being on the run constantly and getting ourselves drenched in the rain while waiting for Energy's performance at an event.

"So far, only one," replied another.

I closed my eyes and tried to shut off the music that was blasting into my ears.

Things were getting boring.

Suddenly a commotion was heard. We all sprang us from our sprawled positions and looked left and right.

Energy's van had arrived outside the hotel entrance!

Unlike other fans who would most probably make their way to the hotel door to await Energy's exit, we stayed in the comfort of the batman car and peered out to watch.

We classified ourselves as rational fans, which most people would reply with an amused sneer,

"I don't think any fan has absolutely no essence of craziness in her."

They're right.
So to that we shall claim ourselves as 'fans with the lowest level of craziness'.

It was routine. The luggage would always come out first, followed by the people.
We saw luggages, bags and bags of gifts from fans, all being carefully packed into Energy's van.

"I think it'll be very cramped later leh," Rina commented. We all 'hannor-ed' and 'yahloh-ed' in reply.

We were right. When all the baggages had been placed inside, there was already no space left for the four guys.

"Haiya... now the gifts will surely be left at Universal to collect dust again," Nicole concluded in a dead-pan tone.

A guy approached our van and tapped on Uncle's window.

"How much per hour to rent your van?" he asked in a Malaysian accent.

WHAT???????? ARE THEY GOING TO RENT OUR VAN INTO MALAYSIA???????

We looked at one another, asking the same questions with our marble eyes.

"For Malaysia? $60 per hour," Uncle replied.

The man rubbed his goatee for a while.

"Hmm... Will your van be available later? Our van no space for everything to squeeze in, lah."

Our eyes were still wide open.
We planned to stop our chasing at the Woodlands checkpoint.
Which would be just right for Uncle to enter Malaysia with them.

In a jiffy, Energy's luggage and some of their gifts were in our batman car.
I scrambled to the bundle of bags and demanded to search for Milk's luggage.

"Hey whose luggage is this ah? The pattern so obiang one! Still got flowery print... Must be Shuwei's one lah!"

"Wahahaha... See....YE NAIWEN....OH MY GOD SAVE ME..." I laughed hysterically.

"Ahh! See this... the present that we gave Milk!"

"Uh....kids," a voice rose.

We looked up.
It was the Malaysian guy.

"Promise me, don't meddle with their stuff ok?"

"Ok! Trust us la...."

He nodded and got into the front passenger seat, courtesy of Huiling.

"This is the first time that presents took more space than the artiste himself," he continued in a half amazed, half annoyed tone.

"By the way, this is my namecard. I'm in charge of the Super Concert in Malaysia."

Linzi gladly accepted it.
She mouthed to us in a dramatic way:

"Clement Tee." (name changed to protect privacy)

*PO-PO*
A horn sounded from behind.
The four guys had already clambered into their van and the driver was waiting for us to start moving.

Clement noticed our startled expressions as he turned back.

"Oh, you see, the driver is Malaysian and he doesn't know the way to Woodlands."

Wow...this is the first time that Energy is following us instead of us tailing them!

"HOHOHO! We'll let Energy see who's in charge now!"

"Uncle! Take them for a merry-go-round!"

"Now they will know the feeling of being tricked!"

"Hahahahaha....."