Behind the Scenes

SCENE SIX: PAT TALKS

Pran is a very nice person.

I don't know how many times I've said this. I guess every time Pran acted cutely around me. Like when I wake up to find bread and sweetened condensed milk on the dining table. There were no signs that some had been eaten, meaning that the owner of the room doesn't like to eat it. But he was willing to buy it to make the person he scolds every morning and evening happy. God, as if it was part of his daily routine, he scolds me from when I open my eyes to when I close them again like he's a robot programmed to do so. But in the end, he is always good to me.

"Scrub and wash the spoon, too. Don't let the milk drip down. You can do that, right?"

I read the yellow sticky note. His handwriting is a little neater than mine. I can't help but feel a bit reluctant to wash the dishes but if this bastard is acting this cute, I'll make things look good today.

"You didn't answer my LINE message, Pat."

After class, Korn and I take a stroll from the school building to the university library to catch some fresh air. We need to borrow more books as references for our current thesis. Otherwise, I'd be able to count the number of times I went to a cultured place like the library on one hand. I find the book I've been looking for in the book register, walk over to pick it up, and sit down at a long table. The library is pretty quiet today. During the exam period, it's especially lively.

Sometimes I'd come to this area, depending on where the girls would go to study. Normally, I rarely meet up with the girls from my faculty. They're only useful during exams. Who knows, maybe that's the way they lure in men like me, who drink and get intoxicated every day but still want to graduate on time.

"Pat."

"What?"

"I asked why you didn't answer my LINE."

"Too lazy," I reply, finishing what I had to say. He stretches his legs out onto another chair across from him and sighs. He had just found the book he needed for studying and had come back to the table at the same time as me.

"If you're not okay with it, just tell Nat you don't like her. Just like that, Nat will go away. When I was on my way to our friends, they said that you just randomly show up as well. On some days, you come to eat with the group. On other days, you don't come. Where did you go after school yesterday? Nat said she couldn't find you at the game store and you weren't at the bar either."

"Hey, so let her follow me around. I'm hot."

"Fucking shit, Pat. You still wanna play around?"

"What do you want me to do? Nat is extremely self-centered. Don't tell me you're her friend and don't know that."

"I know... That's why I want you to hurry up and deal with her or I'll tell your sister," Korn warns me with good intentions. She's acting worse than we expected her to. But what should I do, I made it clear that I didn't like her.

"If I get involved with her, I'll get in trouble with Pa."

I know Pa well. I know her better than anyone else. My family has money and we kids are a little mischievous. I mean, both Pa and me aren't afraid of anyone. She has never looked for a fight before but when things get messy, she is ready to cover up my actions and bad habits for me. It's impossible to change her stubborn mindset. Bowing down to someone else, getting bullied, or going to her mother to cry are things she'd never do.

"You shouldn't act like you're interested in her."

"I didn't act interested in her. Nat came to me on her own. I escaped from the store but she still followed me." I was telling the truth. By only encouraging her a little, it had come to this. Who would've thought that after talking to her and then leaving her at the bar that day, she'd still want to continue?