Rumor has it that Alan Hemmawich is the son of a butcher in Mo Chit.
There was a large market in Mo Chit, where the livestock market was particularly active.
They said he lived at a place where animals’ limbs were cut, bones were smashed, blood was drained, and intestines were combined to fill human stomachs.
When the other guys saw Alan’s father, they started joking about butchers and other low-quality noises.
It was funny to see the people who couldn’t care less about meat looked down on Alan’s father because he was a butcher.
What’s even more ridiculous was the fact that they were talking behind the scenes while remaining silent in front of Alan.
They were terrified of him because he was huge, being over 190 centimeters tall, taller than the members of the school’s basketball team.
They acted like a stick that shrinks when baked in an oil stove in front of Alan, and then giggling behind him that was not pleasant to see.
When I looked at them closely, I couldn’t figure out why they were talking behind his back.
But, in fact, I was no different from them. I was also uncomfortable with the overbearing and violent Alan, but on the other side, I was terrified.
***
The summer of my sophomore year of high school was uneventful.
School was tedious, and it was the ideal time to be bored.
Compared to the third year, where there is no room for boredom as the college entrance exams are just around the corner and a busy first year.
Whether adjusting to school or becoming anxious for college, the sophomore year is… literally a sophomore.
There was nothing interesting about it.
As an ordinary student, I normally spend my time in class studying and looking at various things.
But it was different today.
I really wanted to go home.
The air conditioner in the classroom was broken.
There was wind, but it was not much different from the hot wind.
Even so, I couldn’t even ventilate the room because of the classmates who insisted on closing the windows.
The stinky smell of dust kept tickling my nostrils. I relied on the loud fan barely hanging from the ceiling, but honestly I was dying from the heat.
I was weaker than my peers in handling the heat.
Because of the heat, I was sweating profusely and my face had turned red. My lips were pale and dry as if I were sick, and I was squirming helplessly on the desk.
“Hey, tell the teacher and go home. It’s a self-study after all.”
My friend patted me on the shoulder and said that.
I opened my eyes and gave a hazy response.
I replied, “Okay, I’ll go to the teacher’s office then… I tried my hardest to pronounce it correctly, but I couldn’t.”
“So… Then I’m going to the office… I will be back.”
In fact, the voice that came out of my mouth was full of strange breathing sounds.
I was allowed to leave as soon as I went to the office and met the teacher.
It was because my face had turned a ripe red and I was breathing weirdly.
I wasn’t the type of person who would normally be lethargic enough to go early.
YOU ARE READING
SWEET LIKE CANDY
Roman d'amour"Let's slowly become adults." Jeff Thanapon, who was in school, suffered from the heat and had to leave early. He runs across Alan Hemmawich, a well-known bully in the alley on his way home. Jeff, who is afraid of him, attempts to walk pass him as i...
