Hold on Tight

13. Cold

"I'm hungry," Mond whined loudly, trying to act cute. I chuckled before smacking him lightly on the head with a thin book I was holding onto. For someone as big as him, pouting really doesn't suit his image.

Mond has been complaining about his empty stomach for the past 5 minutes now. We were at our faculty building, waiting for our other friends, by our gang's favorite table at the side. Usually all four of us share the same math classes but since Kai and Lam have different majors, they take different lectures.

So, it has been a routine of ours to wait for each other every after class since we all get out at the same time.

"Let's grab something to eat," Lam suddenly chimed in, dropping his bag on the table and sat beside Mond. He had just arrived, followed by Kai shortly after, and had probably heard our conversation. Mond's face instantly lit up at the suggestion.

"Food? I'm in," Kai said as he settled himself by my side. "How about you Ai'Forth?"

"Can't. I have somewhere to be." I actually had an appointment planned and only stuck around to tell them that I can't accompany them back to our dorm.

"Where?" Lam was wearing a frown when he turned to me before his expression morphed into an understanding one. "Oh yeah. The orientation for the contest is today, right?"

I hummed in response. The orientation was always roughly two months before the competition proper and all the contestants were required to attend the briefing.

"Do you really have to go?" Kai asked. "Why not just skip the whole thing?"

"I have to accompany Ai'Ming." I was his mentor, so it was expected that I had to guide him throughout the process and all his necessary preparations. Ming needs to be there, and I must be there for him.

"Or else P'Kong will have his head," Mond added with a smirk. "He has to go."

Mond was right. The seniors were counting on me to watch over our representative, I can't afford to let them down. And honestly, I wanted to go on my own accord, the other sophomore moons were going to be there as well. I wanted to catch up with those rascals since I rarely see them in campus.

"Fine," Lam said as he suddenly stood up and grabbed his bag along with. "We'll tag along until you're done."

"You sure? It might take a while." I knew for a fact that the orientation will last for a few hours. They might get tired of waiting.

"I'd love to go," Mond added as he shot to his feet. "There will be a lot of pretty freshmen there."

"Don't pry on the innocent ones, Ai'Mond." Kai didn't look too excited about the whole situation. He hated waiting up on anyone after all. "And are you seriously going to drag us there, Ai'Lam?"

"We could grab dinner after," I proposed. "My treat."

This made Mond happy, like a child being offered candy. I chuckled at the sight.

"See?" Lam said with a soft laugh. "And it's better than being alone with you two," he continued, gesturing for the tallest and smallest of the group. "I can't stand your bickering."

"Hey!" they exclaimed in unison that elicited a laugh from Lam and me.

Lam wasn't lying though. Being left alone with just Kai and Mond was a recipe for disaster, so I understood why Lam didn't want to be with just them, he would feel left out somehow. Kai and Mond are like cats and dogs, they always argue about the smallest of things, and they always go all out, always too intense. They would never see eye to eye. Sometimes Lam and I would tease them, since they tend to act like an old married couple.