CHAPTER 45 : COULD YOU TRUST IN ME =]

Time passes and Friday arrives. Today is the day our school’s band will be playing at the convent for their open house event. After a long and grueling meeting, they decided on sending my band there.

This had nothing to do with how my band is the best there is or anything as such, (we rarely ever practice together) but it was because no one wanted to go. Everyone gave a bunch of excuses like having too much homework to do, having so many reports to write or whatever else they could’ve come up with. It was rather strange that no one wanted to go to the convent at all. In the end, I found out that Pao (the drummer for my band) lobbied with other club members that he refused to allow anyone to get in the way of his love life. He said that he would come back here with a new girlfriend from that convent. Well, then.

Phun was there the day I handed the formal absent requests so that we could play at the convent. (To be honest, I meant to go when he was working hoping that things would’ve been simple with his help) But when he realized that it would be my band playing he got real annoying. He kept saying that if he doesn’t get to go along with the band then he wouldn’t sign off on this. The student council handles these requests whenever students submit permission to be absent from the school. They are the ones who will check whether the claims are valid or not. Real funny. Last time Fi barely gave a damn when he signed off on this. We could be dying in some ditch for all he cared. He didn’t make a fuss like Phun at all. (So did I make a mistake with coming to Phun for this?)

We had a long argument about this. Phun had this obnoxious expression on his face that made me want to kick his ass. He refused to back down. I gave in to him and allowed him to tag along. Whatever. It’d be great to have extra set of hands to help carrying things.

We left the school around late in the afternoon on Friday so that we could bring our own instruments over to the convent. I was taken aback by what I saw at the gate once I got there. There was a fancy banner hanging up at the gate. “Welcome musicians from xxx” it said. Did they do this last year? I can’t quite remember.

A bunch of us walked inside and we were all confused. Some of the underclassmen tagged along to help carry the stuff we brought. It was puzzling how welcoming and appreciative their music club members seemed to be. (Jeed was the first face that I saw.) The girls led us to the dressing room which had everything we could possibly have asked for. I kept staring in the mirror just to see if I was still the same Noh or if I had turned into p’Toon from Bodyslam (they might’ve made a mistake since we are even in terms of good looks). What the heck? Last year, all we had was a tent set up near the open grass.

We all thanked the students there before we carried the instruments on the stage to set them up. It is currently empty since the rest of the event are happening out in the open space. There are some junior high school girls watching us setting everything up and doing the soundcheck.

“Are you tired, Noh?” While I am plugging in the amplifier, Jeed walks over and hands me some water. It’s rather biased of her though, considering that I am working under the shades and it’s quite comfortable while Art and nong Knott are working under the scorching sun. They are the ones that should be taken care of so I turn her down.

“I’m not tired. Do you mind getting some water to my friends over there by the soundboard? They’re probably dying in the heat.” What I said must’ve struck a nerve with her since she seems a little dismayed. “Oh…my friends will be doing that anyway” She tells me and continues with the conversation. “Have you eaten anything yet?”

“Noh, eat this. It’s so fucking good.” Before I can give her an answer, Phun’s voice interrupts us. Not only that, he stuffs a huge takoyaki in my mouth. Asshole! It’s burning hot!

“Add-ole! It-ot!” I turn to curse at the guy who’s standing there giggling to himself. This is actually delicious though, I’ll give him that. I wonder where he bought these from. Once I got over the burning sensation, I used the chance to ask him and found out that there are food stalls set up over there. Phun was finalizing everything with the teachers and they were kind enough to give some free samples. Aside from the takoyaki, I noticed that he has plenty of other things such as custard buns, quail eggs, and some spicy noodle salad. Whenever there are food involved, Phun and I will usually have a lengthy discussion. I don’t even know when Jeed left the stage area.

“Noh! Why didn’t you call me and let me know that you got here already?!” But then Yuri’s high-pitch voice can be heard. I turn to look at her in the midst of my chat with Phun while still holding a couple of screws with my mouth. She’s waving at me from the front of the stage.

“We just got here. Are you coming to watch us?” I shout back at her and she gives me a smile.

“Of course! But I gotta go make some khanom khrok first! Hehehe!” I’m guessing she’s running a dessert stall. How cute is that? I nod at her before Yuri rushes off while wearing her seemingly messy apron.

“Somebody sure is popular.” Eh? Phun’s sarcastic tone is making me turn to look at him. He puts on an oblivious expression on his face before he walks around to share the food with everyone else.

My watch told me that it was 3:30 pm, and it was for us to start playing. There was a beautiful female MC (Who was she? She was freaking gorgeous) that kicked off the show and introduced us to the audience which was made up of girls entirely. First some games were played. And like, I got that games were parts of the show but I didn’t get why we needed to be the ones giving out the winning prizes? I mean, I’m not a school headmaster. -_-”

At any rate, let’s just say that everything was pretty fun. =] Pao seemed to be pleased since he had the chance to check out the girls. He was chatting with the two female MCs backstage. Jeed was trying to start a conversation with me too. (I noticed that she kept trying several times.) But it was difficult since I apparently belonged to the people today. Someone would call me to go somewhere, then someone else would try to chat with me. (At the very least, Phun was one of those people.)

We helped the two MCs with giving out prizes and playing various games for a long while before it was time for the band to begin the show. Today, I will be both the guitarist and the lead singer. I give the girls a small hello and am greeted with loud screams.

They sure are a lot louder than the last time we were here.

We’re a bit stunned by this but there’s that English phrase ‘The Show Must Go On’ (whatever that means, it sounds cool so I’m using it) and Pao starts the drum intros for “That Thing You Do” by The Wonders. We played this for the opening song last year too. The screams are insane. So if they’re so into this, how can we as musicians not have fun along with them?

I sing and laugh once I see Yuri doing some traditional Thai dance moves from far away (in front of a building). I find this to be hilarious. The song I’m singing is rather cute, couldn’t she have chosen different moves that would go along with this? I burst out laughing on the stage. Yuri notices that and she keeps at it. If anything, she should be the one feeling embarrassed.

Phun is hiding himself near the soundboard with nong Knott. He is only a few meters away from the stage. Although, I think he may have lost it since he can’t seem to stop grinning like a mental patient. He keeps on smiling at me and I’m starting to get shy. But whatever! We both can be mental patients as we keep on smiling to one another like this the whole time. ^____^

After “That Thing You Do,” we continue with “Can I Hug You?” by Skykick Ranger. Om was the one who chose this song. (I wonder who it is you wanna hug, hmph!) I’m kidding, we normally play these upbeat songs for cheerful events like this one (so that the patrons will have even more fun). And this is why we needed to drag nong Mum and his friends on the stage. We need them to play the wind instruments. (There are the three of them. Nong Mum, nong Heng and nong Loy. How come nong Mick isn’t here though? It’s better this way, I guess. If he were here on the same stage with Om, he probably wouldn’t be able to focus and play the wrong notes anyway.) While I sing the line ‘I want to hug you, can I do that?’ I reach out and throw my hands all over everyone by the front of the stage and the girls shriek in delight (follow by their arms reaching out for me). Jeez, this is the first time I ever feel like I’m good looking. It’s really funny, hahaha. After that, we switch over to a rock song, something an all-male band would normally do. We can’t keep playing these cute songs or people will start saying that we’re not manly enough. (Well, I think that I am though!) This song is our signature song and every member of the music club knows this song. It’s “Not So Handsome” by Modern Dog, heh heh. Even though that I am handsome (please don’t throw up, you shouldn’t be wasting food) I still like singing this song because it is easy to sing. (What? Who just said that I’m being lazy?!) The beat is nice and cool too. I love these type of songs where it jerks back and forth from being a quick pace to a slower one. It’s fun when I play them. It’s quite satisfying, like you get a chance to release some steam (how exactly?). Let’s just say that I like these kinds of song. Pao is covering the rapping parts by Fucking Hero. He’s awesome, isn’t he? He can rap and play the drums at the same time too. My friend is awesome!

After we finished with “Not So Handsome” (sung by someone handsome) we take a short break and drink some water. Then, we continue with “This Song Has To Do With Love” by Silly Fools. =] It’s almost a slow song, but not exactly slow. Well, I don’t really know how to make sense of it. If you expect us to play 7 fast beat songs in a row then we’d end up dead. (Not that we can’t since we all only eat and sleep so we have the energy for it) We decide to slow things down with this song and give ourselves a break while allowing the audience to sway along with the music. I admit that my voice isn’t comparable to p’Toe. (How do you sing the last syllables like he does? Where do you learn to do this stuff?) We lowered the pitch a bit but it is still enjoyable. I mean, I’m not a great singer or anything in the first place. (I never had any lessons. All I ever did was singing karaoke with that bastard Om.) Basically, if it is passable then I’m fine with it. (Sounds like an excuse though.) Phun starts to laugh when the notes were lowered out of the blue. You jerk, you would’ve made this song sound even worse than me! (Case in point, the recent Live Contest event.)

Since we already had our break, we can’t do another slow song so let’s bring the moods up a bit. It’s unbelievable how it only takes Om playing two chords, E and A, and the girls scream their lungs out as if they know exactly which song this is.

You guys might be able to guess that we’re about to play “Wavering” by Bodyslam. I’m as hot as p’Toon today anyway, I might as well go with the flow. Heh heh heh. Bodyslam songs are hard to sing but they’re so much fun to play. Pao loves to play the drums from this band. Om and I love to play the guitar from them too. Poom is the only one with complaints since there aren’t much to do as the keyboard player. (Hey, it’s a rock song. You can take it easy for a song.) This song is a good way to gauge if the audience still has any energy left, especially in the middle of the song. I let over 500 girls in front of the stage to take my place as the lead singer. Everyone is singing along to their very best. I’m so pleased on p’Toon’s behalf because his song is so popular. (Although he’s probably sick of hearing that.) There’s one hiccup though and it is New (the bass player) who goes off key during the chorus (Oh oh oh, no no) despite singing along with Om, Poom and Pao. But for some unknown reason, he keeps singing higher than the rest of the guys.

It’s not a big deal though, I’m not too worried. =] (Because I nagged him so much that I’m sick of doing that, ha…)

After gauging the energy of the audience (and learned that they still have plenty left), we begin the next song right away. No more rock though, heh heh heh. I told you guys that I’m really into ska as of late. After fighting so hard against the guys, I was able to add this song to the set list. It is “What Ska Is?” by Skalaxy. This song is incredibly fun to play live, I’m telling you. Try it once and you’d be hooked. =]

Nong Mum, nong Heng and nong Loy are back on the stage after they got to rest for three songs. I notice that they’re doing some choreography too, when did they practice this? At any rate, they’re quite adorable. And honestly, you can’t underestimate nong Mum even if he is chubby. A bunch of junior highs are screaming for him. (I could feel it when he had the trombone solo.) Yuri is here now too, I wonder who she’s screaming for. It has to be me, right? It possibly can’t be for nong Mum, haha. (Did someone just call me conceited?) We barely have any stamina left by the time the song ends and we still have one more song to go. I told them that we should play this song last but no one listened to me. (This song uses a ton of energy for the singer, the players, the dancers and even the audience.) Truth be told, it is a better idea to close the show with that song though…

I take huge gulps of water (nearly finishing the entire bottle in one go) before I put down the guitar since I won’t need to play it myself for this song. My eyes are fixed on the set list in front of me, then I look up and see Phun who is smiling at me. (Actually, he has been smiling and hasn’t stopped ever since the first song to now, I wonder if his gums are dried up yet.)

I grin widely at Phun before I speak into the microphone and announce the title of the last song in a barely audible tone.

“Please have faith in me.”

In spite of the loud shrieking from the girls that overtake Pao’s snare drum intro, I can still see Phun very clearly in the midst of the crowd. He is still smiling at me just as I’ve been hoping to see this entire time.

When we were practicing, I didn’t choose this song for him specifically. But if he hears this and realizes it is about him then it’d be great, wouldn’t it?

I smile at him once more before I grab the microphone and sing the first line of the song.

“I want you to be with me

Every single day, would that be possible?

I want to love you, always

To have you in my heart

I want to be that person

That you’d always dream about

I want to look after your heart

For you”

I raise my arms and clap along to the snare drum rhythms, inviting everyone to clap along with me. Phun is grinning as he claps along when the hook arrives.

I’m aware that I simply cannot stop smiling.

“Have faith in me and be certain

I will never disappoint you

I will hold you, no matter what

I’ll only ask that you trust me just once

I want you to know that I am here

I will look after you, never leaving

I’ll do it all for you with my whole heart

Just let me love you

Oh, yeah”

The girls are yelling something unintelligible but my eyes are fixed on Phun who is standing there and giving a thumbs up from the soundboard area. Unfortunately, since he has been keeping his attention on me, he fails to notice that nong Knott is conspiring against him.

Phun is shocked when nong Knott decides to take off his headphone, leaving it on the soundboard, and pushes him to the stage area. Even Om, New, who is playing his solo, and the rest of the guys on stage are still confused as to what is happening by the time Phun stands so close to me that our bodies are touching.

I stare at Knott, feeling perplexed because I wasn’t ready for this. He’s the only one grinning to himself before he whispers something to my ear. “Sing together, p’. Heh heh.”

This brat! I can’t kick his ass since I’m on stage but I’m making a mental note to do so once we’re done here.

Om looks at me mockingly while a staff member drags a microphone over for Phun. He chuckles shyly but agrees to sing with the band. As I wait for the solo to be over, I quickly calculate on how I should sing so we can make it out of this without embarrassing ourselves in case Phun goes off key and sings too low again. (Hahaha.)

Then, Om plays the guitar and looks at Phun for a moment as a signal that he’ll need be singing soon. Phun nods with a smile before he perfectly harmonizes with me.

“Have faith in me and be certain

I will never disappoint you

I will hold you, no matter what

I’ll only ask that you trust me just once

I want you to know that I am here

I will look after you, never leaving

I’ll do it all for you with my whole heart

Just let me love you

I want you to know that I am here

I will look after you, never leaving

I’ll do it all for you with my whole heart

Just let me love you

Oh, yeah”

We jumped up and down with our arms around each other’s neck and sang the rest of the song together. (It was exhausting.) Yuri was jumping around while screaming louder than anybody else too. (I noticed that she was saying “That’s my boyfriend! That’s my boyfriend!” to her friends. I can read lips!) By the time it was all over, I was soaked in sweats and barely had any strengths left.

Phun is panting and sweating too. (And you only sang half a song.) I suppose it was because of the spotlight that was shining brightly at us. Even so, he seems to be happy. We smile at one another before taking each other’s hand and bow to the audience. We bid our goodbyes with camera flashes pouring over us. While we are thanking everyone, I am reminded of something.

What about Aim?

I haven’t seen her at all ever since I got here!

Did Phun see her?! Did he ask to tag along because he’s already over her or was it because he wanted to see her?! I can’t help but let my imagination run wild.

However, I don’t know if Phun can read what’s going on inside my head or what but he lets go of my wrist and grabs a wet towel on top of the large amplifier. He throws it over my head before my mouths something inaudibly.

“I…do…”

If that’s the case, then I should have faith in Phun too. =]

***

After we finished playing, it felt like we’ve turned into DBSK (the nerves of me to make such a comparison) because all the girls were mobbing all around us. To put it simply, we couldn’t get off the stage by ourselves and the staff members who belong to the convent’s music club had to help us.

We make our way with much difficulty through the flashes from numerous cameras. (I totally understand what it feels like to be a superstar today.) We finally get to take a breather once we arrive back at our safe haven which we call the dressing room.

“Knott, what kind of stunt do you think you were pulling?” I quickly get on that 10 grader’s case once we get back to the room. His ass is probably bruised from all the kicks but he still laughs gleefully. “Eh? But I saw that you kept staring at p’Phun so I thought that you wanted him to sing with you.” Listen to that excuse of his! He better watch his mouth!

“Seriously, you almost ruined everything by making Phun sing.” I mutter some complaints and tease Phun about it at the same time. The guy in question immediately stops drinking the water and stares at me. “Whaaa?”

Everyone breaks into huge laughter while clapping happily and even New is playing the tambourine. “Yeah, and I had to lower the pitch.” Poom, the keyboard player, jokes and everyone laughs once more. Phun scratches his head.

“Was I that bad? Sorry, guys!” He apologizes to everybody in the room. Each of us teases one another without any sign of surrendering.

Not long after, the door opens and a couple of girls enter the room. (We immediately go quiet.) One of those girls is Jeed and they’re here to give out custom keychains in the shape of a doll to us. Due to the various colors available, we decide to just close our eyes and pick one at random instead of being fussy like we normally are.

I watch as my friends celebrate when they get lucky and pick the one they wanted. Some of them cry out in disappointment when they didn’t get the one that they wanted, to which I find funny. Jeed sneaks up next to me and shows me all the keychains. “Which one do you want, Noh? I’ll let you choose.” Eh? I get to choose?

I look at her, feeling puzzled, while I’m deciding on whether or not I should choose one. But then, Phun picks out one and gives it to me. “I picked one for you. Take this one.” Way to spoil things for me, jerk. I actually wanted the other one. But never mind that. “Thank you, but that’s okay.” I turn to smile at Jeed and then I accept the keychain from Phun instead. She seems displeased by this, but Om distracts me when he yelps loudly because he picks out the doll wearing a girl scout uniform. Hahaha, serves you right!

After that, we hang out and chat for a while since it is still crowded outside, it would be difficult to carry the instruments around. During the conversation, I hear a tone from my phone. It tells me that I have a text message.

‘I can’t go inside because of those music club girls, honestly!

Sender: Yuri’

Eh? Why not? I furrow my brows in confusion after reading the text. I search around the room for someone that might be able to help me with this but only Jeed is still around. I have no choice but get her attention. (I refrain from talking to her because I feel like Phun acts strangely every time Jeed hangs around me.) She walks over with a big smile on her face.

“What’s up, Noh?”

“Is it possible for Yuri to come in here? She texted me and said that she couldn’t get in.” Her smile fades and a long sigh replaces it.

“I’m afraid not. Only the musicians and the music club members are allowed in this room.” What the heck?! What’s with the insane security measures? I’m not some sort of a sultan. Jeez! I’m annoyed by this but I’m choosing to let it go. It’s fine if Yuri can’t come in here, I’ll just call her once I get home.

The clock tells us it is over 5 pm now so it is time for us to move the equipment from from the stage. There are plenty of junior high girls who keep asking for photos with me while we’re cleaning up. At first, I was bewildered and I didn’t know what kind of a pose I should’ve been making. When I take photos with my friends, we usually compete on who can make the most disturbing faces. But these girls were asking nicely, they probably didn’t want anything disturbing for a photo. So how was I supposed to make a handsome face? Nobody ever taught me that. I was going to ask Phun for some input (since making a handsome face is his hobby) but a bunch of senior girls were taking photos with him too. I suppose I didn’t need to ask him, my face is always handsome no matter the expression anyway. Heh heh.

We continued with packing up things and took photos with the students for a while before the convent’s music club made an announcement through the speakers asking the students not to get in the way of our work. (Otherwise, we’d be here until 9 pm if we keep this up) Things got a little easier to deal with after that. We were able to pack up our things without any further interruptions.

I was rolling up the wires as I made a call to Per and the rest of the guys to come help carry everything. It didn’t take long for them to arrive (any excuse to come to the convent). We gradually made our way out of the convent while carrying everything with some difficulties. The junior high girls were crowding us the moment we step down from the stage again. (Jeez!) They were quite strong too. We didn’t dare to move around too much since we were afraid that we’d accidentally hurt them. All I could do was swaying back and forth while carrying an electric guitar on my back, two music sheet stands plus a box of wires. This was truly an emergency situation.

I was being shoved around in the middle of a riot for a while with flashes from camera coming from all around me. I started to feel dizzy and all I could see were purple spots. I knew I was in trouble, but then Jeed somehow was able to get through the crowds and grabbed my arm.

“Excuse us!” She scolds the underclassman first before she turns to speak to me. “Noh, you should come with me instead.” Her hand is still tightly wrapped around my arm. Um, is this a good idea? I’m not really sure but I’m choosing not to argue since I notice that once Jeed came over to grab my arm, the junior high girls have started to calm down.

I don’t get a chance to follow her very long before another small hand grab a hold of my other arm.

“I can take him. He’s my boyfriend, I’ll look after him myself.” It’s Yuri! Where’d you come from?! I thought you went home already! I stand with my mouth agape as I stare at Yuri. I look at her, then back at Jeed who doesn’t seem like she wants to let go. Neither of them are willing to surrender.

“This is the matter of the music club, Yu.”

“Work time is over, now it’s time for a couple to be together.” The two begin to argue, leaving me completely baffled at first, but then I’m able to piece things together little by little.

“Uh…” I should probably say something. But…what do I say?!

Grab

Before the two girls can decide on the winner and before I could say anything, a third party enters and grabs a hold of me. He also takes the two stands in my head and helps me out.

“Lemme help you with those. Thanks so much, girls. I’ll take Noh back to school myself.” The end. Phun Phumipat breaks into a smile for both Yuri and Jeed before he semi-drags me by the neck and we leave the convent together.

I quickly turn around to wave goodbye to Yuri as she does the same. Then, I turn my attention back to this student council secretary jerk who is still smiling and holding on to me securely.

“You’re such a smartass.”