Wonderstruck ✓

Chapter 2

"Where the hell are you?! Hurry up, everybody's waiting for you!" Lee screeched on the other line. Gun could barely hear him since the music in the bar was blasting so loud.

"Coming! Jeez, you know that you could start drinking without me!"

"We already are and I bet by the time you arrive, we're all drunk already!"

"Shut up. See you in a few. Bye."

Gun took a cab to the bar since his motorbike is in the repair shop. He silently cursed when no unoccupied cab passed by him. Finally, after a few minutes of waiting and aimlessly hailing for a ride, a cab stopped and took him to his destination.

"Here's the fare. Keep the change, P'. Thanks." He said as he hopped out of the cab. The driver thanked him gleefully and drove away.

On his way to the entrance of the bar, he passed by a few cars in the parking lot just in front of their building and one suspicious guy who was wearing a black hoodie was quietly speaking on his phone.

"....yes, I'm here. Come and get me before somebody else sees me!"

The stranger's voice was familiar yet he shrugged it off.

It couldn't be him. That's impossible. He always makes a fabulous entrance, making the whole Thailand know about his presence. He can't be that one person who hides in the dark wearing hideous clothes.

He let the man be and entered the bar, looking for his friends. He spotted them on one of those elongated tables and sofa chairs.

"Look who's finally here! Gun Atthaphan, my man!" Oab saw him first and immediately greeted him, standing up from his seat and bumped their shoulders the way men do when they see each other.

"Hello, Oab! Sorry I'm late. Is everyone drunk now, Lee?" Gun took a seat beside his best friend.

"Almost!" Lee retorted and grinned.

Gun looked around the table and saw that Nicky, Mek and Sing were there too.

"Okay, let's order more beer since Gun is here!" Oab raised his hand to gesture at the waiter and soon enough, more drinks came to their table.

"Bottoms up gentlemen!"

The bar wasn't very crowded since it was a Thursday night. Gun would never drink on a school night but he had no classes on Fridays so he was definitely getting drunk tonight.

"How long are you staying in Thailand, Oab?" Nicky, one of Gun's high school friends, asked.

"Oh, just a few days. I'm just here to visit and have a few days off since our school in America is on break," Oab answered.

"Must be cool to be an American guy now, huh?" Mek teased.

Oab chuckled and said, "Nah, life is really hard in there. I need to juggle three jobs and study at the same time."

"Must be hard for you, man," Sing said as he played with his bottle of beer.

"But we're not here to talk about life problems. We're here to have fun! How about you guys? Tell me what's happening in your life?"

They talked about the things that have happened in their life since they graduated from high school. Lee, Gun and Sing enrolled in the same university, taking up the same program while Nicky enrolled in another prestigious school. Mek chose to work at his father's company despite his young age and Oab flew to America to continue his tertiary studies there.

They continued to drink and talk while having fun. They were young, attractive men and they were having the best times of their lives. They were sophomores already, a little bit wiser and bolder than their old freshman selves. They wanted to be reckless and carefree since they know that once they graduate in college, they need to be more focused on their careers.