The Day We Met

It's History

Gosh, I know you will hate me for this. LOL!!!

***

Before the History Club meeting at noon, Beam didn't have much to do. He eventually returned to his dorm and began reading for his history lesson after feeling embarrassed about not having done so earlier.

His head was finally resting on his book.

"Little man having trouble?" Kao laughed.

Not looking up, Beam held up one finger. "Do not call me that."

"Why read now? Why read at all?"

"Because some of us want to get good grades." Beam closed his textbook but sat up straight. As he rubbed his eyes, he pushed his chair back. "Fuck it. I'm going out."

"Find some hot girl to distract you."

Beam smiled and shook his head. "Not interested." He made for the door.

"Oh." Kao said. "Then find some hot guy."

**

Beam took a few more minutes than necessary to locate the location where the club was meeting. He had to hold back a groan when he opened the door. Why was Forth required to be present? With a bunch of similarly shaped males, he laughed while leaning back in a shirt that stuck to him. He thought this was a History Club not a meeting for athletes. In fact, he would have thought he was in the wrong room if he hadn't spotted his history teacher.

The poor teacher appeared content that he would be teaching a roomful of raucous males (though Beam did see Mook).

"Beam." Forth indicated the vacant seat next to him with a nod.

Beam remained silent. He gave it some thought but did not take a seat next to Mook. This man sat behind him in English class every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and Forth looked determined to make friends with him, so he decided not to cause a disturbance. Instead, Beam gave in to him and sat down next to him.

Forth turned to his friends. "Beam is in Mathurada's English class with me."

"Which Mathurada?" A bearded, muscular man asked. They had their chairs pushed together, and he was positioned right next to Mook. "The husband or the wife?"

"The wife." Forth answered.

"Better her than him." A man with blond hair as long as Beam's laughed.

"Barom." The lone teacher in the room sighed.

It was not Barom who apologized but a man sporting copious stubble but with his hair cropped short.

"Sorry, professor. It won't happen again." He spoke calmly and in a way that gave Beam the sense that this was the person in charge of the group.

At least until Barom began to scold him.

Beam recalled the offer of the free pizza and pondered whether it would materialize as well as whether he would soon be able to depart.

He refused to. A dark-haired woman who gave the "leader" a kind gaze carried the pizza about halfway to the table.

Beam somehow managed to snag a few slices of pizza in the midst of the stampede for it.

They were left to their own devices because the professor appeared to have given up on them. The names of this group were revealed to Beam in the discussion that followed (Pha, Barom, Phong— he assumed these were all nicknames— and Hong). The president was Pha. Vice President Phong Beam had no idea what Barom was, and strangely, Forth worked as a secretary.