69
HUA GU QUAN (The Flower Drum Circle)
69
HUA GU QUAN (The Flower Drum Circle)
by Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito
The primary rule of the Hua Gu Quan was simple: you kept the flower if you held onto it while the Quan beat the s**t out of you.
“Glad you’re interested.” Thirteen-year-old Todd took a break from cleaning his pile of smart tablet screens to pat Xiao-wu on the shoulder. The boys were both supposed to be cleaning, but Xiao-wu had gotten tired and stepped away from his stack. Tall and husky Todd loomed over the nine-year-old boy who rested on the iron garden bench in the out-door courtyard of the International Florist Academy.
“The Quan wondered if you’d play. New kid and all.” Todd turned his head and spat chewing gum onto a patch of artificial grass by his feet. The pink glob la
