call out my name [2gether]

CH 22

THE CONFESSION.

Sarawat was agitatedly shaking his leg while sitting at the campus cafeteria with his friends during lunch, hair ruffled and white shirt buttoned askance. He looked like he had not slept for days, fingers twitching and big eyes roaming around the crowded hall agitatedly.

"What the hell is eating at you?" Man asked exasperated with a sigh, looking up from his cell phone to glare at Sarawat. "Stop acting so- so-" he motioned with one hand at the other one's weird behavior. "Just stop it, whatever it is."

Sarawat only glared at his friend from under his messy bangs, bow shaped lips twisted sourly and jawline defined. Man shook his head at the silent treatment, looking heavenward. God help him. Sarawat was just impossible sometimes. His stubborn streak was a mile wide, like a dog with a bone.

"Hey, Wat," Boss piped up while eagerly looking at Sarawat and successfully breaking the rising tension between his two friends at the table. "How's it been going with your room? You look pretty deadbeat, is it still being haunted?"

Sarawat only made a noncommittal sound low in his throat and looked down, hair spilling over his ashen face, mindlessly stirring the rice around on his plate with scraping noises. Man side eyed him annoyingly.

Was Boss trying to rub salt into Sarawat's wounds? He had not been able to sleep a wink after Tine had disappeared, making such an unnecessary grandeur exit at the wee hours of the morning. Sarawat had waited and waited for him but the ghost did not come back. By lunch Sarawat felt that he had to take himself out and maybe at least eat something since he could not sustain himself by smoking cigarettes only. And surprisingly, the walk from the dorms and all the way to the campus cafeteria had cleared his thoughts well enough to make him do a split decision and text Natty. She, if anyone, should know something about what was suddenly going on with Tine.

"By the way, was the information of any help from that dude?" Boss kept asking, leaning over the table, impatient to find out more. He had recently heard from Natty that Sarawat had actually met up with her to discuss the apparent ghost sightings at his dorm room, that bastard. He was obviously sneaking around with something behind their backs, acting all weird for the past month.

"What information?" Man interjected, suddenly interested in their conversation as well, phone already placed face down on the table. He rested his elbows on the table, peering at his friends.

"Oh, I finally talked to a friend who knew the guy that had stayed in Sarawat's dorm room," Boss ranted excitedly, turning to look at Man with wide eyes. "Apparently Tine, that's his name by the way, had been in an accident and that's when all the weird shit started happening at Sarawat's dorm room." Boss wagged his dark eyebrows for emphasis.

"So?" Man asked skeptically. "Does it mean he's dead then? Why would he haunt a student dorm?"

Boss opened his mouth to reply but halted in his tracks, furrowing his brows silly.

"Uh- I never asked specifically whether he was dead," he said sheepishly, one strong hand rubbing at his pale neck.

Hey, is your friend dead? It was not like he could just ask that out of nowhere.

"I just assumed that it was implied, I guess." Boss shrugged his shoulders and splayed his arms wide in a resigned gesture. "You know, because of the paranormal stuff?"

"You only make an ass out of me and you when you assume things," Man muttered tiredly and wacked the back of his friend's head expertly. This dude, seriously.

Boss yelped indignantly and glanced at Sarawat for help, while rubbing at the back of his aching head but was only met with a piercing stare.

"Tell me exactly what that guy said about Tine," Sarawat said seriously, his heavy gaze pinning Boss down to his seat. It looked as if Sarawat was ready to spring over the table and pounce on Boss should the other make any unnecessary movements.