One shots

Is it a match in real life or not?

"It's not!!!", whispered Arthit angrily as he turned the page to the relevant legislation. Toota narrowed his eyes at him and did not argue further. He just started to proofread the work that he was given. Arthit continued to argue even though Toota did not answer him. "No one would notice if I don't go to the Independence gathering either." Bright cleared his throat next to them and said: "Your argument is silly, Art. If no one is going to notice, then why do you think he will notice that you actually came or not?!" Toota arched his eyebrow at that and Arthit blushed. Bright had a point. A rather solid point.

"And we are not going to share our cakes with you if you don't come with us.", added Bright as he continued to type on his computer. Rascals, each and everyone of them. Arthit had been avoiding Mr Suthiluck's floor for a week now and his friends were still annoying him about it. He just wanted to avoid the gathering the same way but they were not letting him. "Besides, you know that the old shark will notice if you don't go to the gathering. She will ask you about it. You keep forgetting that our Minister will be present. She won't tolerate any mischief on our behalf."

Arthit glared at him. He hated that Bright was proving to be so convincing. "Why are you being so responsible all of a sudden?", asked a rather baffled Toota as he looked Bright like he had two heads instead of one. Bright smacked his arm and continued his work. Arthit and Toota finished their proofreading and let the matter rest. Or so Artht thought. Because he found himself being dragged by his friends towards the gathering which was taking place on the third floor. Nearing the conference room, Arthit felt his heart start to beat faster. "For freaking sake, he won't eat you, Art.", whispered Toota.

"At least not now.", added Bright and they high fived. Arthit rolled his eyes at their antics. He was already so stressed. As he entered the room, his name was called out. When he turned to look, he found some other friends who were waving at him. He grinned and walked towards them, his anxiety momentarily forgotten. He greeted them and stood there to talk to them. The arrival of the Minister caused him to be a bit careful when he tried to get back to where Toota and Bright were standing. He could not exactly join them though since there was no space available near them. Instead, he found himself standing just in front of the large conference table.

Feeling very self conscious because of that, he tried to back off slowly without looking behind at all. Hearing a soft 'ouf', he winced and instantly moved off the person's foot. He lowered his head and muttered a 'sorry' while still facing ahead. By then the speech of the Minister had started and everyone was focusing on his words. Arthit felt a hand on his back and a whisper hit his ear: "It's alright." He nodded in gratitude even though all he wanted was to lean even closer to this hushed voice. Who was that? He glanced at his two friends and found Toota gesturing widely towards Arthit's back. Arthit frowned. What was Toota trying to say? Even Bright was trying to mouth some words at him to which Arthit did not get a clue of.

Instead, he shook his head and waved their indecipherable signs away. Better focus back on the speeches. When it was time to cut the cake, the officer in charge was in a great misery since she had forgotten the knife. Murmuring started to spread among the staff and Arthit rolled his eyes. "Mistakes happen. Nobody is perfect.", said the person just behind him and Arthit nodded. Exactly his point. There was no need to fuss about it. "See? She is back already.", he said as he saw the lady approach the table to give the knife to the Minister. She was apologising profusely and the Minister patted her shoulder to calm her down. Arthit smiled. The Minister was a sensible person.

"Let's cut the cake, shall we? Since a lot of you seem to be hungry and could not wait at all.", he jokingly added to the audience. Everyone could feel the rebuke in his words. Arthit covered his mouth with his hand and snorted while a chuckle resonated behind him. He was glad that there was another person finding this funny too. He clapped his hands along with everyone as the Minister cut the cake. "Great, it's a chocolate one!", he said cheerfully over the noise. "Oh, you like chocolate?", asked his newfound friend. He nodded: "Like who doesn't?" Another chuckle came from behind him and Arthit smiled.