CHAPTER 33: JUST A SLIP

“Still not finished yet? I’ll…go wait outside then.” This is what Phun said to me 5 minutes ago before he left without even stepping inside the club room.

Earn and I blink at one another, we realize that it’s time to stop goofing around and finish mending the cushion before it gets any later.

“What’s he doing back here?” Earn asks me with his deep voice while I am still focusing on the sewing.

Well…I didn’t think that Phun would actually come back to get me like he had said.

“I don’t know. He did mention that he was gonna come back. I didn’t think he was serious though.” I complain as I follow up with the stitches. I’m not looking up, so I have no idea what kind of expression Earn has.

“Right, I’ll go get him. He should come inside. There are probably a ton of mosquitoes out there.” That’s a good idea. I silently agree with him. I didn’t get a chance to say anything since I heard the sound of the door opening and he stepped outside.

You’re just gonna leave me here all by myself like this?! That’s way too cruel!

I increase my sewing speed since I am faced with this situation. Now that Earn isn’t in the room, it is eerily quiet. I keep glancing around fearfully. ##########, I’ve never hated that piano before until now. Seeing that there in a silent and dark room does not help one bit. It feels like I’m in a Hollywood horror movie setting.

It’d be best if I finish this up as fast as I can! I comfort myself by realizing that I am nearly done. I squint my eyes and stare at a small gap. I rapidly stitch up the cushion. Forget about making it look pretty (as if that was ever my concern), I just want to get home!

As I am sitting here, I begin to wonder why Earn is taking so long. Didn’t he say that he was just going to invite Phun inside? They better not have ditched me! I realize that the more I wonder, the more time I am wasting so I decide to just focus on the task in front of me. I’ll worry about those two going missing later.

Soon enough, I finished repairing the cushion. It may not look nice and professional (I mean, I only cared about closing that gap) but it’s still better than actually hiring someone to do this. We need to spend our budget on a bunch of other things.

I stare at my handiwork, which I find to be satisfactory, before I start packing up the needles and threads. I glance around the room only to find myself standing alone in the midst of instruments, sheet music, and the food that the underclassmen left behind.

So where’s Earn?! He said he was gonna go get Phun! T____T You lied to me!

I think to myself, feeling betrayed and afraid at the same time while I clean everything up. I grab my school bag and I rush out of the club room.

As I am putting on my shoes, my heart nearly stops when I spot a strange shadow in the hallway of the F Building. It’s past midnight, there’s no way anyone would be walking around now. I notice that the shadow is moving in closer.

Holy ##########!

Mama! Papa! Help me! I’m sorry that I didn’t listen to you! I’m sorry that I misbehaved! I’m sorry that I always get home so late and that I ride the bike around at night! I’m sorry that I don’t call you when I spend the night at a friend’s place! I promise I’ll be good from now on! I won’t do anything to make you upset anymore! Please help me! T[]T!

While I’m losing my mind and banging my head against the wall, I can feel a warm hand touching my shoulder. I’m shaking even worse now. I’m dead. I’m so dead!

“What the hell, Noh?! What are you doing standing there shaking like a leaf? Don’t you wanna go home?!” Wait a second. That voice sounds familiar. I slowly turn my head to see the source of the voice. Earn and Phun are laughing their asses off.

“Fucking hell! I thought you guys left! It’s so fucking scary!”

“You’re scared of ghosts. The guys are gonna have a field day making fun of you tomorrow.” Earn teases me by pointing at me and laughing. Whatever! Wouldn’t you be scared too?!

“It’s your ########## fault, Earn! Didn’t you tell me that you were gonna get Phun? But then you were gone so I assumed you went home.” I continue speaking and swat his hand away. I turn my attention back to putting on my shoes, I can hear Phun’s deep chuckles.

“We were chatting and lost track of time. Right?” The handsome student council secretary nods at the president of the cheer team. I can see Earn grinning widely, showing off his cute dimples as we make our way to the school’s gate.

Once we arrive at the gate, Earn turns around to ask us a question. “Oh, so how are you all getting home? Phun, you’re dropping Noh off, right?”

“Yeah.”

I stare at Earn’s face as I am thinking, then I remember that his house is on the complete opposite side from our homes. “How are you getting home, Earn?”

“I’ll just hail a cab. You guys take care.” He says as he waves at a taxi that happens to be passing by just in time. I wave goodbye when the taxi drives off. Now, it is just Phun and I standing here waiting for a taxi of our own.

I glance at his face, noticing his sharp features with a hint of exhaustion and I grow concerned. “Aren’t you tired? Having to go back and forth like this?” I can see the fatigue on his face. I wouldn’t want this young master to fall ill again, his parents are going to start accusing me of torturing him.

“I’m fine. How can I just let you go home all by yourself?” Jeez, he’s being such all kinds of chivalrous again. Look at that, he’s giving me an encore of those sweet gazes.

I let out a huge sigh. “I always go home alone, so don’t get all dramatic on me.” There isn’t much I can do other than voicing my complaints. Phun chuckles softly just as a taxi is passing by.

“To Ekkamai, please.” Phun tells the cab driver. This means that he’s dropping me off first since he lives in Thong Lo. I hear the driver muttering a reply, then Phun opens the door wide to let me get in before him. Way to treat me like a lady. I’m too sleepy and too tired to think too much of it so I climb inside.

The meter is clicking along while the radio is playing softly. I listen to the slow song, it only makes me drowsier.

Let me just sneak in a nap. Phun knows the way to my house anyway, I don’t think I need to stay awake. Once my brain processed these thoughts, my eyes immediately close.

Just as I am about to fall asleep, I hear a deep, yet cheerful, voice coming from Phun. “Long day, huh?”

“Mmm…” It’s all this sleepy person can muster.

Phun continues with the questions. “How was my band? We were good enough?”

“Mmm…” I still only have enough energy for a one-word reply.

“Are you hungry? Should we stop somewhere and get something to eat?”

Ugh, what’s with the questions? I just shake my head as a reply at this point. I’m too freaking sleepy.

However, Phun doesn’t pick up on this. “How about the congee in Thong Lo?”

“No…” I’m sleepy, don’t you get that?

Phun goes quiet for a moment before he starts speaking again. “Noh…are you mad at me?”

What?! This wakes me up a little. I’m wondering why the hell I would be mad at him. I don’t have a single clue. What a bunch of nonsense. Plus, I’m way too sleepy to think about anything else. “Nooo.”

“Hey, I’m sorry…about Aim.” Sorry? Why is he apologizing? About Aim? What about her?

I furrow my brows but don’t give him a reply since I figure that it isn’t that important. But it seems like Phun misunderstands this.

He’s giving me these overly long excuses instead. “She’s the type that if she wants to go somewhere then she’ll get there no matter what. Even if I had said no to her, she would’ve shown up anyway. Do you know what I mean, Noh?”

“Mmm…” Oh, that’s what he’s talking about. I didn’t think any of it and I do understand him.

“Noh. Please don’t be like this…” Well, if I wasn’t mad before then I am about to be.

“What?” There’s a hint of annoyance in my voice.

“I dropped Aim off because I had to. But with you? I came to get you because I wanted to, Noh. Don’t be pissed at me like this.”

This student council secretary is way off the mark. I already said that I wasn’t mad so I wasn’t mad! At this point, my patience runs dry. I suddenly open my eyes wide and stare at his face.

My lips move faster than I can think. “Look, I didn’t mind. I don’t give a ##########. You can bring her or take her wherever the hell you want to. That’s your call. Do you get it now? I don’t give a flying ########## what you do!” There! Hopefully, he’ll understand and let me sleep now. After I told him, I think (or assume) that everything is all cleared now up so I close my eyes, hoping to get my rest.

Before I can fall asleep, I hear a monotone voice coming from Phun.

“Right. It was silly of me to assume that you’d care. I forgot for a moment that I actually don’t mean anything to you. I can’t even be compared to Earn.” Eh? That doesn’t even have anything to do with this. I wake up with a frown and look at his odd expression when I hear the last sentence.

“What’d you say?” But before I can get my answer, the taxi stops in front of my house.

Phun grabs my school bag and hands it to me and then he tells me, “Sweet dreams, Noh.” However, the look on his face is the complete opposite than what he’s telling me.

I’m so sleepy. I’m so confused.

Did I do something wrong?

But never mind. I’m awfully sleepy. I just want to get to my bed. Zzzz.

***

After sleeping for six hours, my body is starting to feel refreshed and energized like before. How did I get home last night again? I can’t quite remember. I recall Phun being in cab with me. Once I got home, I flung my shoes and socks off and went upstairs. I didn’t even take a shower, it was utterly disgusting.

Sleeping helps with my mood though. I’m also very glad that the prelims went smoothly. It’s a big relief.

I walk into the school with a huge smile on my face this morning. As I whistle a cheerful tune, I spot Phun with folders in his hand, heading to the main office. And like usual, I automatically wave at him.

But…he isn’t waving back at me. He stops to stare at me for a short moment before he disappears into the main office.

What the hell is up with him?

I stand here feeling stunned when nong Mawin (Per’s best friend from the club) greets me respectfully. Huh, maybe Phun didn’t see or did something has gotten into him again? Whatever. I turn to accept nong Win’s greeting and we head inside together, although I’m still curious.

After that, the day went by in an oddly familiar way. Phun noticeably gave me the cold shoulder. I thought something was off this morning when he didn’t wave back like he normally does. He even completely ignored me when he was heading to class. There wasn’t even a glance. What the hell is going on with you?! Do you suddenly need glasses?! Whatever. I became aware that I’m being given the cold shoulder but I’m not as sad about it this time around because I’m still so bewildered. What exactly did I do to him?!

I decided to prove that something is definitely off by submitting a project proposal in person at the student council office (I usually have an underclassman doing this kind of stuff) because I really do want to know if he’s ignoring me for real or not. (I even brought Om along, just in case) Once the two of us got there, he was typing away on the keyboard. His attention was on the screen, he didn’t even look up at me. Then he coldly told me, “You can just leave those papers on the desk.”

What the hell, man?!

Hmph! Don’t think that I’ll try to make things up with you!

I left the office feeling very irritated because I realized that it was clear that Phun was giving me the cold shoulder. Even Om had something to say about it. “The ########## are these married couple fighting about now? Can you just go patch things up with your husband or wife or whatever? This is so annoying.” What?! Why should I be the one doing that?! What did I do wrong?!

It has been a sucky day so far because that jerk kept giving me attitude. Whenever we saw each other, he kept glancing downwards while looking upset. (Seriously, what the ##########?) I had no idea when I stepped on his tail. Since he was giving me attitude, I decided to do the same in return. The problem was I couldn’t give do that to the person specifically so I ended up giving attitude to everyone that happened to be around me. I threw a fit when someone barely did something that rubbed me the wrong way. I was in a foul mood and I had no idea how it got that bad.

“Just think carefully. What the hell did you do to him?” At last, Om can no longer take any of this (since he’s the closest, he got the worst of it) and decides to ask me during the lunch break. He is probably so annoyed since I’ve been grouchy since this morning. Well, if I had known what I did to Phun then I wouldn’t be this grouchy!

“I don’t know! I didn’t do anything. Ugh, I’m over it.”

“So did he actually come back here to pick you up last night?”

“Yeah, he did.”

“You two really are like a married couple. So did you do something to upset him while you two were doing it?”

“ ########## you. We got into a cab and he dropped me off at my house. I was sleepy, I can’t remember much. Right, I was so sleepy but he kept trying to talk to me on the way there but I can’t remember what he was talking about exactly.”

“And then what? Keep thinking, ##########.” It seems like Om is paying very close attention to this, doesn’t he? But he’s not. He’s just saying things while lifting the bowl to sip the soup, leaving me going insane alone with my thoughts.

Anyway, what happened in the cab again? “Then what happened…? Well, he kept trying to talk to me and I got really pissed off so I…I…”

“Look, I didn’t mind. I don’t give a ##########. You can bring her or take her wherever the hell you want to. That’s your call. Do you get it now? I don’t give a flying ########## what you do!”

Oh. ##########. Now I completely understand. Those words are replaying inside my head like someone hits rewind. I’m fucked. I had just only realized how harsh I was with him.

“Hey…” I quietly get Om’s attention once I recognized what I had done.

“What?”

“I remember what I did…”

“And? Did you do something wrong?”

“I did…” Om lets out a sigh. He wearily shakes his head at me.

He puts down the chopsticks. “Then go and make it up to your husband or wife. I’ve had it up to here with you. You kept yelling at people and then you turn around and you have that sad puppy look on your face. You’re a mess, kinda like when my mom is on her period. Just hurry up and go patch things up with him, man.” This ##########. Not only he chases me away, he kicks my seat from under the table too. ########## you! You think you’re so tough?! This is a long bench, so a couple of underclassmen sitting on the other end flinch because Om kicks it rather hard.

“Yo, you scared those guys.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just get out of here. I’m gonna head to the club room. I’m teaching nong Mick how to play the horn.”

“What the hell, man? Rumor has it that Film is real protective of that one.”

“Well, Film doesn’t know how to play the horn so he asked me to help instead. Can you not start ########## with me? Go patch things up with your dad.” Om tells me as he waves me off. He gets up to collect the bowls so I stand up at pat his shoulder twice.

“Alright, see you in the afternoon.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He brushes me off before we both go our separate ways to deal with our own things.

I leave the cafeteria in a daze since I’m not sure where I can find the person Om lovingly refers to as my ‘dad’. Does that jerk even eat lunch at our cafeteria? I didn’t see him. It wouldn’t have been hard to spot someone like Phun Phumipat if he had been there. Maybe he’s having lunch over at the convent again? Now what? Should I call him first? But…if someone had been that harsh with me, I would’ve blocked and deleted their number the second after they had said those things.

Why do I run my mouth off when I get sleepy anyway?! I’m about to go crazy here!

I wonder as I smack myself in the head as punishment for saying those awful things. While I’m walking around aimlessly, I spy the back of the student council president not too far from where I am.

I run up to him in a haste. “Fi!”

“Yo! You scared me! What is it, Noh? Oh! Is my band is through to the next round?!” Jeez, don’t get all Psycho on me. I frown and stare at the person with a wide grin on his face, revealing his braces in all their glory.

“You’re funny! The results aren’t out yet! Where’s Phun? Where is he?” This is what I wanted to ask him.

Fi gives me a puzzled look as if I had said something I shouldn’t have said. “He’s been hanging with you a lot lately though. So if you don’t know where he is, I certainly don’t.”

“Well, he got mad and ditched me. I don’t know where he is. Can you call him and find out for me? Come on, come on, come on?” I begin to act like a 3 year-old who is clinging to an adult because he wants a toy. Fortunately, Fi is nicer than most people. When I pull this stunt, people usually shove me away.

“What’s with you two? Like, you’re actually quarreling? Uh, give me a sec then.” See? This student council president is worth being friends with. I stand and wait for Fi as he makes a call to the student council secretary. It doesn’t take long for the other line to answer the call.

“Yeah, Phun. Where are you? Yeah, yeah, where are you? The gym? Okay then. Are you gonna be there for a while? Oh, it’s nothing. Someone is on their way to see you. Yeah, yeah. Just stay here. Heh heh. Yeah, okay.”

“Thanks so much, Fi!” I hug him by the neck and shake violently after he hangs up the phone to show my appreciation. (Is this really the best way to do that?) After that, I rush to the gym just as I had heard him say.

Once I arrive at the gym, I see that Phun really is here. It seems like he’s getting ready for the physical education class since he has changed his pants. I know that he saw me because he looked at me but then he had the nerve to look away. How long are you gonna keep this up?!

I stand here awkwardly for a moment until someone calls out my name. “Oh! Noh!” But it isn’t Phun. It’s Thum, Phun’s classmate. He used to be our club but he had to quit last semester because his father thought that he should be focusing on his studies instead. My pa is like that too but…I don’t listen to him. Hahaha. (Sorry, Pa!)

“How’ve you been, Thum? You haven’t stopped by the club room at all, man.” I greet him just as he walks over to me. I notice that Phun runs off to play basketball with his friends without so much as looking back at me.

Thum shoves my shoulder lightly. “Bullshit, I’ve been dropping by. You’re the one that hasn’t been there lately. What the hell kind of a club president are you?” Oh, really? Hahaha. It’s true that I’ve been popping in and out lately. Fortunately, I have Om staying behind like a spirit haunting the place. He’s been keeping me up to date on things, otherwise I’d gotten chewed out my the seniors. I let out a dry chuckle and he continues asking me questions.

“So what are you doing here? Are you here to see someone?”

“Yeah, I came to find Phun. Can you get him for me? He’s being an ########## right now.” Leave it to me to slip in an insult here and there. Well, he is being such an ########## though. He’s not willing to hear me out at all.

“What’s with you guys?” Thum looks confused but he turns around to call out to Phun for me anyway. “Phun! Phun! Phun! Phun! Phun, you ########## ##########!” See? He’s being an ########## even to his own classmate. I pity Thum for having to shout so loudly to get Phun’s attention that he’s nearly hoarse.

“Okay, he definitely is being an ##########. I’ll take care of this.” This time Thum is the one feeling pissed off. I can tell because he races towards Phun in the middle of the basketball court in the gym. This is quite satisfying to watch.

Those two exchange some heated words before Phun walks over to where I am with a weary expression on his face. What do I do now? What should I say to him?

“How may I help you, Noh?” Jeez, and he shows up speaking formally to me like this? It is gonna take forever to patch things up with him.

I begin by being myself. “So…what the hell were you doing?”

However, Phun’s reply is less than favorable. “Swimming, perhaps?” ########## it, can’t he take this seriously?!

“Fu–” I almost cursed at him but I decide to stop myself since I’m here to make up with him so I need to be nice. “Fu…n? You having fun?” I switch to the a different word.

Phun seems to be taken aback by this, probably because he doesn’t know how to answer. Usually, he would say something obnoxious in return. But this time he is very still. He isn’t playing long. I’m starting to feel dishearten.

I decide to just scratch my head and get to the point. “Hey…why are you so mad? I didn’t mean those stuff I said. Last night…I was really sleepy. Come on, don’t be like this.”

“…” Silence. The number you have dialed is currently unavailable, please try again later. It seems like he isn’t even listening to what I’m trying to explain to him at all. He turns around and nods to his friend in the court before he turns back to face me with a cold expression.

“Is there anything else you need? I have to go.” Liar. The lunch break won’t be over for a long while. What? Is it such a hassle to stay and talk to me? At any rate, I don’t want to keep pestering since he might get annoyed.

“Yeah. Go ahead…” Even though I tell him that he can leave, I can’t help but feel hurt by this deep down inside. The moment Phun turns his back intending to walk away, I suddenly feel frighten and at a loss.

My hand moves faster than my brain can process and I grab his arm. “Hey…”

“What? He asks me, sounding quite hostile. Y___Y Feeling a little dejected, I search my pocket for a piece of candy that I often carry around with me and share it with him.

“Here…in case you get sleepy later in the afternoon. It’ll help.” Hey, this is a priceless treasure, you know!

I hand him the candy. I’m not sure if I’m seeing things, but I swear that Phun cracks a small smile before he goes back to being stone-faced. “Yeah…thanks.” He tells me simply before he accepts the candy and walks away from me. Ugh, he gets upset too easily!

I even came all the way here to try and make up with you. If you insist on staying angry then I’m not gonna bother trying anymore! Blah!