Chapter 1
I stared at the sleeping beauty on the other side of the bed. His clothes hung loosely around his body and a thin subtle had already formed on his chin.
Many things had happened before and after I met him. When I was still young I had met him several times, so much that I would normally think we were acquainted yet we had never even said hi to each other.
The reason why I saw him often was because I had to pass by their street when going to school. His house was on a high-end street, an area filled with houses of the rich.
From what I heard his dad was the chairman of a big hospital in Bangkok. Everything he wanted, he got. Whatever he said was the rule and every time I passed by his house, he was always coming out in the latest Audi, dressed impeccably in his school uniform.
Every time I looked at the uniform and shoes that I had been using since the year began I’d be reminded of the vast differences between us, we were worlds apart.
All of these left a great impression on me, yet the deepest impression was when I was fifteen years old. I was in high school at the time.
My childhood was also the same as that of Rom. My father had a high-paying job but when a fraud scandal broke out in his company, he was forced to take on all the blame.
He lost his job shortly after that. During that time, my family fell into huge debts and when one day I was walking back home from school, one of the people my father owed money attacked me at an alley close to my house.
I still remember how red his eyes were as he cursed my father to the heavens. He was angry but became even angrier when I put my backpack down, ready to receive the beating he and his men would bestow down my body.
He was going to use me as a warning to my father. To show just how vulnerable he was and the consequences of not paying back whatever it was he owed.
I was already used to this. Back at school, things were almost the same. I had to drop out from the previous school after my family became incapable of paying the five-figure school fees and before I truly left, everyone had labeled my family as thieves. The mocking grew, that was when the bullying started.
I remember staring at the men who were in front of me baring their fangs. Their hands were formed into hardened fists as they raised them high, ready to come into contact with my body. The pain was very familiar. I thought about the many times I had felt it in the school bathroom when the other schoolmates did the same as what these people were doing now.
In the beginning, I cried every time, begging anyone who was passing by to help but no one did. After some time, I realized that nothing would change even if my cries were to reach heaven so I took all of it in silently.
This time I was hoping it would end quickly so that I may go home and treat the wounds. But this time was different. I expected to feel more pain but when had the pain stopped? When had the fists that rained down on me disappeared?
I did not have any sense in me to think too much but when I opened my eyes, I saw a scene that stayed in my mind for a very long time. It was a boy, no more than sixteen or seventeen years of age. His body moved with skill as he kicked, punched, and threw to the ground the men who had surrounded me.
His body moved fluidly, like fish in water. I did not see the rest of it as my mind had drifted far away yet when my senses came back; I was lying on that boy’s back as he sped down the road towards the central hospital.
My vision kept changing from light to dark so I could not remember much of what happened that day but the little that I saw was already stuck, he was the boy in the car, the one I saw every time I went to school, the one who was on the other side of the world.
When I regained my senses completely, I was inside a white room with my mother by my side. Tear streaks had already stained her face. The poor woman had probably received too much shock. I watched her get up in a panic as she stared at me.
I tried to look around the room, hoping to see another figure but was disappointed when there was no one else inside the room. My mother asked if there was anything I wanted but I nodded my head no. I wanted to ask her if she had seen him but swallowed the words before they found their way out of my lips.
I was discharged from the hospital after one week. During that time, I hoped he would check on me but I did not see even a shadow of him. I wanted to sincerely thank him for saving my life but even when going to school, I did not see his car. It was like he had completely vanished.
I tried many times to knock on his gate but every time no one answered. It was not until the neighbor came out irritated that I knew that they had moved. The reason I had not seen him was that he had already moved away.
My life moved on as usual. My dad visited us once in a while. After his job ended he had tried very hard to provide us with the life we previously had.
Both mum and I had never minded that we had climbed down the ladder, but we were grateful that after everything that had happened he was still the same father and husband that we knew. When I had been attacked, he was so broken that I thought that he was the patient since I had to take care of him, our roles were officially reversed.
He tried to look for a solution and after a while, he really found one, study abroad for two years. At first, I wanted to refuse but after a while, I also thought that this was after all the best choice.
No matter how much I did not raise my voice during the beating episodes, I always silently hoped that they would stop someday and that also one day, someone would come and save me. One hope had already been fulfilled and for the other, I had to run away in order to fulfill it. My parents escorted me to the airport.
My life in Chiang Mai had already been very chaotic and I truly hoped that when I came back after two years things would be a little different. I did not ask my father how he got me the chance to go abroad, that would only cause him too much worry.
My plane arrived and I bade my parents goodbye amidst tears. My uncle would be receiving me on the other side so what I had to do was study, and wait for two years to pass by.
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The morning wind howled loudly sending a gust of chilly air outside the pavilion where I was standing. I had already finished high school and this was the first time I was standing at the gates of the university I was going to spend my next four years.
When we received the admission letter, I was still abroad. The news brought joy to my heart, it was always nice to go back home. The gates were long and looked a little old but this was not the point of focus.
Many first-year students were also standing beside me, carrying big bags. Their faces were filled with unhidden happiness. Some had already started talking amongst themselves.
I always liked keeping to myself so getting into new conversations was something I was incapable of doing. When I turned my back a bit to enter, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. When I turned back I was met with a smiling face. It was a boy. His brows were raised up mischievously and his handsome face had mixed features, not typical of a pure Thai person.
“Hi man. First day here?” he asked with so much friendliness as though he knew me. He then introduced himself to me as Chai Son. In my mind, I thought, ‘no wonder. In the end, three more boys joined us who introduced themselves as Deck, Aid, and Boom. Coincidentally we were from the same faculty so it was easy asking around in a group rather than as a single person.
At the end of the day, I was so tired that when my head hit the pillow, sleep caught up with me as if I owed it something. My parents were still in Chiang Mai while the university I attended was in Bangkok.
The difference enabled me to get new friends and almost start silent university life. I was called to the faculty of medicine. Everything I needed was very expensive. I wondered how my father was able to pull everything through. I knew that if I asked him he would not give me a definite answer.
The dormitory I stayed in was a single-person’s room. It was only by pure luck that I was able to get it. I got up early the next day, arranged my room, and got breakfast.
Today all first years were going for the orientation at the main school hall. The hallways leading to the halls were full of people. At some point in time, Chai and Deck had already joined me.
We made jokes as we proceeded to enter the hall. The hall was very big, almost the size of an auditorium. Many students had already sat inside so we also made our way to find seats for ourselves.
The teachers came in after half an hour, introduced themselves. They spoke for some time and then left us in the lead of the senior students. We were then divided according to our respective faculties to receive our name tags and have a chance to meet one on one with our seniors.
I stared at the name written on the tag, Ram Phassakorn. The name was handwritten in simple strokes, just like how I liked it. The seniors were very nice. They told us the rooms and even led us to our respective classrooms, class schedules, and many other miscellaneous things that we had to remember.
The day was long but everyone felt their bodies relaxing when Deck asked,
“Anyone wants some alcohol?”Start writing here…
