Chapter 1
My name is Emily Lee, the 15-year-old daughter of the world’s greatest martial artist, Jonathan Lee, my dad of course. Everyone probably thinks it's pretty cool to be Jonathan's daughter, but to be honest I'd rather be a girl from the countryside with a normal life. Wait! Don't get me wrong. I love my dad more than anything in the world, but sometimes it becomes daunting to fulfill the world's and my family's expectations of me, the world’s greatest martial artist’s daughter. We come from a long line of great martial artists from north China.
Being a part of the Lee family, it is my responsibility to carry on the family's legacy. Tough huh? But I got used to it. Our family moved from China to Chicago 5 years after my mum died in a tragic accident. Being the only Chinese kid didn't make things any better for me at school. I thought the kids would love me like they did back in China, but they don't even pay attention to the fact that I'm the world’s greatest martial artist's daughter.
At least it's the summer holidays so I can get a break from school and all those self-absorbed and ill-mannered classmates of mine. As I said it is the summer holidays, which doesn't mean rest for me. As per tradition I have to go to summer Chi Camp where they train you and teach you different techniques of self-defense, martial arts and the handling of ancient Chinese weapons. I am now a black belt which means I get the worst of it.
“Hi dad,” I said lazily as I entered the kitchen to make myself some scrambled eggs for breakfast. It was three days before my trip to Chi Camp and my best friend Kelly was coming to my place to hang out before I left. I was going to miss Kelly dearly. She's my only friend here in Chicago. Kelly and I met on the first day of middle school and we have been inseparable since. First, I had to train with my dad in the garage. A few months after we moved into this enormous house with far too many bedrooms, my dad converted the garage into a training centre.
Training with my dad was no joke. He was trying to prepare himself and I for the championship next year which meant punches, sit ups, 365-degree kicks and pull ups for me. That’s not all! My dad believed that a 'champion' should always meditate to stay in the correct state of mind and improve his focus and should follow a strict diet to stay in shape. That's why every time I want to have pizza, I have to sneak out and skate to Grammy's Diner for a slice of her hot, mouth-watering, scrumptious Steak Supreme Pizza.
Back to today's agenda, it was time for Kelly to arrive and I could barely wait. We had some jolly good times together. I hadn't seen Kelly in a week as she had to go to Oxford with her dad. Her dad has an art gallery back in Oxford; he is a marvelous artist indeed. I was starting to grow impatient. It had been 30 minutes since the time she was expected to arrive. Just as I was making my way to the telephone to call her, I heard a car hoot from outside. I excitedly rushed to the door.
