White Tiger

board?’ I said.
    ‘That looks like fun. Can I try?’
    I touched Leo’s arm. ‘I’ll buy her one across the road at the shops.’
    Leo nodded agreement.
    I returned to our gear and opened the bag to pull some cash out. I nearly shrieked when I saw the cockroach sitting on the money. I loathed cockroaches and in Queensland they could grow enormous. Then I saw it properly and pulled it out. I looked up; Leo was grinning at me from the surf. This plastic one was going down the back of his technicolour shirt very soon.
    I walked through the park and across the road to the shopping centre. A store near the entrance sold small boogie boards and I bought one for Simone.
    As I walked back to the beach I realised I was being followed. I watched them out of the corner of my eye: two middle-aged male Chinese tourists, wearing slacks and polo shirts and carrying large leather bags. They were almost like twins, with identical plastic-rimmed glasses and unruly hair. The fact that they were by themselves was unusual enough to be noticeable;normally Chinese tourists travelled in groups and were bussed around. They didn’t feel like demons, and they were close enough that I should have been able to tell, but I could be wrong.
    I hurried back across the park towards the beach. They followed me, talking to each other loudly in Putonghua, making no attempt to hide their presence. They had the distinctive Beijing accent, rolling their r’s.
    I reached the wooden boardwalk at the top of the sand and walked out onto the beach. They stopped on the boardwalk; they wore shoes and socks and would have to pull them off to follow me.
    I glanced back. They were sitting on a bench on the boardwalk watching the waves. Waiting for us. Damn!
    I took the boogie board down to Leo and Simone. Simone jumped up and down, clapping her hands, then fell over in the water. She pulled herself up again, laughing.
    Leo saw my face. ‘What?’
    ‘How far away can she sense them?’
    ‘About three, five metres. You think we’ve got some?’
    I gestured with my head towards the top of the beach. ‘They followed me.’
    Leo looked up at the boardwalk. ‘Which ones?’
    I looked up as well. They were gone.
    I quickly checked the beach; they had taken off their shoes and socks and stood at the edge of the water nearby, grinning.
    I backed to stand next to Leo, facing them. ‘Those ones. Look like Mainland tourists.’
    Leo dropped to one knee and spoke to Simone. ‘Look at those men over there, Simone. Are they bad people?’
    Simone studied them, eyes wide, then grinned up atLeo. ‘Nope. Just people.’ She jiggled. ‘Let me try the board!’
    ‘You sure there’s none around here?’ Her eyes unfocused then she snapped back. ‘Let me try!’
    Leo shrugged and rose.
    I smacked my forehead with my palm. ‘I am so paranoid.’
    ‘It’s only being paranoid if nobody’s after you. In this case, I’d just call it being careful, and be glad that she has an extra pair of eyes watching out for her.’
    I sighed. ‘I suppose you’re right.’
    The tourists approached us, grinning broadly. They had rolled their slacks up and were holding their shoes in one hand. Both Leo and I readied ourselves without moving into a defensive stance.
    One held a camera out to us, bobbed his head politely and said something in Putonghua.
    ‘He says I’m beautiful, and you’re beautiful, and Australia’s beautiful, and he wants to take a picture with us,’ Simone said.
    Leo and I shared a look.
    The tourist bobbed his head again, still grinning. ‘Qing, piaoliang xiaojie.’
    ‘Please, pretty lady,’ Simone said. ‘Sort of.’ ‘Are you sure, Simone?’ Leo said. ‘Just people,’ Simone said.
    I nodded and smiled. The tourist passed the camera to the other man, and stood behind Simone and me. Leo moved out of the frame but the tourist beckoned for him to move back into the picture. He shrugged and turned to face the camera as well.
    The other tourist took the photo and the one behind us moved in front of us again. ‘Xie xie, xie xie.’
    ‘Bu keqi,’ I said, and he smiled even wider.
    The two of them waved and walked away.
    ‘That was extremely weird,’ Leo said, watching them.
    ‘Show me how to do it!’ Simone shouted, grabbing the boogie board.
    After an hour of body-boarding Leo and I had to stop; Simone was wearing us out. We built a sandcastle. Leo sat next to us and watched.
    Mr Chen waded out of the surf and flopped onto his stomach on the