A Little Ray of Sunshine

Ch. 8-Being Perfect

The school prayer was over long ago. But Team was lost in his thoughts, until Mrs. Sequira called him from the door. "Team, you have to read the news next, come and stand by the stairs to the stage," she said, to which Team nodded. He limped his way to the stairs, without minding the seniors, to whom Mrs. Sequira was instructing to get ready. "Next, Team Warut Chawalitrujiwong of Grade 11-A will update us about what's happening around the world by presenting the morning news," the MC announced, as soon as the school choir finished singing the national anthem.

Team looked at the students and teachers gathered in the auditorium. He felt his heart beat hard against his chest out of fear as he stood on the stage. "Team, start," he heard Mrs. Sequira say, as soon as she fixed the microphone for him. Team cleared his throat and wished the audience a good morning before looking into the paper where he had written down the news. "Two people injured as lavatory wall collapses in Chiang Mai," Team read and his eyes grew wide on hearing what he just read. As he looked up, he could see everyone giggling. It was the third disaster in a day. Out of all the news in the world, this was the first headline that he wrote down. "Go on," Mrs. Sequira said in an irritated tone, seeing Team pause. The boy once again cleared his throat and continued reading. "Actor Tod gets married to his non-celebrity girlfriend in a star studded ceremony." Team closed his eyes as tight as he could while he felt the last ounce of confidence left in him vanish. He could feel his eyes fill up and his mind was asking him to run away from there. "Team, come back now," Mrs. Sequira sounded really angry. "Thank you," Team said in a low tone, looking at the audience, and walked back to where his teacher stood.. "You thought this was a joke? Didn't you find any news worth reading in today's newspaper that you had to pick headlines of bathroom collapsing and celebrity weddings? How the hell am I to face the other teachers now?" Mrs. Sequira rambled on as Team stood in front of her, his shoulders stooped and gaze lowered, in front of her. "Useless fellow! Go now. I'll deal with you later," the teacher said and walked off to the backstage angrily. Tears rolled out of Team's eyes as he sat down on the floor, defeated. He felt that he was exactly what the teacher called him-Useless.

"Okay, next is the event you have all been eagerly waiting for. So people, brace yourselves, here comes MusicX, the school music band, to entertain you with their amazing performance," the MC said and the whole auditorium erupted into applause. It was then Team realised that Win was standing opposite to where he sat. He didn't have the courage to look up. As he felt his seniors walked to the centre stage, marked by another round of loud applause, Team slowly got up from the floor and wiped his tears before climbing down the stairs that led to the door to the audience section. His leg was hurting now and he felt exhausted. Team looked around to find a seat when he saw Pharm waving at him. The boy was seated in the second row with Dean and Manow to his right, while the seat to his left was empty. "Are you okay?" Pharm asked in a gentle tone, as Team settled down next to him. "Yeah," Team said in a hoarse voice and concentrated on the stage where all the five members of school band stood in a circle, discussing something. Soon, Dim, the main vocalist of MusicX, started talking. "Good morning everyone. So today, we have a special performance and no, it's not by me, and that's what makes it more special, I guess," he said, as the audience looked at each other in confusion. "So, let's welcome our guitarist and the pride of our school, Win Noppanut Guntachai, who, for the first time ever, has agreed to sing for us," Dim announced and the audience cheered and applauded, while Team's eyes remained fixated on Win, his mind blank.

"Hi," Win's soft voice echoed across the auditorium, as he sat on a chair in front of the microphone, holding his guitar. The crowd screamed in response, and the auditorium was soon filled by their fan chants and applause. For Team, if it was another day, his heart would have popped out of his chest, hearing his senior's voice for the first time. But, today, he felt too numb for it. "I want everyone to know that we all are humans. We might have good and bad days in life, and it's okay to make mistakes, it's okay to feel low. But remember that despite your flaws, you'll always be perfect in someone else's eyes. So, here, Perfect by Ed Sheeran," Win said and then strummed his guitar, getting ready to sing. The audience went "awww!!" in response. Team suddenly felt warmth embracing his heart once again and his sorrows slowly melting away, hearing his dear senior sing.

"I found a love, for me

Darling, just dive right in and follow my lead

Well, I found a girl, beautiful and sweet

Oh, I never knew you were the someone waiting for me

'Cause we were just kids when we fell in love

Not knowing what it was
I will not give you up this time
But darling, just kiss me slow, your heart is all I own
And in your eyes you're holding mine

Baby, I'm dancing in the dark with you between my arms
Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song
When you said you looked a mess, I whispered underneath my breath
But you heard it, darling, you look perfect tonight"

Win sang, his gaze going back and forth from the audience to his guitar. Soon, the audience joined him, putting their hands up in the air and waving. Team just kept looking at his senior, without even blinking. He wanted to take in the beautiful sight in front of him, without interruptions. But the next moment, Team felt his mood drop many feet lower as he heard someone behind him say in a squealing voice, "Oh my God, Lisa, did he just look at you? Oh my God!! Your efforts are paying off finally!" Team froze. He looked at Win, and then, furrowed his eyebrows and followed the gaze of his senior, to see the school beauty queen sitting behind him, her cheeks red, and smiling shyly as the girls sitting on nearby chairs teased her. He was already having a bad day and now, he was feeling angry. He kept glaring at the senior, who continued singing, still looking at Lisa. Team felt like he couldn't stay there any longer. "I'm going to the classroom, I don't feel well," Team whispered in Pharm's ears, causing his friend to look at him worried. "Wait, I'll come with you," Pharm said, holding Team's hand to which the latter shook his head in denial. "No, I want to be alone," Team said, getting up from his chair and Pharm nodded in understanding. "Okay, message me after you reach the class," he said, before Team walked away, showing a thumbs up sign in response.

Team felt horrible and too tired that as soon as he kept his head down on the table in front of him, after messaging Pharm, and closed his eyes, he fell asleep. About an hour later, he stirred in his sleep, as Manow's high frequency voice bore through his ears. Team opened his eyes on realising that his classmates were back after the special assembly. "Are you awake? How do you feel now?" Pharm asked, to which Team just nodded his head. "Oh my God! Team, darling, look at you," Manow said, her voice dramatic as usual, as she placed a food packet in front of Team. "Have this okay? Do you want to go to the nurse's room?" she asked, touching Team's shoulders. "No," the boy replied, shaking his head. "Okay, tell me if you need anything else," she said, patting her friend's head and going back to her desk without awaiting a response.

Team silently ate the sandwich Manow brought. He wasn't feeling hungry, but he felt too stressed that he wanted to wash off the thoughts clouding his mind with food. This is what he always did when he felt tensed. The rest of the day went by with most periods being free and the girls in the class occasionally discussing about Win's performance during the assembly. Some commented on how chic he looked, while some had a thing or two to say about his voice. Team tried his best not to listen, and went back to sleep as the class leader announced  the that the teacher will be absent for the next period.