Behind the Scenes

SCENE SEVEN: PRAN TALKS

I sit and look at the person who is lying on my lap with his eyes closed. Pat's breath is warm and steady. Probably because the large amount of alcohol has not yet left his system. I sigh as I hear the other person call my name in his sleep. The Napat I know is a playful but annoying person. He has a nice smile and doesn't stress out over anything. It's like there is a bright light surrounding him.

But even so, he's still a person I worry about. He never thinks twice. He doesn't consider his safety first and just wants to have fun. Everything that happens to him always also has an impact on me. Take what happened just now, for example.

How many people get so drunk that they get robbed by a taxi and thrown out in front of a 7-Eleven? And then he also laid outside until a dog licked his mouth. I had to go and find him in the middle of the night when it should've been the time for me to relax or concentrate on work.

Apart from him diligently creating problems and giving me a headache, him still acting like a child becomes continuously harder to bear. Now I'm not sure if we're enemies, friends, or father and son. I curse him every day, so much that I can't create new curse words in time. After this long, I'm starting to get tired of talking and complaining about the same thing because I see that the other party will probably never change. The same probably goes for me, too. Although I am tired... I just can't leave him alone.

At the front of the room, the teacher loudly claps a few times. The bright lights pull our minds back into our bodies. After listening to a lecture about sanitation systems that aren't up to standard for about an hour, I secretly rub my eyes and lazily stretch and twist my body to chase away the aches and pains in my body. Last night, I could almost hear the birds chirping before I went to sleep. I had to go out of the dorm for an early morning class at eight o'clock.

I left later than usual because I was searching for a packet of porridge in the cupboard and had to squeeze lemon juice in a glass to leave for the guy on the sofa, who should have woken up by now.

You didn't read wrong that I let him sleep on the sofa. If he can't take a shower, I don't know what he could drag in. Did you think that wiping his body down would be hygienic enough to let him onto my bed? How kind am I just for being willing to pick up that rotten P' and tuck him in on the sofa?

He's the dirtiest thing I've ever caught.

"Let's go eat first, Pran." The thoughts in my head vanish as the sound of Wai wakes me up from my daydream. I turn to see him collect his notebooks and stationery and put them in his backpack. "Are you going to get your work checked today?"

"I should get it checked but I have to stop by the library's quiet study zone first. I couldn't finish it last night."

"Okay, I'll go with you. But I probably won't get mine checked today. I'm not quite sure yet."

"And the others?"

"They're going to queue for Chanpen with Golf since the teacher canceled their class."

"Oh."

"Are you okay? You look gloomy today. Are you stressed about work?"

"No, I didn't get enough sleep last night. I'm sleepy."

"Go back to the dorms after you finish your meal. You can get your stuff checked tomorrow evening."

"It's okay, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." I nod and smile.

Waiyakorn is my closest friend. We've known each other since before we entered university. We went to tutoring together, helped each other study and succeed. When the exam results were announced, I sat in front of my computer with him. I remember that the website was down but we had some friends who went to see the list of candidates who took the entrance exams that was posted in front of the faculty.