(1)
"Are you constipated, too?" Yun came and sat in front of my desk, straddling the chair. The recess bell had rung already, but Mr. Liu, our Chinese teacher, was still in the classroom, counting the number of quiz answer sheets we had handed in at the end of the class. So basically, the whole classroom was still quiet enough to hear Yun.
"No." I raised my head, looking at her in confusion. "Why?"
"Oh, sorry. You just… look unwell."
Did I look that bad?
"I didn't sleep well last night." I yawned and stretched lazily. "What happened to you then? Constipated?"
"Must be the food we had yesterday. But you didn't eat much…" Then Yun seemed to suddenly remember something and glanced at the other side of the classroom where Chenhui sat. "Did you guys talk it through today?" she murmured.
I sighed. Then I turned and saw Chenhui, who was chatting with his deskmate.
"Everything's fine. What should we talk about?" I turned back and permitted myself a wry smile at Yun.
Chenhui and I did talk a few times, but only when necessary. Neither of us mentioned anything about his girlfriend. After all, it would be weird to mention her out of nowhere, wouldn't it? But I was feeling depressed somehow. It felt like I'd gone back to square one and had to get acquainted with him all over again. Or maybe I was always at square one. Thousands of PE classes might have to be skipped before I could truly know him, but it was a shame that PE had been taken up for all kinds of tests at that time.
Besides, I was very apologetic about the trouble I'd caused Lili since she had to make up a bunch of stories about how busy her aunt had been working overtime the night before and how hard it'd been to lull her one-year-old cousin to sleep.
"You've got a one-year-old cousin? Seventeen years younger than you?" Chenhui asked Lili in surprise while we four were having lunch together in the cafeteria.
"Oh yeah. My aunt was much younger than my mom. Unplanned pregnancy." Lili answered while mixing the sauce and noodles with her chopsticks casually.
I choked on my apple juice. I really hoped at least that part of the story was true, or there would be another long and complex sequel to make up. But maybe she kind of enjoyed that.
"Are you alright?" Chenhui asked me. "You don't talk much today."
"He didn't sleep well," said Yun, "because…"
"It was too hot last night." I had to gulp down the juice and finish the reason before Yun. No matter what she was planning to say, it wouldn't be appropriate.
"But the English class this afternoon is quite important." Lili looked at me worriedly. "Ms. Yin is gonna tell us how to prepare for the coming contest."
"I'll try my best to manage it," I raised my voice a little, trying to sound more energetic, "or I'll just copy your notes again after a sound sleep."
"Or you just need a cup of coffee." Yun shrugged.
"Sure. Go get a coffee vending machine for the cafeteria." I said to Yun jokingly.
"You," Yun turned to Chenhui, "go get a Starbucks for him."
"Come on. We've only got like 15 minutes left." Lili laughed and looked at her watch.
"Sure. Why not?" Chenhui put down his chopsticks, which surprised the rest of us.
"No. I was kidding." Yun said, "You won't make it. Starbucks isn't that close."
"I run fast." Chenhui stood up, wiping his mouth with a tissue. "Iced latte? Grande or venti?"
"Chenhui, you don't have to…." I grabbed his arm.
"I run really fast." He got rid of my hand and ran out of the cafeteria.
None of us three said anything for a second, just staring at the door.
"You guys know I was kidding, right?" Yun asked tentatively.
"Yes." Lili and I chorused.
"If I tell him I'm constipated today, will he get out and buy bananas for me this fast?" Yun pouted affectedly, leering at me.
"Yeah. Give it a shot." Lili smirked and began to clean the table.
(2)
Yun had been right. Starbucks wasn't close. And Chenhui did fail to come back on time.
It seemed that our school took the coming English contest seriously. At the beginning of the class, Lili helped Ms. Yin hand out a stack of exercises. Luckily, the teacher didn't ask anything when she noticed Chenhui's empty seat. Going back to the podium, she began to tell us the pages on which the knowledge should be carefully reviewed. However, I wasn't in the mood for that. Instead, I solely stared at the door, one hand cupping my chin and the other keeping clicking the gel pen in my hand unconsciously, until Lili kicked my chair very hard behind me, making me realize how noisy I had been. I took a long breath, attempting to concentrate my mind on the blackboard, where Ms. Yin was breaking a long English sentence into smaller parts, showing us how to analyze it. But all that I could see on the board was Chenhui suffering from sunstroke, being hit by a car, and then falling onto the ground with blood on the forehead, iced latte in his hand spilling all over.
Then a shout of anger outside broke Ms. Yin's class, as well as the movie I was playing for myself, in which I was already on my way to Chenhui's funeral. It was Mr. Zhang, the only man in our school who could be that loud without a megaphone. Those who sat by the windows stretched their necks to look outside.
"It's Chenhui." Some of them turned back, telling us under their breath.
He was caught.
Ms. Yin walked to the windows to see what was happening outside.
"Holy shit…" Lili murmured behind me.
So this is the karma for concealing the truth. The devil on my shoulder said. But I didn't want it that way.
"Sorry, I have to copy your notes again." I turned back to talk to Lili in a low voice.
Before I thought about it clearly, I'd already stood up.
"What are you doing?" Lili and Ms. Yin almost asked me at the same time.
"I… I… I have to… Sorry." Yeah, like I knew what I was doing. Then I tossed the gel pen onto the desk and ran out of the classroom.
While running in the corridor to the front door, I couldn't help but tell myself it wasn't too late to go back to the classroom and tell Ms. Yin I was just suffering from diarrhea. However, my legs didn't stop to change direction for some reason.
"Mr. Zhang… Mr. Zhang…" I called the dean's name as I ran closer to them, who were standing in the center of the sports ground. He had a pointer in his right hand, the other one on his waist. Since it was the first time I called him, I was a bit doubtful whether his family name was really Zhang.
"What?" He turned his head to glare at me, which didn't mean something good. But at least it confirmed his name.
Then I caught a quick glimpse of Chenhui, with that Starbucks kraft paper bag in his hand, sunlight glinting on his sweaty forehead. Based on the dirt around his stomach, he must've gotten into the school by climbing over the wall.
"I… I asked him to get it for me." I pointed at the bag in Chenhui's hand.
"This? Do you think this is more important than your class?" Mr. Zhang beat Chenhui's hand with that pointer. The bag dropped, and some coffee spilled from the cup in the bag.
"Sorry, sir." Then I cleared my throat a bit. "I felt sleepy this noon."
"Then go to bed earlier!" Mr. Zhang shouted. "I know you boys are staying up playing computer games every night. Children of your generation are spoiled rotten. Starbucks? You do know how to squander the money that your parents earn while enjoying your life."
Starbucks was expensive but not that… enjoyable actually. However, I knew it wasn't time to argue with him.
I bet all the students by their windows were looking at us like we used to look at other students being punished. What goes around comes around.
"Tell your parents to come to school tomorrow. Both of you!" Mr. Zhang pointed the pointer at Chenhui and me respectively. I was kind of relieved, for I was sure my mom would be more than pleased to come to school to make sure I really belonged to Class 6.
"No… Please. I won't do it again. I promise." Chenhui pleaded, with hands on the back of his neck.
Mr. Zhang sniffed. Then he raised his hand to point in the direction of the track in front of the main building.
"You two. Fifteen circuits. Or telling your parents. You make a choice." Here it was. My nightmare. Coming true.
I glanced at Chenhui only to find he was looking at me with a touch of sadness in his eyes.
Having hesitated for a second, I walked towards that bag on the ground, bent down to pick it up, and took off the lid on the cup.
"What are you doing??" Mr. Zhang asked me loudly, trying to stop me with the pointer. Maybe he just wanted all the students who were watching to know that having the drink on the ground wasn't part of the punishment.
"Energizing myself for the running." Then I took a big gulp of the coffee. It was always pleasant to have an iced drink on hot summer days.
"Why did you have to come out? You know I wouldn't say anything about you." Chenhui asked me while we were running.
"My coffee." I had to make everything I needed to say as concise as possible. Could we talk after this?
"Really?"
"Mr. Zhang would throw it otherwise."
He chuckled, which I wouldn't do, for all kinds of laughing consumed physical strength.
"I'm really sorry." He said.
"For?"
"Telling your mom must be easier for you." He did sound sorry.
"I'd rather run." I lied. I hated running.
"Come on. I saw you hesitate."
"I was just calculating how many kilometers it was." Which was also true.
"Did you work it out?"
Why couldn't he just tell me? He knew I couldn't work it out.
"Nope."
"It's six kilometers."
"OK. Thanks. Can you shut up now?"
"Nah. I keep you talking, and you'll pass out. And I can send you to the infirmary so that we don't have to finish fifteen circuits." Apparently, Chenhui was even energetic enough for another fifteen circuits.
"You are evil." I couldn't help but chuckle, which consumed a lot of strength.
"DON'T TALK!" Shouted Mr. Zhang, who was standing in the shade.
"Oh, I was late simply because there were too many people waiting." Chenhui added without moving his lips.
"I know. You run really fast. Just shut up. OK?" I said in a similarly subdued manner.
I once thought running in front of the main building under everyone's gaze would be the worst thing that could ever happen. But when I was doing this with Chenhui at the moment, sweating as the scorching sun beat down upon us, I didn't think it was a big deal at all. I didn't even care if the whole universe was gazing at me. Maybe I never feared anything; I just feared facing it alone.
(3)
I didn't know if it was the iced latte or the running that kept me refreshed for the whole afternoon.
When the last classmate responsible for the chores left the classroom, there were just Chenhui and I copying Lili's notes from the English class. It was getting dark outside, but there was still enough sunlight for us to see the words clearly. I stood up and walked to the windows, hands rubbing my stiff neck arbitrarily. So, this was how our classmates saw Chenhui and me running.
"Finished?" Chenhui asked.
"Not yet." I turned back to look at him. "Just take a break."
"Are you feeling better now?" Chenhui stopped writing and leaned back in his chair.
"Yeah, I am." I walked back and sat beside him. "I think I do have to go to bed earlier today, as Mr. Zhang said."
He smiled, then resumed his work.
Did you guys talk it through today?
Should I?
"Your girlfriend is cute." I tried to make myself sound casual, like I was just asking him if he fancied a drink.
"Thanks."
"But you never mentioned her."
"Didn't I?" He turned to look at me.
I shook my head. That was the moment when I began to ponder: if I'd known this earlier, would I have done anything differently?
"Well. I've known her since elementary school. Her parents are close friends of my mom, so she used to come to my place with her parents a lot. We were very good friends. And I don't remember exactly when our parents began to regard her as my girlfriend. Maybe they were just joking in the beginning." Then he shrugged. Acting casual must be an art. Or he was casual.
"I wish I knew you better." I said. By no means could he know that what I'd said actually meant: when did you find out your parents weren't joking at all? When did you regard her as your girlfriend? Do you like her the way you like a friend or not?
"Come on. We just knew each other two years ago." Chenhui laid his arm on the back of my chair and said, "I'm sure there are things you haven't told me yet, right?"
You bet.
"By the way, the movie was great. Kena really liked it."
"That's great." To show how happy I felt for them, I raised my voice, but maybe too much, which made it sound affected.
Then he paused for a second and said, "It was a shame you and Lili couldn't make it."
"Yes. It was." Not about the movie, though.
"How about we watch it again sometime?" Watching the same movie for a second time didn't sound like a great idea, but I was glad he asked.
"Nah. You don't have to. I can ask Lili and Yun." I hoped he could tell I was just being decent.
"No. You have to watch it with me. That's… one of my birthday wishes." He smirked.
I almost forgot it.
"This Wednesday! How would you like to celebrate it?"
"I'm thinking about throwing a party at my place this Sunday. What do you think?"
"That sounds terrific." I hadn't been to his place.
"Would you come?" He asked and shot me a sulky pout.
"Let me ask my Magic 8-Ball tonight." I turned back to my notes and hurried through the last few lines.
(4)
In the evening, spinning the gel pen between my fingers, I hadn't known how long I'd been staring like this at the lamp in front of me. Filling in the missing letters had never been this hard for me, since I couldn't think of any words besides "gift" and "surprise." So I stuffed the exercise book into my bag, deciding to do it the next morning before handing in the homework.
Later that night, I sat cross-legged on the bed and stared at the Jennifer Aniston poster on the wall, pondering what gift I could give Chenhui. It wasn't an easy job at all. How to choose a perfect birthday gift should've been one of the top 10 unsolved mysteries in the world, worthy of public debate. Especially for people like Chenhui.
Especially for Chenhui.
"Then what's your favorite movie?"
"Hard to say. Maybe V for Vendetta?"
When I recalled the day I'd talked about FRIENDS with him, something suddenly clicked in my head.
Holy crap. How could I have almost forgotten this? I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and created a new note: Go to the bookstore after school. I thought I really ought to note down all the things he told me in the future, since my memory wasn't that reliable.
As far as I could remember, there was something in the store that would definitely be the best gift for Chenhui. At that moment, I was so convinced I was the cleverest person on the planet that I completely forgot one crucial fact – something Chenhui and I had just discussed that very day: it seemed he wasn't mine alone.