Perseverance [Complete]

Chapter 1

Kong's POV

"P'Kong! You aren't listening...!"

I shook my head to get out of the small daydream at the sound of the childish whine. Of course I was listening. It was just extremely difficult to keep track of the thousands topics that kept switching randomly.

"I am listening! I am listening. Yeah, so you were saying your teacher punished you even though it was not your fault?"

"Arggh! See P'Kong you weren't listening. I was talking about my the sleep over tomorrow and that I still had to pack my bag. And I didn't know what dress I wanted to wear. I think the purple one is the prettiest, but I dropped cake on it last time and ...."

I tuned out again. Although I absolutely adore Rune, I had once again made the fatal mistake of giving a 7 year old girl a large bar of chocolate. When will I learn that sugar and kids can absolutely not mix? She already possessed boundless energy in that tiny body of hers and feeding her chocolate unleashed some wild hyperactive beast.

Since I had picked her up from her school about 45 minutes ago she had spoken almost non-stop. Apparently after the first 5 minutes I wasn't required to participate in the conversation and so I could focus on navigating through the busy roads safely.

I hadn't seen Rune in over a week and I knew she would be upset at me. An angry Rune was not something anybody could handle and since she was going to be in my care most of the evening I took an alternate approach. Bribery. A large chocolate bar won me a huge smile, and an endless stream of conversations.

But I stand corrected. Apparently, packing for a little girl's sleepover required the input from a 2nd year engineering student.

"Ok then what about the pink dress? That is also very pretty."

"But I just told you that I wore the pink dress last time so I can't wear again. P'Kong are you sure you are an engineer? You always have a hearing problem."

"Ha! Ha! Stop being a smart ass. Now remember your promise! Not a word about the chocolate otherwise both of us will be punished."

"How come I never see you getting punished? Everytime you give me chocolate only I get punished."

"Well, adults just get punished in different ways. Sometimes it's a lot worse than you doing extra chores. But if you don't want it then I can always stop bringing chocolate."

"No no no no no. I promised already didn't I? I won't tell anyone. I will even eat all my dinner even though I am full. See? Our secret is safe."

"Good girl."

"P'Kong are you dropping me off for the sleep over tomorrow?"

"Umm...I don't know yet. Why?"

"Oh Nothing, if you drop me off then you could meet my boyfriend."

I stopped dead in my tracks. Did those words just come out of a 7 year old?

"You have a boyfriend?"

"Ummm, not yet. But I want to make him my boyfriend. So once you meet him tomorrow then you can help me."

"Why do you want to make him your boyfriend? And why do you think I will help you?"

"Because he is the most handsome boy in my school. And you are the most handsome grown up I know. So then you will know what he likes and doesn't like and then you can help me."

I shook my head while chuckling. Kids could come up with the craziest ideas possible.

"But what if I see him tomorrow and don't think he is handsome enough to be your boyfriend?"

"But you will. Everyone says he is the handsomest."

"Ok fine. Now I absolutely have to come drop you tomorrow. I need to see this heartbreaker for myself. Who else did you tell about this boyfriend of yours?"

"P'Kong! You can't tell anyone. You have to promise. It has to be our secret. Just like the chocolate"

I don't think Rune would comprehend why the chocolate secret was significantly different than her so called boyfriend. But we had finally made our way to her house. I unlocked the door with my spare key and both Rune and I sighed. The house looked like a hurricane had gone through it. It took Rune and I close to 2 hours to put away the clothes, clean the kitchen, and make the house look livable again.

Both of us sat down to work on our respective homework's when we heard the knob of the front door turn. Rune excitedly exclaimed, "Pa is home!"

She bounced off her chair and ran towards the open arms of P'Arthit.