Chasing the Sun

086

"How could you possibly celebrate a whole festival when it's still two weeks until Loy Krathong?"

It was the next day and New's mom and I were talking in the kitchen early in the morning. New had not woken up yet, so I took the chance to discuss my plan with his mom.

"I don't know yet, but I'll figure it out somehow. Ma, can you take care of New for me for a while?"

"Why, are you going away?"

"Yes, i'm going to meet some people so I can execute my plan earlier."

"Uh, okay, but be sure to come back, okay? Don't leave us hanging again.", New's mom said as she pinched me on the cheek.

"Yes, Ma. I'll be back in a few hours."

I prepared for my departure and left the house before New woke up. Riding only a bike on the way to the city, I pedaled my way to Gunsmile's residence. He was one of the boys who I got into fights with in high school, a certified gangster who just like me, was a total wrecker. 

Why was I going back to his territory? It's because he has a lot of underlings that serve him, and he might just be the key to the success of my plan for New. 

By the time I reached the street where he lived, it was already 8:30 in the morning. You wouldn't believe it at first, but his place is disguised as a chicken store on the outside that looked just like all the other food stalls on the area, but on the inside it was actually an illegal cockfighting arena for teenage cockfight enthusiasts. Almost every high school student interested in cockfighting goes here, so he earns a fortune selling tickets to the lads who want to watch.

"What do you need?", A scrawny teenage boy asked in a forced manly tone. I almost laughed at how unbelievably thin he was, it seemed like a gust of wind would knock him down in an instant.

"Where's Gunsmile?"

"Who are you?"

"Tell him I'm Tawan."

He went inside the place and came back a few minutes after, then escorted me inside of the arena. Inside, a cockfighting match took place, and hoards of high school delinquents, some still in uniform, were cheering loudly as they waved their bets in the air. On the second floor sits Gunsmile's office, a small room with a large glass pane to which he oversees the matches. From where I stood, I could see him looking at me, smirking.

"Long time no see, pal.", Gunsmile greeted in a sarcastic manner. Of course I wasn't his pal, I shoved his face on the ground a lot of times. He was still the same proud boy that I met years ago, in his oversized silk longsleeves with japanese prints on and a pair of slacks that could probably fit another person's legs with its size. He was holding a piece of cigar on his hand, but it was clearly just to add for his already damned gangster image because it wasn't even lit.

"I ain't gonna beat around the bush any longer, I need your help."

"You? Need help from me? Our brother must have been a stray goat now. What happened to you? Did you fall in love with a faggot?", He said as he looked at me from head to toe, judging my appearance.

I clenched my fist hard trying not to throw a fit on him with what he just told me, controlling my temper because I still needed his help. I could feel my gums bleeding as I clenched my jaws and gritted my teeth so hard to not combust out of anger.

"Now, now. What do you need?"

"Lanterns."

The small room got filled with Gunsmile's annoying laugh, and I was thinking thousands of ways in my head on how I could shove my fist into his throat so he would stop laughing like a maniac. Lantern's don't sell around Chiang Mai until the eve of the festival, and I knew he knew people who would give me the things that I needed.

"What would you need lanterns for?"

"You Don't need to know."

"Ohh, someone's getting feisty. Who's the one in need of something again?"

Gunsmile was just about to put the unlit cigarette on his mouth when I dove straight onto him and pinned him against the glass mirror of the room. Fortunately for him, the glass was sturdy enough to withstand the impact of his body. From below, the audience of the cockfight and even the contenders themselves shot a look at us, completely surprised at the commotion that I caused.

"Listen here you piece of shit, I need you to get me 200 lanterns today. If you don't, I'll tell Bank you're screwing with his girl and have him thrash this cockpit of yours.", I said furiously as my grip on his collar grew tight.

His body was trembling in fear, and the then proud Gunsmile turned into a frightened lad. He was too scared that he dropped the cigarette he was holding, and I could've sworn that he peed on his pants.

"O-okay! C-can you let go of me now?", He said as he pat my hand continuously like a kid.

I let go of him and he dropped on the floor, completely frightened as he touched his neck. I sat and leveled my face on his, then tapped his shoulder.

"You're right, I'm in a relationship with a man. Got any problems with that?"

"N-no, n-not at all."

"Good. Now get me the lanterns, this place reeks of dead chicken."

It was only about an hour before I was able to receive the lanterns from Gunsmile, proving that he really had a lot of connections in Chiang Mai. Honestly, he's a lot more influential than me in terms of people. But he's a total loser that's why he doesn't understand yet that he could swat me like a fly any time he wanted. So, I took advantage of his stupidity before it expired.

"Thank you for this, I'll get going now, pal.", I told him as I walked out of the room. But before I closed the door, I gave him another tip. This time, it was something I really thought would help him.

"Change your fashion style, idiot. You look like a fucking clothes hanger."