It Wasn't That Way

Chapter 12

The plane ride back from America to Thailand was long but the car ride from the airport to Cake's house was longer. It was 3 AM when Cake walked in through the front door of his old house, and memories came rushing right back.

Everything still looked the same. The same smooth tile of their house that imbued a welcome coolness on his feet, Thailand was much hotter than he remembered. There was that same comfortable couch that he'd spent hours on with Cream and Eiw, only now, it was covered with a sheet to keep the dust off while they were gone.

His mother fussed over it, "The maid should've removed this." She said, and slid it off, collecting it together neatly.

The same old TV that contained only Thai channels; Cake couldn't wait for a free moment to flip through all of them, even the bad ones were going to be a nostalgic treat.

And if he took a deep enough breath, he could smell past the stale scent of disuse in the house to the ghosts of his mother's freshly baked sweets as they hung temptingly in the air on a late monsoon day.

But best of all, Cake thought with his heart beating wildly, was Eiw. Right next door, the same as always.

"Mom, can I please go see Eiw?" Cake flashed the power of his first real smile in four years at his mom.

"It's really late Cake, and you have things to do in the morning."

Ever since he failed those classes, his parents had become really strict about school.

"Please mom! I'll be in and out, just for an hour!"

"I'm sorry, but you're going to need to wake up in just a few hours. You need to go get registered at your new school."

Cake knew she was right, but he still couldn't help but want to see Eiw right away. But no matter how high he turned on the charm, and no matter how much he begged, his mother wouldn't relent. She sent him up to bed to get some rest, and so up Cake went. He was frustrated with her decision, but nothing could shake the happiness he felt from finally coming home.

Cake dropped his backpack off in the middle of his room and he looked around fondly. He could almost hear the soft pew pew from the fighter video games he liked to play as a kid and the squeaking of the pedestal fan in the corner.

Everything looked the same in here too. His bed frame, his computer desk, and his bookshelves looked as though he'd never left. They'd gotten all new furniture in America and they were shipping it back over to Thailand, but Cake didn't want to replace what he had. It had already been good.

His old bedsheets were stretched over his bed, the maid his parents hired must've made their beds for them. The only thing that was missing from it was Eiw.

Cake glanced at his window and debated sneaking out, but decided against it. He reminded himself to be responsible. What was the point of working so hard all of these years and getting into the same college as Eiw if he didn't go get everything squared away at school?

Failing his first semester in America had caused him to stay behind for an extra year while he figured out how to make all of the classes up, and nothing had kicked his ass more into gear. School still didn't come easy, but Cake worked hard and took it seriously now.

He was so excited to go the same school as Eiw again, and he was eager to go get registered before it could turn into something else that tried to keep them apart.

The only problem was that the more time passed that he was home and didn't see Eiw, the more nervous he got.

What would it be like to see his friend again after so long?