"Mutualism is a symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit from the activity of the other individual. This ecological interaction is common in nature. When either individual is absent, the other individual experience serious negative repercussions, to the point that it may even die." The biology teacher's voice rang out loudly and clearly, as though she was a singing cicada.
The warm embrace of the setting sun crept into the classroom, casting its light on half the hall, whilst the other half remained shrouded in darkness.
Arthit sat on the side that separated the dark from the light. The bright sunlight caused him to squint, his long, black eyelashes offering little help in blocking the sunlight.
A shadow loomed over him. It was the principal. Two police officers trailed behind him.
Silence descended upon the entire classroom.
"Arthit Rojnapat," The principal stood in front of him, a warm smile plastered over his usually stern face. "Could you come out for a minute?"
Arthit glanced towards the two police officers, his face paling slightly. He then took a quick glance at the empty seat in front of him and gulped. He slowly placed his mechanical pencil down. When he rose from his seat, he tugged the hem of his coat closer to himself.
The gaze of the biology teacher, along with those of the entire class, followed him out of the classroom; and when their eyes could no longer see him, their ears followed him, the hair on their ears standing upright in their effort to hear what little news they could.
The principal patted Arthit's shoulder, in an attempt to console him, "Don't worry, they are just going to ask you a few questions."
One of the police officer wore an extremely stern expression on his face, while the other young police officer had a friendly smile on his face.
Arthit closed his eyes as he took a deep breath and nodded, silently following the principal to his office. Having taken a few steps, the principal suddenly turned his head back into the classroom, chiding the students who were bursting with curiosity, "Concentrate!"
Upon arriving at the principal's office, Arthit sat down, the cold air from the air conditioner crawling into his skin......
The principal looked at Arthit and asked calmly, "Nong Arthit, you do know why these two police officers are here today, don't you?"
"I-I...kn......know." Arthit had a habit of stuttering despite not being anxious in the least. Although his face was terribly pale, it was because he was born with naturally pale skin.
The young police officer took sympathy on Arthit, and asked, "You know we are here because Namtarn Ritthirong committed suicide by jumping off the school building?"
Arthit nodded his head, his hazel eyes staring unblinkingly at him.
"You ought to know why we chose to ask you, and not anyone else, right?"
"That day I was...... was on clean...... clean-up duty."
"That day, Namtarn, you and two other classmates were responsible for cleaning up the classroom together. After the four of you had completed the task of cleaning up the classroom, the two students left, leaving you and Namtarn all alone in the classroom."
Arthit nodded.
"You said that you left before Namtarn did."
Arthit nodded his head once more.
"On that day, did Namtarn leave you with any message or reveal any information to you?"
Arthit shook his head, his eyes sharp and clear.
"Did you notice any unusual behavior from Namtarn's part?"
Arthit shook his head once more.
The other police officer interjected, "Could you describe to us Namtarn's state and behavior that day when only the two of you were left in the classroom?"
"I already wr-wrote my......ob......observations down."
The principal interrupted at this point, "It's simply too difficult for this child to speak. The police had already questioned him previously – the interrogation was recorded too."
Arthit quietly glanced at the principal.
The police officer thought for a moment before asking, "You stated that you didn't see Namtarn after school that day. Hence, you decided to return home."
Arthit nodded his head.
Last week, as the security guard conducted his usual patrol on the school grounds, he discovered a pool of blood on the tiles in front of the staff building, with Namtarn's broken corpse lying in the middle of the blood pool. Namtarn was the school's star, but she died in a most ugly fashion.
According to the police initial assumption, Namtarn is believed to have committed suicide. However, the circumstances behind her death remain a mystery... ..
Seeing that the police had no further questions, the principal instructed Arthit to return to class.
As Arthit walked out of the air-conditioned room, a thin layer of sweat formed over his body immediately, as though he had been cling wrapped. Arthit gazed at the blindingly white sunlight. For a moment, Namtarn's milky white corpse flashed before his eyes, causing a cold shiver to crawl up his spine.
Having taken a few steps, a voice rang out from behind, "Arthit."
It was the young police officer. He passed Arthit his name card and smiled, his piercing gaze seemingly capable of deciphering the unknown, "My name is Knott Ittikorn. If you ever need help in the future, you could always give me a call."
Arthit's heart dropped for a moment. He nodded his head slowly and then resumed walking.
When he entered the classroom, it was as if someone had accidentally pressed the mute button- all the pens and exercise books were frozen in place. Arthit acted as though he hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary, and simply walked towards his seat. Amongst the ten gazes that were glued onto his body, Arthit felt one which was particularly cold and sharp.
Arthit glanced at Jay, who was seated in the last row chewing a bubble gum. His dark gaze conveyed a harsh and cruel threat.
The minute Arthit sat down, Jamie who had been sitting diagonally in front of him, pinched his legs slightly under the table. Arthit started feeling under the table, and retrieved a note from Jamie's hands. The note asked, "What did they ask you?"
Arthit fell silent, glancing at Namtarn's empty seat that's in front of him before glancing at the rest of the students surrounding him. Despite the sudden disappearance of one single classmate, the class didn't appear to be terribly affected – only Namtarn's best friend, Jamie, had been found crying on various occasions.
The rest of the class were mostly focused on gossip; rather than being melancholic, the majority of the class was simply curious and confused.
Or rather, they were simply bewildered.
One of the most essential trait and benefit of being a youth is the ability to forget. Regardless of the setbacks, one encounters, one is nevertheless still able to easily forge ahead after shrugging off one's disappointment.
The students who had been whispering away just a minute ago all fell silent at this very moment. Their sparkling eyes were fixed on the clock above the whiteboard– one last minute till the end of school!
Despite the fact that students were not permitted to speak or whisper in class, the knowledge that school was about to end gave courage to every single student. The students who were usually extremely disobedient even began to count down aloud, "20......19......18.."
Gradually, the noise became louder, as though a swarm of bees were slowly approaching.
The biology teacher was well aware of organisms' natural desire to converge and replicate the actions of their peers, but she refused to accept defeat by putting down her textbook. As the countdown progressed, a lot of students joined in, "13......12......."
"11...10.....9.....8..."
Arthit could feel his heart pounding in time with the rhythm created by the disobedient male students. He had finished collecting his books from his desk and packed his bag; the moment the school bell rang, he would rush out of the classroom immediately.
A tiny sheen of sweat appeared on his nose in the heat of the evening.
"Beside mutualism, parasitism, commensalism and competition, what is the one other relationship that exists between organisms?" The biology teacher said as a last ditch effort to get the students' attention.
The entire class shouted out in excitement, "Predation!"
Ringgg...Ring...Ring...The final bell exploded in the classroom, and the classroom erupted into chaos.
Arthit quickly walked out of the classroom, and after ascertaining that he was no longer being pierced with that cold and cruel gaze, he started sprinting with all his might as if there was no tomorrow. Across the corridor and into the stairwell, his white canvas shoes moved frantically across the steps.
A couple of students sped past him, roaring along the way. Arthit ignored them, instead opting to pump all his energy and concentration into running. Once in a while, he would look back – it was as though there was an invisible evil ghoul racing behind him in an attempt to take his life.
By the time the final bell stopped ringing, Arthit's blue school uniform had already disappeared from the entrance of the school.
He continued running, only stopping when he no longer had any energy to continue on. By then, he had already reached the small alley near his home. Panting from exhaustion, he continued walking forward slowly.
His heart was beating as loudly as a drum. Arthit wiped the sweat from his mouth, and tightened his grip around his bag.
The small alley was shrouded in the evening glow, with the occasional wisp of freshly cooked dinner drifting out from the nearby homes.
-Katcha-boom
Amidst the clanging noise caused by the ladles clashing against the metal pots, Arthit heard punching and kicking noises.
A bunch of hooligans was beating someone up in a corner. A boy dressed in a white T-shirt had curled his body up on the floor; strangely enough he neither resisted the punches, nor did he make a single sound.
Arthit lowered his head and attempted to walk past the hooligans, who were shouting and swearing at the boy in the white t-shirt.
He kept his gaze straight, and did not even bother giving the hooligans a second glance as he walked past them. However, the minute he rounded the corner, he retrieved his mobile phone immediately. He managed to key in two numbers with much success – but before he could key in a third number, he was suddenly yanked by the collar.
Arthit was like a little chick which was unceremoniously dragged into the center of the crowd.
Trapped in such a situation, Arthit had little choice but to lower his head.
A hooligan gave him a light slap on the cheek, "Yo yo pretty boy, who were you going to call?"
Arthit lowered his eyelids, "My mo......mother."
Hearing his answer, the other hooligans began sneering calling him mama's boy until one of them came closer and twisted his hand, successfully revealing the screen of his mobile phone. The numbers "19" could clearly be seen on the screen.
"191?" Before Arthit could react, he was forcefully punched. "The fuck! You bastard!, you wanna die?!"
Arthit fell onto the boy in the white t-shirt, his face blazing with pain. All of a sudden, he was hit with waves of regret. He should have simply minded his own business. After all, none of this concerned him. Even if these hooligans had beaten this boy to death or had beaten him till he was crippled, it was none of his concern.
Damn it!
"Who's this little twerp!" Just as the hooligan was about to kick Arthit, another hooligan intervened. The hooligan who had intervened squat on the floor, grabbing Arthit's hair and forcing him to raise his head.
Arthit caught a glimpse of the school uniform which was hanging loosely on the hooligan's waist. Ah, the hooligan was the same age as him. However, despite the similarity in ages, the hooligan and his were worlds apart. It was as though they were natural enemies, organisms which belonged to different categorization.
The hooligan used his chin to point at the boy in the white t-shirt, "You know him?"
Pulling Arthit by his hair, he twisted Arthit's head to face the boy in the white t-shirt. In the dim evening light, Arthit's gaze was caught by a pair of emotionless and dark black onyx eyes.
"I d-don't" Arthit struggled to speak aloud, "Don't know him."
"You don't know him?" The hooligan lips curled up, still grabbing Arthit by his hair. He shook his head roughly, "How dare you be such a busybody even though you don't know him? Didn't your precious parents teach you to mind your own damn business. Huh?"
"I won't......won't be such a busybody anymore." Arthit's voice was extremely soft, but his regret and his plea for mercy was still patently obvious in his answer.
He lowered his eyelids once more, not daring to look at the eyes of the boy in the white t-shirt.
Despite their lack of interest in Arthit, the hooligans refused to let him go so easily. "Why are you still trying to help him if you don't know who he is?" Hmm?" The minion huffed.
Wincing Arthit replied slowly, "I'm not sure."
Arthit gradually began to feel uneasy.
"You think he's good looking, don't you kitten?"
Arthit remained silent, his mind void of any answer. He could feel the sarcasm in the hooligan's tone.
When Arthit caught a glimpse of the boy in the white t-shirt a few seconds ago, he could tell that the young man was indeed handsome. However, he hadn't had the opportunity to see his face when he first decided to help him.
"Of course he's good looking" The minion whistled " After all, his dear mother is famous for her great looks in our city." The hooligans snickered whilst exchanging glances. "There's a huge train of people lining up to get into her bed and......"
He then leaned closer and whispered in Arthit's ear "Who knows, maybe it would finally be my turn one day? I have been wanting to try it for so long. After all, I'm curious and there's no harm in fantasizing"
What the hell! Arthit's eyes widened. He gritted his teeth and pushed the nasty minion away. He could feel a sense of shame that did not belong to him exploding on his face. At this moment, he couldn't muster even the slightest bit of courage to look at the boy in the white t-shirt.
When the hooligans finally stopped mocking the both of them, they grabbed Arthit by the collar, "Do you have any money on you?"
"Ah?"
"He doesn't have any money. Do you?"
Aha, so these were bullies who frequently extorted money from weak students.
As Arthit came from a rather poor family, he couldn't bear to part with his money. However, he decided to part with his seventy bhat as he feared that the hooligans would search his body. As he handed over the money, his eyes reddened in the process, "I on......only have...... this much."
The hooligans snatched the money from him, and insulted him as being a 'cheap idiot' in the process. However, the hooligans were extremely dissatisfied with the small amount of money, and had to find ways in which they could vent their unhappiness.
"Well, well... Since you came this far and tried to save this good-for-nothing boy, we'll reward you by allowing you to kiss him on the lips!"
Arthit was stunned for a moment before crawling up from the ground, violently resisting by the hooligans who had surrounded him. However, at the end the hooligans easily overpowered him, and pressed him onto the ground. Fury and shame engulfed Arthit, but even shame could do little for him.
Arthit glared at them, he shrieked and struggled, trying his best to resist the hooligans who were manhandling him; meanwhile, the boy in the white t-shirt simply looked at him coldly from his narrow eyes.
And before he could realize he found himself kissing the boy. His soft lips pressed against the other's sturdy teeth as his mouth knocked into him. The hooligans held his head in place, and they were both forced to lie on the muddy floor.
On the sidelines, the hooligans were happily counting down the minutes, insisting that they had to count until they reached '191.'
Arthit finally stopped his resistance, a stream of tears falling from his eyes onto the young boy's face.
The boy in the white t-shirt silently looked at him without making a single sound.
Note: Were you guys able to spot Kongpob?? 😔
5/11/2021