บท 28: Can you explain?
Unknown to Anurak, he wasn't the only one who slept late last night. While he was relieving his nightmares, someone, somewhere, was also getting busy. By 10 am, the next morning, Anurak's actions from the previous night had turned the whole school upside down…
Anurak woke up around 5 in the evening. He was disoriented and fatigued.
How did I get in bed?
He looked around and found his phone on the bedside drawer, but couldn't remember when he placed it there. The last time he used his phone was before he started working out at the gym…
Shai!
The moment he recalled the gym, everything that had happened previously came back and his face paled.
After some time, Anurak convinced himself that it would never happen again.
Forget it, I am never returning to that gym. I will just have to get my own sandbag and do a lot of swimming. That should be enough.
He got out of bed and turned on the backlight of his phone. What he saw made his face crease between his brows.
There were 17 missed calls on his phone and a spam of messages.
Most were from Sud, but New, Eshin, and Sophea had also called him.
Shai!
Anurak suddenly became anxious. What could have happened? Why were they all calling him insistently?
Just as Anurak wanted to call Sophea, his phone started ringing again. It was Sud. Taking a deep breath, Anurak picked up the call with trepidation.
“P'Sud…”
“You have woken up?” Sud asked in a very low voice.
“Yes, Phi”
How did he know I was sleeping?
“Come to my room.”
Sud disconnected the call before Anurak could respond.
Anurak had an ominous feeling, but nothing was making sense.
He got out of bed and his vision suddenly went blank. His head felt heavy and his body swayed. Anurak fell and hit his leg against the bed frame.
“Argh!”
He sat down and started rubbing the big toe. It was red and throbbing.
The pain had instantly cleared the dizziness a little but he decided to stay still until it was totally gone. So he leaned against the bed frame and closed his eyes while rubbing his red toe gently.
The bedroom door opened and New stepped in. He was reading in the sitting room all this while, and a thudding sound had alerted him.
He was first taken aback when he didn't see Anurak on the bed, but almost instantly noticed his ruffled hair peeking above the bed on the other side.
What is he doing on the floor?
Thinking that Anurak must have fallen off the bed, New hurried over to him but found him sitting on the floor with his eyes closed.
“Anurak?” New crouched beside him and gently touched his head to see if he was having a fever.
“Hmm.” Anurak groaned without opening his eyes. After he sat down, a painful headache hit him and his face was in a grimace.
“You don't have a fever. Are you injured anywhere?” New asked.
Seeing the painful contortion of Anurak's face, he thought maybe he had an injury somewhere.
In response, Anurak slowly shook his head in the negative.
“You are hung over, ain't you? Why did you drink so much?” New asked.
How did he know I drank?
Anurak slowly opened his eyes but when he saw the worry in New's eyes, it occurred to him that New was probably the one who took care of him, tucked him in bed, and watched over him. He was suddenly plagued with guilt. Anurak didn't like owning people. Including his friends. In his heart, he told himself that he owed New a favor.
“Thank you.” He mumbled then tried to stand up.
Immediately, New placed his large hand on his shoulder and pushed him down. “Stay still. I prepared some hangover soup for you. Let me go and bring it.”
New hurried out of the room, and before he came back, bearing a soup bowl, Anurak had gotten up and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Take this. Drink it.” New handed him a steaming bowl filled with some amber-colored liquid and some rice balls.
Anurak looked at the soup with curiosity. Its ginger aroma filled the room the moment New came in, but Anurak wasn't sure it would be edible. After all, according to New, he couldn't even boil water successfully.
“What is this?”
“It's ginger syrup. Quickly drink it before it gets cold.” New urged him earnestly.
“I thought you didn't know how to cook?” Anurak asked in surprise.
“Well, I know how to make ginger syrup and spicy noodles,” New confessed with a little blush.
He felt really awkward because the only reason he knew how to make these two dishes was because they were hangover dishes that his ex-boyfriend loved to have after a night of drinking.
He had learned to make them, so he could take care of the guy. He found it embarrassing because those were his stupid days, and he would rather not remember them anymore.
Despite his doubts, Anurak couldn't ignore how aromatic the ginger smelled. It was soothing to Anurak's nerves, and he was sure that once he drank the soup, he would feel even better.
Even if it's not tasty, it's still ginger, and it's good for a hangover. How bad can it be?
Not needing New to encourage him anymore, Anurak lifted the bowl to his lips and took a sip.
It wasn't too hot, so he was able to take several sips. Each sip was like a healing balm. He could feel his dry throat opening up and his stuffy nostrils clearing up. His befuddled head gradually cleared up and his dull eyes gained life.
Anurak was very pleased with the soup and touched by New's effort. Sophea was the only one who had taken care of him like this since his mother's death.
“Thank you.” He smiled at New.
“Eat the rice balls.”
“Okay.” Anurak nodded obediently and picked one of the rice balls with his fingers. It was the first thing he would be eating that day, so he wasn't concerned about the taste.
New stood up and went to Anurak's wardrobe. He opened it and randomly brought out a shirt and a three-quarter baggy short. He dropped them on the bed and continued to watch as Anurak ate the rice balls.
In his head, the image of Tharn, eating the same rice balls, overlapped with Anurak. Subconsciously, New smiled with satisfaction.
I can do this all day… Shia!
He shook his head, trying to ban his train of thought.
Tharn is gone and Anurak is my friend. They are not the same people.
He really wanted to stop comparing Tharn and Anurak but Anurak reminded of Tharn in several ways.
“I am done.”
Anurak's voice brought New back to his senses. He hurried over and collected the bowl.
“Good. Now dress up, P'Sud is waiting for us.”
Anurak paused.
“Did something happen?” He asked suspiciously.
“Hmm? Didn't you know?” New asked in bewilderment.
“Know what?”
Anurak's heart started racing as he started overthinking. “Did something happen to my brother?”
New gave Anurak a deep look. He saw that Anurak wasn't joking around. He really didn't know what was going on.
“Then, why did you get so drunk in the middle of the day?”
“I… I…” Anurak's face turned red from embarrassment. There was no way he was telling anyone what had happened at the gym.
“Anyway, dress up, and let's go. You will know when we get to P'Sud's room.” New shrugged and walked out of the room.
“Brush your mouth. It stinks.” New yelled from the sitting room.
Anurak blew his breath into his palm and sniffed it. He cringed at the smell. Rolling his eyes, he entered the bathroom.
When they got to Sud's room, they didn't have to knock before they were asked to come in. It was as if Sud could hear them from inside.
Anurak and New met Sud and Eshin seated with very gloomy faces. This Alarmed Anurak the most.
“What Happened?” He asked as he tried to calm his racing heart. “Phi,” he turned to Eshin with worried eyes.
They were supposed to meet tonight at Moonlight Club. What was Eshin doing here at this time? “Did something happen at home? I am sorry, I don't pick up your calls. I was sleeping, and my phone was on the call bar. I am sorry.” Anurak apologized worriedly.
Instead of a response, Eshin picked up Sud's black TV remote and pressed it. That was when Anurak realized that the TV was on and something was playing on it. It was paused when he came in, so he didn't notice at all.
The more Anurak watched the TV, the wider his mouth opened until his jaws were on the floor.
“How? Where did you get this?” He asked with his face aghast.
“Can you explain this video please?” Eshin asked. He was more worried than the rest.
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