CHAPTER 36.2: TROUBLE COMES
"Goddamn, you guys! You were gone for ages. I thought you guys sneaked out and went to Santika Pub already." Ohm exclaims loudly the moment we return with a huge pile of limes. He's sitting by the hot pot, just waiting. It seems he traded places with Khom, Ken and Rodkheng, who are now playing with the game console. Way to be considerate of the utilities bills. And who the hell turned the air conditioner on?! Did you even ask for permission?!
"Jeez, if you're gonna turn on the A/C then you better smoke outside or my ma will complain."
"Yeah, we know that already. Dong and Per are already outside for a smoke break." Palm answers me as he makes some space so Phun and I can sit down. Keng moves away to make room for us as well and then he begins to talk.
"So how'd you get here anyway, Phun? Did Noh call you and tell you to come over?" Goddamn Keng. What is that supposed to mean?!
Phun laughs before he passes a bowl and the ladle to me. "Nah, my family chased me out and said that I can't sleep there tonight." Phun's answer is quite ambiguous and I'm confused by it.
"Why? Had a fight with your dad?" I ask him, though I doubt that's the reason.
Phun quickly shakes his head. "No, no. I didn't have a fight with anybody."
"Eh? So what do you mean then?" I still don't understand him. If he didn't have a fight with a family member when why was he chased out? My face probably has a huge question mark on it that my friends end up helping me with getting the veggies and meat into my bowl just so that I would shut up.
"Phun doesn't wanna tell us so why do you keep asking? Just stuff your face and quit being so nosy. Phun! There's no need to be coy! Eat all ya want! Make yourself at home!" That damn Phong! This is my house! I shoot him an annoyed look before I glance back at Phun who is laughing heartily and raises his eyebrows at me with a smile.
Fineee. Whatever. Make yourself at home!
I sit here looking sour with one of the chopstick my mouth. I'm using the other one to look for specific food in the hot pot. Soon enough, a glass filled with amber liquid is passed to me. I only take one sip and I need to yell at the person who mixed the drink.
"Holy shit, man! This is too strong! What a waste of booze!" It definitely had to be Dong who made this. I turn to yell at him but he continues to eat and not paying any attention to anyone.
"Don't be so stingy. We got a shitton of booze. We have beer and the vodka that Khom brought too. I'm just concerned that you guys might not finish them. Plus, I'm too lazy to carry these back home." That's wonderful. You can clean up the puke, Dong. Dumbass.
I resign myself to his reasoning and think that I should focus on the hot pot before I miss out on the food. It's a complete mess. There are just about everything a person might want. Lots of meat, very little vegetables. Just earlier, Ohm tried putting Pocky in there too because he said he wanted to eat some. Seriously? Fortunately, Knott was able to stop him in time since he was worried about everyone else's well-being. You're a hero, Knott.
Soon after, the rest of the guys came back to join us. From the ones that disappeared off to play video games to the ones that went out for a smoke. The circle has grown pretty big compared to the small hot pot so we ended up fighting over the food. It was pretty fun though. Luckily, I had an incredible student council secretary who happened to be skillful in just about everything helping me out. When I mentioned that I wanted to eat something in particular, he was able to find it in the pot every single time. How come I couldn't find them when I search for myself, I wonder. Maybe this had something to do with dark magic, who's the know?
We were being real loud just talking and laughing with one another. Even Phun, who was not exactly close with any of my friends, had dropped honorifics and started speaking informally to his new drinking buddies. I guess it's true what they say about alcohol creating friendships all over the world. I'm laughing my butt off watching Knott and Per being forced to drink since they had the nerves to join the upperclassman and drink with us. Poor kids, you guys are so dead. Per is usually pretty yellow-ish and pale but now he's even more pale. (How drunk is he? Jeez.) As for Knott, his face keeps getting more and more red. Yeah, these two won't make it out here alive. Hahaha.
While everyone else is having fun, I notice that Phun continues to spoon the fish tofu from the pot into my bowl constantly. There are so many that I need to tell him to slow down.
"Hey, that's enough. You're gonna make my shit come out in rectangular shapes." It's a sensible reason, isn't it? Phun laughs before he focuses on eating from his own bowl. About time. You spent way too long putting all this stuff in my bowl.
"Anyway, who the heck kicked you out of your house?" I can't help but ask him since I'm very curious. I figure that this is the perfect time to ask since everybody's attention is elsewhere. I thought perhaps Phun really did have a fight with his family and was too embarrassed to talk about it earlier.
However, he gives me some chuckles before he continues to eat, looking quite relaxed. "Pang saw you with Yuri yesterday." Oh, shiiit.
"Holy shit! What now? So she knows then?"
"Knows what?" Phun raises his brows and asks me as if he has forgotten what we've been doing to nong Pang.
I'm struggling to find the words. "Knows that there's nothing going on between you and...me." It feels strange saying that. It's even worse now that Phun is staring at me. His eyes are twinkling like he wants to make fun of me about something.
"Oh? There isn't?" And there it is. I knew it.
I put on an agitated expression. "Fucker, don't get smart with me. So what did she say?" Come on, take this seriously!
Phun shakes his head and smiles. He continues to eat as if he isn't really concerned over this. "Not much. She assumed that we had a fight so she chased me out of the house and told me to patch things up with you. I'm not allowed to come back home otherwise. At first, I was afraid that you'd chase me out too. But I felt better when I got here. Thanks for letting me know about the party."
"No one told me about this either, man. And even if there were no party, I wouldn't have chased you away. Why were you so worried when you never chased me away?" I tell him as I pat his back a couple of times. I see Phun flashes a happy grin for a moment.
But before we can carry on with our conversation, we are interrupted by Ohm's booming voice.
"Yo, yo, yo! Let's play The Truth Game!" He says while waving a soda bottle in the air. We usually play this game when we drink. However, I know very well what Ohm's true intentions are for bringing this up tonight. So now, I start to think of a way I can get out of this.
"Yeah, yeah! Come sit in a circle!" The rest of the guys agree to join in as they move closer. Even Phun, who doesn't really know what's going on, is joining everyone too. I see that Ohm is looking very pleased with himself.
"Okay, we need to explain the rules first since we have new members joining us, and that's Phun, Per, and nong Knott." The three guys whose names were mentioned nod their heads along. Meanwhile, I intensely stare at Ohm since I know what he's up to.
"We'll spin this soda bottle right here in the middle of the circle. Whoever it points to when it stops will be asked a question and they must answer it, okay?"
"Jeez, p'! Anything and everything?" Per is making a fuss over this. Has he not learned anything? You'll be even more of a target. Are you stupid or are you stupid?
Ohm still looks pleased with himself. "It's cool, you can go home if you don't wanna play."
"No way. Fine, I'll play if I have to." The kid agrees to join with minor protests. I can already tell who the first victim will be. You would think that Ohm gently places a bottle to point at someone by the way he spins it. How is it that he's so good at this stuff but not anything else?
Unsurprisingly, the bottle spins and stops at Per.
"It's you. That's what you get for making a fuss." I put some pressure on him since I spot an opportunity to do so. His small eyes open wide, (as wide as he can force them to be) to which I find hilarious. Hahaha.
Ohm takes a second to think of a question. He comes up with a knockout question for Per to start the round with. "How many convent girls have you slept with already? You can't stay you haven't because I know that you have." Whoa! I know somewhat that Per is quite a player, but I had no idea that he's that bad. Per is taken by surprise and his face shows it.
"What?! Never!"
"You're gonna get it if you lie." Uh-oh. I don't know what it is, but no one has the nerves to lie to Ohm whenever he makes a threat like this. I watch as Per swallows and turns to look at Knott as if he's pleading for help. But nobody can help you now. Sorry, dude.
Once he realizes that there is no way out of this, he shakes his head and accepts his fate. Then he begins to count using his fingers. What the hell?! O.o This damn kid!
"Only the convent girls, right?
"Yeah, only the convent girls."
"Every convents?"
"You're even more of an asshole than I thought." Ohm begins insulting him. "Yeah, all the convents! Damn!"
Per nods and keeps counting with his fingers. "...four. Wait, five! Five girls, p'..." But then Knott elbows him repeatedly. "Six. I counted." Yo! For real, man?!
Per stares at Knott's face with some confusion before he proceeds to argue." I counted five." However, Knott doesn't let up. "Wanna count together then?"
So they begin to slowly naming names, one by one." Bow, p'Ammy, Mimi, Pink, nong Dem...and who else?"
"I knew you'd forget about p'Ning."
"Oh yeah! Ning too! Okay, so that's six. Six girls, p'." The two guys agree to themselves before they weakly confess to us. Everyone smacks them out of irritation.
"Better be using protections!" These kids are giving me a headache.
After I forced Per to give me his word, it is time for a new victim. I didn't even see Ohm spinning the before it lands at Phun...who is sitting next to me.
"Phun..." I call out his name and he flinches. He stares at me for a moment and then he returns Ohm's gaze.
"Well?" You know what they say, the best defense is a good offense!
Ohm nods at Phun's smile. He has a mischievous look on his face and then he marches on with a question. "What you shouted that day...were you being serious?" That fucker! Holy shit!
I panic and immediately stare at Phun. I'm unable to control my expressions. It seems that Phun doesn't understand the question though. "Shouted what?" He asks.
"In front of the F Building the other day. You better not say that you don't remember or you're gonna get it." Judging from his expression, it seems Phun couldn't remember at first but once he meets eyes with Ohm, he remembers everything. He even turns to look at me. (I got nothing to do with this!) Naturally, I pretend to be clueless and eat from my bowl as if I have absolutely no idea what's happening. Sorry, but I gotta jump ship.
"Well? Were you being serious?" Ohm repeats his question. I'm not looking at Phun's face so I don't know what kind of expression he has. Phun answers Ohm's question very clearly in his deep voice.
"I was."
"Yo, yo, yo! What's this all about?! You can't just keep this between the two of you!" Palm yells while everyone else is still puzzled. I let out a sigh of relief because it seems no one else knows about this. I suppose Om actually can keep things to himself.
Ohm doesn't answer the questions from the guys. He simply smiles and lightly pat Phun's shoulder. "Great. And you're willing to admit it too. You got my support. Fighting, man." Okay, this is probably not the time for feeling any reliefs. I highly doubt that I should be considering the weird looks that Ohm is now giving to me.. I can guess who the next victim will be.
And just as he begins to spin the bottle...
"Oh! I gotta take a shit! Be right back!" I shout and jump from my seat, not giving Ohm a chance to spin that bottle. Heh heh heh. I use this excuse a lot so it's not too strange for him catch on to me.
"You can't go! Stay for this round first!"
"I can't hold it! I'm about to shit my pants! I gotta go!" I cause a fuss and speed out of there, heading to the bathroom. Ah, well! I'll be safe for at least fifteen minutes. I can either pretend to have diarrhea or maybe I should just take a nap?
Once I arrive at the safe bunker, I push the door open before I close the toilet lid and sit down to take a nap. When my head touches the wall, I immediately feel a strange drowsiness overcoming me. I suppose it has to do with the amount of alcohol I've consumed earlier.
I can still hear the guys making loud noises every now and then. My curiosity is getting the better of me. I'm feeling a hint of regret since I'm losing out on learning other people's secrets. (This sounds terrible, doesn't it? Haha) The rule of this game is you can never talk about what you learn outside of the circle. So the chance for me finding out about them is pretty much zero. This annoys me a little, but I guess it's better than being there and allow Ohm to interrogate me.
I think to myself as I lean my head against the wall, feeling sleepier little by little. While I'm in in that moment between awake and sleep, I let out a big grin when I think about Phun's answer. It's the kind of smile that you can't wipe from your face no matter how hard to you try. Heh heh. Even though I couldn't see his face-and not to think too highly of myself-I can guess what kind of an expression he had. Phun is always like this. No matter what, he is loyal to his own feelings. Unlike me. At times, I keep running away like a fool. Just like what I'm doing right now for example.
Some time has passed since I came in the bathroom (I even had a full nap). I check my watch and learn that it has been over 45 minutes (and I'm beginning to have difficulty breathing in here). So I figure that this is enough time for them to finish that stupid game and I make my exit.
Creaks.
"Shit, that bastard finally comes out of there! I'll get you for this next time!" I get yelled at the moment I pop my head out. Hahaha. Just as I thought. I walk in looking relaxed as the guys are taking shots of vodka.
"You'd never get me. So what happened? I wanna know."
Smack!
This is the prize for someone who wants to be nosy but refuses to take any risks. Ouch, this hurts. Keng hits too damn hard. I rub my head right away.
"You ran off and you have the audacity to ask? Nobody tell him a thing." It sounds like he was the one spilling secrets. Heh heh heh. That's fine. I'll trick nong Knott into telling me about it some other time. That kid is so naive. I know this very well. Heh heh heh.
I accept a shot glass from Dong and I notice that there are less of us here now. I look around and discover that Phun isn't here.
"Where'd Phun go?" I quickly ask about the missing dude.
"He got upset at you and went home." Goddamn it, Rodkeng I was asking nicely, there's no need to get smart with me.
I curse at him in return. "Asshole, come on! Did he go upstairs to use the bathroom?" Since I was asleep in the downstairs bathroom, I assume that he might be upstairs. The guys shrug at me instead.
"No, for real. He went home. He excused himself out of the blue and left." Dong, who is sitting behind a bottle of vodka, gives me an answer . Of course, I'm perplexed by this.
"What the heck? He could've said goodbye to the owner of the house first." I complain before taking a shot. Damn, this is way too salty. Is it the salt or someone's nasty hands?
Khom reaches out to accept the empty shot glass from me before he passes it to Phong who happens to be the bartender for tonight. The seat next to me where Phun was sitting is now occupied by nong Knott who looks like he has had way too much alcohol thanks to the older guys making him drink. I watch his red face and find that to be pretty funny. Then, I notice that my cellphone has fallen down behind him.
"Oh, there's my phone." No wonder I couldn't find it when I was in the bathroom. I couldn't play any games and was only left with the option of taking a nap.
Knott glances at my iPhone and gives me a couple of nods. "Oh, right. P'Ohm was showing a video of when you were stuffing the Headmaster's Mercedez with sticky rice to p'Phun."
"That's a bit too daring, isn't it? He's the student council secretary, you know. If he tells the Headmaster about this then I'm gonna get kicked out just like Golf was." I turn to yell at Ohm before I realize something.
"Hey, how did you show it to him? You looked through the phone for him?!"
Ohm looks up from the squeezed lime in his hand to answer my question." Nah, I told him to find it himself. I don't know how to use your phone."
My hands instantly feels cold even though the air conditioner are barely cooling down the room.
"Did he say anything?"
Ohm takes a second to think before he answers. "I guess I misjudged his sense of humor. I thought he'd find it funny but he had a blank expression on his face and then he excused himself."
"I bet he left to let the Headmaster know about this." Khom adds and he laughs among the guys. I'm slowly starting to realize what has happened.
"Oh, shit..." I mutter to myself very softly, to which only nong Knott can hear.
"What's the matter, p'Noh?"
I no longer have the strength to do anything, let alone giving him an answer. I quickly shoot up from my seat and ignore all my startled friends.
"I'll be right back!" My mind is already at Phun's front gate even before I can start my motorcycle.
