as the thread stays, i stay | taynew, offnew

2

— still 10 years ago

His punishment was going well until the fifth day when he went to the pool area and saw a guy doing laps in the middle of a hot day. It was lunchtime, and New decided to bring his lunch to the pool area because he liked the atmosphere and the view of the pool. And also because his cleaning schedule included his second and fourth periods, lunch, and dismissal.

His rice bowl was almost finished, but the guy doing laps had not stopped. New wondered if the guy was even tired or hungry. New set the bowl down and moved from the bleachers, where he ate his lunch, to the pool. 

“Hi, excuse me?” 

No response, just water splashing. 

“Hello? As far as I know, there’s no training here for the next few weeks” New spoke much louder.

The man did a butterfly kick, propelled himself towards the edge of the pool and emerged with water dripping down his face and splashing at New’s feet. He pushed his hair back and blinked out the water in his eyes.

The guy was tanned, and his lips resembled a Chinese sausage (or perhaps New was still hungry), and he had a protruding Adam's apple that moved whenever he swallowed.

“To my best of knowledge, there is no rule that says I can't swim. I swim while you do your job. Okay?” The man stated flatly and continued to swim.

New just rolled his eyes at the attitude and grabbed the cleaning tool and began cleaning.

Second week came, and  the guy was always present every time New came to duty.  Sometimes he's swimming back and forth, and other times he's floating with his eyes closed, seeking peace as the sun shines down on him. One time, New found himself staring at the face of the floating figure but was abruptly stopped when the guy said, "Stop staring and do your job."

Now, the guy is swimming back and forth, and New is becoming bored with his cleaning job. He was staring into space while poking the cleaning net into the water, not realizing the tool was heading straight for the swimmer. When he realized that the tool had already slipped from his grasp, and the splashing sounds had been replaced by silence, it was too late. 

New snapped out of his trance when he heard a grunt and noticed the swimmer holding his forehead and wincing in pain.

"Shit. shit!" New was in a state of panic, unsure of what to do. He was about to jump into the pool when the swimmer held his arm out to tell him not to. "There's a first aid kit in the locker room, go get it!" the guy said as he walked up to the edge.

After a lengthy treasure hunt in the locker room, New returned. The guy was already sitting at the edge of the pool, waiting for the first aid kit. He reached for the kit, but New moved it out of his reach and sat next to him. 

"I'll do it.." He offered. New felt he had to do it because it was his fault for spacing out. He began to open the antiseptic wipes to wipe the cut. It was only a minor cut, but it was bleeding. "By the way, I'm sorry." He said, and the guy simply hummed.

They both sat quietly after tending to the wound, just taking in the peace and silence.

"Thank you. Also, my apologies” The stranger soon broke the silence. “You're supposed to be doing your job but you had to stop because of me”

New laughed while looking forward "Nah, I don't like this job, so I must thank you as well." He took a quick look at his side, and the guy was still looking forward. "Don't worry, we're even. You were supposed to be swimming, but because of me, you had to stop as well."

New's statement made the guy smile, and it was the first time New had seen someone with a perfect smile. He admits that the guy looked much better with a smile. His usually grumpy, resting face looked good on him as well but the smile was better. 

"I'm Tay Tawan. You can call me Tay." The guy, Tay, finally faced New as he held out a hand. 

"Didn't know you could be respectful too," New teased as he accepted the handshake. He chuckled, recalling the times Tay was rude to him. Tay only rolled his eyes, but a faint smile could be seen on his face. "My name is New Thitipoom. You can call me whatever you want."

"Okay, whatever you want" 

And so, in the middle of a school pool on a hot day, a friendship was formed.