HEMP ROPE

Shaken.

A large stainless-steel pot filled with congee wafts a nice smell to people walking by. Phawin wiped the sweat with a small towel draped over his shoulder as he stopped and stared at the yummy-looking pork congee.

 

"Two large congees with eggs, please."

 

The young man fished out a wallet from his sweatpants, waiting for the vendor to prepare his order. With a stand-out hairstyle and face, Win was a head-turner, especially with the lady vendors around the dorm. They were familiar with this young man.

 

"Here, I'll give you extra livers."

 

"Thank you, beautiful."

 

"Win, would you like Kanom Krok today? I'll give you extra pieces."

 

Kanom Krok: one kind of Thai sweetmeat, like a hot coconut pudding.

 

"Whoa, definitely, I'll take one set."

 

"Win, how about skewered pork, son?"

 

Before Win could return to his room, he had an armful of plastic bags of food. He stopped to give some of them to the dorm's housekeepers, fed the pork to a dog, and was still being held back by a security guard who was talking to him.

 

"He's popular even with dogs." Team looked over the balcony after his shower. He meant to water the small cactus he bought from a market near the university with Pharm, and spotted a blond blob ambling in the dorm area. The guy was called to a stop by almost everyone.

 

"Because you're special to me."

 

Those words were stuck in his head. Team couldn't even remember how he got back to his room, the time they departed or where the bag of snacks was on that day. His brain was a mess.

 

His heart jumped from place to place. His face burned hot thinking about it; he couldn't bring himself anywhere near Win's room. He ended up not sleeping, resulting in poor performance at the swimming club.

 

"This is bad, arghh. What should I do?" The young man stomped about and sat in front of the plant's shelves. He stared at the plump cactus before he noticed. "Whoa, the flower is blooming."

 

The tiny bud was coming through a spike. His worries disappeared as he grabbed his mobile. He shot a picture from one angle to the next. His best friend should see it.

 

"Haha. Pharm will be jealous. Way to go, little one. You're bloom-Buzz...zz.

 

Not before he sent the pictures did his phone buzz, taking the smile off his face. He frowned at the name on screen. Taking a deep breath, he picked it up.

 

"Hello...Mom."

[Team, how are you doing?]

 

"Good, I'm super healthy. How about you and Dad?"

[We're good. Dad misses you. You didn't call us.]

 

The sweet voice he missed relaxed his tense posture, and his eyes dropped to his wiggling feet. A smile crept onto his face as he thought about his Mom's cosy lap and Dad's yelling.

 

"I have lots of activities these days. When I get back to my room, I just sleep until death. Tell Dad I'm sorry."

 

[Alright. Visit us anytime when you have long holidays.]

 

"Sure. Next month I might have a long holiday. I'll visit you guys." [Great. I'll make your favourite chilli paste. Oh, and visit your big brother. He misses you dearly.]

 

Team's breath caught. "..I miss him too...Oh, Mom, the class's starting. I have to go."

[Oh dear, ok. We'll talk later, son.]

 

"Yes, Mom. I love you, chu chu." He made a kissing sound, drawing laughter on the other end before he hung up. The room fell silent again. Team turned to get changed, shoving a tie into his pocket for his friend to help him with. When he turned to grab his backpack from the table, his eyes caught a picture next to the reading lamp. A ten-year-old light-skinned boy smiled at the camera, his one hand draping over a tanned boy. Their joyful smiles spoke of their happiness.

 

"We'll be professional swimmers when we grow up!!"

 

"We'd be national athletes!"

 

"Yeah, then let's race." Thud.

 

The picture frame was faced down.

 

"Hungry, hungry, hungry."

 

Team patted his face to get a grip. He headed to the door, thinking about the food in the cafeteria. When he swung the door open, the familiar figure was drawing back a knuckle. Knock.

 

"Ouch."

 

The hand still knocked, not on the door but on Team's forehead.

 

"Hia.."

 

"Let's eat."

 

A plastic bag of hot congee was shoved in front of Team. He had to step back. Win, who this time turned into an intruder, walked in without permission and poured the congee into bowls.

 

"Why are you here?"

 

"You don't want to eat?"

 

"Of course I do!!" He wasn't picky about food; the congee's pleasant smell already made him smile. He threw everything away to focus on his breakfast.

 

"What brought about this?"

 

"You have class late in the morning. I've been seeing you eat frozen food all the time. This is better."

 

Team nodded, admiring how observant Win had been. He was still as kind as ever.

Knock.

 

"Hey, you've hit me twice already. What if I got dumber?" Team stroked his forehead, which was turning red. Win didn't hold back, flicking his forehead.

 

"I'll help you become smarter." Phawin rolled his eyes and gave one more liver to the brat "The vendor gave extra livers."

 

"What!? I didn't get the same treatment when I bought it." Team muttered but continued eating.

 

"You're getting it now because you're special." Team froze.

 

"Don't ever think I treat everyone the same, Mr Teerayu."

 

The sudden baritone voice and polite tone made Team want to dunk his face in the congee, just to avoid looking at his senior.

 

"Hia..that's cringey." The vice president laughed. He backed down, allowing the younger man some leeway.

 

"Just gobble it up. Hurry up, or you'll be late."

 

"Bruh, you were the one talking." Team exhaled with relief once Win's tone went back to normal. He glanced at the evil-ish smile, eyebrow-raising gesture, which dissolved all the previous awkward air.

 

In ten minutes, food filled their stomachs. Team dumped the bowls in his sink to clean later in the evening.

 

"What's that?" Phawin gestured to the ground. A poor necktie lay forgotten on the floor.

 

"Oh, when did I drop it?" Team patted his pants. Maybe it fell off when he was eating. What a mess.

 

"You still can't tie your necktie?" Win picked up the tie and smoothed it out to remove the wrinkles. He recalled the junior's complaint about it. Team had tried countless times, but it was useless.  It takes too much work, Hia. I'll let Pharm do it." Team meant to get that tie back, but Win pulled back.

 

"I'll teach you."

"You're sure? Pharm had taught me so many times." Team stood still, waiting.

 

"Of course. I'll teach until you can do it yourself. Come stand here." Win nudged the junior to stand in front of the large mirror, himself on the junior's back.

 

"How can you teach me by standing like that?" Team frowned.

"Keep still and watch."

 

Strong forearms went around his broad shoulders, followed by a faint smell of perfume, making Team tense as if he was wrapped up in his arms.

 

"This is the easiest way."

...same scent as that night.

 

Team's lips curled inward. He stared at the big hand in the mirror. The long fingers held the tie as he slowly moved it around his neck.

 

"Put this end down and flick it up here." The instruction whispered to his ear.

 

"Put it in.." Their eyes were on each other through the mirror. "..and pull it down."

 

As is appropriate for first-year student uniforms, the tie was neatly knotted, yet it was forgotten as both of their attention was on each other, with unspoken words.

 

They wanted to speak, but it wasn't the time. They wanted to ask, but they weren't sure what.

 

"Done." Phawin backed off and turned the junior around to face him.

 

"Easy?"

"Hmm..."

 

"Try it next time so you'll save your friend trouble."

"I know." Team's voice was a bit strained.

 

Win is so irritating. And so gentle. It's infuriating.

 

The cafeteria in the morning wasn't too busy; it would be in the evening when most students stayed late to prepare for the open house. Team, Pharm, and Manow have been busy with their club activities lately.

 

"You're not eating in a cafeteria with me these days." Manow, the only young lady in the group, muttered, poking at the fried egg on her plate. The two guys were lost in her expression.

 

"Well.." Pharm struggled to swallow his omelette.

 

"Yeah, yeah. I don't have my own P'Dean, so I eat alone." Manow teased her friend. It seemed her friend was well off with P'Dean. The guy gave Pharm a ride, ate with him, and even went on a date with him.

 

"Yeah, you left us lonely." Team quickly added, but he let out a mental sigh as if he had a guilty conscience. He thought he'd wind up a guilty party like Pharm, since he ate with Win and left Manow behind quite often.

 

"Hey, I didn't mean to." Pharm agitated.

 

"Just kiddinggg." The two said in unison. Teasing Pharm was their little happiness each day; they weren't really mad.

 

"I'm glad you're happy, but please come with me this evening."

 

"Night market again?" Team didn't understand why girls could walk through a night market every week and buy new clothes. When he asked if Manow had ever worn what she bought last time, she just

smiled dryly. little late.

 

"It's lonely walking by myself. I'll have a performance practice for an open house soon; the market is out of the question then. Please?" Upon that, the two guys caved. They could join their clubs later.

 

The market behind the university was quite large. An hour of walking was not enough to cover the area. Team was holding large eco-friendly cloth bags that Manow had bought for them. They were filled with clothes and trinkets.

 

"Pharm, what do you think this is?" Manow dragged Pharm the other way, leaving Team waiting at the spot. His stomach growled; he could only hope his friend would get him food.

 

He looked around for a sitting area, but a cactus shop caught his attention, the one he bought from a month ago.

 

"Phi, what's this furry thing?" Team squatted down, looking at many small cacti. The furry one stood out.

 

"Oh, it's Mammillaria. Cute, isn't it?"

 

"Does it flower?" Team poked at the furry thing. He flinched when the spike poked him back.

 

"Careful. They look furry, but they have spikes. This cactus can flower, but it needs your effort. Are you interested? I can give a discount."

 

"How much?"

"Four hundred." The price made Team's eyes bulge. Very expensive, twice as much as his previous cactus. 

 

"I've been taking care of this one until it's super puffy. Here, I can give you 330. Also, I can give you this little one for free."

 

The discount didn't just work for females; Team patted his wallet. In the end, he got two new ones, along with soil and stones to care for them.

 

"You're serious about this thing." Pharm handed his friend a skewered pork for Team to take a bite. His eyes studied the cacti held in paper bags in Team's protective arms.

 

"This circle has no exit." Team chewed on it before turning to bite a piece of barbecue from Manow. 

 

"Look at it, man. So furry, so cute."

 

"So you like something puffy and soft." Manow looked at the cactus, thinking she should look into plants too; maybe they would add some sweetness to her life.

 

"Yeahh, that's why I like Pharm. Soft and puffy." Team arched his brow at Pharm, but the guy backed away with an exasperated expression.

 

"TeamPharm moment." Manow smiled at the video clip on her cellphone, proud that she had been quick to film it. "Too bad I can't share this. Now I'm all for DeanPharm."

 

"Manow!" Pharm's face turned hot.

 

Manow laughed heartily before they finished the market walk with shaved ice, to apologise to Pharm, or she'd be banned from delicious desserts for a week.

 

The sky was completely dark now. The only source of light came from the utility poles in front of the dormitory. Once a digital clock struck eleven at night, Team dragged his tired body back to his room. He pushed the door open, changed quickly and lunged for his bed, dead tired.

 

After the night market, Team went to his club and trained hard. It was near the end of the last round of tryouts for a representative to compete with K University. His score wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either, though he was in the top ten. Next week was the last tryout before an open house and a midterm test. Competition, huh?

 

The young man turned to lie on his stomach. When he couldn't sleep, he picked up his mobile and scrolled through it at random. He couldn't help but think about Win's room. How long had it been since he had been there? Two weeks, three weeks, or a month?

 

In the same room, in the same bed position, his room was missing something...What made him calm down and sleep soundly in the other's room?

 

Team got into a chat program, instinctively moving his fingertips.

 

< Winnie the pool

1 (**) / Hia

\ (*_*)/ *You unsent a message*

 

"Damn, what the heck am I doing? It's almost one in the morning. Why would !.." He tossed his cellphone away, staring as if it would ring. I hope the other will see the sign. Though he'd like a call-back to check in on him, he'd hate to feel weak with such a request. Hia didn't call back.

 

But...Knock knock. The soft knock on the door was an answer. When Team opened the door, he met a big guy with tattoos, yawning. He was holding a pillow in his arm. Win arched his brow as a greeting. No questions asked.

 

"Hia."

"I'm sleepy."

Only this warm hug assured Team the best sleep tonight.