Before Christmas, the English club conducted their first off-campus activity.

Since the start of December, many stores and restaurants decorated for the festivities, hanging lights and little ornaments in windows and doorways. Real and artificial firs got pulled from god-knows-where, covered in fake snow. Festive songs played from the shops, more and more streets donned Christmas lights as early as mid-November.

The members of the English club agreed to meet on the 24th at half past one at the main square of the district, their destination being the small movie theatre that screened films in their original language. The theatre had two screening rooms and usually didn’t do more than three films per week. Of course, those films still played regularly, only their selection was a bit scant.

The pale blue sky was clear on this winter day, but harsh northern winds attacked nonetheless. The two dozen-or-so kids congregated into smaller groups to shelter from the cold. The girls huddled together and gripped each other’s hands. As it wasn’t an official program organised by the school, everyone could wear what they wanted; uniforms were not in need. The girls could have escaped the cold winter wind in thick jeans, but they wanted to look cute. Even with casual clothes, they decided on skirts.

“It’s freezing!” several of them complained.

“Semi!” A cheeky boy invited a girl with a smile, “Come here. My coat’s longer.”

Did he mean they could get under his coat together? The girl promptly turned away and ignored him.

Someone asked, “Teach, how long do we have to wait?”

Pan Rita answered, “Until everyone arrives.”

A little before the start of winter break, once the end-of-term examinations had concluded, Pan Rita surprised everyone by saying she would take all members out to the cinema during the week of Christmas celebrations. With this activity, she wanted to reward everyone’s hard work.

A few students had their language tests in January. By taking them out now, Pan Rita surmised they’d be encouraged even more before the last stretch of preparation.

In any case, this marked their last meeting for the year.

The little group had been standing in the same place for ten minutes. More and more of the kids grumbled and complained. They were missing only one person before making their way toward the movie theatre. Everyone could make it in time sans the latecomer. So where was he?

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Looking up at the sky, Sae could not find a hint of clouds. He stood between Minke and Teo, surrounded by a group of girls. They included him a few times in their conversation, but he mostly listened. At his side, Teo wouldn’t shut up, entertaining the ladies with his usual banter.

Since Teo wasn’t part of the club, he had to ask Pan Rita to allow his participation. The day Sae and Minke talked about this outing, Teo expressed his wish to come as well.

That time, Sae reasoned, “Why do you want to come so bad? You aren’t part of the club.”

“I don’t want to sit at home, alone and vulnerable. My mum would totally call me in to help out with the shop. Ah, I want to laze around and play!”

Thus, Teo went the extra mile to come out and play with the English club.

After a while, Teo let the girls talk among themselves and scrolled through his phone. He jabbed an elbow into Sae’s side. “Hey, check this out...” Teo thrust the phone at him.

Sae expected to see another ad for the newest sports shoes or an online shopping mall page. Instead, a bright yellow flyer with orange letters introduced a mind training program.

The ‘seminar’ for the mind that Teo eyed promised a 187% better thinking rate for a fifty per cent sale if the participant brought someone with them. Teo was buzzing so much that he almost jumped in place. “Isn’t this awesome? Look at the reviews. The effectiveness is off the roof!”

Sae wanted to laugh, “A hundred and eighty-seven per cent? How did they measure that to be so exact?”

“Dunno. But it sounds amazing, right?”

Sae was speechless. “For what purpose are you showing me this?”

“It’s fifty per cent off if I bring someone with me,” Teo pointed at the flyer, tapping his phone twice until the part about the discount got zoomed into half of the screen. He had to rotate the phone to read it all. “See, it’s all written down here.”

Sae pulled Teo’s hand away. “No, but...” He wasn’t sure how to phrase it. “Why do you need it? We’ve already finished the end-of-term examinations. What will you get by buying this now?”

“Mn, I know. It’s for next semester.” Teo hmmed. “I really thought it would be better in high school, but...”

But he was still that lazy ass who never did a single piece of homework, not to mention revisions.

“You think your mum’s going to freak out?” Sae stomped a little in place. It was damn cold to be out waiting in the wind.

Teo shook his head. “She doesn’t freak out anymore. It’s more like this constant stage of slowly simmering rage towards me. I feel it every time she’s behind me looking at my head. Sometimes I feel it even if she’s not there.”

“She probably speaks about you then,” Sae said.

Teo agreed. “Or thinks.”

They stayed quiet, thinking about the possibility. Teo got shivers running up and down his spine right away. Sae patted this petrified guy on the shoulder. “Your mum cares about you.”

Teo narrowed his eyes at Sae with suspicion. His mum and Sae got along too well. He was unsure whether he liked it.

“So,” Teo said after a bit of scrutinising, “You think this thing might help?”

“Honestly?” Sae gave an overall glance at the flyer. “I think it’s total bullshit. Probably on the same level as those good luck charms you sewed into your pants last year.”

Teo was reminded how awful that one turned out and lowered his head.

Sae put a hand on the back of Teo’s head and bobbed it around. He chuckled. “If I were you, I’d ask Kaikai for some pointers next time. Who knows? He may bring you along to one of his private classes.”

Teo let out a breath, the warmth from his mouth manifesting into white puffs in no time. At that moment, a figure turned the corner and ran towards this little group of waiting adolescents. Currently, it was 1.47.

“Sorry, I got held up,” Shum Deil said, panting from his run. Seeing how much difficulty he had with breathing, he probably ran a long way. He came from the direction of the city’s largest library.

Someone asked, “Yay, can we go now?”

“Yes,” Pan Rita replied, “Everyone file into twos or threes but don’t seize the whole pavement.”

A few girls cheered as everyone lightened up. The little group made their way to the movie theatre, and their mood settled. Shum Deil lagged behind, taking up the rear. He took out his phone and checked a few things on the way. Sae turned around once, noting the boy walking behind with a lowered head, his nose buried into his phone’s screen.

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Inside the little art cinema, Pan Rita went to talk with the employee sitting at the ticket booth, while the kids queued up for snacks or chatted. They seemed to like that although the place was small, it appeared to be warm and fancy in a vintage way.

“Check your coats into the cloakroom while I get the tickets,” Pan Rita instructed. Since this was a rather large group to just pop in from the street, she made reservations in advance for one of the screening rooms. The film they were about to watch told the story of an undercover crew of detectives, a comedy not too abstract that everyone could enjoy.

The line for snacks consisted of every second kid from the club.

“I’ll go take a leak.” Teo turned to Sae, “Queue up for me, please.”

Sae nodded and walked to the end of the line. Minke waved for him to join her, but he declined with a jerk of his chin, “I’m here on behalf of Teo. He’ll be back by the time it’s our turn.”

A girl beside Minke touched her arm and whispered something, distracting her. Sae passed them and walked to the end of the line. Shum Deil waited right before him, half-leaning on the counter with one of his elbows propped up on its edge. The phone’s screen in his hand displayed his messaging app.

Glancing around, Sae’s gaze swept over the screen, then to the counter’s glass topping. After a second, he paused, and his gaze snapped back. By that time, however, Deil had already locked his phone, so there was nothing for Sae to see.

Sae frowned. He could’ve sworn the current chat window on Deil’s phone had a profile picture he knew. It was a yellow figure under something purple. Sae took out his phone and wrote to Emi, Where are you?

The profile picture of a baby chick wearing a purple flower like a hat popped up.

mimi: Home.

mimi: Just got back from outside. Why?

hhhsae: Nothing then. I’m watching a film so don’t bother me.

mimi: now that you especially asked me…Bother! BotherBOTHER! I’m gonna bother you for the sake of it!!

The little girl sent a sticker of a bear passionately pointing with a chubby but intimidating finger. Sae snorted and put his phone away.

After Sae’s snort, Shum Deil looked over his shoulder. “Hey.”

“Hmm?” Sae wasn’t sure if his earlier staring was exposed, so he felt a little conflicted.

The sleek bluestone floor under their feet had a cold sheen to it. The lightning over the posters on the wall caught Deil’s face from the side, accelerating his cheekbone and jawline. He inquired, “Did you all wait for long? Was I the only one late?”

“We waited for ten minutes or so...” replied Sae.

“Should I let you go first?” Deil beckoned him to move up in line. “Since you had to wait for me.”

“I wasn’t the only one waiting,” said Sae.

“Well, I can’t let anyone else cut in line. You’re the only one from the club still waiting.” Deil pointed over Sae’s shoulder. “That woman’s probably coming to queue up after you, but I don’t know whether she especially waited for me or not. Should I ask her?”

Sae felt that if they spoke for another minute, they would start fake-arguing again. “I’m not buying anything, though,” he said, figuratively taking a step back from this challenge. “I’m just a spot holder for Teo. He’s not back, so I can’t overtake you. I don’t know what he’s getting.”

“Oh.” Shum Deil turned around, facing the rest of the line. Another person still stood before him, but they couldn’t decide what kind of sauce to get. He twisted back to face Sae. “Well, if he comes back before it’s my turn, tell him to go on ahead. I invite you both.”

That was the moment, standing face to face with Shum Deil, when Sae realised: the other had grown. Last year, Shum Deil was still half a head smaller than Sae. Sae himself had grown too, nearing 1.75 metres tall. Shum Deil and him, they weren’t actually eye to eye, but there was no longer half a head of height difference between them. After a breath, Sae agreed, “Okay.”

A couple of seconds of awkward silence later, the boy turned back around and didn’t fidget again. Sae stared at the back of his round dark head. Wasn’t this a bit too excessive? A person like Shum Deil, on top of everything else, grew tall overnight. That seemed a little unfair.

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Pan Rita got tickets for everyone. She approached the kids, giving them out. “It’s room number two. You can all exchange seats the way you want, but only sit where the tickets instruct, okay?”

She stepped to the two boys still waiting in line for snacks. “Here,” Pan Rita handed a ticket to Shum Deil. “Everything’s okay? You weren’t late because something bad happened, right?”

Deil shook his head. “No. I got held up.”

“Good then,” Pan Rita turned to Sae. “Where’s Teo?”

It took Sae a few seconds to react. He was a bit surprised hearing their previous exchange. “Ah, he’s in the washroom.”

“Then I’ll give you his ticket as well. Come in once you’re done,” Pan Rita said, then left for room two.

The employee in the snack bar called out to the next person in line. Sae watched Shum Deil’s back throughout his order and realised, Deil’s hair was longer too. Sae kept pondering about what was so familiar about the view.

“I’m back. Where’s everyone?” Teo slapped Sae’s shoulder, shaking him out of his thoughts.

“They already went in. Here,” Sae handed over Teo’s ticket.

“Thank you, thank you. Do you want something?” Teo jerked his head to the led menu displayed on the wall.

It was already two o’clock, time for the film to begin. Sae looked slightly miffed, so Teo did not wait for his answer. “Nevermind, we don’t have time. I’ll get you glazed popcorn.”

Shum Deil finished with his purchase and was on his way to room two but stopped and glanced back. Sae was still looking his way, zoning out. Something bothered him endlessly, yet he could not quite figure out what it could be.

“Sae, Sae!” Teo pushed Sae from the back. “Here,” he stuffed a small bag of glazed popcorn into Sae’s chest.

The fresh scent of baked corn and the warm sweetness of sugar hit Sae’s nose at once. He snapped out of it just in time to catch the bag. Teo prodded him again, “Hurry, bet the film’s already started.”

They gave their tickets to the ticket inspector and went inside.

Pan Rita raised her head in her seat to look at the two latecomers, beckoning them. Their group sat behind the middle section. At least three rows separated them from the last row of chairs.

The film did not start yet, but the trailers had finished already. Sae looked down at his ticket in the dark, trying to decide what number of seats belonged to them. Since everyone else swapped for the best position, Sae and Teo had to share the two outermost chairs in their row. The twenty-something students sat in three rows with Pan Rita at the back, probably so she could oversee them.

“Where do we sit?” Teo whispered.

“On the other side,” Sae said with horror.

And so, Sae and Teo crossed their way over to the other side of the room, upturning a dozen seats in their wake. It was one of those instances Sae found most burdensome and energy-wasting in any social outing. He dreaded these things.

As they passed their head teacher, Pan Rita warned them, “Hurry up, boys. Careful not to trip.”

Sae took the lead, as he had fewer things to carry. Teo, this dummy, bought half of the snack bar. Both of his arms were full of beverages, napkins, a big bucket of popcorn, various sweets and nachos. Sae started to doubt whether Teo came to watch a film or to have a meal.

When they arrived at the right place, Sae lowered his voice to whisper, “Sit down.”

Almost all of the lights had dimmed, and the film started. Pan Rita watched them all the way, waiting for them to finally get settled.

Sae pointed down. “It’s these two seats. Sit down.”

“Why?” Teo asked, uncomprehending. “On my ticket, it says row four, seat eleven.”

“And mine says seat ten. Who cares? We’re already here.” Sae tried to suppress his voice. “Do you want to climb over me as well? Teo, sit down.”

After a minute of eye contact, they finally sat down. If they didn’t, Sae was ready to beat Teo into seat no.10.

Teo started munching right away without paying much attention to the screen. Sae could see in his peripheral vision Teo stealing glances at him every few minutes. Teo did not only look at Sae; he looked at other people or, sometimes, gazed around the walls, the dimmed emergency lights, and the rows behind them.

The funny thing about Teo was that he got alarmed in dark places. Of course, he would never – not in a million years admit that, but a tiny snap, a sudden noise was enough to make him flinch.

On the screen, a scene played out that was in no way meant to be scary, more like thrilling. In it, the undercover team of detectives got ready to raid their target whilst they were about to get caught too. Right at the crucial moment, the background sound effect hit a crescendo, making Teo jump in his seat with such velocity that he sent half his snacks flying.

Most people were engrossed in watching the scene play out, but the kid on Teo’s other side sent an amused glance their way.

“What the hell, man?” Sae whispered.

Teo cleared his throat. “Sorry.”

The two ducked down to collect the food scattered at their feet. The rows’ spacing wasn’t that narrow, so there was ample space to look for pieces of candy and whatnot. In the dark, Sae’s hair brushed Teo’s arm, which made the boy jump again.

Sae grabbed Teo with force and put him back in his seat to sit upright. “Don’t move. I’m going to look for it.” He shone his phone’s screen light onto the floor, but on second thought, he added, “Don’t you dare kick me, ‘cause Teo, I swear to God...”

“I won’t, I won’t,” Teo said, voice low. “Thanks.”

On the screen, someone shot a gun twice in a row. Sae gripped Teo’s leg out of caution and to prevent Teo from floundering. He wanted to keep his face in the same shape as it was now.

Because Teo got warned and was aware that someone searched around legs, he didn’t move at all during those two shots. Even when Sae grabbed him, he stayed frozen.

“Is this all?” Teo asked, accepting another handful of snacks that Sae continuously kept handing him.

“There’s a couple more,” Sae said, “They rolled under the row before us. I’ll try to reach them.”

He stretched his arm out, sneaking it under the seat diagonal before him. He closed his palm over the damn piece of candy and was about to pull back when he noticed the shoes next to his hand.

Although it was December, and not a mild one at that, a pair of brand-name sneakers, the low-cut kind, looked back at him. The person wearing them even had their ankles showing.

Sae jerked back up. This time, it actually scared Teo into reacting, but Sae couldn’t care less. He knew these shoes. He had seen them in the library that time. Unfortunately, because of the shelves full of books in his way, he had only seen the back of the guy Emi had been with. The only thing that stood out was that person’s shoes.

Sae looked at the row in front of them. More precisely, at the student sitting before Teo.

He looked at Shum Deil.