Child of Fire

Old Friends

Saint was dreaming. In his dream, people could fly so he soared high up in the sky. Among the clouds, he saw Notte, his childhood friend in Trat. Notte was still the same chubby (because we don't say fat, baby) kid who wore extra large shirts. Saint tried to fly closer but Notte kept going lower and lower, as if his weight was too much for flying in a straight line.

Saint was about to follow when he felt a tug on his ankle. He turned his head and saw 10-year old Poon. Poon is a kid he befriended. He lives in a shack along the railway. Poon rarely smiles but in Saint's dream, he looked happy. Poon suddenly slapped Saint's arm playfully and flew past him heading towards a huge cloud. Poon looked back at Saint as if saying, catch me if you can. Always up to a challenge, Saint grinned and pursued Poon.

Saint was about to catch Poon when he suddenly woke up. Damn it! He laughed in his head. He picked up his phone and saw it was time to prepare for school.

The dream put him in a good mood so Saint dressed with excitement. After eating a light breakfast of bread and hot chocolate, he knocked on Nine's bedroom. 

"P'Nine!"

"Come in!" Nine said as he buttoned his shirt. He was getting ready for his appointments.

"Can I have my keys?" Saint asked as soon as he stepped inside the room.

Nine stared at Saint, who was wearing a black leather jacket over his white long-sleeved uniform.

Seeing Nine undecided, Saint cajoled, "Phi, please... it's so boring. I promise, I promise I won't go over the limit anymore."

Nine pursed his lips and continued staring at Saint, debating whether he should give him the keys or not. He confiscated his keys precisely because Saint got caught speeding last month.

"Phiiii....."

Nine sighed, "Fine!" He opened a drawer on his bedside table and tossed the keys to Saint. "If you're not careful, I kill you. You got that?" he warned, pointing a stern figure at Saint.

Saint's grin was blinding as he caught the keys. "Got it!"

A few minutes later, Saint was on the highway enjoying the ride. The Ducati monster was his guilty pleasure. His cousin, Johnny, gave it to him a few months ago on his birthday. Fortunately, Johnny knew him enough that he wouldn't accept a brand new motorcycle and instead gave him his old one. The only upgrade that Johnny made was to repaint the gas tank, headlight and fenders from charcoal black to metallic red.

Saint's mother raised a ruckus when she learned about Johnny's gift. To say she hated motorcycles was saying it mildly. She already disapproved of Saint riding a skateboard, so much more when he learned how to drive a motorcycle when he was 16.

Saint spent the summer of that year in Beijing at the invitation of his Chinese relatives. Johnny, who was 3 years older, took it upon himself to educate Saint on all the "lessons" he missed as a teenager. These lessons included driving a motorcycle, smoking, drinking, gambling, and girls.

Saint found he shared Johnny's passion for motorcycles. Smoking was yuck. Drinking was okay in a sense that he didn't mind the taste of beer but hard liquor was bleh. Besides, he learned quickly that his alcohol tolerance was pretty low. Gambling was not a talent he had. His poker face was good but his strategy sucked. Girls were fine but he found them to be too high-maintenance. Saint could find more interesting things to spend his time than cater to a girl's whims. Johnny had explained that the girls were supposed to cater to HIS whims but Saint couldn't understand. Girls were simply too bothersome for him. Johnny concluded that Saint was just probably too romantic and naive. Saint disagreed saying there were more important things to dwell on than something so trivial.