A Promise Of Romance (MewGulf AU)

🌻Chapter 2

🌻

A year and a half had passed in the blink of an eye since Gulf Kanawut had come to London.

He had spent the first year in English language courses, but now, he was pursuing his true purpose: studying at an acting school. He could now easily handle daily conversations, but when people began running off at the mouth and speaking quickly, the language still escaped him

Gulf had been active in the drana club the whole time he was in high school, and had dreamed of going to a famous acting school after graduating with his bestfriend, Bright Vachirawit.

He and Bright had met in high school. The class seating arrangement had put Bright in front of Gulf. He had been the one to teach Bright everything the other boy knew about theater. It was only because of Gulf that Bright had applied himself and had gotten ahead of Gulf.

Gulf had thought he was better than Bright at everything---better at school, better at acting, everything. But only Bright had been accepted to their dream school.

"I can't believe I got accepted!" Bright had announced gleefully.

Gulf would never forget the look on Bright's face, the way his eyes had shone when he came over to tell Gulf the good news at school.

"I wasn't sure I'd make it," Bright had gushed. "You were a shoo-in. Here's to another four years together!"

The possibility that Gulf might not have gotten in hadn't seem to ever enter his mind.

"Well, I messed up," Gulf had owned up. He had rallied all the muscles in his face, trying to muster a cheerful smile, but it failed miserably.

Bright had looked utterly dumbfounded. "What?"

"I didn't get in," Gulf had clarified.

Even acting had its limits. Though he had tried to pull his face into the perfect smile, a single tear had escaped and run down his cheek.

Bright had looked perplexed for a moment, then laughed, perhaps thinking that Gulf was joking with him.

It was humiliating.

"Is it that funny that I didn't get in?" Gulf had shouted at Bright before storming out of the room.

Even he had thought it was a childish way to act. Whenever he remembered that day, Gulf's face would go crimson with shame.

Talent determines an actor's place in the theater world. Gulf understood that. He'd thought he'd done well on the entrance exams. But the fact that he had failed the practical section devastated him. The number of people who can support themselves by acting is so small, it's almost nonexistent, even for those who graduate from special training schools. Gulf hadn't felt arrogant assuming that he was one of those chosen few. His unrivalled love for theater had given him a sense of confidence. But there's a certain spark to good acting that had been lacking in him, and he hadn't been accepted by the best school. And during that dark time, he'd thought he would never be a professional, either.

Gulf had ended up graduating without ever speaking to Bright again. He'd also gone to his fall-back school. Of course, he'd enrolled in the theater department. But it was nothing like the school he had wanted to go to, which had a reputation of turning out huge numbers of professional actors. All the other students in his new school had applied to that same school, and all had failed to get in. All the classes and everyone in them had an air of failure. Then there had been the students who were genuinely satisfied with their lot and had never hoped for anything better---Gulf couldn't stand them either. Still, he hadn't felt like taking thebm exams over again. His pride wouldn't allow Bright to be his senior.

But Gulf had never been happy with his life at the college he never wanted to attend. Then one day, he'd discovered a book. It was a collection of essays by a famous theater actor who had studied drama in London.

"I'll go to London too!"

By the time he'd finished the book, his heart was set on studying in England, the birthplace of theater. After all, even if he graduated with a theater degree, that didn't guarantee him a job. It would be much more useful to learn English while he took all the theater classes he liked.

He had now realized his dream.

The only real problem was money.

Not wanting to be a burden, he had cut himself off from his parents support and fled Thailand. But his money had evaporated during his first year at the language school in England. So it would be impossible to ask them to help pay his school fees now.

He was now managing to keep himself fed with a part-time job in a pub. But he was still in danger of dropping out because he couldn't afford to pay the tuition. And if he did ask his parents for help, they would probably just send him the money for a plane ticket home.

But his life was just beginning. He couldn't go back to Thailand yet.

TBC