CHAPTER 12: CONFUSED
It's Saturday morning and I am the first one to open my eyes.
I said he could hold me and he definitely took advantage of that. Jeez! He's still stuck on me like a glue too! I glance over to look at his arm as I curiously think to myself as to how I laid here still enough for him to hug me. (I usually move around so much that stuff on my bed end up on the floor by morning.)
I crane my neck up to take a look at the person holding me as if I were his wife. Wait! This is not a good analogy! Take two! I crane my neck up to take a look as if I were someone who owes him money.
Oh...the first one was better? Whatever. You get what I mean. Basically, he's holding me really tightly.
I mean, I'm still trying to crane my neck to look at him from the end of his chin, but I'm not very successful. (I'm too sore.) I can only feel the shaky breaths from his nose since he's still asleep. Ah, I'm getting really warm now. The A/C is on but it might as well not be. I get in closer to Phun so I can gauge his temperature. (Stop having dirty thoughts.)
He's a lot cooler than he was yesterday. He's still a little warm, but I can tell that his fever is going down from the beads of sweat on his chest.
Well, I should go and be a good host. I try to break myself free from his stiff arms, but I barely get a chance to move before Phun wakes up.
"Huh...?"
"Let go for a second, I'll be right back." I tell him while I duck under from his arms, however their owner won't let me go free.
"Where are you going?" Why is he being such a problematic patient? -_-" I shoot him an annoyed look. "Just let go..."
He lets go once he hears the sternness in my voice. Haha, as if Phun Phumipat can compete against Noh the Great! There's no way!
I roll away from his chest and catch my breath for a bit. It's only natural for anyone who has been held so tightly for an entire night to do this. I adjust the temperature and make myself a little more comfortable before I gain enough energy to drag myself out of the room.
"Just rest! I'll be back soon!" He better be resting when I get back or he's gonna get it.
"Nong Noh, you're up early today." P'Ann, who is technically my nanny, greets me with a cheerful voice this morning. But, is it really that early? -_-"
I look up to check the clock on the wall, it says 10 o'clock. I am up pretty early today. I'm usually not up until the afternoon, hahaha. I guess I got really hot and that woke me up. -_-"
"What's there to eat, p'Ann?" I ask about food first and foremost. This is how she knows that this is, in fact, the real Noh. I should've looked before I asked though, since she's carrying a large laundry basket. Our family doesn't have a bunch of staffs like Phun's place. We only have p'Ann and p'Im who raised me ever since I was little. We're so close that we consider ourselves siblings. At any rate, where the heck is p'Im today?
"Im bought some marinated pork from the market earlier this morning. We're thinking about deep-frying those and make a soup for you. I don't know where she went though. She might be gossiping with Aunt Daeng at the papaya salad place." She tells me as she collects a used towel that (one of) our family members had left on the sofa (most likely me, heh heh).
"Let me go put these in the wash first then I'll come back and make something for you, nong Noh."
"That's okay, that's okay. I'll make something myself. How do you make this thingy?" I quickly reply since I don't want to give her any more work to do and I also think that the sickly dude upstairs should have something lighter than fried marinated pork.
I grab the Knorr instant porridge pack, flipping it back and forth while looking interested.
"You can just add that to the pot, pour some water and let it cook for about four minutes until the rice puffs up. Then it's done." That sounds simple enough. I'll just make this thingy.
"Thanks, p'Ann. You should go finish with what you were going to do, I can handle this on my own." I tell her with a smile so that she would believe me. Let's just agree that I'll try not to burn the kitchen down.
I can hear the sounds of boiling soup as the rice puffs up just like p'Ann told me. I use a large spoon to stir while thinking about what else I should add to this.
I walk over to grab an egg from the fridge. I hesitantly crack it, I've never done this in my entire life!
The egg did get on my hand, but it still in one piece. I'm still doing a lot better than Ohm. Whenever that bastard tries to show off cracking eggs, they end up all scrambled without even trying. Maybe I do have a hidden gift when it comes to cooking? I should try to become a chef. Did someone just call me out again? That I'm bragging after cracking an egg without making a mess?
At the very least, I'm gaining some confidence since I didn't screw this up. I roll up some ground pork into small balls and drop them into the pot the same way I've seen P'Ann has done in the past. Wow, this looks really good. Maybe I should eat this myself. Wait, no, no. That dude is still sick. He should eat this, I'll just wait for the fried marinated pork and soup instead. Haha, that'd be much more satisfying.
I keep stirring until (I assume) the pork is cooked so I turn off the stove and pour what I made into a bowl that I had prepared earlier. I sprinkle some cilantro on top How pretty! Who made this? Even Chef McDang would be impressed!
I grin to myself while appreciating my handiwork before I walk over to p'Ann, who is standing near the washing machine, so I can show off. (But she doesn't seem to be impressed at all! Why not?! This is my best work!) It's too bad that p'Im is not around so I couldn't show off to her. I could walk over to the papaya salad stall, but it's so hot out there. As for Ma and Pa, they are at the factory. Maybe I should take a photo...?
You know what? I should just show this off to Phun.
'Bang! Bang! Bang! Boom! Bang! Bang! Boom!'
What the hell?! The first thing I see the second I kick my door in is the sick patient playing a video game.
"Bastard, you're not sick anymore?" I can't help but call him names. This jerk is still sitting there focusing on the 29 inch screen TV and doesn't even bother to turn around to look at me.
"I got bored doing nothing. You called me out for being fancy since I own an Xbox 360, but you got a PS3? This is even better than what I have and you never invited me to play this with you either." He tells me as he shoots down monsters. At this point, I just want to pour this hot porridge on his head.
"You never asked. So do you wanna eat this or not? I put a lot of effort in this, maybe I should throw this out." He quickly turns around without pausing the game. Haha, he got hit by that monster twice. Serves him right.
But it seems like he doesn't really care about the game anymore. He lets go of the controller before rushing over to check the bowl in my hand. Aha. Looks appetizing, isn't it?
"You made this yourself?!"
"Of course!" I proudly boast my accomplishment before I put the tray on the small table near the TV and the game console. "Eat up. If it doesn't taste good then you can add some Maggi and season it yourself."
He seems a little too amazed by this whole thing since he quickly grabs the spoon and shoved the porridge into his mouth. Oh, this dumbass. "It's hot!" Does he think he's eating shaved ice? He's smart about everything else but he's a moron when it comes to eating a bowl of hot porridge. -_-" I'm over it.
He complains, but he eats another spoonful (but he's being smarter this time around and blows on it first.) before he puts the spoon down and drinks the water that I also brought for him. "Jeez, instant porridge? I thought you actually spent the time cooking down the rice. I was actually touched."
"Damn, you're so greedy. This took a lot of efforts, you know! There's an egg and ground pork. I even sprinkled some cilantro on top, see?" It's obvious how proud I am of this.
"Yeah, I can see that. Thanks a lot, it's pretty good." He tells me it's good but I see him putting Maggi sauce into the bowl. Isn't he so damn honest with me?
I didn't watch him eat for too long though, (I didn't wanna get hungry) I only did for a bit then I went to pick up the game from where Phun left off. Nice choice though, he was playing Devil May Cry 4. I've been playing this game for the over two months and I still haven't beaten it. I wonder if it's due to laziness or it might be cause I just suck at it.
Just as I am reaching for the controller, I hear his voice.
"You're not gonna eat, Noh?"
"Nah." I start mashing buttons.
"Aren't you hungry?"
"A little, but I can wait until this afternoon." I'm not on a diet or anything. I'm just waiting for p'Im to make me food, hehehe.
Phun goes quiet. By the time I realize it, he is already sitting next to me with the bowl of porridge.
I shoot a small glance his way but I'm not paying much attention to him since my focus is on the game. It wasn't until a spoonful of porridge touches my lips that I realized what was going on.
"Eh?! What?!"
"Let's eat together. There's too much for me to finish by myself."
"That's not too much at all."
"Come on." He keeps nagging me so I can't help but open my mouth to accept the spoonful of porridge. (I am actually pretty hungry anyway.) Wow, my instant porridge is pretty good.
We spent a long while finishing up the porridge and playing the game (although it was just me playing the game) in silence. Phun would take a spoonful, then he would feed me one. Eventually, the amount of porridge in the bowl dwindles.
It's only normal that I make a mess since I was eating while keeping my attention on the game. I keep trying to lick the porridge that is left around my mouth but I just can't get it.
Phun probably sees how pitiful my attempts to clean myself are so he starts laughing before he wipes away the mess with the tip of his finger.
I turn around to thank him (this tiny distraction can't ruin my gaming, I'm too good) but I end up with his face just a few inches away from mine. I let out a surprise yelp before I quickly move my face away. "Fucking hell! You scared me!"
But he isn't yelling at me in return. I see Phun slowly putting the bowl down before he decides to move in closer to me. He's so close that I can see the little details on his face.
My mouth wants to yell out some more profanities at him but it feels as if his onyx eyes are hypnotizing me and preventing me from moving. My heart beats faster and faster. My head is filled with a messy mixture of curiosities and the intense desires to understand.
The loud noises in my room suddenly disappear, I am blocking everything else that is going on around me.
Phun's face moves in closer. His yellowish pale face is turning red despite the fact that he no longer has a fever.
I can feel his orange lips nearly grazing my own. Our nose is already touching.
My eyelids feel heavy and I slowly let them fall.
But then I snap out of this haze.
What are we doing?!
During my confusion, I shove Phun away with so much force that he falls backward. It seems he is just as in shock as I am with what was happening.
We sit there staring at each other while being completely alarmed for a few moments before I turn my face away.
"I'm...gonna get your medicine. Wouldn't want you to get sick again."
Right now, I no longer care to search for the answer as to why my heart is practically beating out of my chest.
