CHAPTER 58: THE ARRIVAL OF FEAR

‘Don’t underestimate the power of the diet pills

We’d like to set it straight, we’ve got the look that kills’

Damn it, why is my phone waking me up this early?! I scratch my head irritatingly as I reach for my phone to mute p’Ploy Horwang’s singing. I barely slept for three hours. (I picked this song as my alarm so I could wake up in a happy mood when I hear her voice. Hehe.)

As the sound of the alarm dies down, I can feel the guy next to me starting to move. I turn to look at Phun whose eyes are still closed. And thus, I make the mistake of being too careless.

Who would’ve thought that this jerk, who seems to be in a deep slumber, would take this opportunity to reach around me with his octopus arms and pull me in for a hug?! Ugh, what’s with you?! We were sleeping on our side of the bed just fine earlier but now…

…it’s a thousand times better. ^_______^

I smile to myself because I thought he wasn’t going to hug me at first. (We played video games until it was 3 am, once our head hit the pillows we both passed out. There was no time for a cuddle, we were too sleepy.) I reach over to hug him in return. My head is pressed up against his wide chest. It feels broader each time I see him.

Just five more minutes, p’Ploy. I tell myself (and p’Ploy Horwang) silently. However…

“Fuck! What are you doing?!” That jerk’s hand begins to make its move. I slap it once as punishment because I didn’t give its owner permission to do as he pleases.

“Come on…just a little? We spent all night playing games last night. Come on? Please?” Don’t start begging. Who told you to play video games all night? (Oh…I did.) But whatever, it’s morning now! It’s different!

I put up a fight only to discover that trying to win against Phun Phumipat is harder than I thought. While I grab one of his hands, the other quickly continues where its pair left off. Ugh, where did you learn these moves?! I immediately latch my other free hand onto his. Now that both his hands have been caught, his lips begin to move instead.

“Mm…” I tilt my head to avoid his plump lips as he moves them from my forehead down to my ear. What a sly fox. This guy knows almost all of my weak spots. (But only almost.) Phun lets out a puff of air like how someone would when they’re trying to stifle a laugh. He can probably see how red my face is as he starts to slowly and gently bite my ear with his orange lips.

“Will you behave or do I need to make you behave? Hm?” Jeez…he uses threats nowadays? I glance at the handsome jerk who seems to be too energetic considering how early it is. I give him a look that’s a mixture of anger and irritation. “You really think that you can?” Of course, you gotta fight fire with fire, right? Yet, the person listening to my threat is laughing. He speaks in such a relaxed tone that fills me with dread.

“I suppose we’ll have find out, won’t we?” And before I can process what Phun is saying, his alluring face moves in close and offers the sweetness from his lips to mine. I keep my lips tightly shut and refuse to let him in easily. But by doing so, I shift my focus and happen to let go of his hands. Phun takes that opportunity to shove his newly free hand under my tank top.

My body trembles right away. Phun’s warm fingers always invoke a new and exciting feeling from me. It’s a feeling that is difficult to explain. It’s mysterious and enigmatic. I’ve changed clothes in a classroom plenty of times. I’ve had friends picking on me. But those physical contacts never meant anything. Phun is the only one who can arouse me with his touch.

Ah…you’re in trouble, Noh. I think to myself as Phun continues to press his lips against mine. It doesn’t feel like he’ll let up anytime soon either. He’s softly teasing me with his warm fingers. Fine, you can do whatever you want. I’m giving in. I allow his tongue to enter without putting up a fight, something is stirring inside me.

Our tongues intertwined, it’s difficult to tell who is leading whom. I only know that Phun is slowly pulling my tank top up with his warm palm. He runs his hand all over my chest and there’s a strange sensation running through me.

“Are we really doing this, Phun…?” I whisper to the guy who is now on top of me. I have no idea when that happened. (Really, when did this happen?!) Even if I tell Phun that I don’t want this, he would never believe me based on my tone of voice.

His plump lips shift their focus from my lips to my cheek. “As if I’d ever joke about this.” Is that his answer? I barely have the time to lie there and think when my mind goes completely blank as Phun leisurely rubs his nose on my neck. I can feel his breaths and they’re driving me wild.

“Wh…what time is it?” I try to distract him by asking for the time but he doesn’t seem to care at all.

“Don’t know.” He brushes me off in his deep tone of voice as he continues to kiss my neck and drags his tongue all the way down to my chest.

“We’re gonna be late…”

“Don’t care.” Ugh, what’s with this guy? I’m starting to feel hot all over and if I let this go on then we’ll definitely be here for a long while just as he wants.

As Phun moves his hand down to the edge of my boxer shorts, I get saved by the bell. Bingo!

‘I could be brown, I could be blue, I could be violet sky~’

Answer your damn phone!

“Phun, your phone’s ringing.”

“So?” And if you think someone like Phun Phumipat would just hop away to answer the call then you’d be sorely mistaken.

I try to turn myself away from his misbehaving hand. It’s still lingering around the edge of my boxer shorts as though he wants to tease me.

‘I could be hurtful, I could be purple, I could be anything you like~’

“You’re really not gonna answer that?”

“That, is not something I’d like to do right now.” Then what is it that you wanna do…? I ask silently even though I already know the answer. I let out a loud cry when this brat sinks his teeth into my chest.

“Do you think you’re a puppy or something?!” He bit me! I yell at him and smack his head once. Phun laughs heartily before he looks up to face me.

“I couldn’t help myself…” And listen to what he’s saying. Seriously? That’s not helping. I shake my head with a smile on my face. Phun isn’t taking his eyes off me.

“You’re not in the mood? I can stop. I’m not gonna force you to do this, Noh.” Uh…how should I answer him? I mean, I do want this…

“I want to but…”

‘Gotta be green, gotta be mean, gotta be everything more~’

I glance at his Nokia N81 as it continues to blare loudly with no sign of stopping and I surrender.

“Answer it. It’s pretty early, maybe it’s an emergency.”

“And what if it isn’t?” Ah…what does he mean by that question? I look into his eyes which are full of hope. On the other hand, I’m feeling a bit apprehensive.

“Then…we can continue our discussion…afterwards.” It seems Phun is quite pleased with my answer. -_- Once I see his bright expression, as if he’s the happiest kid in the world, I realize that I don’t want to miss out on any of this. He gives me a big kiss on my cheek before he rolls off me and grab his cell phone that’s still blaring away ever so loudly.

‘Why don’t you like me? Why don’t you like me? Why don’t you walk out the door?’

Beep.

“Hello? Yeah, I’m up. Not yet, why? I think I’ll be running a bit late this morning. Why? Wait, but you have your own keys, why do you want mine? Jeez, you’re such an idiot. Why do you need to be there so early anyway? Fine, fine, I’ll be there. I said I’ll be there. Yeah, yeah. See you.” Click.

Heh heh heh. I can tell what went on in that conversation. So, it was an important call after all. I smirk at Phun and he scowls as he ends his call. “Well, then. Shall we pick up where we left off?” I have the nerves to ask and mess with him because I know I’m holding all the cards.

But another mistake was made! The guy who just hung up the phone turns to me with a devilish smile. “We shall.” He suddenly pounces on top of me. Are you a tiger or something?! That’s so scary! I’m shrinking into a small ball once I see him acting like a tiger that’s about to consume a baby deer.

Phun’s tall nose continues to rub against my cheek, then he softly pecks me on the lips. “…Kidding! I really do have to go. That damn Fi left the keys to the student council office at home.” Ahahaha! That’s so satisfying to hear! I accidentally laugh out loud which makes Phun’s smile turn into a frown. He hits me on the head once. (Ah, it’s too early for that!)

“Take that! So I guess you really didn’t want to do it with me, huh?” Hey, hey. Now he’s gonna be mad at me again. I immediately shake my head to deny the accusation.

“It’s not that… It’s morning and I don’t want us to be late for school.” I’m being serious here. I explain the situation and Phun checks the clock. It’ll be 7 am soon.

“I’ll need something to hold me over.” You still won’t give up?! I furrow my brows, yet I’m still slower than Phun who leans in and steals a big kiss on my cheek. “That’ll do. Come on, let’s go take a shower or we’ll be late!” Oh, so now you’re rushing me?!

I sigh with chuckle to myself as he drags me by the wrist to the bathroom.

***

And now we’re in a rush just as I had expected.

I run down the stairs while I put my watch, which says it’s past 7 am now, around my wrist. “Are we late?!” We’re so dead if we get stuck in traffic!

However, Phun lets out a relaxed chuckle. “If we run late, then we run late. It can’t be helped.” Jeez, that’s easy for you to say. You’re the student council secretary. You’re everyone’s favorite so it doesn’t matter for you. But me? I’m done for if I’m late to school again!

Ugh, I’m about to collapse right here and now thinking about how I’ll have to do 50 squat jumps (not counting ones where I’ll have to start over because I’ll screw it up somehow). But if I lose it now, then I’ll definitely have to do those squat jumps. I tell myself to haul ass and rush into the kitchen to grab the sandwiches p’Ann made for us. “We’re leaving now!~”

“Good luck, nong Noh, nong Phun!” P’Ann and p’Im shout from behind us as we leave the house in a hurry. (We’re pretty much stepping on it.) “When do you need to meet Fi to give him the keys?” I turn to ask Phun while I’m still holding a sandwich with my mouth and shoving my shirt inside my shorts.

“I don’t know. But who cares? It’s his fault for forgetting anyway.” Wow, how nice of you. I’m going to expose how evil he can be to everyone at the school one of these days. They’ll be so surprised to learn that Phun Phumipat secretly is an asshole sometimes.

I find humor in his current carefree attitude and I’m feeling a whole lot better. The guy next to me is humming while we make our way to school as if there are 200 minutes in an hour. Alright then, if he isn’t in a rush then I’m not either.

So now we’re taking our time getting to school. We chat and play around. We also remember to shop at my usual fried dough stall located at the end of the street. They’re crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. I don’t care if people say eating these will make you fat because it’s oily. They make me happy. ^___^ (I only eat one in the morning! I do have some self control!)

Soon enough, the red bus we’ve been waiting for arrives and it’s beyond crowded. Ah, will we make it? Here goes nothing. We don’t have any other options but to take this one since we need to assume that there’d be traffic. (That’s the life when you live in the middle of this city. T___T) Knowing this, Phun and I slowly walk up the steps with much difficulty because we’re afraid that we might get stuck between the doors. Once we make it inside, we still need to wade through a crowd of people. Standing by the doors isn’t exactly a smart thing to do considering how you might accidentally fall out to your death without realizing it.

We weren’t pressed up against each other on the bus for long before we arrived at the skytrain station. Finally, our freedom! It isn’t too crowded on the train today. There’s room to stand comfortably. However, once I get a chance to look around the car, I notice that there are some students whose uniforms I don’t recognized mixed with the usual crowd. (Normally, there’d be students from my school, the girls from the nearby convent, and some office workers in the area.) As I glance around and try to stifle my curiosity, I get my answer when the train arrives at my destination.

There are numerous students from different schools walking inside my school in lines.

“Is there an event today?” I ask Phun while feeling a little dazed. I’m not aware of any special occasions my school might be hosting today. The handsome jerk raises his brows as though I just asked something that’s a common knowledge.

“There’s that High School Economics National Competition today. It’s taking place in the conference hall on the 9th floor.” Oh…that’s a thing? I shoot Phun a confused look. It isn’t that surprising that I haven’t heard of this though. I mean, they’ll be answering questions about economics. (-_-“) If there’s a concert or something like that, I’d be aware of that half a year in advanced, haha. (That’s a bit of an exaggeration though.) Speaking of students from other schools, I notice that there are a lot of girls sitting in groups all over the place from the gate to the new building.

“They’re so cute…” I can’t help but wonder out loud when I see the girls in red skirts from an all-girls school near Asoke. They’re sitting on the ground and helping each other study. I don’t get to dream for too long before a deep tone of voice interrupts me.

“Don’t even think about it.” Jeez, I can’t even do that?! I frown at Phun as he’s about to get smart with me. But before we can exchange words, we’re interrupted by that bastard Fi’s panicking voice.

“Phun, you fuck!” I told you to hurry and this is your idea of a hurry?! All the paperwork are in there!” Not only he’s causing a big scene, he jumps in up close and sticks his hand inside Phun’s shorts pocket too! (It’s like he knows where Phun keeps the keys.) I laugh as I watch Phun flinch real hard because he’s caught off guard with Fi sticking his hand down there.

“Don’t do that! They’re not in thereeeeee! Ahahaha!” Phun laughs loudly (because he’s very ticklish if you touch his upper thighs. I’m well aware of this, heh heh.) Phun tries to push the student council president off of him to avoid a major disaster.

“Then where are they?! Give them to meeeeee!” Fi refuses to surrender, he insists on searching for the keys himself. He sticks his hand into all of Phun’s pockets like his life depends on it. (Though, I think he’s just messing around with Phun.) A small war breaks out between the student council president and his secretary. The girls sitting nearby begin to give them weird looks.

What about your reputations? -_-…

I cackle while Phun is yelling for my help. (Keep on dreaming, I’m no saint. Heh heh.) After a little while, a perky voice that I don’t recognize can be heard.

“Oh! Phun!”

“Pam?” Eh? Who’s she? I don’t recognize the girl in front of us. I do recognize the uniform she’s wearing though. It’s from one of the best schools in the city. They don’t have initials sewn into their uniform, instead they only wear the school pin. She is quite cute too, cute enough for Fi to stop attacking Phun right away.

Phun takes this chance to break away from Fi and pulls out the keys to the student council office from his school bag. He hands them over while looking somewhat irritated. “Take them! And get the hell out of here, damn.” Haha, I guess he’s upset that Fi picked on him.

I wave at Fi who has a mocking expression on his face. Nevertheless, he runs back to the building without saying anything else. Phun turns his attention to the girl who had just joined us. “So what are you doing here, Pam? Are you participating in the competition?” Anyway, who the heck is she?

I stand nearby with a puzzled look on my face. I watch as the two carry on with the conversation. Phun is smiling widely and I walk over to stand next to him. “Of course, what about you? Are you a representative of your school as well, Phun?”

Phun seems quite relaxed. I can’t detect a hint of any negative emotion coming from him. “Nah, I’m not really into competing against anyone.” All I can do is watch how Phun is being friendly with this person so I make the assumption that they must be friends. They must be close too, I bet. It’s just that I’ve never met her before.

And slowly, I begin to feel like a third wheel.

“Ah, what a relief it is then. I won’t have to go up against you. I’d definitely submit my withdrawal if you’re competing too. Hehe.”

“You’re totally exaggerating now, hahaha.”

Hm…

“Do you know where it is, Pam?”

“The conference hall on the 9th floor, that’s all I know. I actually don’t know how to get there though. My friends and I are actually lost.”

“I see, I can take you there. It’s the same building as my classroom.”

“Really?!”

Why did I bother walking up next to him anyway…?

Phun continues making conversations with Pam in his familiar deep on of voice that I know too well. It’s the first time I’m meeting his friend and they’ve been talking non stop as we make our way inside the building together. I can’t even find a lull in the conversation to interject anything.

The three of us arrive at the elevator. There are several students from this school and others waiting here too. After a little while, the elevator door opens.

We let the people who were here first slowly enter the elevator before us. Luck is on our side, however, since there’s still some space left for the three of us. Naturally, Phun is being polite and letting Pam enter first. Then, Phun and I walk in together.

Beep.

Over capacity. All I had was a sandwich and one fried dough this morning though!

I stop and stare at Phum and we hesitate a bit since we were the last two to enter the elevator and now its alarm is ringing.

Phun lightly touches my shoulder and proceeds to speak softly. “I’ll go.” But then Pam protests in that perky voice of hers.

“Awww.”

At this point, there’s nothing else I can do other than…

I volunteer to leave the elevator and push Phun’s back so he can take my place. “Eh?” He cries out in protest.

“You should go drop Pam off. She doesn’t know where the conference hall is.” I’m being honest. I’m not saying this to spite him or anything like that.

Phun looks at me then switches to Pam as he takes a second to consider what seems to be a major decision for him. Then, he lets out a long sigh. “I’ll…catch up with you at your classroom after? See you.”

“No problems…” I give him a short answer and the elevator doors close. I let out an even longer sigh.

“Yo, Noh! What the hell are you doing here? Come on, let’s go play soccer!” Eh? Once the elevator doors close, I see Dong walks down the stairs with a soccer ball in hand. Awesome! I turn to see my huge group of friends making so much noise that the girls nearby are startled. (Haha, that’s how it is in an all-boys school. We’re vulgar and rude, you just gotta put up with us.) Great, now I have something to do to get my mind off things.

I glance at the closed elevator doors before I decide to run out of the building to join my friends.

Why in the holy hell is this so hot today?!

I think to myself, feeling extra grouchy. I’m in my Math class and the Masser is mumbling about something while he writes on the whiteboard. I suppose this has to do with how I got stuck in a crowded bus this morning, then I just had to play soccer before school started too. I’m all sweaty and icky. The air conditioner in this room feels like it isn’t even on. What the hell? Is it like a hundred degrees today or something?! What’s the point of spending so damn much on tuition if the school can’t even afford to install better air conditioners?!

“What the hell is the matter now?” As expected, Om is the first to notice that I’m in a foul mood. He uses his foot to kick my shin under the desks as he secretly plays a game on his Nintendo DS.

“It’s hot. Aren’t you hot?” I whisper back but he shrugs at me.

“Nah, it’s actually freezing in here.”

“What the fuck? It feels like it’s a hundred degrees in here.” He must’ve lost his damn mind. This place is fucking sauna. I think to myself as Om pauses his game. “A hundred degrees? What? All I noticed so far was you looking pissed off the entire period.” Oh, really…?

I scratch my head as I glance around the room. All of my classmates seem to be doing just fine. There’s nothing out of ordinary about them. (Pong is secretly snacking on something. Palm is napping. Keng is arguing with the Masser about how the answer on the board is incorrect. Dong is passing notes to Ken. Rodkeng and Em are secretly playing their PSPs.) Eh? So I’m the only one here who thinks that it feels hot?

“You’re hot and bothered, alright. Seems like you had a fight with your boyfriend.” What the hell is this bastard on about? I shoot Om a dirty look before I tut and turn my textbook to the next page.

“Yep. Definitely fought with Phun. I’m sure of it. What happened? Did he refuse to give it up to you last night, little buddy?” Om says as he touches my chin jokingly. The nerves of this guy! I whip my face away before I silently utter the words ‘fuck you’ to him.

“Yo, yo, yo. Why cuss at me when I’m only asking because I’m concerned about you?” Like hell you are. I look at him suspiciously. It’s obvious how nosy he’s being since I can see it so clearly on his face.

“We didn’t have a fight.” I deny, but it isn’t because I’m keeping things from my friend or that I don’t trust him. It’s just that I don’t even know what to tell him. I mean, maybe I’m just being dumb about this whole thing. Phun is nice to everybody. We all know that. It’s one of the things I love most about him. But for some strange reason, his niceness elicited this kind of a reaction from me today. I really am such a weirdo.

“Yo, come on. He did something to you, didn’t he? I’m gonna kick his ass.” Hey, hey, hey. Relax. I chuckle as I smack Om’s head once (for overreacting.) but before I can do anything else, a booming voice interrupts me.

“Napat! Tatchakorn! Is this really the time for you two to joke around?!” Aw, shit!

***

“Damn it, it was all your fault!”

“You were the one who started talking to me!”

“No, you were being loud!”

“Only because you were such a smartass!”

“Goddamn it! Cut that out! The both of you! Just go find something to eat! Go!” And Keng ends up being the one defusing the argument between Om and me. He pushes our back so that we’d go buy our lunch separately.

But how can I not complain about this though? It was because of that stupid conversation Om and I were having during Math which resulted in us being punished by doing 50 push-ups. (And we had to do it over again because we weren’t in sync.) God, I almost died trying to get to 50. Nearly every single bone in my body is aching.

I stand in the line for the curry stall massaging my poor shoulders. (Om left to buy his spicy noodles from hell.) I’m still wondering on what I should get while I continue to work on my shoulders. (Something cheap and filling, is there something like that?) But then, I hear rowdy noises coming from behind me.

“Hey, Noh! Whatcha gettin’?!” Oh, those noises came from Phun’s group of friends. I wave to say hello at Joke. He’s standing in line behind me. Behind Joke are a bunch of other students from Class 1. They’re in a long line like a parade.

“I don’t know yet. What about you?”

“I don’t know either. I was thinking of just getting whatever you’re gonna get, haha.” Well, then. We’re in the same boat here, haha. I chuckle along with him while taking a step forward as the line begins to move.

“Oh, yeah. What about Phun? Where is he?” It’s a slip of the tongue because it’s something I normally don’t ask about. I wish I could slap myself at least five times for asking that stupid question. Suddenly, I put on a moody expression because I’m being reminded about what went down this morning.

However, Joke is grinning. “Oh, Phun? I doubt he’ll be having lunch with us today, ugh.” Eh? I raise my brows curiously when I hear his response. Nant, who has been quiet the entire time, stomps on Joke’s foot. (We wear leather shoes so that must hurt, not to mention how it’s going to leave a mark.)

“Joke, you asshole. Why’d you say that?” Nant scolds Joke with a whisper which only fuels my curiosity.

“Why? What’s happening?” But all I get in return are panic looks from Joke and Nant as they shake their head. “Nothing.”

It’s obvious that there is something though. I take another step down the line and decide to be more specific with my question. “Where’s Phun?” Let’s see how they’d get out of this one.

Joke and Nant exchange anxious looks with each other. In the end, Joke gives me an embarrassed smile and points to a corner of the cafeteria so that I can see for myself.

As I follow his finger, I see Phun sitting in the farthest part of the cafeteria. He’s not alone. Pam is next to him. They’re clearly having a great time talking about something. There are opened books in front of them but neither of them are paying attention to those.

My lips are suddenly dry.

“Hey! It’s not like that though, Noh! He’s just tutoring her for the competition, that’s all.” Nant gives me a perfectly logical explanation but this words simply flows in and out of my ears at a fast pace.

“Look, don’t misunderstand. My friend is honestly not doing anything shady” Mm… I turn to smile at Nant and Joke as they try to defend their friend. I’m doing my best to give them a normal smile.

“Yeah, It’s fine. It’s all good. I’m not worried or anything. Let’s just get something to eat, yeah? Auntie, can I get an order of a spicy bacon salad and a stir fry fish with black peppers?” I pat both of their backs before I turn around and order my lunch. Then, I accept the plate of food with our school insignia on it. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“Yeah, see ya.” Those two reply with a wave. Both of them share a troubled expression. They’re probably afraid that they’re the reasons to cause a misunderstanding between Phun and me, I suppose. Still, I don’t know either. I don’t know what I saw. I don’t know how it started. I don’t know what it is I’m feeling right now. I don’t know anything.

….

….

I return to the table with my group of friends while still feeling rather bothered by the whole situation. That feeling slowly dissipates now that I’m back hanging out with my friends. Everyone is dumping all kinds of meats from their own plate into Pong’s salad. It’s hilarious. (His dear mother is putting him on a diet to lose weight so all he can eat are salads. But don’t think for a second that we’d ever allow that to happen when he’s around us. Heh heh.) I almost start rolling on the floor in laughter when Pong throws a fit after Om put a fish ball into the salad and made it spicy (because Om eats absurdly spicy food). Despite the complaints, Pong finishes his meal anyway. He even eats the bacon I gave him. And Em’s chicken too. It seems young master Pong isn’t sticking to his diet plans because he will eat whatever anyone puts in front of him. Hahaha. Good luck with losing that weight, young master Pong!

After a little while, it starts to get boring picking on Pong. (Mainly, we all begin to feel like we don’t get to eat enough since we keep giving our food to that bastard.) We decide on doing a science experiment instead. Are you surprised? You must be surprised to learn that we’re scientists. We can perform various experiences even when we’re in the cafeteria. See for yourself if you don’t believe us, heh heh.

We huddle together to closely keep watch on Palm’s hard boiled egg that we put into Dong’s bowl of stew. We all want to know if we put an egg there it’ll turn into a stew egg or not. (It’d be absurd if it actually does.) While we’re all excitedly waiting to see the outcome of this experiment, a fist lands on the table. The light knocks steal my attention away from the hard boiled egg.

“What the hell are you guys doing? You’re so loud. We’re inside a cafeteria, not a circus. Heh heh.” Ugh, this bastard. He’s been making my head spin all day and now he’s getting smart with me? I turn to look at the student council secretary’s stupid handsome face. He wiggles his brows at me and that pisses me off a little.

“Doing laundry, what do you think?” I’m sitting in the cafeteria, what else could I possibly be doing? I return his brows wiggling with my own. He laughs loudly while still holding a straw with his mouth.

“Yo, Phun! Come look at our experiment! It’s gonna transform soon!” Uh…Rodkeng? -_- It isn’t enough that we’re a bunch of weirdos, you’re dragging Phun along with us too? I scratch my head as I listen to Rodkeng invite Phun to stare at a hard boiled egg with us. Really? He’s not gonna do that, you know. -_-

“Hahaha, I did this before in 8th grade. My little sister was the one who wanted to try. Just you wait, all you’ll get is a stew coated egg.”

“You asshole! Fucking spoilers, man!” Hahaha! I nearly choke on the water when I see Rodkeng lift his leg and kick Phun rather heavily. Ahahahaha!

“Nah, nah, nah. Don’t believe him. This right here is a magic egg, it’s gonna transform into a stew egg for sure.” Palm continues to lie to himself and it seems everyone else at the table actually believes him. (Having great imagination is better than having great knowledge.) Now that Phun has been standing at our table for a while, someone else proposes another weird experiment.

“Hey, Phun. So who is that?” Um… I turn to where Om is pointing. The girl named Pam is still standing in front of a bakery waiting for Phun.

“His side piece, duh.” However, I’m the one answering that question with a hint of smugness on my face. And yes, I do know that it seems like I’m trying to make a joke and laugh it off. But in reality, it feels like a part of me just died on the inside.

Smack!

Why the hell did he smack me in the head?! I grab the side of my head after I was hit. I shoot the student council secretary who attacked me a scorned look.

“Lies and slanders!” He retorts while looking rather provoked. I mock his expression and he bursts out into laughter.

“I love my boyfriend too much to bother with getting a side piece. Why would I do such a thing when I have this guy right here?” Uh…always with those kinds of announcements. My face suddenly feels numb as all of my friends proceed to boo and throw (used) tissues at us.

“Ugh, you assholes need to get the hell out of here and be sweet somewhere else. You’re ruining my egg experiment. Fuckers.” Om is the loudest one as he tells Phun to get lost. Dong reaches over and hits Om’s empty head with his knuckles. “My egg! Look at this bastard!” Thus the next person to get a barrage of (used) tissues launched his way is Om, (since he’s always trying to weasel his way into getting other people’s food.) the sight is so funny that even Phun laughs along with us.

Phun sticks around for a while longer, it’s long enough for me to wonder out loud. “Hey, Pam’s been waiting for ages now. Shouldn’t you get back to her?”

However, his sharp face breaks into a smile as a response. “But I missed you. Can’t I stay here a bit longer?” Ugh, such a cliche! It’s a good thing my friends are too busy picking on Om so they can’t hear what Phun is saying (since he’s not talking that loudly). As for me, I’m pretending to throw up at him.

“Don’t even. Just get the hell out of here.” I say with a flick on my wrist and he laughs happily.

“Okay, I’ll get going. I’ll see you soon.”

“Yeah.”

Phun flashes me another smile before he says goodbye to my friends at the table. I watch his broad back walk away from me towards Pam, the girl I once feared. Now, I’m at peace, the kind that I can’t exactly put into words.

It feels as though he said those things because he was aware of my worries.

You know, like…he wanted to remind me who it is that he’s truly in love with. :)