Fish upon the Sky Chapter 13

    Fish upon the Sky Chapter 13

“I don't know how far away the person I silently admire, will feel from me, or if he senses it,

   But for me...”

   .... That person....

   .... One day they will know.”

   “Nong Mork.”

   “...”

   “Very good, Hahahahahahahahahaha.”

   Phii Lae was about to collapse on the floor from Mork's sweet talk, the kind of trash talk that makes fans' hearts beat faster, I don't know what's so great about it. But my heart is beating faster too.

   I'll let you have it this time, if you don't want to overshadow him with your own heat and tarnish the reputation of Yon-no-Moon.

   “OK, we're done for today, wait until next week for the video interview and the interview in the magazine. One more interview, we have to wait for Duean to come back from Kauai first, so, please remind your brother, Nong Pi.” After Phii Lae's failure, only Phii Lae is left to represent her.

   I nod my head in greeting, my eyes glance at Satthaya, he too looks at me askance.

   “We'll go first then, thank you both nong.”

   “Okay...”

   The two seniors hadn't gone far, the smile on my face faded and a small war was triggered between me and the man in front of me.

   “Just answered the last question, you looked me in the face, not sure if there's anything wrong with that.”

   “No...” He replies, making another face of indignity.

   “Lying, all saw you looking at me, what the hell is going on in your mind?”

   “Well...”

   “See, the real face is showing, at first glance you know the person you secretly admire is MueangNan, looking at my face to mock me? You say you won't interfere but you've been doing the opposite.”

   “Is that really how you understand it?”

   “And how do you want me to interpret that?”

   Mork looked at me with narrowed eyes, as if he was a man who had seen the world and could clearly see it but made a melancholy face, as if drained of energy.

   “Let's go eat.”

   You're really good at changing the subject, did you get a perfect score on the entrance exam, I wonder?

   “Eat what eats, just finished the soup with your tartar on it at lunch.”

   “Really not hungry?”

   “So, what am I invited to do?”

   “I just want to have dinner with you.”

   “Dream on, I won't eat with you again, restrain yourself one day and take the dress pants back to you.”

   “No need to pay it back...”

   “Why?”

   “It shouldn't be long before I have to wear it again.”

   “Please Wake Up, Dream Too Far.” I shake my head. The sooner I can get rid of this sinful relationship, the better for my heart.

   “It's like when you dream of being MueangNan’s boyfriend.”

   “Look down on me, you'll see.”

   “Waiting to see what?” He asked, raising his eyebrows provocatively.

   “Whenever we get together, come spill your dog food.” Happy anniversary every two minutes, guaranteed. “Even if Nan is a Fish upon the Sky, he's still in my heart, you remember that.”

   “Why is it called Fish upon the Sky?”

   “Why should I tell you?”

   “Because I asked...”

   “Never heard of the saying 'Star in the sky, fish in a tank'?”

   “Water?”

   “Well, that's it, fish in the water, because fish can't go to the sky, so Nan is like my Fish upon the Sky.” From day one, it's been a long time, until today “wet trash” The word was eliminated from my heart, “But not anymore, because he's right next to me, within reach.”

   “Then so do we.”

   “Where's the difference?” Feeling very confused, because apart from the almost good-looking face, the rest is very different.

   “Like people who seem impossible...”

   “Do you like Hollywood stars?”

   “No, it's already more than that...”

   “Over everyone, that's me.” I joked and even made myself laugh. But the other guy had a serious look on his face and it froze me in my tracks.

   “Hmmm.”

   “...”

   “Is that you, then?”

   Today was the idlest day of the week. Since I didn't know what to do, I came to sit in the school café and play it cool, just to pass the time. There's a new shop opening this time of year, so I thought I'd let the blood receive a few glasses of pure milk. Before the night was over, downed another bottle of M-100 (Red Bull type drink) in one gulp like Duean.

   Kitty Gang especially liked the M-100. No kidding, the seniors all looked cool, so I kind of wanted to try it. Kind of opened the door to a new world that was already pretty bad but it's actually going to be worse than before once you meet these guys.

   Pattawee Panichapun: Someone came to interview Campus Idol yesterday.

   I was nervous but talked a lot.

   College Passerby: Not bad for you.

   Pattawee Panichapun: How do you know what kind of person it is?

   College Passerby: Been talking for a year, how come I don't know?

   Speaking of which, how was the interview, was it good? What were the questions?

   Pattawee Panichapun: asked about CP, it was annoying as hell.

   There's an uninvited guest along for the interview.

   College Passerby: The Mork guy?

   Pattawee Panichapun: How do you know? Like did you saw it live.

   College passersby: You hate him that much?

   Pattawee Panichapun: Not annoying, just don't want to spend time with him.

   College Passerby: Then it's called being nasty.

   Pattawee Panichapun: No, didn't like it when I was with him because he looked better, always stealing the camera.

   College Passerby: You're Cute Too, there’s no one who can steal the show.

   Pattawee Panichapun: So, well said, would love to call you.

   (Rrrrr--Rrrrr--)

   Not long into a Facebook conversation with a friend, the sound of my phone vibrating urges me to move my eyes to the caller's name, I see it clearly with both eyes,

   Duean...

   “Why didn't you answer the phone?” As soon as I picked up the phone, I yelled at the top of my lungs. Do you know, brother? In the few days you've been away at Khao Yai, my life has been shattered into pieces. One voice wanted to explode but the other voice said let him be.

   Where do I call you sometimes? Pi, I can't even finish my dengue project. The voice on the other end is so hoarse. I've gone from being angry at him for not answering the phone to listening to him complain.

   “Still not coming back?”

   [Come back tonight, say what's up, these little hungry bastards are staring at me, about to swallow my head.”

   “Say this, some media school seniors are coming to interview some campus top 10 idol and you happen to be one of them, stop by the media school when you get back, I'll send you my contact info.”

   [Hanging up.]

   “Why? It's just an interview.”

   “I fooled everyone, lied to them I was a freshman, why did I go to the interview to debunk myself, use your head, Pi, don't just pad the top of your head with it.”

   Tsk! The nerves in my head are tingling.

   “Who can know, tell him yourself if you don't want to go.” I don't give a shit about brothers like you.

   [Help me out, don't want to go to the school of communication building, too many old lovers.]

   “It's about you...”

   Who doesn't remember, throughout his college years, Duean flirted with all the girls from all the colleges, broke the campus record, booked the most nautical award on campus, girls from his own college, the surrounding colleges and his aunt's daughter came after him? In short, Duean is an experienced driver.

   Shouldn't I be proud to have a brother like that?

   [Why can't you do just that? Have you forgotten my kindness? Who showed you the porno book in sixth grade? Who taught you how to play King of Cards in first grade? And who taught you how to play craps so you could win a game? Think about it. Think.]

   Oh-ho, a set of them.

   Yes... Should I be proud of you? Taught me all this good stuff and now you're coming after me for it. It's like I grew up, the dice are doing something and it's a good thing the cops aren't dragging him to jail by the neck.

   [So, you help me?]

   “Yeah, I'll tell the seniors later.”

   (I'll go ahead and take care of the rest, now the mosquitoes are gonna fucking carry me off. Now the mosquitoes are gonna fucking carry me off.)

   The eldest brother hung up the phone and threw all the tough questions at me and now the task was to find a new boy to interview, to make him one of the Top ten, because Duean alone wouldn't cooperate.

   From not thinking about anything at first, to thinking heavily now and wanting to swallow acetaminophen (a fever and pain killer).

   “Here it is...”

   Just scooping up the very tasty cake, the sound of the visitor attracts all attention.

   She was in my class, a friend who never hurt me and never befriended me, in short, in those dark days, our relationship had been uncomfortable.

   “What?” I said in response, while smiling.

   Before, Duean used to say that you don't have to smile, no matter what time you smile, it scares the hell out of people who look at you. But now he looks like a human being, he can do anything.

   “Pi, did the seniors tell you?” Please tell me what's going on.

   “What is it?”

   They want the top three sophomores in the college to tutor the freshmen, to help them prepare for their exams.”

   I may not be able to do anything else but for studying, I'm always ready to rush in and help.

   “Oh, when? So, I can mentally prepare and the remedial material, freshman year only?” It's been a bit eventful, had to give in to the year.

   “There will be three days of make-up, the first day is next Monday, for sophomores in the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry and Science. Tuesday and Wednesday are for the health juniors and seniors. But what's the schedule like, still waiting for seniors, so Pi wants to help?”

   “No problem, I want to help the underclassmen.”

   “Good...”

   “Speaking of which... Will Nan help with tutoring at pharmacy school etc.?”

   “He is not on the list...”

   “Is that so?” It's hard.

   “But he should be coming and his best friend will be coming to help with tutoring.”

   “Whoa-oh-oh-oh!” The mood barely changed. Sad at one point, happy at another, tears in my eyes, a chance to show strength in front of Nan once again. “Thanks for coming to tell me the news.”

   I always have good intentions, because I hope that these merits will help me and give me the chance to fall in love with a Fish upon the Sky sometime in the future.

   “You're welcome, see you on cramming day then, bye.”

   “Bye-bye...”

   This tutoring is a big start. Usually it was Kitty Gang's help, it just didn't work out. But this was an experience that should be remembered, my efforts were finally paying off.

   Fish upon the Sky, will not be just Fish upon the Sky anymore.

   Because the fish will be switched from the sky to the tank.

   Academic activities in upper grades tutoring lower grades...

   Super excited! It was almost 4:00 when I fell asleep last night. I had reviewed and summarized the chapters to be used in the tutorial and it turned out to be true, everything I had read flew away in the middle of it. Because I didn't expect the cram session to be so big, it was bigger than I thought, the whole classroom was filled with almost 100 people.

   Everyone looked so serious, with a hundred and eighty colors of pens and a big bag of highlighters. All ready to cram and take notes. I'm scared. If we get it wrong, it'll be a disgrace to the family. Even though Duean has already disgraced our family's cleverness.

   Day 1, Now I'm standing with the tutorial group, there are three dentistry students, two science students and the medical school...

   Is there only one here?

   I remember it well, because he's the guy who tapped me on the shoulder when I stormed into the dorm room looking for Mork earlier.

   “Pattawee, Remember Me?” I'm still sputtering inside, ooh... And he comes up and says hello.

   “Wasn't you name Wasin?”

   “Very good, you remember.”

   “Hey but did the med school only send one person to tutor?

   “No, it’s just...”

   “Ahhhhhhhhhhhh”

   Yo, before you can say anything, the scream starts and it shakes the room. It's like time has stopped moving, there's a slow-motion scene. Everyone turns to look in the direction of the door.

   Eh!

  ... Mork.

   Since the small part of his face came into view, my nervousness disappeared.

   “Dr. Satthaya...”

   “Phii Mork came to tutor us, Ahhhhhh!”

   “Looking' good up close and handsome.”

   There were a variety of sounds faintly resonating, the culprit approached with no shame and a smile, probably testing how famous he was. Until the person in question came to a halt in front of me, the initial screams had only some energy left, screaming in the auditory nerves.

   “What?”

   “Sorry, who are you?” No! I don't want to talk to him, later this gentleman's fans will catch on and comment, that would be bad, despite the fact that we don't match.

   “It's your guy, can't remember?”

   “Don't come looking for a fight, put that away, say it to someone else.”

   “Some big words, some small words, can't be said to just anyone.”

   “...”

   “Because if it really matters, I will say it to only one person.”

   Open your hand and invite him to the next classroom to write a book of quotations and sayings.

   “It's good that you're happy.”

   I asked to raise the white flag of defeat and had to turn and run, to argue would have been futile. My anger disappeared as soon as I saw the little man.

   MueangNan.

   He's coming this way but not alone, because there's another guy coming right behind him. It's not At-Phii who's been trying to stop him, I don't know who it is, I haven't seen that face before.

   “Mork, Pi.” Wow, what a great VOICE.

   “You... Hello.”

   “Who said no?” Before he could answer me, Mork interrupted with a rude interjection.

   “Stopped by for a refill...”

   A silence came, overwhelmed me and turned my eyes to the unmentionables.

   “Oh... This...” Everyone looked at the other one in unison.

   “Pi doesn't recognize him yet...” Nan looks to the man, then turns to meet me again, with a smile on his face, “He is my brother, Phii Nuea.” Oh my god! Does Nan have a brother?

   I would like to bend over my wife's brother's knee.

   A man like me is only smug, happy to be missed. Found time to take a peek at Phii Nuea, he was a tall man, handsome but from any angle, the two brothers had no resemblance whatsoever. I repeat! No resemblance at all, are they brothers?

   “It was nice to meet Pi.” The person in question raised his hand and slapped my arm. If it's that hard, raise your knee and slap me in the face.

   “Also... It was a pleasure...”

   Hypnotize yourself not to be angry, because meditate on the fact that this is your wife's brother.

   “I think Phii Nuea should go and sit down for a while, tuition is about to start, I'm afraid I'll get tired after standing for a long time.” Oh! Mork always likes to make a mess and makes a displeased face, don't you know he makes the people listening nervous too?

   “It's okay, my brother will be back later, I just brought him to introduce him to my friends.”

   “Is that so?”

   “Mork, don’t make that stern face.” I want MueangNan to talk to me in such a delicate voice too, just like with Mork, envy.

   “There is no slate...”

   “All see you slabbing, come on oh, me and Phii Nuea are going back.” After raising his hand to look at his watch, the Fish upon the Sky turned his eyes to me, “Let's go, Pi, bye.”

   “Goodbye...”

   Nan waved and left with his brother. So, we only spoke for about 30 seconds combined.

   Don't know why my heart feels like I rushed to run a marathon, heart hasn't had time to be nourished.

   So, the dream plan, the first, second and third impressions expected to be made, or even the ability to show him how to coach, falls through and instead you take comfort in the fact that it's okay, there's no chance today, there will be tomorrow.

   “Now it's time too, let's start the cramming activities.”

   The time for complaining is over.

   “Please welcome Phii Mork from the School of Medicine...”

   “Ahhhhhhhhhh, Phii Mork.”

   The moderator announced in a clear voice and the room turned into a fiery battleground, as if it wasn't an academic tutorial but rather an entertainer's concert.

   Later Pi will be waving a glow stick, watching the Palmy show.

   I really hate to say it, Mork he looked really good, stood out once he stepped out on stage and had most of the freshman kids looking at his face obsessively, instead of looking at the projection screen.

   “Hello undergraduates, I'm Mork, now in my second year. Today we're starting to catch up on cytology and cellular respiration and biochemistry. We won't be going very deep, because everything from freshman year is still basic.”

   “Phii Mork, Hahahahaha.”

   Will I be able to study today? I'm worried that the younger students won't really be able to read what they're studying but I'm not sure. Some of them may be so happy that I'm on stage that they can't concentrate on their studies.

   OK, sober up.

   “Mork.” Much time wasted, it seems someone from the group called his name, while pointing to the person's watch, Mork nodded his head to show he understood and walked away to sit in the prepared chair.

   “Time to start catching up but I'll time it first in a minute, afraid a subject will take too long.”

   I look into the broad palm of my hand and pick up my phone to see what time it is.

   BANG!!!

   Oh eh!

   Immediately the noise was all around me, my eyes turned to the newly unfolded projection screen and all the freshman kids in the classroom.

   When... Mork's phone screensaver...

   It's a picture of me

   My avatar, Pae took a nice picture of me the other day. Fuckin' fuckin' fuckin' fuck.

   The photo above only appears on the screen for a fraction of a second, after which the phone is immediately removed, as if the owner has just realized his mistake. Mork rushed to pick up the phone and stuff it in his trouser pocket, as if he'd hit something hot. But I couldn't understand why he'd set my face as the phone's screensaver.

   I... Someone he's always been at odds with.

   I... A man who sees him as an enemy.

   I... The one who never once said anything nice to him.

   And me... When caught in the sights of most people, a man who couldn't ask himself what to do. Because from then on, within minutes, the cramming room was lit up. Facebook and Line messages beeped and I'm sure it wasn't long before; this would become a headache for a long time.

   “That's not CP, it's obviously a real couple.”

   “Phii Mork sure likes Phii Pi, doesn't he?”

   Dude, all this speculation about Mork liking me is fucking pointless and there's no truth in it. Because if that's the case...

   Mork it, is the crush.

   Like, he is the better looking and famous.

   As for I am... Bingo!

   “Schoolboys, please cooperate, I'm going to start class, help put your phones away...” The last word is soft and sweet, that's all it takes for the class to fall silent.

   I really believe in your influence now.

   The tutoring began, it took almost 45 minutes. I sat down and waited, dozing off several times, sleepy and sleepy again. Plus, Wasin was repeating it out loud in front of the room with the energy of an Olympian and then I looked back at the two guys from the science school next to me, they were playing a recreational game with a lot of gusto.

   Understand, scholarship students, always like to do something creative.

   It's a pity MueangNan isn't here, otherwise we'd have someone to talk to. But on second thought, it's good that he's not there, because he might have misunderstood what happened before.

   I'm sick and tired of it, when will the classes start.

   Get your phone out and play with it for good, one clicks into the blue F letter app and I found out certain facts.

   Reposting Mork's phone photo, the one highlighted on the projection screen that has become a hot topic, no matter which motion you slide to there is only this photo, eyes are glazed over.

   Especially the Fanclub admin Nong Prik, in order to drive traffic, she is very obsessed with tagging my name and Mork's name on photos

   Nong Prik Mork-Pi genuine FC tagged, Satthaya Nithikornkul and Pattawee Panichapun in a photo 35 minutes ago

   Mork-Pi ship is sailing super-fast, our captain steers the freaking ship by himself.

   The more I look, the angrier I get, clench my fists and look around for Prik's girl. If I find out where she's sitting, I'm going to walk up to her and steal her eraser and tell her it's not going to end there, that a grudge has been formed and that I have to get it back like the main character in Cupid's Tears.

   “Pi...”

   “...”

   “Pi, he called you.”

   “Huh?” After receiving a tip from a fellow college student, all the plans I had in mind disappeared... What's happening.

   “Are we there yet?”

   “No, the science students asked Mork and you to go up on stage and play the game, to demonstrate.”

   What the hell is this?

   “Why me?”

   “I don't know, get on your feet, now the underclassmen are waiting.” I hate these kids so much. They don't get good enough grades and they're a pain in the ass. These guys love to find something to do that's so fucking annoying, no questions asked, that I now have to walk-up on-stage giggling, not knowing what's going to happen in front of me.

   “Here we go, our Phii Pi, applause.”

   “Phew, Phii Pi.”

   “Mork-Pi, Mork-Pi, Mork-Pi.”

   Momentary disorientation.

   This is not idol news, why is the fake CP boat going so fast, if it was the captain of the Pi-Nan boat, he would have thrown the wood pulp away in a year.

   “Let's be quiet for a moment, the game I'm going to play is a simple quiz, points will be deducted from anyone who gets it wrong. The person asking the question has the right to ask any question about biology and then we'll keep alternating like this, until one of us gets it wrong. Whoever has the most answers run to the front of the line for the prize but for now let's see who wins between Seniors Mork and Pi.”

   “Mork-Pi, Mork-Pi, Mork-Pi!”

   Still... It's not over yet? I wish I could call Kitty Gang to make a scene.

   “Nervous?” Mork asks in a low voice, so low it's almost a whisper. Since he's close, I automatically hold my breath.

   “Oh, what? Don't you know how many schoolmates are sharing my picture from your phone on Facebook right now? I'd really like to ask why the hell you set it to my picture?”

   “The hand accidentally clicked...”

   “You fuck.”

   “Calm...”

   “How I'm Cool, your fans...”

   “What?”

   “Stare at me.”

   “Just don't care.”

   “...”

   “It's enough if you care about me.”

   “Bastard! I don't want to be the end of anyone's sight anymore.”

   “Play games that make me stand away, how does that work?”

   “One mic per person, who better to start... Ah, Satthaya goes first.” Our war is over, rising again in the form of a game, I will never have to lose to him one day.

   “The question is when digested by protease inhibitors, which structure of the cell does not change?” Huh, super simple question.

   “Cell walls...”

   “Phii Mork, Correct?” The scholarship student is a real showman. Hired him for a hundred, he'll do a million bucks.

   “Correct...”

   “Yeah! Phii Pi.”

   I unknowingly set up a military base and this time it's my turn, I didn't expect such kindness, asking basic questions. Anyway, I hope Mork gets it wrong and embarrasses himself in front of the younger students.

   “Cyanide is a harmful substance, makes cells less metabolizable, generally found most often in which organelles?”

   “Mitochondria...”

   “Phii Pi, Correct?”

   “Positive... Correct.”

   “Yeah! Team Dr. Satthaya.”

   It must be the same book, the legendary tutorial.

   Then we just alternated for a long time, several questions and nobody got it wrong. The science student, who was the initiator of the event, interrupted the process and announced that both of us had won. After that, the younger students who had come to study tried to play the game alternately. Mork and I rushed off the stage and went back to stay with our classmates but the culprit pulled our wrists first.

   “What is it?” I asked with a frown.

   “The game isn't over yet, don't want to know who won?”

   “You're picking on me now, aren't you?”

   “It's okay to say it like that...”

   “Then you ask...” I made a show of not conceding too.

   “What don't I like to eat?”

   “That's not something that has to be asked, is it?” Immediately disagree, boring as hell.

   “But also, the question waiting for your answer.”

   “Green tea... dogs don't like it.”

   “Correct, it's your turn to ask...”

   “What about me? What don't you like to eat?”

   “You don't like me...”

   “Hey, very self-aware.”

   “What about me? Do you know who I like?”

   “MueangNan, my Fish upon the Sky, you are waiting for the opportunity to steal him.” I said sarcastically. Tried to get rid of him so many times but the fucker always showed up to block my love.

   “Again, you lose.”

   “Lose a hell of a lot.”

   “I don't like Nan, because my feelings tell me to...”

   “...”

   “Like you.”

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