Lil' Prince

Chapter 7

Kongpob: 17 Arthit: 8

Kongpob's POV
Flashback Starts

I took a deep breath before slowly walking up the stage, trying to mask the anxiousness hidden in me. When I was in the middle of the stage, my heart raced even more quicker. I tried to smile but the fear was too overwhelming.

"G-Good morning." I managed to greet the audience before my mind went blank again.

I could hear the whispers and chuckles surrounding me as I helplessly looked under the stage to find any familiar faces.

But I found no one I knew, only strangers with mocking grins.

Flashback Ends

I'd unconsciously thought about one of the worst days in my life when Arthit came to his brother and told him that his teacher had picked him to be one of the contestants in a story-telling competition.

"But I don't want to." The kid whined as he tugged on his brother's sleeves.

"I tried to talk to the teacher already, Arthit. But she insisted that you're the candidate she wanted." Mr. Rojnapat, sitting across us, said as he lifted his gaze from his laptop to his youngest child.

"But dad, I'm scared." Arthit's eyes became a little watery and his dad could only sigh.

"Come here." Mr. Rojnapat gestured for his son to come over and pulled him into a comforting hug, "There, there, don't be worried. I'm sure you'll do fine."

The young kid in his arms was still shaking his head and I knew how he'd exactly felt.

"I... I'll talk to your teacher again tomorrow." Mr. Rojnapat could only say when he noticed his son's refusal to accept the teacher's proposal.

But as expected, Mr. Rojnapat was not able to change the teacher's mind and Arthit had no choice but to follow along with the teacher's arrangement. He'd started to memorize his script. It wasn't a long story considering he's still 8 years old.

"The tortoise saw the hare sitting under the tree, taking a nap." I took a sip of ice-cold water from my glass and looked at Arthit. He'd pulled Prem to the garden when he was rehearsing for the competition and as usual, I tagged along.

"A-And the tortoise..." Arthit stopped, squinting his eyes tightly as he tried to remember the story.

"And the tortoise, with its slow steps, walked past the sleeping hare." Prem reminded him as he looked at Arthit's script that was in his hands.

"And the tortoise, with its slow steps, walked past the sleeping hare. He walked and walked." Arthit's eyes beamed when Prem reminded him and he continued with the story. When he was done, he cheekily smiled and bowed to us after muttering a 'thank you'.

"You hadn't really memorized the story did you?" Prem nudged the boy when the latter plopped himself down beside his brother, sitting on the soft grass.

"I had, P'Prem. But it's really difficult." Arthit pouted, "P'Prem, will you be there during my competition?"

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it to the world." Prem ruffled Arthit's hair and the latter giggled happily.

But fate doesn't always go along as our wishes, Prem had unfortunately caught a really bad fever on the day of Arthit's competition. He was too weary to even get out of bed, let alone attend the competition and Mr. Rojnapat was out of town with P'Knor their business trip.

"I must be there." Prem, stubborn as he is, tried to get out of the bed and I pushed him back down.

"Come on, Prem. You know your condition and I believe Arthit will understand."

"What if he's afraid?" Prem asked worriedly as he coughed hard and involuntarily.

"I'll be there with him for you, just don't worry." Prem tried to protest but I insisted and left after telling the servants in the house to take good care of Prem and not let him get out of the house. I left the residence with my bike and when I arrived at the venue, I saw Arthit and his teacher standing in a corner. His teacher was helping him with his bowtie and I saw Arthit's hand shaking slightly. It was obvious that he was feeling anxious.

"P'Kongpob!" He called out when he saw me and I came to them as I greeted the teacher.

"You look great, kid." I patted his head and he tried to smile, but I saw the fear in his eyes.

"Don't worry, okay?" I crouched down to Arthit, looking at him in the eyes, "Look at me if you're afraid on the stage. I'm here."

I wouldn't let what happened to me happen to him as well.

When I was around his age, my teacher encouraged me to go to a story-telling competition as well. She said she believed in my talent, but it turns out to be the worst moment in my life. I'd never spoken in front of an audience before so when I was pushed onto the stage, my mind instantly went blank and all I could do was stare at the audience. I could hear snickers from the other contestants and I saw the judges furrowing their brows when they looked at me.

I felt so lost on the stage as if I don't belong.

I was ushered back to my seat when the emcees saw that I couldn't even utter a word. It took me a really long time to regain back my confidence and feel good about myself anew.

And I don't want Arthit to experience the same thing as I had.

All lost with no one by his side. Feeling down and bad about himself.

The competition started and he went onto the stage. He was still anxious when he stood in front of the microphone. But when his eyes looked into mine, he took a deep breath and smiled.

"Good morning to the host..."

I could feel the relief in my heart when he started his speech, feeling more comfortable on the stage as time progresses. And when he was about to end his story, his gaze fell on me again and I nodded my head to him, hand raising with a thumbs up, and his smile widens.

He did great.

A/N:
Hey guys, I wasn't going to update another chapter, just that I was feeling lost lately and I decided to write something to vent out. Life wasn't in the best state lately and my mental health condition was deteriorating. I don't want my family to be worried but it started to make me feel vulnerable and frustrated when I couldn't speak out. I don't know what to do anymore. I tried my very best to succeed but every time I felt confident in myself and when I felt assured, reality always struck the worst way. Forgive me for ranting, I just need a little breather and sorry if this chapter wasn't great, I just had a lot on my mind. Thanks for reading❤️