Till Baby Do Us Part

Fight or Flight

There were two things that upset me after my encounter with P'Tay. First, he called me pretty—as if I'm some tiny girl. I'm pretty sure my muscles are bigger than his, and I genuinely wanted to prove it. Second, why was he acting so cool? I called his name twice, and he just walked away, not even giving me a glance. Did he think he was the hero of some movie? And why did everyone respect him so much that they put off a fight just because of him? He's definitely in a gang or something. The quiet ones are always sneaky. I huffed at the thought.

To make matters worse, he almost tripped while walking away from me, completely ruining whatever "cool" aura he thought he had. There's no way someone that clumsy is that strong, I thought. Yet, despite everything, I couldn't stop thinking about him all weekend. I made a plan: I would stalk him, find out his secret, and tackle him myself. I had to know more about Tay Tawan Vihokratana.

Monday came, and my senses were on high alert. The schoolyard bustled with students, their chatter blending into the distant hum of morning traffic. My sneakers squeaked on the freshly polished floor tiles as I made my way down the hall. I had purposely arrived early to catch a glimpse of Tay. Surely, he was the punctual type.

The campus was a maze of modern buildings, all sleek glass and steel, casting long shadows in the early morning light. I scanned the crowd, but no Tay. The disappointment was palpable as I stepped into my classroom—a large, sunlit space with desks arranged in perfect rows. Was I wrong about him? Maybe he's a latecomer after all.

Unable to contain my curiosity, I turned to the guy sitting behind me— Inn Sarin, who had been trying to be my friend for the past week.
His desk was covered in stickers and doodles—definitely a carefree type.

"Hi," I said, trying to sound indifferent.

"Hello!" he replied, beaming as if he'd been waiting for this moment. "Do you remember my name?"

"Of course, Inn Sarin."

"Yes! I also remember yours, Newwie!" he said with an annoying level of enthusiasm. I rolled my eyes internally. I wasn't here for introductions—I needed information.

"Well, Inn Sarin—"

"Just Inn will do."

"Okay, Inn. Do you know where P'Tay is right now?"

"P'Tay?" Inn cocked his head slightly, a thoughtful look crossing his face. "Oh, definitely on the rooftop. He goes there every morning before class. Everyone knows that—well, except you, I guess. It's kind of his thing. I know you're new so I understand, but that's why no one goes up there before classes start."

"Why? Are they afraid of him?"

He laughed heartily, his voice carrying across the room. "Afraid of Tay? No way. He's too much of an angel to hurt a fly. We just respect him, you know? Give him his space."

"So, is that why the fight on Friday was put off?" I asked, skeptical.

"Yeah, no one wants to fight when Tay's around. It's like trying to ruin something pure."

I stared at Inn, utterly baffled. The fight was cancelled because Tay was too pure to witness it? There was definitely something off here. Inn seemed too innocent to know the real story, though.

"We're friends now, right?" Inn asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

Distracted by the urgency to get to the rooftop, I mumbled a quick "Yes," and darted for the door. But before I could reach it, the bell rang signaling the start of class. "Damn it," I muttered under my breath.

After a torturing half-day of classes, the cafeteria beckoned with the aroma of fried rice and steaming noodles. Inn dragged me along, his chatter blending into the din of students laughing, eating, and gossiping. The cafeteria was a spacious hall filled with long, communal tables and brightly lit by overhead skylights. The walls were painted a cheerful shade of yellow, but the noise level was far from peaceful.