Lullaby

Chapter Two

"So?" Aim pounced on Kongpob the minute he entered the classroom. "What did P'Arthit say? Did he berate you?"

Shaking his head, Kongpob dropped his voice a notch so that they would not be heard by the others around them.

"No, in fact he told me to stay at the back of the group now so he could keep an eye on me. He also said that it would be easier to avoid punishing me this way." Kongpob explained to his best friend.

Aim let out an audible sigh of relief as he slumped into the chair beside him.

"Oh thank god. I thought I was going to have to keep you out of trouble for a moment there." He said.

"You?" Kongpob snorted. "I'd be lucky if you can even catch me before my head hits the ground when I crash."

"Speaking of which Kong, why were you falling asleep just now?" Aim asked, scratching his head. "You don't usually crash like that either. You just kinda look like a person who is about to die dramatically and faint most of the time."

"Beats me." Kongpob shrugged, remembering the strange feeling that had hit him. "I just felt.. Sleepy."

Aim's jaw dropped as he mouthed 'Sleepy?' at Kongpob since Professor Suda had walked in for their first lesson of the day.

Kongpob nodded wordlessly and jerked his head towards the front, ending their conversation there. The truth was, he had no idea how that happened either and it was also bugging him to no end.

The class flew by with a strangely intense first practical which resulted in Kongpob and Aim bonding over circuit breakers with two other boys in their class - Tew and Oak. The four of them got closer very quickly over their growing hopelessness over the circuit track they were supposed to be building and their common love for games.

The rest of the day proved to be even more trying as the first years struggled to keep up with their new curriculum and the fact that they were no longer in high school. Kong however, felt like he was on the verge of collapsing at any point and he knew that his crashing state was bound to hit sooner or later if he continued to not be able to get any rest that night.

He knew he'd probably have to share his little 'problem' with his new clique of friends some time soon or they would definitely be in for a nasty shock. The problem was however, his supposed small group of friends had now grown and almost doubled in numbers with the addition of another 3 girls, Maprang, May and Praepallin. And he wasn't really sure whether they would be able to handle his sudden crashing moments.

Dragging his exhausted body back to his room, Kongpob dropped his bag on the floor and fell backwards onto his bed with a soft thump. He knew he should really hop in the shower soon to clean up and start his nightly count of sheep but he simply had no energy left.

A small thump and a loud hiss travelled through the thin walls of the dormitory room to his right. Kongpob chuckled a little to himself. His neighbour must have stumped a toe or something. His assumption was proven right as a string of colourful language floated like music to his ears.

The strange sense of comfort washed over him again but he shook it away, owing it to his lack of sleep. Picking himself up, he hurried to clean himself up. The earlier he got to bed, the more likely he was to be able to go to sleep. Or at least that was the theory that never seemed to actually apply to him.

Nevertheless, Kongpob wanted to keep trying. He was determined to make his dream of being a normal college student come through. In these four years of school, he was going to have to make it work, and hopefully forever be rid of his insomnia.

Rubbing his wet hair, the light strumming of guitar drifted through the walls once again, from the room next to his. Kongpob closed his eyes, humming along with the familiar chords. His neighbour was pretty good. If he had to adjust to all the various noises around him, at least this was a welcoming change.

Just as he had put his towel up to dry, a soft yet strangely familiar voice began to follow the strumming of guitar. Kongpob stared at the wall in surprise, taking it all in. Turns out his neighbour had more than just a colourful dictionary, he also had a beautiful voice. Exactly where he had heard this voice before though, he couldn't pinpoint.

He crawled under his bed covers, settling with his arms behind his head and enjoyed the faint tunes that were travelling through the wall. He turned his head a little to take a look at the time.

10:05PM

Kongpob sighed. Closing his eyes, he let himself drift along with the light strumming and dulcet voice of his neighbour. Not only did he have the skills, it seemed like they had similar taste in music as well.

1:45AM

Kongpob jerked awake, still lying in the exact position he had remembered he was last in. Falling asleep just like that - this was something that hadn't happened before. He didn't remember beginning his count of sheep either. He frowned to himself. This was very strange.

First it was dozing off in the hall, then it was feeling sleepy every time he was near P'Arthit, and now? This was just icing on the top of the whole confusion cake he had plated in front of him right now. What was happening with his body? As excited as he was to finally have a chance to be like a normal student, he most certainly did not expect any of all these strange situations either.

As he rolled over to his side to try to close his eyes and head back to sleep, he found his body once again in its usual state. Perhaps that little nap was indeed just a fluke and a mean joke his body was playing on him. He let out a great big sigh and began his counting as he had every night for years.

1

2

3

...

9729

He reached out to slam his alarm off again right before the numbers flickered to 6:30AM.

'And we're back to square one," he thought to himself dejectedly as he picked himself off the bed and began his morning routine.

While his little nap last night ensured that he wouldn't be collapsing out of nowhere today, it also did nothing in the department of 'Kongpob still feels like crap'. His head felt heavy and he was so tired it was criminal.

There was no sound from his 'Guitar Neighbour' as he had now decided to name him so it was either that the guy was not awake, or already out of his room. Kongpob shrugged a little to himself and headed out the door to pick up Aim from his room again.

Sometimes Kongpob is envious of his best friend's ability to sleep through everything. But right now, it was most certainly not helping their case as the pair of them sprinted towards the hazing hall. They slipped past their second year seniors with grateful quick wais and naturally settled themselves at the back of the group, as per Arthit's instructions.

Both of them counted their blessings as not even two minutes later after successfully planting their butts down on the floor, their hazers walked in, heads up high and eyes ablaze. Kongpob silently observed Arthit, noting that his senior was actually very good looking.

Arthit's eyes soon found his and he felt a slight blush creeping up to his face when the elder gave a slight nod. This was the first time he felt special despite having had slightly differential treatment all his life. Those from his previous school were filled with worry and fear.

What Arthit gave however, was a discreet chance to be normal. From his last experience, Arthit had no qualms punishing him if he had to either but yet, it felt nice knowing that his senior gave him a little more attention than the others.

However, Kongpob soon felt ashamed of himself as the soothing voice of the elder guy soon threatened to lull him off to sleep once more. The mysterious pull was getting stronger and stronger and even with the rest of the cohort singing a completely different song - namely their faculty representative song. Kongpob once again found himself drifting slightly, as though he was listening to a whole other tune altogether, one that was his own personal lullaby.

~***~

Author's Note:

I don't know what I'm doing with this one OMG PLEASE HELP.