100 Days Without You (COMPLETED)

9. Singto

Singto

The parcel arrives on a Wednesday, Josh chucks it on his bed as he enters the room from basketball practice, 'BBall Gun, we call it BBall!"

"Hey, who's Singto? That name's on the parcel too, but I knew it was yours because you're the only Thai guy in this building and also it's from that Krist guy again."

Singto looks up sharply from his desk, eyeing the poster tube. "Oh.. just another nickname. It's a Thai thing." He replies, eyes never leaving the package.

"Oh. Strange. But then, I suppose I'm Joshua to mum and dad, Josh to my friends, J-Man on the court. I kind of get it. But Singto and Gun, those aren't really similar?""

"My mum used to call me Gun." Singto admits, looking over at Josh who has the sensitivity to leave it alone after that.

"Are you going to open it then?" Josh asks, after a beat of silence, indicating the tube.

He really wants to. But he's not sure what's inside. It could be anything. He's got an internet blackout on GMM so he's not sure who's doing what and at the moment with all his work, he doesn't have time to search.

But it'll seem weird if he doesn't open it up. So he reaches for the tube and has just started to pull it out, when Josh opens the door to a gaggle of their corridor buddies. They pile in and one of them comes straight over to Singto.

"Who's Krist?" She asks as she catches sight of the name at the top.

He grins at her and lays the poster out fully so they can see the drum set and the blur of Krist's hands and the sticks.

Finally, Singto thinks as he stares at it, heart pounding as he remembers a time that Krist had played for him and then he'd crawled into his lap and they'd... but those aren't the thoughts to have right now, especially in a room full of people.

Instead, he lets a wave of pride crash through him. After six years, Krist's film is finally in the cinemas.

Beside him, Emma is examining the print. "Wow! He's really cute!" She says, and several more of their friends crowd around.

They all coo over the poster, the girls commenting on how attractive Krist is and the boys on the full image and how cool he looks. They all agree that it's really awesome how Krist has been photographed drumming and want to know more about it.

"It's a Thai film," he tells them, "I don't think it'll be available here, or dubbed into English."

"Oh, but you could translate, right, Gun?" One of the girls asks as she moves closer. Her name is Bess and she's been trying to show him she's interested since day one. But he's not, and he's been trying to let her down ever so gently - he's beginning to think he should be less subtle.

"Well, I can translate.. but not a whole movie, and I don't even know how I'd get a copy anyway."

"From him," Joshua interrupts, pointing at the poster. "He's the one who sent you it."

"You know a film star?" Bess asks and she and Emma start to squeal together.

Singto isn't sure what to do. So he just hums in responses and rolls up his precious poster ready to slide it back into the tube.

But as he does, two more photos fall out.

Bess, who is far too nosy, grabs them and starts squealing over the cats, showing it around. "Oh my goodness these kitties are so cute? Are they yours?"

"No," he says, reaching out a hand to take both pictures back. "They belong to Krist."

"So you do know him!" Emma jumps on his admission and pulls up google, "how do you spell his full name?"

Singto goes white at the thought of them searching.. and finding him. "It's Thai, you won't be able to type it, you need a Thai keyboard."

"Well, you must have one." She laughs and indicates his phone.

Around them conversation has moved away from his film star friend and back to the night out they're about to go on.

"I'll show you later, okay?" He tells Emma, glancing down at the photos before he puts them in his drawer to stare at later on.

Thank goodness she hadn't looked closely at Krist's second choice, he thinks

It's of him, curled up on his sofa, Muffin resting in the crook of his arm, and Krist's face in the top corner, blowing him a kiss. It is adorable. But not for anyone else's eyes.

He leaves for the night out with a warmth in his heart that he hasn't felt for a long time. It leaves a permanent grin on his face. He can't stop smiling.

He can't stop his thought either.. why did I give that up?