CHAPTER 30: BECAUSE I KNOW

Golf was the person I decided to call right after I got home (alive) from my trip to Hua Hin.

Actually, I wanted to call him when I was still there but I never got a chance. During the day, Yuri was sticking to me like glue. At night, I shared the room with Phun. I had no idea when I’d have the opportunity to make a call to Golf and ask for some advice so that plan was scrapped.

As for Golf? The first thing he did was shouting after he heard the story. “Holy shit! She had the nerves to go after you?!” Yeah, my thought exactly. I don’t understand how Aim could’ve been so brazen about it either.

“I bet she was so sure that you’d play along. She probably never even thought that it’d turn out like this.” Golf continues to analyze the whole situation from the other end of the line. I don’t really give a shit what Aim is thinking or how she might feel at this point. The only person I am worried about is Phun. How should I handle a problem that I can no longer turn a blind eye to?

The more I think about this, the more absurd this whole thing seems to be. What about when Phun and I cried our eyes out that night? What the hell was that for?

For Phun to go back and be with someone like her?

Fuck this bullshit.

Golf complained about something on the phone for a while (I couldn’t tell since I wasn’t really paying attention) before he hung up. He told me that he’d come to my school on Monday after class since I’ll be working late with the Live Contest preliminary round anyway.

I’m barely running on fumes by the time I arrived at school on Monday morning. Phun didn’t drop me off at my house until it was very late. After that, I was on the phone with Golf until it was around 3 in the morning. (More than half of our conversation were complete nonsense though.)

“Yo! What’s with this haggard look? It’s like you haven’t had anything to drink for ages. You went to Hua Hin for three days, did certain someone squeeze every single last drop out of ya?!” Is he serious? I fucking hate Om and his loud mouth. So did I show up to class just so I have to listen to him spouting shit about me? Will there ever be a day that I won’t want to curse at his stupid ass? Well, at least I’m not doing that today even if I wanted to. I don’t have the energy to fight with him. Instead, I throw a bag of stuff I bought from Hua Hin as souvenirs at his face.

Om immediately goes from being an annoying asshole to a somewhat less annoying of an asshole. “Oh, shit! You bought food?! Oh, I love these! Keng, get your ass over here and come try these!” Jeez. You know how when you throw a bone or something for a dog to fetch? This is exactly like that. If Om had a tail, it’d be wagging in excitement right about now. Not only that, he calls out to Keng (who is boasting about something in front of the class) to rush over. He speeds through, with his tail wagging, to my desk.

“Shit, I really do love these cuttlefish. They’re awesome.” Om tells me as he rips open a bag of sweet cuttlefish. I can only laugh at him as I watch. “Anything happened on Friday? The day I wasn’t here?” I ask him while I’m pulling out some scrap papers from my school bag.

“Not really.Miss Patcharee asked about you though. I did you a favor by letting her know that you ditched school and went to Hua Hin.” What? This bastard! He screwed me over!

I turn and stare at Om’s face, but he continues with being a smartass. “I mean, you should probably give some of these sweet cuttlefish to her, maybe she wouldn’t be as upset. No need to thank us, by the way!” I wasn’t planning to, goddamn it. “I see how it is. Then all of these are for Miss Patcharee. You can fuck off.” I tell him and snatch the bag from his hand. Giving these to the underclassmen in my club would be way better, I feel. However, Om begins to make noises like a sad little puppy when I took the snacks away.

“I was kiddingggggggg. I told her that you were sickkkkkkk.” What an ass. Don’t pretend to act all cute and shit, it’s creeping me out. I crinkle my nose at those guys before I let go of the bag so they can get back to eating.

“Yo, yo, yo. How did the trip to Hua Hin go anyway? Was it the first vacation trip since you two started dating?” Keng starts a new topic right when I sit back down. Om is nodding along, being all supportive with the cuttlefish hanging from his mouth. (Both of them, actually.)

“So, did you do it?” He doesn’t give up, does he? I glance at the guys who are still chewing on their snacks, feeling curious.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Doing the deed!” Om shouts at the top of his lungs as he stands up. He’s obscenely banging his hands together in the air. I’m so embarrassed that I quickly pull him back down by the shoulders. “Cut that out. We didn’t do anything. You already know that I don’t feel that way about Yuri.”

“But you spent two nights together in the same room! You seriously can’t tell me that nothing happened! Were your balls chopped off?! Like, you’re a eunuch or something?!” What the fuck are you yelling for anyway?! I smack him in the head once to snap him back to his senses.

“We slept in separate rooms, the girls had their own!”

Om seems to be displeased by what he hears. What’s up with him? “Jeez, I thought you two were gonna make something out of it. Instead, you slept in the same room as Phun and you let him have his way with you.” Goddamn it, Om. Cool it with that stuff, you asshole.

“Real funny. What the hell is the matter with you guys? Why do you keep saying that stuff about Phun and me?” I yell at them while I grab a piece of the cuttlefish for myself. The guys have a serious expression on their faces for a long while.

“Because…suddenly, you two got real close pretty quickly. It was…strange.”

“Yeah, emphasis on ‘suddenly’. There weren’t any hints or a slow build up. Before, you two used to give friendly smiles to each other and that was it. But now? You practically jump into his embrace whenever you see him.” Jesus Christ, way to exaggerate everything. You guys really need to dial it back way down. When exactly have I ever done that to him?!

“You’re really over embellishing everything. I just talk to him like normal. Don’t forget that he helped out with the club.”

“Still, it seems more than just that. It was his job to help with the budget problem anyway. But then you two disappeared together and even you guys’ girlfriends couldn’t even reach you? It’s just weird, man.” Om continues to analyze this scene by scene to the point where I feel like giving up. Seriously, do you do this well when you’re given a math problem?

I open my mouth to argue with him some more, but then Khom yells my name and interrupts me.

“Noh! Phun wants to see you!” Fucking hell, speak of the devil. This can’t be happening. Now, Om and Keng are laughing their asses off. “See?! I told you so! You two are inseparable! You’re like a dung beetle and a pile of shit! Man, I gotta give it to this guy. He came in late but he managed to steal my friend away. You’re really something, Phun.” Om teases, though it sounds like he’s a little sad by this. However, he doesn’t seem to care very much since his attention is on the cuttlefish. Well, aren’t you so sincere? Wait, did he just compare Phun and me to a pile of shit or something? Ugh, screw it.

I shake my head as I shuffle outside my classroom where Phun is still standing and waving. He’s trying to rush me to get there quicker. But like, can you tone it down a little? My friends are staring and everything.

“What is it?” I ask him after arriving outside.

“So will my band get to play in the prelims or not?” Huh, so he’s here because of the Live Contest which he signed up for. I nod at him. But wait, I just called and told Fi about this. (He’s the student council president and the lead singer for that band.) “I already told Fi though. Don’t you guys talk to each other? You’re in the same band.”

“You called him when he was asleep so he said okay to you but he had no idea what you were talking about.” That’s nice, maybe I should just disqualify your band. -_-”

I let out a chuckle. “Today after school. The club room in the F Building.” I tell him this and Phun widens his eyes.

“What?! So soon?! We didn’t bring anything!” What the hell? Your band leader wasn’t paying attention to me, how is any of this my fault?

He looks taken aback, as if I’m someone holding all the cards. “That’s your problem. If you don’t show up, then we cut you.” That took some guts, didn’t it? The music club president is threatening the student council president’s band. Heh heh heh. Bring it on. I don’t know what’ll happen, but this student council secretary is totally looking defeated.

“Are you really gonna do that to me, Noh?~” This jerk. You think that I’ll feel bad just because you’re hanging your head like that? Why wouldn’t I be able to do that to you anyway?

Phun raises his head and looks at me. His eyes are twinkling, he must think he’s being really cute. “To someone you love…?” Gross! Barf! I’m gonna barf. When the hell did I ever say that?!

“Are you high right now?”

“Fine. To someone that loves you then? Oh, one second.” He easily agrees to change that line before he grabs the ringing cellphone from his pocket. I lean on the wall and wait for him.

“I could be brown, I could be blue, I could be violet sky~”

Beep.

“Hello, Aim.” Well…there’s the person that you love, and the one that loves you… I think to myself, as I usually do. But wait–!

Aim’s on the phone?!

My expression quickly goes sour. Hearing her name alone already pisses me off. I realize that I’m practically fuming only because I do give a damn about this handsome jerk that is standing in front of me might feel.

I suspect that I’m making it too clear because Phun is staring at me with his brows raised. He looks at my frowning face with a surprise. I suppose this is because I’m not good at controlling my emotions. Whenever I think or feel about something, it shows on my face. Right now, I feel like the word, “unhappy” is written on my forehead while Phun has “puzzled” written on his.

“Yes, Aim. Oh, I don’t think I can do that today. I need to stay and play for the music club’s prelims event. It’s very sudden.” I look at Phun while he takes his call. He still stares at me with his brows raised as if he wants to ask me if something is wrong.

“Yes. The one I told you about. Hm? Noh?” He continues with the call to which I realize that Aim is now asking about me. What is she asking? And what for?

I furrow my brows as I stare at Phun who has a confused expression on his face, both for me and for the person he’s speaking to. “Of course he’ll be there. He’s the president of the club. Hahaha. Eh?” Now it is Phun’s turn to furrow his brows. “Why do you want to come? It won’t be fun. Only my friends will be here.” Heh, now I realize what the person on the other line wants. I even know the reason she’s doing this.

“Yes. Um, let me know when you get here then. I’ll go pick you up at the gate.” We stand here for a moment as Phun bids his goodbye to his girlfriend before finally hanging up. I watch as he puts his phone in his pocket. He looks at me like he wants to make up to me for something because he feels guilty. “Are you mad…since Aim is coming?”

I’m confused by his question, because what Phun is wondering is incorrect.

If Phun thinks that I’m mad because I’m jealous or I’m possessive of him, then I’m confident enough to say that he’s sorely mistaken. I never once thought that he should be or is mine. Not even a little bit. That’s because I’m man enough to know what’s what. I’m confident enough to say that I’m satisfied with my current relationship with Phun. I’m satisfied that we have these wonderful feelings for each other without the need to define what it is we are or or having to deal with stuff that happens in a bedroom.

I love what we have now, but I hate what will happen next.

I won’t stand for someone hurting the person that is very important to me.

“No, I’m not mad or anything. You’re reading too much into it.” This reply may seem like I’m avoiding the subject, but I am trying my best not to make Phun worry.

“So you’re okay with this? I’m sorry.” Phun squeezes my shoulder lightly which causes me to quickly nod at him. “Hey, it really is okay. I gotta go and copy someone else’s homework. Lots of catching up to do since I wasn’t here on Friday.” In the end, I need to rely on a huge lie (since Om already told me that there wasn’t anything at all to do on Friday) as an excuse. I figure that it’s better to go rather standing here with a pissed off look on my face. I don’t want Phun to misunderstand and think that I’m mad at him.

“Right. Sorry, Noh…” He repeats himself. I nod hastily as I gently pat his back.

“Don’t worry about it.” I tell him before I head back inside the classroom.

And of course, I definitely know the real reason Aim wants to come all the way here and watches over Phun.