Tetra Pact

Chapter 18

Asbjørn failed to sneak into his bedroom in the morning without his grandma calling out to him. "Yao!"

He poked his head back out the door frame and smiled at her. "Yes?"

"Your family is coming over this weekend, and your room is still a mess," she said.

He glanced at his room for a split second, noting the cardboard boxes he'd collected scattered over the carpeted floor. He honestly had no use for them at this point in time, and was planning to donate them to some of the university's clubs to make props for upcoming events. He just hadn't gotten round to it yet. His phone vibrated in his pocket.

"I'll clear it today," he told his grandma, who merely shook her head with a smile. He fished his phone out and read the new message from his friend.

Ha-rin: I'm on my way to campus for a club activity. Do you need a lift? [08:04]

Me: Totally. And please leave space in the backseat for my junk. [08:05]

Ha-rin: Sure thing. [08:05]

Asbjørn immediately got to sorting out the boxes and pieces of cardboard lying around in his tiny room. He had no idea how his collection had gotten so big this time, but it might have been because he spent half his time in his dorm, and only returned home to do his laundry or drop off items - the items mostly being his tetra paks and the like. He had been planning to give them away for those who needed it, but only now the freshers' events had simmered down and his college was making way for new and upcoming festivals, and his cardboard contribution would definitely be useful this time. Even Ha-rin's football team needed a few to make banners for their games.

Ha-rin pulled up at the driveway of his house. She only lived a few metres down from him, and they'd been building the habit of carpooling since primary school. Out of his little friend group, he was the closest to Ha-rin, mostly because they were practically neighbours growing up, and also due to their similar Asian upbringing. And she had great advice about life, which Asbjørn needed more often than not. She was the one who reminded him to get checked regularly while he was having one night stands every other night.

She helped him transfer his unbelievable amount of recyclables and huffed. "You're lucky we actually need this, else I would drive us to the dumpster and make you throw all of them away," she said, as she slid into the driver's seat with Asbjørn beside her.

"Thanks, Rin."

He stopped, his face scrunching up as he registered the nickname he'd had for Ha-rin. There hadn't been a lot of opportunities for him to call her that recently, since they'd always been in conversation with the rest most of the time. But when he called her that in that moment, the name hit him with a different kind of familiarity. "Shite," he whispered to himself.

That was how Eden addressed Erin. Rin.

"What is it?" she responded to his swearing as they drove out of the estate.

"Oh, nothing," he retracted quickly.

However, Asbjørn's conscience was egging him on to update her about his life. He wasn't ready to let the rest of his friends know, especially since he knew too well that the moment Crisanto heard anything about his love life it was going to end up on the Students' Discussion Page the next morning. He wasn't sure if Eden wanted their relationship to be publicised yet, even if it was within his school, so he wasn't going to take any chances of exposing it.

Nevertheless, he wanted to confide in Ha-rin. "Ah... Can I tell you something? And you got to believe me, but also not lose your mind while you do." He could already imagine how his other friends would react to the news, and he wasn't going to risk getting into an accident by revealing this piece of information to Ha-rin while they were on the road.

"Something you can't tell the others?" she clarified.

"Yeah. I mean, I'll tell them eventually. Just not now."

"Alright." She waited for him to continue.

Asbjørn wondered if he should go straight out with it, or ease into the topic slowly. He fiddled with his phone in his hands and then looked down at it, switching on the device to display his new lockscreen. It was the selfie he'd taken with Eden last night, and although it was dark, their faces were clear on the screen. Ha-rin stopped at a traffic light, and he held up his phone to show her his lockscreen wallpaper.

At first, she didn't get it. Then her forehead creased as she squinted at the picture, registering the two individuals inside. Her eyes returned to the road as the lights turned green, and she said, "That's you?"

"Yeah," Asbjørn replied, relieved that she hadn't freaked out and accelerated the car in the process.

"And...?" she continued, obviously wanting him to say it before she assumed anything.

"My girlfriend." He glanced at Ha-rin cautiously, and she had a solemn expression on her face.

She looked like she was contemplating whether or not to comment on it or not. She scrunched up her face and relaxed it as she breathed out. Then she asked, "You're serious about her, right?"

"Yes." He wondered if she felt betrayed or anything of the sort, since he'd never brought Eden or his feelings up to her all this while. At the same time, he felt like a child awaiting his mother's lecture, but all that followed was another question.

"And she's serious about you?"

"Yes."

"Congratulations."

Asbjørn paused. "That's it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I was expecting you to give me advice or something..." he said, scratching the back of his head.

"You think I'm your personal consultant?" she asked, sarcastically.

"No!" he protested. "I just thought you would be able to give me some tips, like you normally do."

She laughed. "We're twenty now, Ben. I think you can figure life out just fine on your own."

"Well, it's always good to have a little -"

"Communication," she interrupted. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "That's the only reminder you'll need for a relationship. Have good communication with each other."

"Oh." He hadn't expected that. It was a small piece of advice, but it was the epitome of being 'easier said than done'. It was the key factor in all ideal relationships. He'd read that on the web and observed that in his grandparents as well. If he and Eden were able to communicate their thoughts and feelings to each other, they would be able to overcome anything.

"That's my advice." She looked at him again with an indecipherable expression. "And please make sure neither of you get hurt."

Asbjørn's teeth sank into his bottom lip, understanding his friend's words deeply.

Ha-rin was extremely mature for their age, and she'd experienced most of life at this point. And out of the five of them, she was the first to experience a heartbreak which left her scarred until this day. But he had no way to change her mind nor any advice to give her in exchange for the valuable one she'd just given him. All he could do was be filled with gratitude.

"Thank you, Rin."