I was supposed to cook dinner for Sam and me tonight, but the better scenario is lazy times at Meridian Shopping Centre. And this way we’re not alone at home, bouncing off the walls and twitching at every innocent noise. The shopping centre is always packed on Friday nights and I’ve brought Mum’s camera with me. I’ve been trying to develop the habit of seeing the boring, everyday things around me with fresh eyes, but it’s not easy.

In our corner of the food court the canned music is loud; the flat screen on the wall opposite us is huge. Normally it’s showing music videos or football, but at the moment the evening news is playing soundlessly. Someone accidentally showed a nipple at an awards ceremony. And that’s called news.

Most of my year level will be getting ready for Grace’s party right now. Bochen told me they were providing minibuses for the boarders. Even I’d been invited. Granted, it was only because I’d been standing at the lockers next to Petra, and Grace is nice enough that she couldn’t help but hand me an invite too. Apparently her parents insisted on paper invitations, to stop gatecrashers finding out about the party online and arriving in the hundreds. Good luck with that, Chapmans.

I watch Sam herd the peas from his fried rice to one side of his plate, mumbling to himself. My own lemon chicken is a suspect shade of yellow, but tastes as MSG-good as ever. Maybe we can watch a movie when we get home. I let Sam watch MA-rated movies and stay up past 9 p.m. when Mum’s not around. I told him about our self-defence class and now he wants to do a Bruce Lee marathon.

I should feel like a loser for preferring to hang out with my ten-year-old brother than go to a party, but I don’t.

I switch Mum’s camera on and fill the viewfinder with my radioactive yellow dinner, Sam’s plate lurking in the background as red, white and green blotches. Snap. I try again, turning the wheel to macro and getting up real close. Mum’s camera does not cope well with low light. There’s no way I’ll be able to hold it steady enough.

When I look up at the flat screen again the grainy CCTV footage of Yin is playing, both bits. This morning the news sites started showing the same convenience store incident, but from a different camera. From the new angle you can see the flannel shirt guy a little bit better.

I can’t look away from it, as if somehow this time the video might be different.