It was raining so hard when the door of the small restaurant near the Khon Kaen University pinged, signaling that a new customer was arriving, and it spat out Ling, who gently shook off the rain from her umbrella before placing it in the umbrella rack on the side.
She saw Orm immediately stand up and run towards her, which she welcomed with a hug, not caring about the looks that other people were giving them.
"Did you already ate?" Ling asked her friend who was busy nuzzling the crook of her neck. She felt Orm shook her head but still, not letting her go. The Senior Biology student looks like a minute away from dying, but Ling is just fighting her sleepiness off and hugged her friend with one arm.
"You smelled wonderful, Doc.." Orm said, her voice muffled as her face was pressed against her skin, and Ling felt her hot breath against her. Instead of pushing her friend away, Ling simply smiled gently and stroked Orm's hair.
It's been almost a month since they last saw each other. The theatre art student was so busy practicing for their upcoming school concert and Ling's face was buried in books on molecular biology for days now, preparing for her midterm exams. She won't be surprised if she looks like nucleic acid now.
They graduated high school together, and Ling became the valedictorian of the class. Afterwards, she applied for a scholarship at the state university in Khon Kaen. Orm was studying at one of the nearby universities as well. Although they only meet occasionally, they still try to get together once in a while to catch up.
"I'm not a doctor yet. I still need to study medicine, and biology is just a prerequisite course." She explained for a thousandth time to her friend who already started calling her Doc the first day that they entered university.
"I don't care." Orm said, laughing. "I know you'll be a great Doctor someday, even better than Dr. Sheldon Cooper!"
Ling just shook her head. Since Orm's answer were kind of vague to her first question earlier, she deduced that the girl had skipped her meals again, so she pulled her friend away to take off her jacket and drape it over Orm's shoulders. "It's cold outside. Shall we eat?" She asked softly. Many years have passed and a lot has changed for them, but Orm is still the adorable and beautiful girl that she is.
Orm immediately guided Ling to their table, where Ling quickly pulled out the chair and waited for Orm to sit down before she turned around the table and settled into her own chair, already calling for the waiter to take their order. Orm did nothing but gently trace the line of the Biology student's fingertips.
"Just the usual, Max.." Ling spoke to the waiter who had already become familiar with them. Yakusoku is a nearby Japanese restaurant that offers excellent Japanese dishes, and the two of them are regulars there whenever they decided to meet up.
"Understood, Boss.." The kind waiter said, saluting them after taking their orders.
"So how's the play going so far?" Ling asked, her voice weary but her eyes spoke of the attentiveness that was solely for her childhood friend, disregarding the looks she is receiving from fellow diners.
Gone are the days when Ling was an awkward kid. Although still reserved by nature, Ling now has that mysterious vibe surrounding her that seems to attract both girls and boys even more. Leaving Orm extremely pissed most of the time.
