Taipei (BL)

Evan Tsai was in his junior year at National Taiwan Normal University. It wasn’t his first choice for a university. He told himself, and others, it was a fine school and he was happy there. Deep down he felt all the hard work he put into high school let him down. He had been rejected by the university he really wanted.

He lived in a dormitory with two other guys. They shared a dorm suite with two bedrooms and a bathroom. The other boys realized they had a loner roommate and decided to bunk together in one room. They thought Evan was a nice enough guy, just not someone they wanted to socialize with or include in activities. Evan liked having his own room, his sanctuary to do what he liked best. Study and read books.

Most afternoons, Evan would walk past a basketball court. He didn’t know why he kept stopping there. At first, he may have wanted to spend some time in the shade of the big tree. Later, maybe he wanted to watch the guys playing basketball. There was one guy who looked small for a basketball player. He was scrappy, loud and boisterous. He would almost always sink a basket and would let everyone know when he did.

He’d shout out “Woop, Woop!” or some other strange little sounds. Evan found it funny.

Today, when he missed a shot, the ball went rolling toward Evan. The basketball player charged after it and scooped it up just in front of Evan. He was wearing shorts and no shirt. His body glistened from sweat.

“Hi, you like watching me, don’t you?”

Evan, at a loss for words, just swallowed. The basketball player said “Woop, Woop” and ran back to the court.

Evan watched as he ran and then jumped up for a dunk. “Woop, Woop!” Evan smiled and shook his head. I guess I do like watching him play. He’s funny, but maybe I should start walking the other way, he might think I’m a stalker.

Monday morning was Evan’s least favorite class: Modern Taiwanese Society, an elective he needed for graduation. It was in a lecture-style classroom. Evan would always sit in the back row where few other students sat, so he had space to himself.

The professor was a bore, always droning on about Taipei’s growth, young people delaying marriage, or population decline. Today it was religion and temple festivals.

Evan was hardly taking notes when he heard a door in the back of the lecture hall open. A figure slid into the seat next to him.

“Hey, did I miss anything important?” a voice whispered.

Without looking, Evan slid a piece of paper between them. It was a syllabus of upcoming projects for the class. He was annoyed someone would come to class late and then sit next to him of all people.

Evan could feel him beside him. He hated someone in his space. When the professor started talking about the syllabus, Evan finally turned his head to find the basketball player sitting next to him.

He whispered to Evan, “Woop, Woop.”

Evan could feel himself start to blush and quickly turned away. He was relieved when the class was finally over and quickly gathered his notebook and mumbled “I have to get going” and headed for the door.

Outside, the basketball player saw Evan walking along the pond in the center of campus. He ran and caught up with him.

“Hey, hi.” Evan turned, half knowing who it was going to be, and mumbled a soft hello.

“Thanks for sharing the handout today.”

“You’re welcome,” Evan said in a soft voice.

“I’m Wei-kai, Liu Wei-kai.” He said it like he was proud of being Liu Wei-kai.

“Oh... um, hi. I’m Evan Tsai.”

“Nice to meet you, Evan Tsai. Evan sounds like a name your third grade English teacher gave you.”

“Are you really making fun of my name?”

“No, no, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that...”

“Actually, it was the third-grade English teacher who gave me my name.”

“Woop, Woop!” Wei-kai had a big grin on his face. “I love when I’m right about something.”

“What’s your English name?”

“I don’t have one. I’m Wei-kai.” He paused and looked Evan up and down. “When I was about eight, I wanted to be Kobe, Kobe Bryant, you know the basketball player?”

Evan nodded. “Kobe? And you’re giving me a hard time about Evan?”

“That’s fair. Call me Wei-kai.”

“I’m Tsai Yu-chen, but I mostly go by Evan. I’m an English literature major. It’s been drilled into me.”

“I get that. I never liked the English classes. I can speak some, but don’t very often.”

Evan did not usually get into casual conversations with people, but he was finding Wei-kai easy to talk to. He was about to ask what his major was when a boy with a basketball under his arm ran up.

“Wei-kai, we need one more to play!”

“I’m in. I’ve got to run, Evan. See you later,” the two boys ran off to the basketball court.

A week later Evan was walking across campus to get some dinner. He saw Wei-kai approaching.

“Evan! How have you been?”

“Hi, Wei-kai. I’m good, busy with classes. How are you?” Evan hated small talk, yet here they were again.

“Where are you headed?” Wei-kai was genuinely curious.

“I’m going to get something to eat.”

“Great, me too.” Wei-kai sounded genuinely excited. “Come on, I know a great rechao place. It’s just a short walk from campus.”

The two boys headed off campus and walked to the little stir-fry joint. It was a narrow building with an awning out front and plastic tables and chairs. Inside, music was playing over the sounds of sizzling woks. They sat at one of the tables outside.

“The three-cup chicken is amazing here. It’s my favorite.”

Evan nodded. “Sounds good.”

Wei-kai waved for a waitress. “Three-cup chicken, rice, an omelet, and two Taiwan beers.”

“Beer okay?” Wei-kai asked.

Evan nodded.

“I should have asked if you drank before I ordered for us.”

“It’s okay. I drink beer. When I watch football with my father, we usually have a beer.”

“You wild man! So you’re into sports?”

“Not really. My father likes when I watch football with him, so I do. But I’m not interested in playing.”

The waitress came back with the food and beers. Wei-kai was right. Everything was amazing, and a cold beer was just right with it. When they finished eating, they ordered a second round of beer, and the conversation started to flow easier.

“What are you majoring in?” Evan asked.

“Physical Education and Sports Sciences, and you’re giving me that look everyone does. What a bullshit major.”

Evan promptly replied, “English and Chinese Literature. We both have bullshit majors!”

They both broke into giggles trying not to make a scene. Evan waved the waitress over and ordered two more beers. Wei-kai smiled with approval. A night out with Evan was turning out to be more fun than expected.

They talked about where they grew up. Both city kids, Wei-kai was from Kaohsiung, about 350 kilometers south of Taipei, while Evan was from Taipei.

“Your family didn’t want you to stay home and commute?”

“My Dad did, but my Mom thought it would be good for me to be on my own, meet people, have some new life experiences.”

“How’s that working out for you?”

“Well...” Evan looked a little embarrassed. “I like my time alone, I’ve never had a lot of friends.”

“Ahh, you’re not missing much, friends can be overrated!”

They both laughed a little but Evan couldn’t help but think Wei-kai was very popular and had lots of friends.

They talked more about their families. They had grown up very similar, neither wealthy nor poor. They had nice upbringings and went to similar schools. Evan was the more serious student, a bookworm. Wei-kai the athlete. He played football, basketball, studied taekwondo.

“Wow, you do taekwondo? That’s cool.”

“I was pretty good in high school. It helped me get into college.”

Evan learned a lot about his new friend that night. He liked talking with him. He liked being with him. It was a new experience, opening up and being friends with someone.

It was getting late. They decided to head back to campus. When Evan stood up, the world began to spin.

“Are you okay, Evan?” Wei-kai grabbed Evan’s arm to steady him.

“I think I’m a little drunk.” He turned and smiled at Wei-kai. “Kobe.”

Wei-kai called for a taxi, and when they arrived at the dorm Evan thanked the taxi driver four times. Then Wei-kai got his arm around Evan’s shoulders and walked him into the dorm.

“You’re so nice to me, Kobe. You are really a good friend. I’m lucky to have a friend like you.” Evan babbled the whole way to the dorm room. Wei-kai knocked on the door. The two roommates looked stunned. They didn’t know Wei-kai, but they knew who he was. The popular kid always playing basketball, and they couldn’t believe he was standing in front of them holding Evan up.

“Umm, we had a bit to drink. Could you point me to his bedroom so I can put him to bed?”

The roommates helped bring Evan to his room. They got him on the bed and left Wei-kai there with him. Wei-kai propped a pillow under his head, took his sneakers off, and put a blanket over him. He looked around the room, there was a single bed, a desk and lamp, and books, piles of books. This boy really does like to read, he thought to himself.

He was sitting on the edge of the bed when Evan reached up and held his arm. “Thank you, Kobe.” Before he left, he found a piece of paper and folded it in half and wrote “Drink a lot of water, Kobe.” He left it leaning on the lamp next to the bed.

The roommates watched as he walked out of the bedroom. “Sorry for bothering you guys.” They nodded and opened the door for him, both in disbelief that Evan was friends with Wei-kai.

For the next few weeks, Evan was embarrassed whenever he thought about getting drunk with Wei-kai.

“Evan, everyone has a story. Everyone did something stupid when they were drunk. You didn’t. You just got drunk. It’s no big deal.”

He knew Wei-kai was right, and soon they started going out to dinner again. Only now Wei-kai kept an eye on him. He had a two-drink limit.

Mid-June was hot, sticky, and rainy in Taipei. Junior year was over. Evan was outside Wei-kai’s dorm when he came out with his packed suitcase.

“Can we keep in touch over the summer?” Evan asked sheepishly.

“Of course we can. We have LINE. We can keep in touch all summer.”

Evan smiled, and in the soft voice he used when he wanted to say something important but didn’t want to say it out loud, “I’m really going to miss you, Wei-kai.”

Wei-kai smiled at him, and completely out of character, Evan gave him a hug. At first Wei-kai stood motionless, his arms by his sides. Then slowly he embraced Evan and held him tight.

“I’ll talk to you soon, Evan.”

Evan watched as Wei-kai got in the taxi and drove away. For the first time in his life, he felt like he was losing a friend.