Veneers

1

He took a deep breath , quietly opening his door. It was already night and if he kicked it open like he wanted to do so badly, his neighbor would not hesitate to give him an earful. Ah,fuck it. He kicked it shut anyway. He tossed his backpack aside, somewhere in the room, and scanned the darkness, " Deng? Deng?? Where'd you go buddy?" Aou called out. No dog.
"DENG!?!"  knock, knock

"Look, I'm sorry I banged the door,but im busy right now." he said over his shoulder, moving from room to room

"Deng's with me" his neighbor said. He flung his door open again and started to massage his neighbor, like you would when you don't want say sorry after all the evidence points to you.
"Fluke, my dearest best friend. I haven't even offered you coffee yet." he led the smaller man into the living room
"First of all, it's midnight, I'm trying to sleep. Secondly, I'm straight up tired of you. Take your dog."  Fluke shoved the leash at Aou and saw himself out.

Fluke had been his neighbor for three years and his best friend for ten. He moved uphill because he was now hired to homeschool some of the rich kids, just like Aou did. He always returned home earlier than Aou because his health wasn't peak anymore.
Aou knew this. Everyone knew this.

However it was rather unsettling, those up there only want people in top shape, to make their money worth, Fluke was given the job no questions asked,no application, no nothing.
He was someone's favourite.

Aou now fully locked his door and set Deng in his bed as he took a shower. In those five minutes, an eeire intrusion was felt more than once. Like, he was under surveillance at the very least. And he was, so was Fluke, and those in the slums, and those "along the Tarred roads". He wore a pair of cotton pants and threw himself next to Deng.
Like a flash, a set of white pearly teeth formed image behind this lids of his closed eyes. He gasped.

The clock read seven. "Six hours of sleep,yet I only ever saw those blasted teeth" he sighed and washed his face. The water was slightly more brown than it was yesterday. His well is getting empty, but filling the tank costs too much. He'd have to take on another job, somehow.
From his bathroom window,he could see the slums, sick people walking like zombies all over, pollution and sheer darkness over their heads. He made it out of there. And it was crazy actually, he thought as he strode to the living room and opened the windows, from there he saw the hills. The hills where the elites live their lives quietly with only a band of houses seperating them from the slums. His house was the fourth.

Deng let out a bark, pulling him out of his thoughts. He swung his backpack over his shoulder and left. But not before visiting Fluke.
Knock knock
"Come on in. I'm having breakfast first. Do you want any?" Fluke asked
"No. It's Wednesday today. I'm fasting. I left Deng in the living room, can you please check -"
"Yeah yeah yeah. I'll check on him before i leave today. Take this lunchbox. You don't need to starve yourself because of your car. Now get out. "
Aou looked into th lunch box, chicken rice and pork. With a huge gummy smile, he trapped Fluke in a back hug.
" aww you love me so much. I should just put a ring on your finger my lovely lovely husband -"
"Get out. "Fluke threw a napkin at him as he left the kitchen

Aou quietly drove uphill. He stopped to get gas at the gates of the hills. It was a long drive today, he was going to the Piriyankul mansion. That was his new job this semester. Teach the kid everything he needs to know before he goes into middle school.
Job was one of Aou's best students, but he hadn't been doing too well lately, he even stopped coming to school entirely. Aou wanted to know what happened so he did. He made an appointment and went to visit Job.

That's where his car hot scratched. In that house. It was his uncle, Job's uncle, but Aou took his car away quietly. Can't ask a wealthy man to do a poor man's bidding, can you?

The mansion had black gates that shone in the Thai sun, as if they were diamond. He pressed the doorbell and went back to wait by his car. A minute later a tall brunette flung the door open, with a briefcase and car keys in hand. He was going out himself it seemed. But Aou knew this man.
He'd seen him a Total of three times at Fluke's house since last year.

"Mr. Piriyankul. Good morning." Aou greeted,
"Who are you? I know you." the big man asked.
"I'm here for Job. I'm his teacher. I'm also Fluke's friend. I've seen you at his house a couple of times before. But I came here for Job today,that's all." Aou blabbed out.

"Oh yeah, you're the guy who likes to run his mouth a lot. Job is upstairs. Ask a guard to direct you. Oh. And tell your friend... It's been a minute." with that the man put on hi sunglasses and entered his car.
It was one of the older models, what did they call it again??

Didn't matter. He just interacted with Thor Piriyankul. Everyone knew he was a private investigator. But who was he fooling? He was a double agent and no one trusted him, but he did outstanding work on the field. He was top class stuff.
he started to look around for a guard, for some reason, he couldn't spot any within a mile radius except for the one that opened the gates for him.

"For a wealthy family like this to have no security at all is crazy -"
"We do have security."

Jumpscare!Aou thought holding his chest as it was about falling from his body, "we've placed them at vantage points."

"Heyyy, you're the guy that scratched my car last time I was here! With all due respect, it costs a lot to fix and I'm only a teacher. A sorry would've been nice,at least. Now,I have to drive around with that huge scrape on my car and people are going to think I'm irresponsible when you're just a bad driver. "

The taller man just stood there, looking at him, amused. He stood on the balcony of the first floor, looking over Aou.

How condescending.

"You talk too much." the man said. His teeth painfully visible from where Aou stood.
He was one of them too.
"You can call me Boom. Or Mr. Piriyankul. Whichever you wish. And I can compensate you for your car if that's really why you came -"

"Don't even worry about it, Mr.Boom Piriyankul. You can keep your veneer money to yourself. "

First part down 😅
I'mma b doing my best update twice in a week.
Please lemm know if you have any suggestions or confusions..
Ly 💜