Distant Signals: The Love Between Us

Chapter Four

Kongpob couldn't say if he was impressed or exasperated by Arthit's dogged determination to pretend their kiss didn't happen, but he was amused by his antics and it made teasing him downright irresistible. Unfortunately, in addition to feigning ignorance, Kongpob had a sneaking suspicion that his senior planned to avoid him entirely if he could. This wasn't based on nothing, either.

On Friday, the hazing team came to their class to inform them about the upcoming week, specifically how they were postponing the freshmen gatherings with the expectation that they would participate in all the Freshy Games. To Kongpob's relief, Arthit was there as the head hazer, as he should've been all along, but he noticed that his senior seemed to be taking extra care to avoid looking in his direction.

When the hazers came to check on who signed up for the activities, Arthit stayed close to his friends and he didn't acknowledge Kongpob—which, to be fair, he hadn't expected—but even after Prem and Wad nearly fought and he began lecturing them on the importance of taking the Freshy Games seriously, Arthit looked at everyone except him. Usually during these lectures, Arthit's eyes would linger on him for a few seconds longer than anyone else, but now they didn't. It sparked a fire in him.

"We will win for sure," said Kongpob, eyes blazing with confidence.

Finally, Arthit paid attention to him, even shifting so that they faced each other. "Don't just talk the talk but walk the walk. Bear in mind that you are representing the entire Freshman class and you carry their hopes and aspirations."

"I know that fully well. That's why I said we will win for sure." With Arthit's attention directed solely on him, Kongpob eagerly rose to his challenge. "I will prove to you that us first years have what it takes to be engineering students here too."

The confrontation drove Kongpob to convince Wad to join the basketball team and all of them were determined to win and prove the seniors wrong. Next week would be exhausting, but Kongpob was ready to push himself in order to follow through with his promise.

Nevertheless, it hadn't fixed the main problem. Sure, Arthit hadn't ignored him for a few minutes and hopefully he'd show up to the basketball games and Freshy Contest to see how they were doing, but neither of those presented him with an opportunity to actually talk to him. He could only tease Arthit if he was actually around and willing to talk to him.

That meant Kongpob needed a plan—preferably one that allowed him to spend time with Arthit alone.

Early Saturday morning, Kongpob sat cross legged on the edge of his bed, drying his hair with a towel. On top of basketball practice Sunday afternoon, he had mountains of homework to finish over the weekend, but his mind was consumed with figuring out how to get Arthit to talk to him. It seemed impossible.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Did we run into each other when I was drunk last night? Sorry, I don't remember much."

His hands stilled at the memory. How much did Arthit remember? Kongpob was sure that he remembered the kiss—that much was obvious in the panicked, nervous behavior he exhibited—but maybe that wasn't a lie.

Kongpob pulled the towel off his head, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as an idea took form in his mind. His eyes shifted to the pile of books and papers sitting on his desk. It'd be risky but...

His phone rang and interrupted his plotting, much to his annoyance. It was M. "Hey, M. What's up?"

"Me and Oak are going to play games for a while. Want to come?"

"Didn't you say you wanted to go to the library?"

"There's Sunday for that, Kong. No need to get too far ahead anyway. Didn't you hear the hazers? No freshmen gatherings for the entire week!"