Kaikai had excellent abilities to understand situations. Be it the smallest reactions or shifts in relationships around him, he could read them at a glance.

He wasn’t one to meddle in others' business, but watching two of his friends –– different in nature and closeness, but his friends nonetheless – made him feel stuffy.

Sae and Deil. These two idiots were actually getting friendly, even though they would never admit it.

Kaikai had been feeling the ripples between those two for a long time now. Ripples that, with a timely push, could become waves. What he did not know, however, was that there were underlying aspects to the two idiots’ relations, ones he never dared to think of.

“Why don’t Sae and Deil go then? One friend and one tutor, helping a girl out.” On the spur of the moment, Kaikai pretended to be rowdy and made a stupid remark that no one took seriously, but everyone paused to think about it.

After a beat, Susu broke that awkward halt in the conversation, steering the focus back to Emi. She turned to Kaikai and said, “Take her yourself if you want to help so much.”

Kaikai shook his head with a small smile but didn’t say anything. He really couldn’t take Emi; that would be discourteous.

The problem was that he never announced nor said anything to his friends about his love life. Other than Sae and Teo –– the two closest to him –– others did not suspect a thing.

“Emi, let’s play first.” Teo made eye contact with Kaikai, then nodded in tacit understanding. He compromised on Kaikai’s behalf in a mild tone. “After a few rounds, I’ll take you to the plaza on the way home. If they’re still there, I’ll get you presents. Leave it to me, hmm?”

“Mhm, okay,” Emi agreed. She jabbed a finger at Teo’s chest. “You can’t cheat me. After one hour of gaming, we’re off to go. Any later, and I’m afraid the shop will be out of presents.”

Teo drawled, “I just got here...” He turned to the Minke-Sae-Kaikai trio with an accusing tone. “You three were gone, and I was left all alone! Susu only called me after they were out of school. The next class had already started! What could I’ve done? Leave while the teacher turned his back to the class?”

“Why is it our fault? Susu tricked you, you know,” Minke said, matter-of-fact.

Teo narrowed his eyes at the trickery girl. “You little… that’s karma, you know. Trick me again, and they’ll definitely think Daniel is your––”

Before Teo could finish, Daniel clamped a hand over his mouth. “If you say another word, I’ll end you.”

Thankful for the diversion, Kaikai sent a dozen prayers out in his heart. He was a hair’s breadth away from successfully ransacking Daniel’s equipment. One hand slipped off his keyboard, headed to the left, and landed on Daniel’s mouse, ready for a toss.

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The moment that preposterous proposal left Kaikai’s mouth, Sae and Shum Deil faced each other. Like the rest of the little group, they both froze.

Shum Deil looked away first.

To tell the truth, Sae didn’t get the meaning of that sentence until his friends had long moved on. When he froze, he was solely thinking: if both of them tried to ask for the promotional presents, saying it was for their lovers, would the chances of the employee taking pity on at least one of them increase?

As Sae realised the true implication behind Kaikai’s words, his face twitched into a scowl, but he didn’t tell Kaikai off. Too much time had passed. Reprimanding now would only incriminate him more. He was sure that out of everyone present, he was the only person too dull to get it. Therefore, he momentarily got angry at himself, a flush settling under his skin in humiliation.

What pulled Sae back from his self-disparaging thoughts was a screech like no other let loose from Daniel’s throat. The boys yelled with passion while the girls tried to shut the noise out. Sae chose to stay out of the mess. He lowered his head to the tray of food before him and continued eating.

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After an hour ticked by, Susu and Daniel had to go and pick up their baby brother. Minke also got a call from her mother and decided to leave, while Kaikai said he’d take her home on his way. That was fine too.

That left Sae with the soon-to-be fake couple Teo and Emi…and Shum Deil.

Since Teo and Shum Deil had arrived a bit later than the others, there were still ten minutes remaining on their computers. Anyhow, Shum Deil logged out of the game, leisurely finishing what remained of his food.

“Your glasses are new,” he said with a look at Sae.

Sae jerked his head to look at Deil.

Hearing that comment, Emi, who currently chewed Teo out to stop gaming, made a surprised noise. “Eeh? You notice that but not my hair?”

“What about your hair?” Deil asked with a perplexed look.

Emi turned around. “Sae, you tell him.”

Sae, who got suddenly put on the spot: “…..”

Deil snickered at the side. As he did, he accidentally pushed the bite out of his own hand, leaving a splatter on the floor. That only made him laugh harder.

“I don’t know,” Sae said honestly, trying to disregard that infectious laughter. “You haven’t changed your hair in years.”

“Excuse you. I grew my bangs out! Never mind, I’ll show you.” Emi positioned herself between the two of them, showcasing her face. She even got a ruler from god-knows-where and swiped it at her brows. The bottom of her bangs almost covered her brows. “How is it the same? Even Teo caught on! And it had been some time ago, mind you,” she said and tittered. “How could none of you care? Where do you use your eyes?”

Now that Sae took a closer look, the little girl’s choppy bangs no longer seemed so choppy.

“Looks good,” Shum Deil showed Emi a thumbs up.

Emi snorted with laughter. “As good as Sae’s new glasses?”

Emi had always been just like this. If she felt a bit close to someone, there was no stopping her mouth from going off. Seeing how she teased Shum Deil, the two were quite friendly with each other.

Shum Deil stared at her while holding the crunchy bread he picked up from the floor but withheld his reply.

“Emi, you coming? Or else I’m going home,” Teo warned from the hallway. He was ready to go to the plaza.

During the time they had played, Sae asked Teo in the one-on-one chat why he had decided to go with Emi. Teo wrote, Her birthday’s coming in April. Gotta play nice as I don’t know what to give her. Maybe she’ll forgive me for not giving a gift if I’m perpetually good to her?

Sae only wrote, Dream on, but at least Teo’s reason was understandable.

Emi scrambled to pick up all her belongings, stuffing everything in her bag. “See you at home,” she said to Sae.

Sae nodded, “Bye.”

“Bye Deil!” Emi waved and ran away.

With that, only Sae and Shum Deil remained.

First, Sae logged out of the game. The time indicated he only had two more minutes off his card, so it was unnecessary to wait that out. He stood up, tidied the trash from the desk, and put the tray back in the food court of the cafe.

There was no point in staying back to be polite with Shum Deil. Sae planned to say bye and then leave. However, when he arrived back at the tables, the other boy was nowhere to be seen. Sae even checked the neighbouring row for any signs. Alas, his search turned up futile.

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Not three metres from the entrance of the PC room, Sae’s name got loudly called out on the street. Shum Deil squatted under the next shop’s awning with a cigarette dangling from his lips. Sae paused, half turning back to wait for the other to say whatever he wanted…or to catch up.

Shum Deil, with his long legs and big strides, met Sae in no time.

Sae was thinking about it, so he asked, “How tall are you now?”

Surprise passed over the other’s face before answering, “Over one point seventy, but I’m still growing.”

“Mnm,” Sae agreed, “Your hands are bigger too.”

“You’re looking at my hands now? Last time you slapped it away,” Shum Deil said and flicked his cigarette into a trash can.

They turned to walk in the direction of Sae’s community. Sae was sure that Shum Deil had not moved to this neighbourhood in the past days or weeks. He reckoned they would only walk together for a brief stretch until the closest bus stop. Or, Shum Deil could be on his way to Little Mo’s.

“Last time,” Sae said, “You shoved your paw into my face. What else should I’ve done? Give myself a face massage?”

Sae did not mean it to be amusing. He intended to be sarcastic, but the next thing he knew, Shum Deil burst out laughing. “You’re quite particular.”

“Meaning?”

“Do you go up to everyone inquiring about their height?”

Sae: “…..”

What could he say to that?

“Maybe you do,” Deil took something out of his pocket and passed it to him. Sae looked down at his hand while Deil unwrapped a piece of chocolate and threw it into his mouth. “Don’t worry. They’re from the New Year’s visit.”

The days were getting longer. It got dark a few minutes later every day, and currently, it was already dusk. The light from the streetlamp glinted off of the wrapping in Sae’s palm. He looked at it for a moment. This treat had a different wrapping than the one from last time.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Sae followed Shum Deil and unwrapped the chocolate. Secretly, he was quite happy as he had not found any chocolate as tasty as the ones Deil had given him. Today he ate another piece and got reminded of that particular taste.

This piece of chocolate melted on his tongue in a few seconds, its fillings not too sweet nor too bitter, peppered with crunchy pistachio nuts. Sae’s expression did not change much, but the curve of his eyes was a telling sign of how much he liked the sweet taste in his mouth. It was actually more delicious than the last one.

Shum Deil watched him with interest before concluding, “You like chocolate truffles.” He said it like that was something to remember for further notice.

Sae paused but didn’t comment on it. As they arrived at the crossroad, the light changed from red to green, allowing them to carry on without a hitch. The trees on both sides of the road stretched towards the darkening sky. They heard live music from a nearby alley.

Sae schooled any remaining sign on his face and asked, “Do you like Emi?”

Shum Deil looked at him sideways. “I like her as a student. She can focus pretty well and doesn’t waste my time. I think we work together just fine.”

Sae hummed, indicating that Shum Deil could go on. Actually, Sae wasn’t curious about trivialities like this. From what he had seen so far, the little girl and this tutor of hers had a tacit understanding of each other’s boundaries as of the professional relationship between teacher and student. Outside of lessons, Emi acted neither distant nor overly friendly.

When it came to Shum Deil, Emi stopped being as hard-headed as a few months ago. That meant they were slowly getting to know each other.

What Sae had been waiting for were the real sentiments of Shum Deil and the degree he was willing to delve into.

“I mean... I don’t really know her as a person,” Shum Deil was quick to continue, “But I know that she’s mad protective of you. The first time she saw I’m her tutor-to-be, I honestly thought she was about to pull my head off.”

The expression on Sae’s face softened. “That’s mutual.”

“Figured that much,” Shum Deil agreed, “And I kinda understand.”

Sae looked at the boy blankly. What was there to kinda understand about what he said? Friends were for that purpose: to be there and look out for each other. Sae and Emi had known each other for years. They grew up together. Even if Deil wasn’t aware of how deep the relationship between him and Emi went, what was so mystifying about standing up for each other?

They continued walking in silence. Shum Deil still wore sneakers without a sock in sight. He had a restrained spring in his steps like he was excited about something but holding himself back. “She can be cheeky,” he added, almost as an afterthought.

Sae felt the boy’s reluctance to speak more about the topic, so he let it go.

Today was Monday, which meant tomorrow would be when the English club gathered for the first time during the week. “Are you coming tomorrow?” Sae asked, staring ahead. It was a casual question.

“Why? Do you want me to witness Teach praise you to the sky and back for today’s achievements in the competition?”

The implicit teasing underlying Deil’s words caught Sae off guard. He gauged the other’s expression for a few seconds in silence.

Sae realised that Deil had not only grown, but his hair had gotten longer as well. “I wonder,” Sae said, “Do I look like such a person? Is the year’s first-ranked student qualified to say that about me when he already backed out weeks ago?”

“You fucker,” Deil shot back with a smile. “Somehow, I feel like a round of applause is warranted here.”

“Then we must both do it,” said Sae.

Their easy chatter wasn’t so bad. Deil bought some nastiness out of Sae, like they had to nitpick and tease each other for the conversation to flow and not feel awkward.

“Am sure you did well, though.” Deil turned to look at Sae, “...albeit you couldn’t get your Valentine’s Day chocolates in person.”

Listening to Deil’s tone, Sae felt there had to be another sentence left unsaid. It made him laugh with a shake of his head, but he decided not to comment on the topic.

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They got closer to the entrance of the community. In his peripheral vision, Sae saw a bunch of guys coming from the right, making a ruckus and jumping around. They seemed a bit wild.

Beside him, Shum Deil paused in his steps, his gaze intense as he stared forward.

Smack in the middle of the incoming group, Jung Egon sauntered with a particular swag. Seeing that it was the school’s wannabe little tyrant, the expression on Sae’s face relaxed considerably while Shum Deil’s stiffened.

Sae had not seen Jung Egon since the meeting at the principal’s office. They didn’t move in the same circles, and the boy was an upperclassman too. Sae wasn’t sure why Shum Deil reacted the way he did, though the chances of a rematch right there and then were slim. As the group approached, Jung Egon first said something to the others, then let them pass on while he himself slowed down.

There was a second when the bunch of rowdy boys stared at them. Sae returned their gazes with a calm look. He didn’t know these people and had no reason to play into their hands. This group certainly looked ready to start something out of the tiniest glance.

Shum Deil moved a half step before Sae, so he could only see the back of Deil’s head but not his expression.

After the group left, neither Sae nor Deil turned their heads to look at them.

Jung Egon stopped in the middle of the pavement, leaving no space for them to pass without halting. He only wore an ash grey hoodie with the school’s track pants. “Shum Deil,” he said, then looked at Sae. “And you…the ear-punching guy.”

The ear-punching guy: “…”

“Good evening to you, too,” Deil said and smirked. “Although you might not remember his name, try not to call him ‘the ear-punching guy’ next time. He has a bit of a temper, you know.”

The guy with the so-called temperament problems: “…..”

On the street under the dark sky, three boys looked at each other. Sae watched Deil reach out with a fist, thinking there could be a rematch after all.

“Okay,” the other boy snickered and bumped fists with Deil. Next, he turned to Sae. “Say something if it bothers you, ey. Last time, you weren’t so intimidated. Act casually. Me being older isn’t a reason to act distant. We’re not strangers.”

Sae thought, Then what are we exactly? Friends? but he nodded in agreement.

“Shit, you still won’t tell your name?” Jung Egon let out a hollow laugh. “Fair enough.” He pulled out his phone to look at something.

Other pedestrians were passing, so they relocated to stand on the side of the pavement under a tree. Shum Deil watched Jung Egon and asked, “Out to have fun?”

“Eh, we’re only gathering. The night is still young.” Jung Egon put his phone back into the pocket of his hoodie. He had a long scar starting from the nailbed of his thumb that ran through most of that finger.

“Gathering for what?” Sae asked out of the blue. No one expected him to show any interest in the conversation. He felt Shum Deil’s eyes gazing at him from the side but kept staring at that scar, unflinching. He cleared his throat, waiting patiently.

“Gathering for later to have fun, of course.” Jung Egon trailed his eyes over Sae’s face before adding, “Not sure the type you honour students would fancy, though.”

This remark made Sae scowl, but he did not comment on it. How did Jung Egon not know his name but know he was an honour student?

Besides, Sae wasn’t one to say what type of fun honour students fancied. Weren’t they all just normal teenagers?

“There’ll be an open space concert later,” Jung Egon told them, “Lennox reckons the more people out on Valentine’s, the more chances to get some. The boys are helping him move the band’s equipment. I collected them, and we’re on the way there now.”

Jung Egon rattled off a string of names, speaking in a familiar manner. While Sae wasn’t qualified to catch more than the basic meaning of the words, Shum Deil knew the specifics, like who these people were and what they were after. As it turned out, these two had more in common than Sae imagined. As he listened, a thought surfaced in his mind: Did people usually get friendly with whom they had fought with?

The two boys chatted, going back and forth while Sae checked some messages on his phone. If he looked up, he would have seen the tension in Shum Deil’s jaw and the furrow of his brows. However, Shum Deil’s voice stayed bland and unaffected. It didn’t warrant Sae to take notice of something amiss with this scene.

After a while, Sae pondered why he was standing here listening to Shum Deil and Jung Egon’s uninteresting conversation.

“Hoh Saering.” Jung Egon suddenly called out to him. “At the sports day meet, what events will you participate in?”

“Huh?” The phone screen’s light caught Sae’s face from below, making his chin seem extra sharp, his expression a little perplexed.

“I want to counter back for that time.” Jung Egon pinched his ear. “How about we match it out at the sports meet, huh?”

Sae blinked at Jung Egon with a blank expression. After a beat, he revealed, “I don’t know.”

That reply seemed extremely arrogant, like he could not care less to give a decent answer.

“You playing me?” Jung Egon raised his voice.

“No.”

“Looking down on me?”

“No.”

Puzzlement filled the wannabe little tyrant’s face. “What is your problem?” Jung Egon was getting worked up, expression taut and his tone a little forceful.

Sae still looked at him in a calm manner. He really wasn’t pulling anyone’s leg here. What’s more, to his utter demise, he knew that from an outsider’s point of view, this situation seemed a bit comical. Much like from Shum Deil’s perspective, who listened with a smirk at the side with no intention of stepping in. Sae tried to clear some things up. “I haven’t thought about what events to participate in. The sports day is still a month away.”

“Then think about it!” Jung Egon pointed his finger at Sae’s chest, ready to poke it, but Sae sidestepped without effort. “…..”

Shum Deil burst into laughter while Sae adjusted his glasses.

Out of the three people present, one was getting redder in the face by the second. Out of the other two, one was smiling, and one calmly looked ahead.

Before Jung Egon could give in to the temptation of immediately getting that rematch, his phone rang with one of those faux hip hop beats. The tension in the air broke, but he didn’t move to answer the call.

With the disruption present, Shum Deil decided to send Jung Egon away. “At the football match between classes, I’ll be the goalie of the science class team. How about we settle some things?”

Jung Egon’s face settled on an unnatural expression. The nearby traffic light fell on him, tinting his face red with residual anger, a bit of embarrassment, and a lot of bluffed cockiness. He tsk’d before speaking, “That’s a team game. I’ll beat you individually.”

Shum Deil grinned. “I’m also running the four-hundred-metre race.”

He actually had a face big enough to casually shake off a person this close to fuming. Sae looked on with astonishment as Deil said, “Let the better win on Game Day.”

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Jung Egon turned to leave, and Deil waved him off. There was an obnoxious smile on his face, but his gaze remained hard.

“That was quite vicious,” Sae said before taking a step forward.

“Eh, if anyone was watching, they’d say you were the vicious one.” Shum Deil picked up the pace without a problem. The night breeze ruffled the bangs on his forehead, and his legs cast long shadows on the pavement. “You really won’t run in anything?”

Sae felt stunned for a moment. “You mean during Game Day? Isn’t that a bit far off from now? I haven’t thought about it.”

Actually, with the competition and the test-taking season kicking off, as well as the approaching midterms, not a lot of kids’ minds were on the upcoming sports day meet, or as the school called it: Game Day.

Set up at least once every year, usually in spring or at the start of the school term, the sports day meet was essentially a day without official classes. Students got to play around, eat a lot, and grapple with each other for the glory of getting spoken about on the school forum for three days.

There were prizes for every winning class as well. Sometimes this caused rivalries between classes, edging the kids into hyper-competitiveness while the first prize for individual events was stolen by the physical education students eight out of ten times.

For the first years, it would be the first time to experience the magic of Game Day. All they knew about it were anecdotes passed down through the school forum or from older students and acquaintances.

Sae felt, at best, lukewarm about something like this. It was no more than the field day of junior high stretched into two consecutive days.

“My class is weirdly into it,” Shum Deil said while scratching the back of his neck. “I think the class reps have to take down the names starting next week, actually.”

Sae nodded. “You told Jung Egon you’ll participate in the football matches.”

Shum Deil turned to him and raised his brows.

Sae had a mildly puzzled look. “Hm?”

They looked at each other without speaking.

Shum Deil opened his mouth and slowly said, “...since I’m part of the school’s team.”

“Ah!” The lightbulb in Sae’s mind flashed on. He cleared his throat to cover his slight embarrassment.

“There’s a joint track event too,” Deil said, “Every class in the year can enter two students for qualifications.”

Sae hummed while listening. It really was the first time he heard about these things. “How do you know all this?”

“From the newsletter about it.”

“…”

Deil added, “It’s pinned up on almost every corner of the hallways.”

“…..”

Deil chuckled, and Sae was unsure he liked the sound of it.

Excuse me, who are you looking down on?

There was a bus stop close to the back street of Sae’s residential building. They approached that bus stop, getting closer to it. Sae was surprised that they had already reached his home. He sneaked a peak to the side, thinking: Was Deil going to Little Mo’s or…

“Wait for next week. Your class rep will repeat this information countless times, right until you get bored of it.” Deil stopped a metre from the bus stop.

Sae did not notice Deil pausing in his steps and almost passed, preoccupied. After a moment, he turned back to face the bus stop. A gust of wind caught him in the face.

Deil opened his mouth to say goodbye, but Sae didn’t catch that. He gazed at Deil for a minute, and Deil repeated with a small smile, “I said bye.”

They bid goodbye, and Deil sat on the plastic bench, waiting for the bus to arrive. He waved again, and Sae turned to walk home.