BAD BUDDIES / BEHIND THE SCENE CHAPTER 3

 

BEHIND THE SCENES – SCENE 3 || PRAN

"Well, I've been saying it for a long time." I said, stirring the ready-made porridge, that I have just unpacked from the packet and put into the bowl of hot water.

“What?” The short question that doesn't even make a sentence makes my eyebrows twitch.

"Why would you bring your face in my room again in the morning? Was seeing you last night not enough? No, I saw you a lot this month. I’m not sure if you come here all the way to make merit or what?”

“I doubt you don’t know.”

“Don’t you have anything to eat at your room? Is that why you come all the way here to my room all the time?”

"I wonder if you're not going to make merit this month," he said. “There's bread, but the milk is all condensed. And, I don't like to eat jam."

"Do I need to know?"

The cheeky guy still responds with a silly expression and scoops thick porridge into his mouth with his hand. I frowned because I checked with the spoon that there's still a lump of powder that hasn't broken down yet.

"You suck at making instant porridge, you can't cook it." he said.

I'm not going to see you again.

"I've been so happy,"

"I can't take it,"

"I can't take it,"

"I can't take it,"

"Just one, you can't feed me,"

“You’ve got a sharp mouth!”

Pat still grinned even though I was throwing curses at him. In the end, I was exhausted from making the hot porridge and feeding it to him.
“How many times did I already tell you to do the dishes?” He got up and went to the kitchen and came back frustrated.

"Put dishes in the sink, the water supply is not there." he said.

"So, you're going to wash the porridge stuck in the bowl. It will be hard to wash it off."

Naphat smiled with his eyes closed instead of answering me. His smiling expression made me frown. His facial expression stirs my violent emotions, it makes my hands twitch. I stopped talking to that ignorant person and turned my attention to a bowl that was covered with food stains. The dishes were dirty.

I'm squinting at the person who still sits staring at me, the eyes not even blinking once. And I am getting frustrated seeing the tied-up hair. Cut to the end, will you? There is no difference in the eyes of the person.

"Frequently frowning. Be careful with your old face.”

"You are not too careful either."

“I would like to say that I am young.”

“You will probably die before you get old you know?”

"Your mouth is bad."

“Leave after eating.”

“You are chasing me away. You’re mean.”

"NAPHAT." I called his name; my voice was even darker than before. I have always used switched my tone when I am not joking around anymore, but when did I start doing this, I am not aware. It seemed like other party knew that my mood had started to worsen, so he raised two hands in response as if to indicate he gives up. That nervous smile is still stuck at the corner of the mouth.

“At what time will you go out to study?”

"Nine-and-a-half. I will be leaving soon."

I'm a little hesitant to ask it back, but if I don't ask, it will be troublesome "At what time are you going to go out?"

“10 o’ clock.”

“But I will leave soon. Go back to your room.”

"I'm lazy to go back to my room and unlock the door. You get me your room key; I'll lock it for you.”

“What? Do you want me to leave my room to a person like you?”

Knock Knock!

Nat swallowed the words he was about to say and we both turn to the door after hearing the knock.

“Who?” I walked over to the door and peeped through the peephole. I saw my friend standing outside my door with his hands in his pocket and grinning. I touched my temple upon seeing him. Why is he here today?

“Hey Pran! It’s me.”

Damn it. Stop knocking. I scratched my head and my friend waited for my response.

“I am almost finished dressing up. Wait, I coming.”

"Bring over the work files as well. I texted you and called you on LINE but you didn't read, didn’t call."

"Well, wait a minute, let's go."

So, I quickly turned around and prepared to pick up my belongings, and I turned to the man, who was sitting down and smiled and asked for the key by raising his finger in front of me.

"I didn't do anything." he whispered.

"Don't say much. I am going. After ten minutes, be gone."

I cursed at him without making a sound and I asked him to stand at the corner of the room so, the person standing outside the door won’t be able to see him. I hurriedly put on my uniform, before rushing to pick up the work papers, a flash drive with my wallet and my mobile phone and put it in my bag.

"I am leaving. Don't forget what I said.”

"I know, leave in ten minutes."

I took a deep breath nervously. Soon, I opened the door and found that my friend was standing at the same place waiting for me.

"Slow." He complained.

"Well, I was getting dressed. Let's go." He nodded and walked to the elevator.
I sneaked a peak at the other side, looked back into the room and saw the wise
man smiling, waving his hands behind the sofa, pointing his finger again before closing the door. I quickly moved after my friend.

"How's it going with you?" He asked me as soon as we walked out of the professor’s room. It took me so long to discuss about the topic that I was the only one left behind in the building.

"All good." I said. I swayed my shoulders and jumped up, sitting on the glass table beside him.

“Teacher didn't say much about my topic, so I’ve to think deeper.”

"'I'm going to go to the SWOT analysis"

"Oh, you didn’t get it last time?”

“I got it but professor told me it was a superficial analysis.” he answered with a nervous face. I slumped my shoulders with exhaustion and I laughed. Golf continued to complain.

"What happened to Golf?”

"Last time professor told me my topic was interesting but today she said she’s not happy with it. Is it entertaining for her?”

“Who’s your mentor?”

“Ugh...It seems like my mentor gets bipolar relapses every three days.” He replied.

“so what?” After asking I thought I was extremely lucky that my mentor had a constant mood. She did not rush up and down or was sudden or unreasonable. We talked to each other thoroughly and came to conclusion together.

"I don't know, I've been kicked out of a case study. You won’t know, you have already passed, you son of a bitch.” To deny it would be a blatant lie.

“I'm going to start a stud model in a few days.” I said

“Shit! I am jealous of your brain.” Kae said in a mourning voice. Kae leaned back on the board and looked up at the ceiling with despondent eyes. "I'm going to cut your brain." I laughed. "And this is a quick thing to do."

Golf sighs, "It's going to be a long time."

"Well, let’s go to the booze shop after school." Today, it will be like, "Drink to your heart’s content."

Even though plans were made but I haven’t really been drinking for almost a month, because after the semester break, a lot of work had to be done. Having to find information for assignments and submitting them to respective subject teachers made all of us quite busy. I could graduate in four years in Architecture course of my college. It's faster than some universities by one year, but it's harder than anything. Like some courses have shorter period but are packed with content (study) that it makes your head overflow with information.

But even so, everything is grade as a score. It affects all credit points anyway.

Since it’s the fourth year, I sigh so often that my nose almost blows to the
ground. There are things which cause headaches every day.

In addition to these endless things, you can see that Thesis is not the same. Each time I've finished talking to the teacher about my topic, I am almost ready throw my head down to the ground and shake forehead. It hurts more than a wound that is hit again and again,

"Cheers!" Golf said.

"Smash the crappy Thesis." Waiyakorn yells in the shop and raises a glass and slams it down loudly. I was afraid that he would hurt his hand if he kept on slamming the glass.

"I'm so upset that I'm unable to get past it." he complained and topped up another glass to drink.

"I'm going to change my mentor. Now, I'm going to get a headache, and I’m never going to be the same."

The man’s eyes started to turn red. Despite the subsequent outrage, the alcohol still rushed to the table.

“I want a consultant, Pran.”

“Who's going to give you one?” Speaking of the early school's raffle, he dropped a smile

"It's not a bad idea, you know, at least, Master Chieke is good.”

“But now I think there's more to it than that." Kae said in a quiet voice.

Kae looked at the other side of shop with a frown and I followed his gaze.

The gang walked into the store and we accidently made eye contact. The other guy lifted the corner of his mouth and sends me a kiss which stirred the organ underneath. It makes me think of the person who couldn’t cook the porridge that morning and then held my temple. So, is everybody the same in their faculty?

“Looking at them makes my mood worse. Seeing them makes my temper flare.” Waiyakorn said in a low voice. I was busy mixing the liquor.

“Erm! Ignore them now. Just focus on eating, don’t pay them much attention.” I said.

“Well, if they don’t mess with us first.” He replied.

He looked up at the gang and I thought of controlling my friends. I hope they don’t let the animals in their mouth run wild because I am too lazy to get new wounds.

"Oh, shit!" and I swear profusely as I moved my body down on the couch.

I feel pain in the wound near the corner of the mouth, so I can't get it wrong to think that it's finally going to be banned. When we meet each other, we're in the same territory, we don't have to go through the rumble every time.
The brittle-mouthed man who likes to tease is always more than the fuel that's going to get into the fire.

'Isn't that lonely to drink alcohol alone?’

'Or if you're bored, you can pour a drink for me.'

‘Are you going to be as good as those beautiful architecture girls?’

The more sensitive it is, the more emotions you feel and the more you feel, the faster they bother you. Soon, the bottle was thrown towards the opponent's table.

Tap.

I exhaled through my nose deeply and heard the voices ranging across the room. The verbal assaults and plates breaking could be heard. I didn’t have to look to guess who was doing it. I couldn’t even frown as it made my temples hurt. The fist landed on my face and the pain it caused and the power of alcohol could barely make me sit still.

KNOCK!

Ugh… who was there?

“What?” I asked without looking up at who was at the door but when the door was open, I was stunned to see the head of a gang of dog-mouthed gangs standing with a big pillow and a rotten rabbit.

“What do you want?” I asked him with suspicion.

“You aren’t letting me enter the room.”

“So what?”

“Because of you I have more wounds.”

“And you didn’t give me any wounds at all? You started the fight. I didn’t even say anything.”

“No. I didn’t start anything.”

“And now why are you barking here?”

“I really didn’t start it.”

“Get away from me.”

“I don’t think I can sleep at the door.” He said. “You did it to me. You are responsible for it.”

“What’s up with you?”

“Let me sleep with you.”

I frowned and cursed at him, but it wasn’t from my heart. The man standing in front of me is same as the buffalo, but he is standing still, not moving, carrying a childish doll with him to sleep. If there’s anything to wiggle first, it might be my lower suspension.

“Good night.” I said as I reached out to grab the knob of the door and pull the door shut. But he was faster than me and he blocked me first and the pillow clamped under his arm almost fell to the ground.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Well, I haven’t done anything yet.”

“Don’t bother me.”

“Standing still and still cussing at me. Do you want your friends to come and see me standing here, holding a pillow like a husband, whose wife has forbidden him from entering the room?”

“I….”

“Shush.” He shook his head and shushed me when I was about to reply.

“It’s late at night and people will come and see if you make noise.” He said.

He used this moment as an opportunity to quickly enter my room. I turned to look at the sassy man sitting comfortably on the sofa.

“I want to sleep but I don’t have blanket and I will get cold without it.”

“And?”

“I will share yours.”

“Are you dreaming?”

“I can’t sleep in the same bed.”

"Just drop it.”

Naphat laughed and entered the room and reached out to pick the remote and turn on the TV without asking. It was as if he owned the room and I couldn’t help but wonder.

“You can go and take a shower. Don’t worry.” Pat said.

I rolled my eyes when the person in front me said that. He probably doesn’t have any consideration left in him.

I looked at the crappy doll in front me and I assumed that it had probably never been exposed to water and detergent in its entire life. I don’t remember when we started contacting each other casually instead of insulting each other’s fathers every time.

Naphat is a man whose, if all the dirty habits are ridden off entirely, can't deny that he will be admired by every woman. The playful, smiley face is not bad to look at.

Despite our hatred, we grew up together. It's a bit of an insult, but it's never been far away. We hit each other but, in the end, we look after each other’s wounds.

If I say that he and I were probably a fateful couple in our previous life… it won’t be exaggeration at all.