Back Then, and Almost Now [Sotus Fanfiction]

Chapter 1 - K.S.

Arthit waved to his friends as he strutted into the cafeteria, scanning for their usual table. He spotted Knot, Tootah, and Prem lounging around adorn their newly bought maroon blazer, marking the start of their engineering days as second years, no longer as freshmen.

As he neared the table, his friends are currently halfway in their snacks. Honestly, he'd been starving since earlier this morning-thanks to waking up late again. He'd sworn to never let it happen and promised himself he'd get up at least 15 minutes earlier, like a normal person. But no, another disappointment.

Now he was hungry, annoyed, and to top it off, their professor had the nerve to assign an essay on the first day. He was expecting a light orientation, not a pain in the ass.

"Hey Arthit, how was the break?" Knot asked, high-fiving him as he arrived, noticing the grumpy, tired look on his face. Arthit had been friends with Knot since forever-back in high school and now in college, still in the same Faculty of Engineering but in different departments, Arthit in Industrial, Knot in Mechanical.

The cafeteria was packed, the usual midday chaos unfolding as students rushed to grab their meals before everything ran out. Trays clattered, voices overlapped, and the smell of stir-fried something filled the air. Their group had managed to snag a spot on the far side of the room, tucked away from the lines that snaked through the food stalls.

Arthit sat with his tray, quietly relieved that he'd managed to get the last pieces of his food. Small victories, he thought, poking at the lukewarm fish cake. At least something's going right today.

"Eventful and fun. If bed-rotting all day counts," Arthit replied dryly, pushing his food in the table-pink milk and now five pieces of Tod Mun Pla Krai instead of six, just in time for Bright, who had just shown up, to snatch one.

"Bright! Go get your own!" Arthit scowled, swatting at Bright's hand as he reached in for a second grab.

"It tastes better when it's stolen, you know," Bright replied, already munching with smug satisfaction as he sat next to Knot.

Tootah snorted without looking up from his phone, typing away, while Prem kept scrolling through social media. Knot continues to eat his food while Arthit takes a sip of his favorite milk. Then, suddenly, Prem lifted his head with a dramatic sigh.

"I can't believe it, guys," he said, looking almost heartbroken. Arthit sighed thinking his friend was at it again.

"What?" they all asked in unison, just as Tootah dramatically reached over and patted Prem's head like a concerned parent, already predicting the direction of the random conversation.

"Ugh, Prem and his old man thoughts. He's at it again," Tootah muttered, as the rest of them sighed in anticipation.

"Guys, I just can't believe it-we're already second-year engineering students. And the next thing you know, we'll be in third year, then fourth, then... graduation," Prem said with exaggerated despair, his voice trailing off like he was narrating a tragedy.

Arthit and the rest just throw their amused smiles, used to this by now. Prem had always been like this.

"You know, I'll look forward to that after I graduate. For now, I just want to enjoy things, you know?" Knot said, finishing off his iced Americano.

Arthit winced a little, he could never stand that stuff. Black coffee was basically battery acid. A latte, maybe-at least that had some creaminess to it. How could people drink that stuff voluntarily? It was like punishing your tongue for no reason.

"Yeah, enjoy the cruel engineering program while we crawl through it every single day," Arthit muttered, cutting the sentimental mood with a scowl. Seriously, what was there to enjoy? A backbreaking workload, professors who spoke like machines, and sleep schedules that practically didn't exist.