The Love we Share

Chapter 10

"Hello aunty, how are you?" Phayu, Pai and Rain greeted Sky's mom as they entered the restaurant where she was waiting for them. She had invited them for lunch. At first, Rain had been a bit reluctant, but Sky had begged him to come and Rain couldn't really refuse Sky anything. So he had convinced his brothers as well. Sky's mom handed the menu to him, asking him to place the order. "What should I order?" he whispered to her. "Anything. You should know what your friends like," she said dismissively. Phayu watched the exchange with a sinking feeling in his gut. When he looked at Rain, he realised that the boy already knew, but was keeping a straight face because he didn't want Sky to be in trouble.

"So where do you all plan to study?" Sky's mom asked. "Well, we haven't really decided, but I think Bangkok itself," Phayu said. "With their grades, they can aim for the National universities," Rain said, pride for his Hias clear on his face. "So Rain, Sky told me you got an award for sculpting?" Sky's mom asked. "Actually Aunty, not sculpting, wood carving. Hia Phayu thought I did a good job, so he sent it in," Rain said. "That's wonderful. Is that why you want to do Art? Because of the award?" she asked. "Oh! Umm.. yes... I am good at it, so I thought why not?" Rain said. "Sky is going to study civil law," she said, as Sky looked at his mother. The other three looked at Sky. Sky was about to say something when the server came in.

As soon as Sky began placing the order, his mom butted in. "What all are you ordering? At least see that you have company and then order accordingly," she whisper scolded. Sky's face fell further. "Is the fish fresh?" she asked the server. "Just came in this morning Khun," the server said. "And what about the lobster?" she asked. "You can come and check the tank," the server said, and Sky's mom stood up. "You continue talking to your friends and I will be right back," she said and Sky nodded. "You never told me that you wanted to do law?" Rain asked, looking surprised. "I didn't know it either. These are the plans she has for me," Sky shook his head in despair. After she returned, they had a pretty strained meal and then the four boys left, going back to their afternoon classes.

Graf removed the thermometer from under Rain's armpit, checking for fever. He had put a cool cloth on Rain's forehead, and an ice pack on his cheek, where his tooth ached terribly. This was the third time in a month that Rain had suffered from tooth ache, and Graf was very upset. "The moment you get better, you better go to the dentist, or the next time something like this happens, I will bash your tooth in," Graf said, a little angry because he was that worried. "Paa," Rain whined, his jaw hurting like a rotten tooth, which was exactly the problem. Rain had an unhealthy fear of dentists. It was not even as if something had happened to him in his childhood. He was just that stubborn.

Pai had just come into his classroom after practice that a classmate came in and gave him a bag. "What is this? Who gave it to you?" Pai asked, noticing it was a pair of basketball sneakers from Puma. "He said he was your dad Ai'Pai. I thought your dad had a small restaurant, I didn't know he was that rich," the classmate said. Pai immediately understood who it was. He picked up the bag and ran out, rushing towards the outdoor courts. His instincts screamed that something was wrong. He saw his teammates sitting around a table, opening bags of food from KFC. "Your dad found us. He said it was a little meal to thank us to be your friends," one of his teammates said. "I thought your dad had a restaurant. When did he become this rich ya?" another teammate said.

Pai didn't bother to answer, as he snatched up all the food packets and rushed away, his best friend trailing behind him, trying to stop him from doing anything stupid. He saw the man who called himself his father, going down the stairs of the school. "Hey! You!" he shouted out. Anuson turned around, happy thinking that Pai had finally come to his senses. But he was completely taken aback when Pai threw everything he had bought down the stairs at his feet. "Stay away from me, my friends, and my family, you moron! How many times do I have to tell you that You. Are. Not. My. Father! If you come near me once again, I will do something that we both might end up regretting," Pai said, screaming in anger. Anuson was taken aback, and hurried away from there. "Pai, you need to tell all this to Uncle Graf," Som said, staring at the man who had hurriedly disappeared. "If you don't, this is going to come back and bite you in the ass!" he warned.