CHAPTER 21: HELPER
As of late, things are incredibly busy for me at the school. Is there a different way to express how busy I really am other than repeating "very busy" over and over? Well, let me know if there is one so I can start using that word. Basically, I'm very busy.
Based on chapter one all the way to twenty, you guys probably wonder if I really am the president of the music club, right? Well, I can't believe that I had the time to deal with so much nonsense myself either. The soccer tournament is approaching and it's only a few weeks away.
Even though I have the title of President of the Music Club, I did play in a live band as a member of the club. I've never played in a marching band before despite having some knowledge about it though. I'm going slightly crazy since you can't really expect me to pick up these projects and throw myself at them out of the blue. I have no choice but to run around and ask the seniors and other alumni for help.
Our practice schedules are pretty extreme. There's a practice at 7 in the morning. Later, the poor guys need to bring their lunch all the way to the club room during their break. In the evening, the practice lasts until 7 pm (sometimes to 8-9 pm). There isn't much for me to do for the morning schedule aside from checking if things are going smoothly for the underclassmen when they play our national anthem in front of the flag pole. I don't have much to do in the afternoon either (I mean, I was playing Jenga just the other day) because Film is handling the afternoon schedules. As for the evening, I do need to attend since I'm the one that lifts everyone's morale, hahaha. (I assume.)
Our club room seems to be really chaotic today. There are so many sounds coming from many different instruments clashing into one another. (Will they ever become a real song?) Then there are sounds of our voices occasionally scolding the underclassmen when they aren't focusing. I don't mind if anyone will accuse us of being cruel, it's just that we really need the event to turn out perfectly. There is no way we'd humiliate ourselves in front of three other schools who will be there, so I believe that our club members understand why we're doing this to them. (If not now, then in about two or three years.)
"P'Noh! They're here! What do we do?!" Damn it, I'm still in the middle of my explanations to the readers. Why did you have to yell and interrupted me?! Will you believe me if I say that I don't need to turn around to see who they are? It has to be Per and Knot, also known as the wall destroyers of our school since they use their loud and frantic voices as weapons. I glance at the wall of the F Building which begins to form cracks in them here and there.
"What the hell are you two on about?" I walk over to where they are with a grim look on my face after I told other club members to keep practicing and not to pay any attention to those two. I watch as two not-so-cute puppies pant by the entrance to the room as if they had just escaped from a police chase.
"P'Noh...people from Boss Pui...gasp...gasps...gasp..." I find Knot's attempt to speak utterly pitiful. He's trying to talk when he raises his head, but he ends up sprawling on the floor gasping for air.
Now it's Per's turn. "Boss Pui is...gasp...gasp...gasp..." This idiot manages to give me even less information. -_-" Will I ever find out what's going on today?!
"Why? Was he chasing after you two's asses? Then I'm ordering you both to give them up to him for the 20,000 baht that we need for the drums!" I only meant this as a joke. I didn't think that both Per and Knot would perk up and point at me like Donald Trump is about to fire me simultaneously.
"That...that's it, p'! Boss Pui delivered the new set of drums over at Building 2003." Holy shit! I'm royally screwed, aren't I?! I'm about to faint and join Per and Knot on the floor even though I wasn't even running like they were.
"What do we do, p'? Should we call p'Dew? Do we have enough money in our club's backup savings?" P'Dew is in the 12th grade. He's the treasurer working under Miss Pataraporn's guidance. However...
"The money is there, but they need it for the uniforms and to pay for all the equipment repairs since you guys have been practicing so much that they're breaking down. Plus, they also need the money for you guys' welfare. There are a lot! Then there's the Loi Krathong festival, the Live Contest, and the Christmas Fair too. You know what, just go call Ngoi so I could kick his ass."
Basically, our club needs a lot of money for a lot of reasons. Am I gonna need to sell myself for money?
"I think you should just call p'Phun. Aren't you two close?
"Can you stop saying that we're close already?" Talk about striking a nerve.
"Eh?! But why? Are you two having a fight?"
"Nooooooooo." I'm brushing Per, who is being so damn nosy, off. I think back to what Phun told me about how he was handing the money situation but he said that he needed some time to get to it because the budgets have already been finalized. He promised me that he will definitely take care of this. (Heh heh. Mr. Capable.)
"I don't wanna bug him, and he's already helping us anyway. Per, take me to see Boss Pui. I'll talk to him myself. He probably won't be too cruel with me." I tell Per as I take in a deep breath before I drag him with me. He seems to be confused and mutters something about having to be in the sun again to himself. I don't really care, I just want him to take me there.
The two of us make our way to Building 2003, which is where the administrative offices are located. I barely have the time to prepare myself since I already spot Boss Pui and his men delivering the drums from afar. Ah...if I die today, will there be a flag covering my dead body as they send me home?
"Hey, nong Noh! What's up?!" Boss Pui shouts at me from miles away. I'm still standing here looking pale, I'm not sure if he can see my face from all the way over there.
I slowly stride over to where he is while trying to give him the least lamest smile I could possibly make. "H-hello, Boss Pui. Are...are you well?" Seems like I'm asking such a dumb question, isn't it? -_-"
"Of course, I am! How's the soccer tournament preparations coming along? Are you finally gonna get to wear that jumpsuit that you've always wanted to wear this time around? Hahaha" He seriously strikes a nerve with that question. T__T He graduated from this school about 6-7 years ago. When he was studying here, he was in this club too.
"Like heck! I'm the club president, it's not like I'd be working in the arena stands just randomly. I get sad just thinking about this." However he is loudly laughing at me. So you get joy from other people's suffering? The staff members that work on the upcoming tournament get to wear a jumpsuit. A lot of different departments will be wearing them. For example, the cheer team, student welfares, supplies team, designers, and the people handling all the technical stuff. They're like uniforms, think of them like what electric engineers or firemen wear. The jumpsuits are cream with a light khaki tone to them. (What the hell is that color called?) I think that they look so cool. It's been my dream to wear one. (I guess I want to be a fireman someday.)
"Yeah, I saw that you were really depressed over that last year. You wanted to join the supplies team but then Oak dragged you back to work with the band. If only you could see the look on your face back then! It was hilarious! Hahaha!" P'Oak was the previous president of the music club. I have no idea why he was so attached me. He refused to let me leave the club to do anything else. And he always dragged me to be a part of all the important events every single time. After he graduated, he passed the president title to me. This poor Noh!
"Exactly. He pretty much shattered my dreams. You know, getting to wear that jumpsuit is a dream of mine!"
"However, seeing the band continuing to move forward and becoming as successful as other schools is a dream for the students of this school, and also the band members too." Boss Pui tells me with a smile which invites me to smile along with him. This is the reason why I agreed to become the president of the club.
"It's gonna be awesome this year." I tell Boss Pui and he pokes me with his elbow since I was trying to talk big to an alumnus. But then he finally mention those dreadful words. "Shit, Noh. Quit showing off and pay up first. It's 24,000. " Ahhhhhhh!
What now?!
"Um...well..."
"Don't tell me you don't have the money..." If I can't tell him that then what else am I supposed to tell him?!
"Then...I don't have the cash." Was that the same thing?
"Smartass. The teacher hasn't given you the money yet?" I'm a bit relieved to hear him say this since he might understand...maybe?
I scratch my head, "It's something like that, Boss. The school has been making a lot of changes to the landscaping so they don't really have a lot of money to spare. We even had to hold a special budget meeting just for this tournament alone. Not to mention that we're also paying stuff out of our own pockets too."
"Dang! The school already looks nice, why are they making changes? You all should start a protest."
"Yeah, we were thinking about marching from our school to the convent. What do you think?"
"Yeah, I'll join ya. Bastard, don't change the subject! There's no brotherhood when it comes to money!" Ah...I was so close to getting away with it.
"Boss, I'll definitely pay you. The people from the student council promised me that they'll find the money. I just need to wait a bit. Please...? Come on?" I'm clinging on to his arm as if I'm a leech. I'm hoping that he'd find this adorable enough to be lenient with me. However, he shoves me off like he's completely disgusted by this act. "Enough of that, Noh. If you were one of the girls from the convent then I wouldn't be feeling these freaky goosebumps. Blah!" He tells me as he shudders as a visual example. (I'm getting goosebumps too.)
"Fine, you can take the drums. But can you transfer the money within this week? I don't want my dad to yell at me. I always let you guys have the stuff before getting paid." Ah! I'm so happy that I wanted to jump and kiss him on the head for two or three times.
"Sure thing, Boss!"
I said sure but I'm not even sure if Phun will come through before this week is over. Sigh. What a huge problem for this poor club president.
It's getting dark, I'm currently sitting on the stands in front of the F Building while hanging my head. The band had already finished their practice. (My throat is hoarse from all the yelling I did, cough cough.) I'm also not in the mood to go home right now since the traffic is pretty goddamn awful around this time. (Actually, my house is near Ekamai Road and the traffic is always bad there no matter which time of day.) So here I am laying around playing with the Rubik's Cube in front of Building F, not knowing for certain what to do. I mean, I did drop by for a bit to check the stands since they still haven't finished with the repairs. They weren't going to fix them here though, they had just moved. I'm not entirely sure what their plans are.
"Hey, Noh! All your band members went home already?" Who the heck is calling my name? I raise my brows and stop messing with the Rubik's Cube before I look up to see someone with sharp features which belong to Earn. He's sitting down next to me. Earn is the captain of the cheer team this year. He's pretty big and tall. (It makes sense since he needs to watch over a ton of underclassmen.) I like his dimples, I think they're cute.
"Yeah, practice ended a little bit ago so I decided to come by and check on your cheer team's supposedly awesome progress." I answer him as I move myself (from the lazily laid back position) so I can chat with him properly. I can hear his lively laughter when I finished talking.
"Heh? You got some balls saying that to me."
"Ah, come on. Just messing with ya for a bit, Captain. Hahaha." I laugh as I kick his shin since he is sitting close enough to me. Not too far of us, I can see the cheer team members being scolded by their seniors. I'm guessing the practice isn't going so well.
Earn watches the scene as he begins to speak, "It's too bad. I wanted you to come help us. I actually was going to make you my co-captain." No, thank you! Can't I just be a normal student for once?! I don't need any more titles! -*- I quickly shake my head.
"How's the band doing? I heard they asked for extra drummers this year?" Stupid Earn continues to feed me questions. Only these are the ones that get on my nerves since he was the one who requested those extra drummers!
"Yeah, you bastard. I'm so damn busy now. They had just delivered the drums and I didn't even have the money to pay them. I'm really over it."
"Whoa, that's a huge problem! How much are they?"
"Over 20k, huge enough for ya?" I answer him while I raise my brows at him mockingly. He's a bit taken back by this. Heh heh. Yep, I had that same face when I found out that there was 20k missing from our club budget.
"That is huge. And the school's not giving you the money?" Talking about this is making me pretty irritated.
"We screwed up during the budget meeting so we can't get the money just yet. I'm not sure when we'll get the money." I tell him while Phun's face pops into my head.
"Wanna use my money in the meantime?" But...whaaat?! Did I hear that wrong?! My eyes are as big as a goose's egg now.
I stare at him in shock but Earn simply smiles back at me. Yeah, I totally heard that wrong. "What did you just say? MamyPoko?" Is he talking about that diaper brand?*
I watch as Earn looks up and laughs heartily before he stands up and grabs me so that I'd stand up with him. I get up, although still pretty confused, and I watch him muttering something to his friends that are keeping watch over the cheer practice. "I'll be right back!" A couple of science major students raise their hands to tell him that they heard him.
"Follow me." What the heck are you up to?!
I almost got on my knees and kissed Earn's feet after I saw that 24,000 baht has been transferred to Boss Pui's Bank of Ayudhya account according to the ATM.
"Earnnn! Thank youuu! Thank youuuu!" I've probably said this to him about a hundred times now. He can only laugh in return.
"You don't need to thank me that many times!" He runs away trying to dodge my clasped hands. But why?! I really am touched by this! "Hey, I'll pay ya back as soon as I get the money. I'm sorry that I had to bother you with this."
"Yeah, it's fine." Earn waves me off, "But can I ask for a favor?" Uh...this sentence sounds eerie familiar.
Why is it that everyone asks for something in return whenever they decide to help me with something?!
"Can I?" He asks me again. I'm very hesitant to answer since I kind of learned my lesson from the last time from Phun. "Wh...what is it? If I can help then I'll help."
My heart sinks to the ground when I see his wide grin.
"I want you to..."
"........"
"...you to..."
"Asshole, just get to it!" I'll still curse at those I owe favors to.
"Hahaha. Okay, I'll stop messing with you. Can you bring over some of the beverages from your band during the event?" Oh, is that it? Why did you have to make such a scary face? I smile back once I heard this.
"Sure! But we get ours from the cheer team anyway though? Are you high?" You already have your own drinks.
"No...I meant...I'll probably be pretty exhausted during the event. So can you...take care of me...by keeping me hydrated and stuff? I mean...I don't wanna bug the supplies team over this." So you want me to be your personal butler and feed you food and make sure you drink water? Heh, what a weirdo. Do other people do this in the previous years?
It sounds strange to me, but I agree to do it because it's not like this is something terrible. We'll be pretty much free to do whatever we want after we're done marching anyway. "Sure, I'll go hang around you during the event. But I don't have a jumpsuit to wear though." The jumpsuit...that the cheer team gets to wear. I'm too much of a loser, I don't have one to wear like they do. All I get to wear is a simple t-shirt and jeans attire. T___T
"That's fine. Just make sure you show up?"
Jeez, this is a lot easier than what Phun asked me to do. Of course, I'll show up.
Noh was being Noh when he misheard what Earn said as a diaper brand called MamyPoko. Earn said, "Aow ngern ku pai po gone ma?" which Noh heard as...something something MamyPoko.
