The CEO

Chapter Four

Lunchtime on Monday, I was in the usual spot -- sitting at the corner table, waiting for Pete to get his butt over there and knock off the flirting with Kayla. He did it everyday, whenever he saw her, so it really was amazing that Kayla wasn't sick of his stupid face.

The Calculus teacher walked inside the cafeteria before Pete showed. Not a big thing, since he was there during my lunch period everyday. What was a big thing, and shocked me, was who was walking next to him while they chatted like old buddies.

None other than Aroon.

What???

What the heck was he doing at my school????

I stared at them as they settled only three tables away from me. I slouched in my seat, afraid Aroon would see me and come over to talk, which I really didn't want. Last thing I needed was the group of popular kids seeing the foreign dude showing interest in me. That would just give them more ammunition in their imaginations, and they'd harass me even worse until graduation.

Thank God graduation was only six months away.

I bowed my head, hiding my face from view as Aroon scanned the cafeteria, hoping he didn't recognize me.

"Sorry it took me so long, Sam. The lunch lady was arguing with me about...uh, what the hell are you doing??"

I peeked up at Pete. "Shut up!" I hissed. "He'll hear you!"

"Who?" He asked, just as loud as before.

Without a word, I grabbed his arm and yanked him down into the seat next to me. Ignoring his complaints about his food almost being dumped off his tray, and I whispered in his ear, "Don't look now, but Mr. Seniwong is sitting over there with Aroon."

Pete kept his head turned towards me, looking their way out of their corner of his eye. "Huh...so he is. Is he stalking you? Guy seems to turn up wherever you go."

I blanched. "Don't joke about that!"

"Lighten up, it was just a joke."

"You call that a joke??" I demanded, jabbing a finger in Aroon's direction. "I call that a nightmare."

Pete rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed with my theatrics. "Ignore the guy. Eventually, he'll have to go back to wherever he came from."

"I think he's from Thailand."

Pete squinted at me. "How would you...no, never mind. You watch all those BL dramas from Asia."

A smirk found its way onto my face. "Thailand makes the best ones, just so you know."

"I know," he groaned, dropping his head in his hands. "You tell me that practically everyday."

"I didn't tell you yesterday or the day before, and-"

"Yeah, yeah. Eat your lunch," Pete checked his watch. "We only have ten minutes left."

"Not my fault you argued with the lunch lady. Again. And, lemme guess," I pretended to think about it. "About how many milks you can get. Am I right?"

Pete shot me a dirty look.

"Yup. Knew it."

"Shut up and eat."

XXX

The Physics and English exams had already been completed during the morning hours, so in the afternoon all I had to worry about was Calculus. I practically bounced down the hallway to the classroom, feeling pretty confident about acing it. I studied my butt off every free minute I got, and my dedication showed. Even Pete's grades had been brought up by him attempting to emulate my rigorous study habits! Felt great, being a good influence.