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A year ago, college student Sarawat was swept off his feet by a mysterious stranger at a concert. Suddenly that guy, Tine, has burst into Sarawat's life with a wild request: pretend to be Tine's boyfriend...
Green's Friday morning response to the texts I sent the day before was two words, devoid of emotion. Green usually replied to messages with multiple exclamation points, but now there was no exaltation. He hadn't included any emojis or smiley, and he hadn't bothered with an apostrophe.
As we dressed, Tine asked if Green messaged me.
"According to his text, he's fine," I replied dryly.
"Do you not want him to be fine?" Tine teased.
"I know he's not being truthful. He's not fine."
Tine smiled. "If I didn't know better, I'd be slightly jealous of how concerned you are about Green."
My face reddened, and I looked away. "Dim told me to watch out for him," I reminded Tine. "That's all I'm trying to do."
"Okay," Tine replied. "Drop by his dorm today. Maybe he'll talk to you face to face if you let him know Dim asked you to check up on him."
"Maybe," I shrugged.
We walked to campus, discussing what our weekend plans would be. I had a game that night, but nothing else was on my schedule. Tine had a study group Saturday and Sunday afternoon, but we agreed he'd spend Saturday night at my place.
On campus, the talk of the mystery student hadn't died down. The team was scheduled to play our first game without Dim, which seemed to make us the most exciting group on campus. Whereas most people had been passive towards us the day before, they suddenly became aggressive in getting information. Teammates were messaging each other in the text group about how students and teachers were harassing them. I tried hiding away in the Poly Sci Building, but I still heard the whispers no matter where I went. It made me feel even worse for Green. I wanted to text him, but I was beginning to think it would be best if I spoke to him face-to-face, away from everyone else. But I promised to wait until we bumped into each other; I had done enough chasing, and I didn't want to ruin our friendship by being too pushy.
Tine had a study group during lunch, and Boss and Mann had lunch with two girls they'd recently begun to see. I grabbed a sandwich from the Dining Hall, but since it was nice outside, I walked over to an empty bench outside the Poly Sci Building to eat and study.
Suddenly, someone called me. "Are you Sarawat?"
I looked up into the almond-shaped eyes of a tall, imposing, broad-shouldered guy. He had an athletic physique that only came from constant working out. With his oval-shaped face covered in flawless porcelain skin, he gave off an air of self-assurance that few people could honestly pull off. Mocha-colored eyes under thick black eyebrows sized me up; he seemed to be analyzing or memorizing me. He curled his full, pink lips into a smug smile and crossed his arms on his chest.
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Dismissively I asked, "Who are you?" I knew I had seen him before; I just couldn't place where I knew him from. Is he in one of my classes? Have I played soccer against him?
