The first round of end-of-term examinations in high school didn’t matter to most first years, only to the ones trying to establish themselves in this new environment. Getting ready for the exams was nowhere near as hectic as last year. The verdict regarding the three-way after-school fight came out to be rather light. The only punishment the parties partaking in the fight got was the deduction of merit points and a call to everyone’s parents. Maybe the school went easy on them since it neared test-taking season.
What the students did not know was that the student who went to see Teacher Shem was no other than a member of his class, a boy named Yohan.
Yohan confessed – of course, anonymously – that he had witnessed the fight. Regarding Shum Deil and Jung Egon’s stances, they had been mutual. Both sides egged the other on.
The maths teacher also confirmed he had seen the boy hurrying away from the courtyard that time. Actually, that had been the reason leading the maths teacher to the scene of the fight.
Since this was made public – at least among the teachers in the principal’s office – the penalty had to be distributed in equal measurements. Hoh Saering was left off the lightest; what he got basically came short of a tap on the wrist. The other two got the same penalty, but they had to work some menial jobs around school as punishment.
All in all, nothing really changed after the incident.
During the lunch break on the day of their hearing with the principal, Sae went to Class E’s room. Seeing him at the door, Susu called out with surprise, “Sae! What are you doing here?”
“Hi,” Sae greeted, going to her desk and glancing around the room. “Is Shum Deil in?”
“Deil? Yeah, he should be.” Susu tried to locate his classmate. “There, last row in the middle. He’s sleeping on his desk. Do you want me to call him?”
Sae shook his head. “It’s not necessary. Thanks, Susu.”
“Anytime.” The girl watched Sae make his way toward Deil.
The unsuspecting boy did not realise someone was standing before his desk. Actually, Sae did not think Deil would be in the classroom at this time of the day. He reckoned Deil would be off eating somewhere or wreaking havoc. Now he was unsure how to wake him up. He envisioned himself kicking the desk’s leg or the chair, but that seemed unwarranted.
Sae decided to poke the sleeping form with the rolled up paper in his hand. The edge of the paper barely touched Shum Deil’s shoulder, but the boy jerked his head up. His eyes flashed not with confusion but with hostility.
Sae took a step back. “Here,” he threw the paper at Shum Deil. “You left it behind this morning.”
Deil had come back to school, arriving a bit before the end of the third class. He waited until it was break-time, then scurried back into the classroom, plopped down at his seat and had not moved ever since. Now someone woke him up with a prod.
The sunlight from the windows shone on his face as his eyes cleared up. He caught the paper with one hand, squeezing it to his chest, while his other hand rubbed his forehead.
Deil stared at Saering for a while, still comprehending what had just happened. The sheet of paper got rolled open, and he saw the words, Notice of hearing.
Deil’s mind snapped back to functioning. He remembered the paper the Director of Academic Management handed out, the phone call he took and the frenzied way he left. Teacher Shem had already sought him out during the previous recess, telling him the final decision of the meeting. He also said something about a notice that Deil let past his ears. Now the notice was back, and it found its way to him by none other than Hoh Saering.
Did he come all the way here just to bring it back?
Deil thanked him for the trouble.
Saering nodded, spared him another look, and turned to leave.
Seeing him ready to go, Deil called out, “Wait. Uh, what did you get?” They both knew what he meant. There was no need to mention it further.
The other boy stopped backing away. “Just demerits.”
“Ah,” Deil was looking at Saering, a little uncertain. “Will you get in trouble… with your parents?”
Saering leaned to a nearby empty desk. “Mum is quite understanding.” He put his hands together, lacing his fingers and dropping them to his thighs in one laid back move.
Deil dipped his chin and rolled the paper into a snug little roll. “And your dad?”
Sae watched Shum Deil’s hands work on the notice. He could see that the heel of Deil’s right hand was chafed from the fight. Light scabs had already formed in some places.
To answer the question about his dad… Lang Ede probably didn’t even know about what happened. Sae shrugged, unbothered. “He doesn’t care, so...”
Shum Deil observed Sae’s face with a look in his eyes that said, It can’t be that easy; there has to be more to this comment. But he didn’t follow with another question. Instead, he changed the course of the conversation. “Have you seen Jung Egon since?”
“Since this morning?” Sae raised his eyes to the other’s face. “No. Should I have?”
“I’m just not sure if he took the thing with his ear to heart. Maybe he wants to get even with you.”
“I highly doubt it. All he cares about is you. He could barely see me there.” After a pause, Sae asked, “Why did you fight him?”
Shum Deil was quiet for a while before saying, “I was pissed off, and he decided to act like an ass. He was there, so...” As he finally said it, he seemed surprisingly calm about it.
You were pissed off? Sae thought, You don’t say...you almost bashed my face in!
From her seat, Susu only saw Sae and Shum Deil exchanging a roll of paper, followed by some talking. She wasn’t sure what to make of these happenings. Sae raised his chin at her, and she shook her head with a smile.
The classroom was half full. A lot of people still bought lunch at the school’s shop. The school shop opened at every recess, but the best kind of bread was all sold out by eleven. Those who missed out went to the lunchroom to eat, bearing the burden of the rush hour.
Sae turned back to Shum Deil. “Well, try to position your anger management exercises a bit further away next time. Open spaces would be nice.” He rubbed his elbow. “I got really knocked down, you know.”
“…..” Deil was at a loss for words. His eyes went a bit round, so he appeared quite boyish, leaving behind that usual wild look. He stared at Sae’s arm, then quickly scrunched up his nose.
“How is it?” Sae motioned at his nose, “Yesterday, it didn’t look so good.”
“It’s nothing. My nose tends to bleed easily; been like that since I was a kid.”
“Oh.” Sae looked at the other’s face. There was an impression on Shum Deil’s cheek from the ruler left atop the notebook he had slept on. They were just chatting, and Sae didn’t know how to tell Shum Deil about it. He raised a hand to his face. “There’s––”
“Deil, can I talk to you for a minute?” From the side, a voice interrupted their chat.
Both of them turned to look at the source of the voice. A male classmate stood a metre to Shum Deil’s right. Sae had seen the other around; the boy was quiet but had good grades. He felt it was time for him to leave. “Alright, I’m going now.”
Shum Deil looked at him like he wanted to say something. He hesitated before nodding his head. “Thanks for the paper.”
“It’s nothing.” Sae looked at the two boys and left.
Deil turned to Yohan. The boy did not maintain eye contact for long, but it wasn’t like he avoided it. It seemed, to Yohan, looking at someone for a few seconds then immediately looking away was natural. Deil cleared his throat. “Go on, what’s up?”
Yohan glanced towards the door and Saering’s retreating back. “Did you tell Hoh Saering that I talked with the teacher?”
“I didn’t know you’d talked with the teacher,” said Deil. “Do you mean our head teacher?”
Glancing at him, Yohan nodded.
Deil inquired, “When did you talk to Teacher Shem?”
“This morning before school started.”
“Mhmm,” Deil hummed. “So you were the one who came to the teachers’ office?”
Yohan nodded again. As it was almost time for lessons to start, a few kids returned to the room. He moved closer to Deil’s desk so they could talk more privately.
Deil leaned forward and asked, “Is that why we didn’t get a real punishment? Because of what you told him?”
Yohan shrugged. “Who knows? I only said what I’ve seen.”
“Ehem, I didn’t… didn’t really do it for you.” Deil moved his brows a bit. A somewhat difficult expression sat on his face. “Sorry.”
“I know,” Yohan nonchalantly said, “I could tell.”
“Mnm, I’m not the type.”
“Maybe you are. It’s just that yesterday you weren’t,” said Yohan. Deil didn’t object, nor did he agree, so Yohan let it pass. “Up until this morning, I wasn’t aware that your friend also joined the fight. The scale got bigger. It was surprising to hear.”
Deil absent-mindedly smoothed out the rolled up paper. “Saering’s not–– he only got knocked into as we fell down the stairs.” Deil felt ridiculous talking about this. “He kind of got pulled into things.”
“Oh.” There was no way for Yohan to give a more fitting reaction.
Deil reassured him. “Yea, so you don’t have to worry. I won’t tell anyone that you came to the teachers’ office. I didn’t even know you did.”
They shared a look of understanding, both of them nodding.
“You’re anxious about Jung Egon?” Deil asked, “Did he do something like this in the past?”
“No.” A faint smile of self-deception crossed Yohan’s face. He looked considerably less shy. “I don’t know him. I reacted badly yesterday, and that caused a misunderstanding.”
It wasn’t so easy for boys to share these things. Deil was clear on that, so he let it go. “Okay. I won’t tell.”
“Alright,” Yohan said, “I just don’t want unnecessary attention.”
After their talk, Yohan went to his seat. Looking at the retreating person’s back, Deil leaned down on the top of his desk, his chin plopped on the notice.
Before winter, school let out for a long weekend because of the national holiday. Sae’s maternal grandfather visited the city to meet with the rest of the family. Since Sae’s aunt lived with her own family of five, Grandad Hoh stayed with his younger daughter and grandson for the weekend.
“Grandad!” Sae went to greet him as soon as his grandfather arrived.
“Saering,” Grandad Hoh embraced Sae who had grown to be the same height as him. “Grandad’s favourite.”
Sae leaned closer to his grandfather’s ear. “You say that to every grandchild you have. Don’t let anyone catch you telling the same thing when we arrive at Aunt’s place tomorrow.”
His Grandad laughed and slapped him on the back a few times. “Still the same old bluntness. Never change, kid.”
“Ugh,” Sae’s mother stumbled inside the door with two heavy bags. “Dad, did Mum pack the whole house? What’s in here? So heavy.”
“Food,” Grandad Hoh said, “Food for you and Sae. Your mother said it’s all dishes you can portion out, freeze, and reheat.”
Sae hefted the bags into the kitchen, their weight truly heavy. Sae’s grandmother was unable to visit this time. She had to stay with her sister in the hospital but sent them half of the kitchen in her stand.
Seeing the bags, Sae’s mum considered the best time to make a phone call to her mother. She asked, “Why the trouble?”
“Because your mother knows this grandson loves pork skin crackling, but you hate making it. Hurry and unpack them. We can eat it for lunch. She was cooking just this morning.” The elderly man turned to look over at Sae and commented, “You’ve grown.”
Sae nodded. “Mnm, a bit.”
“Don’t even start. He was so happy for those few centimetres,” Sae’s mum said while walking in the direction of the kitchen. “We had to buy new clothes. And now I can’t pretend he’s not taller than me….”
“Because before you still did?” Grandad Hoh shook his head with a smile. “Let’s head in,” he said amicably.
Sae helped his grandad navigate around. Grandad Hoh sat down in the bedroom and waited while Sae brought back a drink for him to wet his throat. He trailed his eyes over the books stacked on Sae’s desk before his usual questions came pouring out. “How’s school?”
“It’s okay. I joined the English club.” Sae took a sip of his tea as well.
“Does it take up much of your time?”
Sae shook his head. “Not really.”
“You’re eating well, sleeping well?”
Sae nodded.
His grandad asked, “And keeping an eye on your mother?”
“Yes.”
Grandad Hoh grinned. “Hmm… What were you going to show me?” Sae’s grandad liked to listen to electronica, so if Sae found a new artist of his liking, he usually showed it to him.
“I’ve found a new album from a small label I like. This artist is only twenty this year, but his lyrics are complex.” Since they were already in Sae’s room, they had a listen.
“This sequence here,” Sae said, “Hear how it gets layered over the initial one making it faster? It’s looped back before breaking down the beat.”
Grandad Hoh waved his hand dismissively. “I don’t understand what you’re saying, but this; this part here.” They both quieted to listen, “I like this part.”
“Pa!” Sae’s mother yelled from the kitchen. “What time is it tomorrow?”
“At your sister’s?” Grandad Hoh hollered back.
“Yea.”
“She said eleven. Why?” Grandad had a well resonating voice. He did not have to raise it much and it travelled through the whole house.
“More electronica, huh?” Sae’s mum walked into the room so they would not offend the neighbours with their back and forth. “Dad, I invited Emi too. I’ve already checked with sis; she doesn’t mind.” Here, she sent her father a pointed look. “Please don’t gamble with the kids tomorrow.”
Grandad Hoh said, “It’s not a gamble when I know I’ll win.”
Sae snorted. He was almost as good as his grandad at playing cards, but he had not been able to defeat the old lad yet. Grandad Hoh was right. It was far from a gamble.
“I’m serious.” Sae’s mum made to leave the room. Over her shoulder, she said, “I’m taking all the cards in the house.”
Grandad Hoh gave his Alright, do what you want. You think I don’t have a pack of my own? laugh. “That girl,” he said to Sae, “are you still friends?”
“Huh?” Sae turned to face him. “Of course.”
Grandad Hoh often called Emi that girl, but it was more of an endearment than anything. For Grandad Hoh, if he said one’s full name, it meant they were in trouble. The elderly man squinted. “Still as close?”
“Yes,” Sae nodded. “Still as close.”
“Good,” Grandad said. “Don’t act like strangers just because you’re growing up. It’s a good thing that you kids have each other. You’re not alone.”
Sae’s hand stopped on the touchpad of his laptop, pondering over that sentence. If Emi heard what Grandad Hoh said, she wouldn’t leave Sae alone for a day.
The corners of Sae’s mouth curved, but Grandad Hoh didn’t see it as he got called away by his daughter. Sae could hear them still go on about the food. His mum asked, “Dad, why did you pack parsley? We have it here. I can buy it in every mart.”
“Mart my buttocks, those ain’t fresh!” Grandad Hoh hollered. He had peculiar reasoning in regard to kitchen herbs. He also had a huge vegetable garden and a bucketful of livestock.
Sae fiddled with his computer for another while, then signed into the messaging software to leave a message to Emi,
hhhsae: Heard you’ll be coming tomorrow.
Emi wrote back, Yupyup, going~~
Sae asked about her mum next.
hhhsae: And your mum?
Every holiday it was a question if Emi’s mum would come home or not. Even if she did, it was another hassle of when.
mimi: She’s not coming this time. Officially, it’s only one day either way :// We got lucky for school but it’s not like that where she works. I don’t mind… this way, besides her annual leave, she’ll have more time for winter break ^^
Sae reckoned this was one way to look at it.
His grandad was right; since they had each other, neither Sae nor Emi was alone. Even when the little girl was alone, she had learned how to manage. It was one of the things Sae most admired about her.
“Sae,” his mum called from outside. “Can you help?”
In this house, once a member of the Hoh family arrived, no one could change places; it seemed impossible to actually walk to the person they wanted to converse with. Rather, everyone shouted out their problem. It started as soon as any member of the Hoh family stepped one foot inside the door. Everyone got accustomed to it. Besides, it was far worse when the whole family gathered.
Sae stood up and strode in the direction of the kitchen. His grandad sat on the couch, talking on the phone.
Sae’s mum came to meet him halfway, probably in consideration of Grandad. “Honey, we’re out of red pepper paste. Can you go out and buy some?” Her hands weren’t clean, so she only motioned towards her bag on the cabinet. “Just take my wallet. The nearest convenience store must be open.”
Taking out the wallet from his mother’s bag, Sae nodded. “Do we need anything else?”
His mum shook her head, “I don’t think so. You don’t want anything?”
“Just this then,” Sae said, “I’m going now.”
“Mnm, take care,” his mum said.
The nearest convenience store to their residential complex was only a short walking distance away. A few flights of stairs down to the park and ten minutes were enough for Sae to make the trip to and back. On his way home, he even bought a packet of chewy sweet strips to munch on.
Passing the apartment complex two buildings away from theirs, Sae had a run-in with Little Mo. The kid was speeding on a moped, nodding at him while passing by. Sae inclined his chin as well, turning his neck to watch the other get smaller as distance grew between them.
At the corner of the little inlaid park however, no other than Shum Deil waited for Little Mo.
Sae turned all the way over, chewing on his candy strip. The wind was a bit fickle, mussing the hair on his forehead. He narrowed his eyes a fraction.
Little Mo slowed down to park the vehicle next to Deil. The boy got off, and they greeted each other. Neither of the two glanced in Sae’s direction. Sae picked a strawberry-pink strip of candy and tore a small bit off with his front teeth.
Little Mo motioned at the vehicle parked at the side of the road, then pulled out his wallet and handed some cash to Shum Deil. At how far Sae stood, it was impossible for him to hear their conversation, but Shum Deil laughed, shaking his head. Little Mo stood there with the money still held out in his hand while the other said something to him.
Today, Shum Deil looked refreshing in a deep blue jacket, his hair only washed and down on his forehead, his laugh billowing in the wind. Usually he did his hair up, styling it some, or just fiddling with his fringe so much it naturally repelled the skin of his face, escaping in every which way.
Shum Deil took a few sheets of paper from his back pocket, giving them to Little Mo. They looked like the problem set tests the school distributed as homework for long weekends with holidays. Sae watched Little Mo accept the papers and shove his money into the other’s front pocket. These actions made Sae frown.
The two boys chatted for another while before Little Mo got a call and waved goodbye. What was even more suspicious than the exchange of money for papers was that Little Mo did not take the moped he had arrived on. Although he lived no more than a minute away, why would he leave his belongings with Shum Deil?
Sae watched as Little Mo turned back towards the residential complexes. The boy appeared so immersed in his phone call that Sae did not try to hide or move at all, and yet, Little Mo hadn’t noticed him. Sae stood in the same spot while Little Mo passed him a few metres away, not bothering to glance his way.
On the other side of the park, Shum Deil got on the parked moped, started it and drove down the street, his transaction a set deal now.
Sae turned to go home, thinking about what he had just seen.
Don’t tell me… Shum Deil was actually an academic paper peddler?
