Third Story: A Night to Remember

Chapter 7

19 October 2021

Lying on the mattress is a male and female couple, half-naked. The girl is on top of the male, obviously reminding me of something I'd rather not mention here. Scattered around them are a box of tissues and used condoms, white liquid spilling out of them. Xuân hastily pulls the blue piece of foil out of her blouse pocket and her face instantly reddens as realisation dawns on her. Now we know what the hell that foil is. Vân covers her eyes while Nam the class clown is just standing there, mouth agape. His expression is so twisted such that I don't know whether he is about to laugh or faint from shock. The couple was getting intimate in an appropriate place, I don't know what to make of this.

"What on Earth is this s—t?" I ask the couple, still dazed from the act.

"So that moan must be-"

I hit Nam's head before he could finish that cursed statement. We all knew the implications of that incomplete sentence. Goddammit, one day I'll suture your damned mouth, Nam. Try to think a bit before uttering those words.

And the worst thing is that I recognise both of them! The guy is an upperclassman in the baseball club while the girl is in our grade. We sometimes see her in combined Physical Education classes. I clear my throat and begin to question them.

"Well, what is this then? Explain yourselves!"

"Who the hell are you kids? I'm your upperclassman, speak with more respect!" the baseball player is getting agitated; I can see veins about to pop in his head.

"Tsk," I click my tongue. "Do you (2) even hear yourself right now, a—hole? You don't sound very convincing right now, considering your current circumstances."

Then he shuts his mouth as if I just robbed his words from him. Meanwhile, the girl still remains quiet while covering her chest and her private part.

"Fine. Get dressed, pronto," I sigh. "We have a lot of questions for you guys. We'll be waiting outside the warehouse. Don't even think of running away, capiche?"

"Yessir," the couple meekly replies.

Fuming with rage, I storm out of the decrepit warehouse, shutting the door loudly behind me without even caring whether the sleepy guard has heard it or not. The rest of the team strangely seems to be avoiding eye contact with me too, for some unknown reason.

"Is there a problem, guys?"

"No..." Xuân stammers while fiddling with the foil that she been keeping since this afternoon. "You looked very cool back there."

"Cool? I was just giving them a piece of my mind."

"Still, what a shock it was. I didn't expect to see that with my own eyes and at our school, nonetheless. Why hasn't the guard even noticed this yet?"

"I'd be surprised if he actually did his job properly instead of sleeping," Vân chortles. "You see how peaceful he looks while snoring?"

The rusty door suddenly opens, interrupting our semi-banter. A pang of discomfort washes over me as I turn around and face the idiot couple. Thank goodness, they are now properly clothed and seem ready to talk. From the corner of my eye, I can see the other three of the team looking at me expectantly.

"So, what's the deal with you two here?" I begin to interrogate them. "What are you doing here at this time... No, scratch that. How long has this been going on?"

"I... We were doing it at school for about a month now, since the start of the opening ceremony," the guy timidly answers my question, not daring to look at any of us.

"And why don't you take this to your homes or a love hotel? This entire city, no, this district has more than enough to satisfy you."

"Our parents are always at home at night. Students can't enter love hotels... Of course, we can't go in with our uniforms on, and even if we wore casual clothes, they'd ask us for our identification."