Yo is finally ready to take down his wall of shame. One by one, pictures of Pha are disappearing from his room. But when Pha finally gathers the courage to confess to his Nong, will he still be in Yo's heart? Retelling of my story Breaking Down the...
"It was terrible, P'Joss. He was such a jerk and before I even knew what I was saying, I was telling him I wanted to hit him," Yo said, his face red from embarrassment and annoyance. It was our first chance to video call in the last week and I've missed our talks. We text everyday, but texting just isn't the same.
"Don't worry, N'Yo," I said to calm him. "You didn't say anything wrong. He started it."
"I know, but I still feel bad," Yo looked down at his keyboard. "Why do I still like him, P'? Even when he's such a jerk, all I can do is talk about him. I should be focusing on you. Please don't be mad at me?"
"How could I be mad at you?" I asked with my heart in my throat. I wish I never had to hear about stupid Phana. Yo still believes that he isn't good enough for anyone to love him and it hurts my heart.
Over the past year we have stayed connected through phone calls, texts, and video chats, but no matter how many times I see Yo, I'm still amazed by his transformation. His cheeks have thinned out, but his arms and chest have filled out. His skin is clear now and his eyes are as perfect as ever but no longer hidden behind glasses. No matter how many times I tell him he looks great, he doesn't believe me. I can never erase the image he has of himself as a nerdy kid that didn't really fit in.
"How is N'Ming?" I change our topic, trying to move away from our conversation about stupid Phana.
"He's excited to start here," Yo smiled, answering my question. We talked for another hour, discussing all the things that had been happening in his life and in mine. I wanted to plan a visit to see him soon, but I have to wait a little while longer. After a year apart I'm starting to feel like I can love him as just a friend. I want to see him in person, but I still have a lot of work to finish before I have the time.
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Yo's POV
Morning came way too soon for my taste, but as a responsible student I dressed in my new uniform and went to the Science Faculty Freshman Orientation Meeting. The stands were already filled with students when I arrived, but I saw the Biology Majors and went to sit with them.
"Oh, you adorable boy!" A large boy with curly hair over his right eye jumped up and immediately pinched my cheeks.
"Ai'Fatty," another boy with short hair and braces slapped the large boy's hands away from me and said, "don't scare that cutie."
I was about to thank him for saving my poor cheeks when he grabbed my arm and pulled me down next to him, leaning his head on my shoulder. This is awkward.
"Hey don't hog him all to yourself, Ai'Montri," another boy one row back pushed Montri off me and took my hand in his own when I turned to face him.
"Don't worry, Ai'Cutie, I'll save you," yet another boy, looking identical to the one currently holding my hand, took my empty hand and flashed me a big smile.
"Sawasdee krab," I said. I smiled and gently removed my hands from their grasp.
"He's so polite," the twin on the right said.
"Umm, well now that we've completely embarrassed you," a girl with a ponytail said, "what's your name?"
"My name is Wayo," I said as I looked around at them, "but my friends call me Yo."
More exclamations of adorable and cute and sweet followed before Montri smiled at me and said, "My name is Montri. This adorable ponytail is Ai'Cake, that fat guy is Ai'Chang."
"Not nice, Ai'Montri," Cake admonished him, but he completely ignored her.
"Identical number one is Ai'Jae and identical number two is Ai'Zee." Montri finished, pointing to each person as he said their name.
After a few minutes of exchanging wais and smiles, a senior stood up in front and took charge of the meeting. Before I even knew what was happening, Montri had nominated me to be the our Faculty Moon. I had no idea what that meant, but it didn't sound like fun at all, in fact it sounded horribly like a beauty pageant. The others all agreed with his assessment. Are all of these people blind? I tried to talk them out of it, but they sent me to stand with the other nominees from each major.
"So we've had a rough start this year, and we normally don't do this quite so quickly, but I am going to ask all of the nominees one question. The nominees with the best answer will be chosen as the Faculty Moon and Star for this year," the senior, whose name is Ging, said quickly. He seemed to be of the opinion that he was bestowing a great honor.
We were all facing our classmates, waiting for the question, but before Ging could continue, there was some kind of commotion. Everyone in the stands had started to whisper. I turned to see what was happening behind me and there was Pha, walking through on his way to the basketball courts with a group of his friends. I turned back to the front immediately, hoping he didn't see me.
"Perfect timing gentlemen," Ging called out with a Christmas-has-come-early smile, "Pay attention nongs, this handsome man is Doctor Phana, he was the Moon of the Medical Faculty last year. Doctor Pha is also our Campus Moon. He'll be here to take care of the juniors who will be part of the competition. Do you have any advice for our nongs?"
Pha looked extremely bored, but he finally said, "Concentrate in class."
Every person in the stands erupted in cheers like Pha had said something inspiring. Get a grip, people! But inside my heart was melting.
He walked away, accepting the cheers and admiration like they were his due. Arrogant, much? Then Ging finally called us all back to order and asked the big question to determine who would be our faculty representatives.
