CHAPTER 36.1: SUCH A COWARD, I AM
I become aware of the inescapable fate once I get back to my house after I saw around ten pairs of leather shoes right outside. There's only one reason a Shoes Fair is happening here and that is...
"Bastards, weren't you going to at least let the owner of the house know beforehand?" I shout at the people inside while I take off my shoes and add them to the pile. I can hear those jerks laughing loudly after a long silence since they meant to surprise me.
Keng smacks Palm in the head. "I told you to bring those shoes inside, didn't I? Noh would've realized what was going on when he saw them!" The guy who was hit made a stink face.
"Asshole, don't even try with me! I was the one who told you to do that and you didn't do it!" Keng then gets hit by Palm twice so now they're even. This is just great. My house will be destroyed once again.
I shake my head and chuckle at them. I estimate that there are more than ten guys here. Some are sitting around the sukiyaki hot pot, which are Keng, Palm, Khom, Phong and Em. Then there are some playing a video game and sitting in front of the TV, which are Ohm, Per and Knott. I can hear Dong, Rodkeng and Ken all the way from the kitchen, they're saying something about preparing a spicy noodle salad. So now that I get a chance to count...there are 11 of them here. It's not a record-breaker though. (The most people I've had over was 17 during New Years. The house nearly exploded.)
"So who told you guys that my pa and ma aren't home today?" I know for a fact that they didn't find out about this on their own. Although, I only asked to be polite since I already know the answer.
"My beloved P'Immm~" I knew it. -_-" P'Im adores Ohm a whole lot. I don't know if it's destiny or if it's a sin that they've committed together in their previous lives so they're paying them now or what. Whenever p'Im's nong Ohm drops by for a visit, we seem to have a ton of food in the house just sitting there waiting. (I mean, if it weren't for Ohm, I don't even know if I'll ever get to eat those stuff.) And whenever Pa and Ma are not home (sometimes they go out of town to check on the factory so they need to stay over there for several nights), then it would be p'Im who calls and lets Ohm know about it. She would suggest bringing everyone over and destroy the house to him.
I'll never forget this, p'Immm!
I shake my head and throw my school bag down to the floor (since the sofa is currently occupied). I notice that some jerk had brought my PS3 downstairs from my room. Meanwhile, another jerk had brought the hot pot from the kitchen to out here, filling the house with delicious aroma.
Well, great! Even though I had already eaten, I'm getting hungry again now that I smell all these things. I kick off my socks and join the circle around the hot pot right next to Phong.
"Can we eat this shit yet? I'm hungry."
"Chill, man! The pork isn't cooked yet. Ohm told me you went out on a date so I thought you wouldn't get home until later." Phong tells me as he plays with the lid by lifting it slightly, letting the steam escapes. At the same time, Palm turns to grab a bowl and a pair of chopsticks for me. I notice that they added instant noodles in there too. Way to go all out, guys.
"It wasn't a freaking date. I only went with Yuri to keep her company."
"Yes, that is what people call a date. And you're back pretty early, she couldn't get you into the mood or something?" I kick Em with a full force. He deserves it for spouting shit. I point at him with my chopsticks as a warning for him to stop talking, then I lift the lid to check the sukiyaki even though I know that it isn't ready yet.
Now I can hear Ohm barking away. "Yuri is so cute. How can you say that she isn't hot enough? Our friend is a normal dude, man!" His voice is just so irritating. I shoot a dirty look at a guy who isn't too far from where I am. He's right in front of the TV. I feel like pulling the circuit breakers when I see him cackling just so I can piss him off.
"Just you wait. I'm gonna make sure you end up with nong Carp." I whip out my finishing blow. Ohm immediately drops the controller from his hands.
"You fuckerrr! I'd rather you jinx me by saying I'd fail all my classes!" He gets up and causes a scene. He's being so loud that the other guys are confused by this. Dong, Rodkeng and Ken are back with the spicy salad and they look puzzled as well.
"Wait, what? Why does he wanna fail all his classes?" Dong asks as he places the first dish down near the hot pot.
"There's no need for a jinx. He's already failing anyway, right?" Rodkeng continues and he places the second plate of the salad down near the hot pot.
"This nong Carp, that's your wife, right? I've seen her." Ken finishes the conversation before he is the last one to place his own dish down.
Naturally, Ohm is looking quite miffed. He lets out some noises, showing his annoyance and pretends like he isn't listening to us. I don't know if this because he's losing against Per in a car race or because we touched a nerve. Nong Carp that we're talking about goes to the school opposite of ours. I have no idea what kind of a miracle this is but she's really into Ohm. (She must be blind because I am much more handsome, obviously.) She has been going after Ohm for about 3 or 4 months now and it doesn't seem like she is giving up any time soon either. Her real name is actually Nongnan but we use nong Carp as a secret code. Don't ask why, I can't tell you otherwise it wouldn't be a secret. Heh heh heh.
We discuss nong Carp for a little while before Per interrupts us.
"P'Ohm has no interests in a carp because he prefers a mouse..." All of us quickly turn around. I notice that Om is giving Per a death stare.
"What mouse, Per! You better keep talking! Fucking Ohm always teases everybody else. I'm getting all the dirt there is on him today or I'll die trying!" Rodkeng declares passionately.
Ohm promptly threatens Per. "If you say anything, I swear to god, Per..." At this point, I'm not sure whether Per is oblivious or he's just pretending to be because he instantly turns to face Ohm and asks a question.
"Oh, am I not supposed to be talking about nong Mickey Mouse?"
Holy shit, Om! Nong Mick joined our club the beginning of this semester. He's in the 9th grade. He's cute and I mean cute. Like fucking cute. He's so cute that even Film proclaimed that no one is to lay a hand on that kid. Film trusted Ohm to teach Mick how to play the horn but apparently something in the milk ain't clean between those guys?!
"Shit, Ohm! What the fuck did you do to nong Mick?!" I shout at the top of my lungs since I'm very concerned about the underclassman's well-being. The suspect immediately shakes his head. It looks like he's clearly hiding something.
"I didn't do shit!"
"He likes p'Ohm, p'Noh!" Per, you are such a doll today, aren't ya?! I'm thinking about allowing him to ditch practice twice a week just as he had requested because he's being so delightful today. Heh heh heh.
"Ohm, did you drug the kid?" Ken shouts at him. Ohm flips him the bird.
"Seriously. Does he really like you? I know that he's being pursued by a bunch of guys. I'm not even gay and I like him. He's fucking adorable as hell." Khom says while looking a bit taken aback. At this point, nobody is paying attention to the hot pot at all. We're staring at Ohm's back since he refuses to look at us.
"I don't know, man!" This jerk is always so loud.
Per continues his job of exposing Ohm's secrets. "I saw p'Ohm hugging nong Mick too. Just you wait, I'm gonna tell p'Film about this." What?! That's huge! Per! Keep talking!
"Fucking Per! You were spying on us?!" And now Ohm is slowly revealing his dopey ways.
Per quickly waves his hands around and denies this. "I didn't, p'! I left the sheet music there that day. I went back to grab them but I saw what was happening so I left them there. That's why I couldn't play the next morning. And p'Noh was yelling at me about the marching song that morning." Oh, I remember that. I distinctly told Per to practice a lot but he didn't practice at all. So that's what happened.
But wait! That was only two days ago!
"Per, you're the one to talk. What about you and nong Mawin? I saw you two." Now that Ohm is cornered, he begins to change the subject by causing troubles for Per instead. Today is when all the truths come out, here we go.
"Me and Win? Come on, we're only friends." He denies the accusation. I know nong Mawin pretty well though. Per said that they've been friends ever since they were little. Nong Win is nice and well-behaved and Per isn't like that. I heard that his father holds a high position in the military so he's very strict. I wonder how he allowed Win to be best friends with a hobo like Per, hahaha.
"Don't even. Nong Mawin came crying to me the other day. I had to calm him down. You were being way too cruel with him."
"That's right, p'! Per is really mean to him. When Win hangs around him, he'd say that Win is being annoying. Then when Win disappears on him so he would run to Win's house and try to make up with him." Knott finally speaks up about his friend after staying quiet for a long time. Per's dark ears (he's actually light-skinned but his face aren't in the same tones, haha) are now magically red.
I decide to join them. "Hold up, Per. Phun told me that he kept running into you at the convent. So which are you into really?" However, I mentioned He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named by accident. Oh, shit. I brought this on myself. We haven't gotten a chance to finish talking about Per yet and now Ohm is giving me a sly glance.
"Yeah, I guess it's just like Phun. He eats lunch at the convent but he spends mornings and nights with you. I know what happened in front of the F Building, by the way." Fuck! I knew that Ohm would find out about this! Why on earth did he have to shout?! Now my friends are interested in what's going with Phun and me instead.
"Wait, wait. What happened?" Keng asks while he hits the floor with the ladle. Asshole, that's gonna leave a mark! I quickly grab the ladle away from him and hit his head with it before I lift a case of beer from the floor and head to the kitchen right away.
"I'm gonna put these in the fridge. They won't be cold if you guys leave them out here."
"Dude, you're running away!"
"I'm just putting these in the fridge, goddamn it!" I ignore what they have to say and retreat to the kitchen instead.
I spent some time and waited in the kitchen (until they forget). I put the beers in the refrigerator then I took them out only to put them back in and took them out again. Rise and repeat. (What the hell for?) Then I pretended to organize the bottles of water, the bottles of beer, and the bottles of milk (even though p'Ann had already organized them). Sigh. So are they done talking about that yet?
I pace back and forth then an idea pops into my head. I'll slice up the limes and prepare the salt for the guys since I saw that they brought a bottle of vodka with them. Hmmm. Not a bad idea. It'll give me an excuse to stay in here a little longer. (Heh heh). I begin by grabbing a knife, the cutting board and the limes from the refrigerator right away.
However, I have never done this before. How are you supposed to slice limes? Vertically or horizontally? Do you cut along the line or is it across? (But they're all round though...) This is too confusing. I turn the lime around and around in a daze. When I finally cut one, the juice squirts out. Ah! It's in my eyes! It stings!
While I try to wipe my eyes with my sleeve, I hear something odd. Aside from all the loud noises the guys are making in the other room, I can also hear a car parking. Who else is here now? As if there aren't enough people in this house.
I'm curious but I'm not paying attention to it (since my eyes are burning). Just as I am realizing that I can't wipe the stinging sensation away and that I should go rinse my eyes in the bathroom instead, I notice a blurry figure standing near by. I am startled as if I had just seen a ghost.
"Your eyes will go red if you wipe them like that." I hear a familiar voice and the figure is rushing in to help me to the bathroom. Right when I begin to wonder how he got here, I feel cool water being splashed on my face.
"You need to be gentle like this. Come on, take your hand away." The voice is telling me to drop my hand (and I follow his instruction, why?) before he helps by gently rubbing my eyes. The stinging sensation is finally leaving me. I blink rapidly to flush my eyes with the water then he delicately wipes away the droplets using his handkerchief.
"You don't even know how to slice limes, you're definitely gonna starve to death." Bastard, there's no need to call me out of this. I'm not a housewife, how am I supposed to know how to do these stuff? I crane my neck and stare at Phun Phumipat who suddenly showed up.
"How'd you get here?"
"I took a cab."
"Ass. I meant..." At this point, I'm not sure how to phrase the question without sounding rude.
"You meant, why am I here, right? Fine, I can leave." Oh, come on. I knew that he'd pull this stunt with me. I scratch my head as I watch Phun turns his back, intending to leave. Everything happens faster than my own thoughts. I reach out to stop him.
That was all it took to stop the person who said he was going to leave. He's not even trying to break free. Whatever! You were just waiting for me to do this, weren't you?!
"What...?" He still has the nerve to ask.
I put on a wary expression because I feel like I'm losing this battle. "Don't forget your handkerchief." Ahahahaha! Take that!
Once he hears that, he turns back around with an irritated expression on his face so I raise my brows at him mockingly. Then he changes his expression to a wide grin, looking like someone with a hidden agenda.
"Well, I'm not leaving even if you're kicking me out. Heh heh heh. I'm already here then I might as well stay to the very end." He tells me before he leads me back into the kitchen to help me with the limes. I am just learning about how this young master is very good at this stuff since he swiftly slices the limes without any troubles. This baffles me.
"Where did you learn how to do that?"
"Bastard, anyone can do this. I should be asking you questions instead. How is it that you don't know how to slice a goddamn lime?" Oh, another humiliation. I want to hide under a pan after I heard what this young master Phun had to say. And while I search for a pan, I hear his deep chuckles.
"I'm kidding. I help Pang out in the kitchen often. I need to handle the knives otherwise she'd end up with cuts on herself." He reveals the truth with a gentle smile. He usually has this smile whenever he speaks about nong Pang. I don't need to be told about how much he loves his little sister.
I give him nod. "You should share some of the stuff she makes to me. I wanna try them." I tell him and then I climb up and sit on the counter (where p'Ann and p'Im usually are) with a croissant that I grabbed from the basket. I start nibbling on it since talking about food is making me hungry. (I guess my digestive system is working too well.)
Phun walks over to get more limes with a smile, since it seems like there aren't enough for the guys waiting outside. "You'd only crap your pants. I get sick eating the stuff we make." Heh, are you talking smack about your own sister now?
I laugh while I stuff the last piece of the croissant inside my mouth. But I suppose it's a little too big (probably not that little) so I'm having a tough time chewing.
"Look at you. Are you afraid that I'd steal your food? Eat slowly. It's not like there's only one piece of croissant in the entire world." Phun happens to turn around and sees me so I get another teasing from him like always. I really want to argue with him but...
"Ut-uh-uck-up." My mouth is full of the croissant so I can't exactly curse at him.
I'm still trying to chew with much difficulty. I must look really funny since I can see that Phun is chuckling at me with a smile before he reaches over to wipe pieces of croissants that are stuck around my lips.
His sharp eyes are shining strangely.
"This feels familiar. I think I witnessed a scene like this one earlier today." He tells me and the unchewed croissant slides down my throat at once.
"Hey...! Cough, cough, cough." I'm choking now! Phun rushes over to pour a glass of water for me.
"Chew first and then swallow! I told you not to eat so fast." Now I'm being scolded like a little child, but I don't care anymore since there's something else that I want to let him know.
"Hey, there's nothing going on between Yuri and me, you know."
"Huh?"
"I mean...Yuri was eating and she was making a huge mess! So all I did was helping her clean up. I wasn't-I mean...ugh! I don't know how to explain this!" It all seems like I'm only making dumb excuses. I scratch my head vigorously, yet Phun merely laughs.
"Oh, forget about it. I understand." He tells me while chuckling just like how one would when speaking to a small child. I don't believe really him though.
"Hey, I'm serious. Don't be like this." I tug his arm before he goes back to slicing up the limes. Phun looks at me with a confused expression and then he laughs once again.
"I didn't mind at all, really!" Like I'll believe that. I glance at the person who's still standing there laughing away.
"What is so funny anyway?"
"You."
"What about me?" I still don't understand what he's trying to get at when Phun shakes his head and grabs some more limes. He slices them as he speaks.
"You're being just like how I was that night."
"Which night?"
"In the taxi, remember? Heh heh." He tells me and laughs again. Well, aren't you in such a cheery mood? Better be careful or you'll cut your hand with that knife.
I follow along his train thoughts slowly and then I let out a small 'oh'. I can't help but laugh at myself. Phun turns at me and cocks his brows since he knows what's going on in my head. I'm being exactly like how Phun was that night when he kept apologizing to me in the taxi.
I think I understand him better now and I'm sure that he understands me a lot better now too.
For the two of us...no matter who each of us must stay with in this world of reality, we're content with spending our lives in a small world that belongs to just Phun and me...as long as we're beside one another.
I smile to myself before I flinch because I remember something.
I've almost completely forgotten something important. The other day, I had decided to tell Phun about Aim so I downloaded the clip to my phone but I didn't have the guts to tell him. I almost forgot about this. I feel for the phone inside my pocket to recall the memories that I desperately wish I can forget.
How do I tell Phun something that will devastate him the most? Or maybe I shouldn't tell him? But I don't think I can endure watching him being made a fool over and over.
"Phun..." My lips move faster than my thoughts. Simply being reminded how about the person standing in front of me is being lied to by that woman, I suddenly want to reveal the truth. Phun turns to look at me with curiosity. But right now, I can't find the words. I've never been like this before.
"Uh..."
"Is there something the matter?" Those sharp eyes and the smiles that he has always given to me only reinforce my fear. How can I be the one to hurt him?
I stay still for a moment before I begin to say something."....I think we have enough limes. Let's bring those out before the guys start complaining." In the end, I cut our conversation short. I slide down from the counter tops and lead myself outside the kitchen. I'm allowing everything to go on as they were. And despite knowing what is going on, I am not brave enough to stop it.
I am not strong enough to destroy Phun's smiles...
