The First Time

My mom said

color and smell have a huge effect on people's moods.

So I wonder,

if that theory is true,

what colors make me excited, or nervous?

Or happy, or worried?

And what are the smells that make me...

giddy one minute

and hysterical the next,

that fill me with so much love I forget where I am,

or so stubborn about something I can't let go.

Gong Ning,

But I know,

you're the reason I feel all these emotions.

It's 3:30 on the 15th.

Gong Ning,

if I hadn't just listened to what I recorded for you yesterday,

I wouldn't remember any of what I said to you.

I guess my memory is getting worse.

Have I said that to you before too?

A kid named Ming got a new haircut.

The next day, all the kids at school laughed at him.

They said, "Your new haircut looks like a kite!"

Ming was hurt, and he ran outside and started crying.

He cried, and he cried, and cried...

and then a gust of wind caught him, and he flew.

Your turn.

A centipede, spider, and ant

go to help their friend the butterfly move.

And then?

Hey, knock it off!

I'm not even done and you're laughing.

Hon, butterflies don't have homes.

Technical foul, you lose. Hand it over.

So much for childhood innocence...

The sweating and the forgetfulness

are just side effects of her medicine, nothing you need to worry about.

Her condition is hereditary,

it's very different from ordinary myasthenia gravis.

So what about what we just talked about?

She needs to avoid physical exertion.

I'm sure you know

Respiratory muscle paralysis can be life threatening.

Even though other doctors might not agree,

I think, for her safety, we should increase her dosage,

or the risk of muscle paralysis is too high.

Rock Rock Rock

"I have a donkey, and I never rode it"

"But one day, I got bored, and rode it to the market"

"I felt so proud with my little whip in my hand"

"Then suddenly I slipped off and fell in the mud"

Rock Rock Rock

"I have a donkey"

"I have a donkey"

"I have a donkey, and I never rode it"

"But one day, I got bored, and rode it to the market"

"I felt so proud with my little whip in my hand"

"Then suddenly..."

Sorry, sorry... Are you ok?

Sorry, my rooster acts up sometimes. You're not hurt, are you?

Song Shiqiao?!

Are you Song Shiqiao?

I'm Gong Ning.

That rooster belongs to our guitarist, Chunzi.

It hatched from an egg he bought a few years ago.

And back then, it was cute,

so he didn't want to get rid of it.

You've changed a lot.

I couldn't tell it was you at all.

Well, yeah!

With this thing on, who could tell it was me?

If it weren't for those weird hiccups of yours

I'd never guess you were the same girl who sat behind me in class.

Do you remember that time in math class

when a cockroach flew out of the wall?

Everybody else was screaming, but you hiccuped.

I get the hiccups when I'm nervous.

That was chemistry, wasn't it?

Math.

This is my cell number.

Call me sometime.

I have to go let the organizers tear me a new one.

Bye.

What's wrong?

Are you tired? Does something hurt?

Mom...

is this medicine making me stupid?

Why would it?

I feel like my memory is getting worse.

I met someone I used to go to high school with,

But I could hardly recognize him.

Boy or girl?

Boy.

Same homeroom?

We were in the same lit class, junior year.

But, after a few months,

he cleaned out his desk and left.

I think it had something to do with his dad's job,

so he had to transfer.

You liked him?

No!

Then it's normal you wouldn't recognize him!

You didn't know him very well.

I'm gonna go take a shower.

Viewed vertically,

Romantic literature

was a direct descendant

It was also a protest against the rigid confines

of French Classicism.

Horizontally,

Romantic literature

Sorry.

Song Shiqiao!

Why haven't you called me?

I keep my phone on 24 hours a day

because I'm waiting to hear from you.

Do you know how rude you're being?

Are you mad at me?

For what?!

Hey, did you get taller on me?

Gong Ning!

Sorry...

Good luck!

You're in a different costume today.

Yeah, we draw straws for them.

You must have got the short one, to be wearing that.

I'm not cute?

Holy crap,

you can't see anything in this.

Are you still in college?

I sit in on class.

We got expelled because of that chicken.

We're actually a grunge rock band.

Grunge Grunge ROCK.

Cobain, Nirvana!

Bye! Hello?

Gong Ning,

I had a feeling I'd see you today,

and then there you were, at my school.

You said you would take me somewhere special,

and I said, ok, someday soon.

Ok.

You're not going to ask why?

It's Friday.

I remember, in high school,

you went to the hospital every Friday.

I never thought you'd actually remember.

I remember you always used to lose your keys in high school,

and you'd empty your backpack looking for them.

You still do that.

My mom's here to pick me up.

Do you still remember this?

You used to have this tape recorder in your hand all the time.

You used to record the songs

you wrote for guitar on it,

and you'd listen to them over and over,

looking for mistakes.

So why do you have it?

Did I give it to you?

Once, when you were listening in class, the teacher took it.

One day, I had monitor duty,

and I saw it on the teacher's desk,

so I took it.

I wanted to give it back to you.

But you transferred to another school.

Let's go.

You're three minutes and thirty-seven seconds late.

Calm down.

I'll give you four minutes. Keep the change.

Get on.

Get on.

I remember how you

used to draw all over your textbooks in high school.

Did I? I don't remember.

Memories are like the raindrops in my hand.

The tighter you grab it, the faster it slips away.

Actually you're a lot different than I remember.

Then how do you remember me?

This is a glow-in-the-dark pen.

Go home and turn the lights off, and you'll be able to read it.

Let's go.

Hey...

Do you hear that?

Do you remember that fat music teacher we used to have?

You mean the Latin fanatic?

Yeah.

Every time he put this song on

he always got up and danced,

and we'd always used to dance behind him?.

Mom...

So, you're Gong Ning?

Hello, ma'am.

Where are you two going so late?

...Out.

Gong Ning, you're a student, right?

Show me your student ID.

...I quit.

...You quit.

...Then your ID?

I didn't bring it.