Through time

Think

"Gun."

"New."

"Hey Krist."

"Hi P'Newwiee."

New noticed Krist wasn't his usual happy self. He was upbeat, yes, but was forced. He looked at Gun who shrugged.

"So," New began. "Singto got a B."

"He what?" Gun asked, surprised.

"Yup. We had a quiz and he got a B."

"Are you sure?" Gun asked.

"Yup. Results are posted on the board. I got a B- and he got a B."

"Are you sure P'Newwie? P'Sing got a B?"

"Yes, checked it twice."

"But he can't get a B."

"He just did Krist." Gun answered.

"No, I mean he can't or he'll lose the scholarship."

"Oh." Gun and New said together.

"What happened to P'sing?" Krist asked himself.

"What didn't." New responded.

"Elaborate." Gun directed at New.

"Well, first he drinks himself silly. then was late for class the next week, almost every day. He forgot to turn in an assignment and had to beg the professor to accept his, late. He spaces out in class and often is caught off guard at recitation, though how he manages to answer correctly, I will never understand."

"New." "P'Newwiee." Krist and Gun saiid simultaneously.

"Oh yeah. He forgets assignemtns, schedules and now he gets a B. I don't know what to do with that guy."

Krist looked down at his notes, biting his lip.

"Can you talk to him Krist?"

"New." Gun warned.

"No, no. I know. It's just that I don't know what to do. I can't get through to him."

"I don't think I'm ready P'Newwiee. I'm not sure I can take it."

"I understand Krist."

"Thanks P'."

"I know it's not my place and I don't have any right to ask but will you hear me out? If you won't talk to Singto, at least listen to me."

"New." Gun repeated.

"It's OK P'Gun. OK P'Newwiee. I'll listen."

"What time are you free?"

Krist looked at his watch then at Gun. "Now?"

"Now will work. Let's go to the restaurant outside campus. It should be deserted right about now. Let's go."

"So, talk." Gun said as soon as they sat down.

"And you're in this talk, why?"

"P'Newwiee, just..."

"Yeah, sorry Krist. Can we order some food first?"

They gave their orders and New launched into the story.

"I got a call from Singto the other week. He seemed pretty out of it and was kind of weird on the phone so I told him I'd come to him. When I got there, he was drunk. Had 20 or so bottles on the table." New paused "I asked him why and he went on with a story about a girl, a towel and rain. it was pretty jumbled so I brought him home to sleep it off. In the morning I asked him to tell me the story again."

"And?" Gun prompted.

"He started from the end, how he chased Krist here in the rain, shouting like they do in the movies. He told me the story how when he got back to the apartment, Ping, his lab partner threw herself at him and he threw her to the sofa and left. Not before he said he didn't want to see Ping ever again. He's finishing their project on his own." New looked at Krist. "All I know is that he had nothing to do with anything. He was invited Ping to his apartment to dry off, just to get out of the rain and You showed up. He said he tried to explain but you wouldn't listen."

"Would you, P'New? If you were in my shoes that day, would you have listened?"

"I guess I wouldn't. Can you tell me the whole story Krist? I want to get the whole thing. All I know is what Singto told me, happened that day. He knows nothing else. I think he wasn't paying attention."

"Maybe."

"Can you tell us Krist?" Gun prompted.

"Well, it was a haunch that panned out. You know how P'Singto is, all nice and all?" New and Gun nods. "I think he was too nice. Now I'm about to cry."

"You don't have to continue." Gun said.

"No, I need to tell the story. It's all bottled up inside, I need to say it."

"Go on." New pushed.

"So at first I didn't think anything. I didn't know anything. All I knew was that there's always a girl hanging around him, and he was very receptive. The girl would say something and he would laugh. The girl would touch him, and he'd let her. The girl would walk and he'd walk. The girl would smile and he'd smile."

"It was nothing to him Krist." New responded to Krist's rant.

"If it was all nothing to him, why did he allow it? What should I have thought P'? 'Oh, it means nothing, it's ok for a girl to hang around my boyfiend all day everyday'?" Krist worked on calming himself down. "I thought P'Singto was responsive because Ping was a girl, and obviously I'm not. What was I supposed to think?"

"Krist, don't get upset, didn't you think to just ask Singto about it?"

"From all I've told you P'Gun, would you be asking P'Off calmly about it? Or you P'Newwiee, if a guy hung around Neen all day everyday, all touchy feely, would you be OK with it?"

"I can't fault you there Krist, I would've done the same." Gun conceded.

"After all that's happened, I have to ask, where does that leave you two?"

"I don't know P'Newwiee. I don't know."

"Wait. I might just be asking the onvious here but, Singto and Ping have been working together on their lab project for months, why haven't you met her or why didn't Singto introduce you?"

"I may have your answer there Gun. According to Singto, he's been working on introducing Krist to Ping the entire time. It was Ping that always made excuses."

"Hmm, I guess she had something planned all along."

"You may be right Gun, it was all planned."

"Back to my question Krist, what's going to happen with you two now? The bottom line is Singto's innocent and you mad a few assumptions based on actions that were meant to illicit such."

"I don't know P's. What should I do?"

"I might not be able to do this if it were me, you know how I am, but you need to talk it out. At the very least hear him out."

"Yeah." Krist agreed.