Chasing the Sun

034

Tomorrow morning, Tawan and I went to school together. However, we didn't ride the bus as usual. When I got outside of my unit, he was already waiting with a bicycle parked beside him.

"What's with the bicycle?"

"I'm going to school with you."

"I know...and we do that everyday riding the bus."

"Yeah, but the bus ride to school is really quick. I want to stay with you a little longer before school. Also, I don't get to have your arms around my waist riding a bus."

I blushed at what he just said, completely taken aback by his being straightforward.

"What are you waiting for? Get in."

I sat behind him and wrapped my arms around his way as he pedaled his way out of the building. When the bike exited the shade, we were greeted by the morning sun and the busy people commuting to school and work. It was arid, with the number of cars blowing smoke as well as the fumes from the restaurants contributing to the heat that we're feeling. It was in many ways more uncomfortable than our usual bus ride, but it was also relieving having my arms wrapped around Tawan.

Beads of sweat raced down my temples, so I grabbed my handkerchief and dried myself of it. Tawan, who was peddling in front of me under the sun must have been sweating more than me, so I proceeded to wipe the sweat off his face as well.

"Thank you!", he muttered as he continued pedalling.

After a long while of biking, we finally reached the school just in time for the first period.

"See you at the rooftop later", Tawan said as we parted ways and went to our own rooms.

When I got inside our room, everyone was already seated and our homeroom adviser stood in front with a guy I'm completely unfamiliar with.

I sat on my table and looked at the boy in front. He had a tan skin and was quite tall, his hair styled neatly as well as his uniform. His face was a bit intimidating though, as he gave me a playful smile the moment his eyes met mine.

"Everyone, we have a transferee in our class. Introduce yourself please."

"I'm AJ Chayapol, nice to meet you.", He introduced himself to the class. Maybe I was just confused, but I thought I saw him look at me when he said 'nice to meet you'. I felt uneasy, but again, maybe that was just me seeing things.

The teacher pointed the empty seat next to mine, signalling Aj to sit on it. He walked towards the seat and sat comfortably, then darted his eyes to me. He then smiled, to which I smiled back even though it felt immensely awkward.

Come lunch break, Tawan and I met again at the rooftop where we shared a meal.

"We have a new classmate today. His name is Aj.", I said as I munched on the stir fried pork. Tawan looked at me with a grim expression on his face.

"Do you know him?"

"He's the guy I was telling you about."

"Oh..that must explain why I felt so uncomfortable seeing him."

"Why? is he bothering you?"

"No, it's just that he seemed intimidating."

"Promise you won't interact with him in any way."

"That's impossible-", I replied, but quickly stopped as he was looking at me very seriously. "That's possible."

The atmosphere became heavy as my mention of Aj's name was brought up. When we finished eating, Tawan still remained silent and serious.

"Hey. I promise, I won't talk to him.", I said as I grabbed his hand.

He replied with a smile, which lightened the mood as we went down to continue our classes.