"The clownfish is able to help the sea anemone remove dead tissues and various other parasites, whilst the clownfish is itself able to remove the parasites and bacteria growing on its very own body through the constant contact with the sea anemone's tentacles."
As Arthit entered into the final two months of revision, he commonly encountered questions similar to the ones he had previously done, and could answer such questions without any difficulty. However, the teachers often emphasised that the examination setters enjoyed putting a new spin on old questions, and warned the students against being overconfident in their abilities.
Having completed the exam scripts Phana had previously passed to him, he carefully compared his answers with Nai's. The two close friends quietly discussed the questions which they had answered wrongly; by the time they completed their analysis of the papers, the school bell had begun to ring, indicating the end of class.
Arthit felt satisfied.
He slowly stretched out his arms, and pointed to the corridor with his jaw, indicating to Nai that they ought to head out for a short breather. Standing in the corridor, the two close friends leaned against the railing and looked at the azure blue sky. As the rainy season had arrived, there was torrential rain every single night. However, the days still remained bright and sunny.
Nai piped up, "Arthit, ever since you returned from the Police station, you seem to be more relaxed than before."
Arthit replied, "I did......something which I ought......ought to have done earlier......and managed.....to achieve......an acceptable result."
Nai understood what Arthit was referring to, and gave him an encouraging smile in response. However, Nai's smile faltered after a few minutes. Curious, Arthit turned to see what had caught Nai's attention – Jamie had appeared at the school gates. Her parents had arrived to pick her up from school, and seemed to be persistently nagging at her.
After looking at Jamie for some time, Arthit averted his gaze. As his gaze swept across the faraway field, he caught a glimpse of a group of youths walking past the school gates, all of them donning similar white t-shirts. Before he could take a closer look, however, the group of youths had already disappeared. None of them tried to enter the school compound by climbing up the high school gates.
Somehow, Arthit managed to learn bits and pieces about the story of that youth. Many years ago, a prostitute had alerted the police, reporting that she had been raped. The male was sentenced to imprisonment, passing away from an illness thereafter. Meanwhile, the prostitute continued on in her line of work, and simply left the child to fend for himself at the welfare centre.
Subsequently, that child managed to successfully grow into a youth. However, despite his complicated background, this youth wasn't even the least bit threatening – in fact, Arthit never ever felt a single ounce of fear whenever he faced him.
Arthit's train of thought was suddenly interrupted by Nai. "Ai Arthit, sometimes I reflect upon the entire incident, and I wonder – were you truly the only person who saw Namtarn being bullied by Jay and his friends?"
Arthit didn't respond, and simply looked at Nai silently.
Nai began to explain himself, "I'm not chiding you. If I were in your shoes and had witnessed the bullying, I'd be afraid too. I'd be afraid that Jay would unleash his anger on me if I tattled on him. There's a high chance that I would have kept mum about the bullying incidents, because nobody could have expected Namtarn to commit suicide. If Nam hadn't died, the entire bullying incident wouldn't even be worth mentioning; however, she died, and as a result, the entire bullying incident takes on a more serious tone."
"I've thought.......thought about these matters......too." Arthit began to rub his palms together subconsciously. "I've always focused on.....leaving as soon as possible......I wasn't concerned.......about anything else, I didn't.......didn't want any trouble. However, I......I also didn't want to.......to transform into the type of person......person I hated."
Nai continued, "That's why you made a correct final decision, and spilt the beans."
Arthit responded, "But, choosing......choosing the right path......generally isn't accompanied......by any benefits......only problems."
Arthit gently lowered his eyelids. He was truly feeling rather lost.
Nai cocked his head to the side, and let out a long sigh, "I don't understand either."
The two close friends furrowed their brows, remaining silent and contemplative.
"No. Choosing the right path doesn't only entail negative consequences." Nai suddenly spoke up, "Whenever somebody does the right thing or the wrong thing, his or her actions would definitely influence the people surrounding him or her. It's like the law on energy transfer, there'd always be a chain effect. I hope that the world would always maintain its goodness, and not transform into something which I hate. I believe that every single person on Earth has the power to change the world, so we just need to start by consistently being good people. Even if it's of minimal effect. Arthit," Nai paused, turning to flash a bright smile at him before enthusiastically voicing out, "Let's always be good people, shall we?"
Nai raised his arm in mid-air. Arthit saw the sunlight stream through the gaps in Nai's fingers, the reddish glow of the sunlight gradually filling him with a huge sense of hope.
In that very moment, Arthit felt at peace. For once, the constant urge to leave and escape from this small school compound receded into the background.
On innumerable occasions, youths would stand by the railings and stare into the vast expanse of the sky, their brains frequently filled with endless questions which appeared to be unanswerable no matter how hard they thought about it. Day after day, year after year, these youths would contemplate the puzzling mysteries of society, the complicated interpersonal relationships, the meaning of right and wrong, the meaning of life, and the difference between kindness and evil.
When one is still a student, one would often feel that the passage of time is arduous and slow. Thus, one is often able to expend huge amounts of time to contemplate numerous things. However, as one grows up and gradually gets busier – as doctors, teachers, police officers, and owners of bread shops, one would be constantly preoccupied with making a living, and can no longer expend the same amount of time contemplating the very same issues that bothered them in their youth.
Perhaps, cracking one's head over unsolvable problems is the true meaning of being a student.
Arthit turned back, only to see Jamie on his way to class .
His gaze collided with Jamie's. Without a single expression etched on his face, Arthit turned away, and walked into the classroom by himself. Retrieving a book from his desk, he lowered his head and continued his revision.
...~~...
Once again, it was time for Physical Education. Arthit was feeling tired and sweaty from having played badminton with Phana. As Phana had huge amounts of energy, he continued playing badminton with his other friends whilst Arthit returned to the classroom to rest.
In order to avoid the blazing sun, Arthit ran up to his classroom. As he casually trailed past the trees, numerous shadowy figures who had been waiting beneath the trees caught his attention.
Arthit's heart dropped.
Jay's tall and slim figure was especially conspicuous at the head of the pack, the murderous hate in her eyes brutal and undisguised.
Arthit was stunned – he had assumed that Jay and his minions would be placed under supervision! An overwhelming sense of fear and panic overcame Arthit in that very instant, causing Arthit to remain frozen on the spot.
"Well, well. Did you enjoy badminton?" Jay sneered.
They began walking towards Arthit whilst Arthit remained rooted to hisr original spot. Arthit felt like a small rat which had been trapped by a mousetrap: at the brink of death, and yet unable to do anything to turn the situation around.
Arthit felt a harsh punch sear across his face. Phana, Namtarn; Jay now had a new vengeance against him in addition to the old, existing grudges. His cheeks burnt from the force of the punch.
Jay gestured to his friends. Within moments, a group of two to three boys began pulling and tugging at Arthit. Despite his attempts to resist Jay and his bulky friends, Arthit's efforts proved ineffectual; instead, he was rewarded with a few tight slaps. Just as Arthit was about to get dragged off by Jay and the others, an angry voice rang out, "What on earth are you guys doing?!"
Hugging his head tightly, Arthit obstinately refused to raise his head.
"Jay Karawek! Anurak Wang! And the rest of you! Are you all looking to fail graduation?!" The class teacher was enraged beyond words.
"Who allowed you guys to enter the school compound, huh?!" The furious teacher continued chiding Jay and his group. However, they paid no heed to the class teacher, none of them bothered to answer his stream of questions. Evidently, they were not in the least bit intimidated by the class teacher. Rolling their eyes at his incessant nagging, Jay and his minions gradually began to disperse from the scene.
Just as Jay strolled past Arthit, he gave Arthit a small, inconspicuous shove . Staring into Arthiit's eyes, a cold smile formed on Jay's lips, "Just you wait."
Arthit's heart contracted sharply.
Having overheard Jay's threat, the class teacher shouted, "You guys are still unrepentant?!"
Jay and the others didn't even bother turning back to acknowledge the class teacher's scolding, and simply strolled off in a rather lackadaisical fashion.
The class teacher was extremely enraged, and called every single parent of Jay and his group of friends. Despite his insistence that the parents take their children in hand, the parents were too preoccupied with their work, and simply brushed him off. As a result, the class teacher's fury only worsened after his calls.
Arthit remained rooted at his spot, his hair and clothes in a terrible mess.
The anger of the class teacher subsided the moment he glanced at Arthit. Strolling over, he patted Arthit's shoulders and sighed, "Don't be affected by them, and don't get distracted – just persevere a little longer. They will no longer be able to bother you after you complete your examinations."
Once, Arthit had pinned all his hopes and dreams on the upcoming examinations; now, the stairway to hope seemed so fragile and distant.
"Teacher......" Arthit raised his head and looked him in the eye, his lips trembling slightly, "Could you......send me home......after school?" His voice was extremely small and shaky, as though it was a string entangled to the point of deformity, "He will......definitely find ways to......execute her......revenge. I know this......for sure."
The following week, Arthit didn't dare to journey to and fro from school alone. Instead, the class teacher was responsible for fetching him to and fro from school. During the journey, Arthit frequently saw Jay and the others; they were like persistent spirits which refused to leave, and always stared at him from a distance away. Every single time, however, they only appeared for an instant – thus, by the time Arthit tried to point them out to the class teacher, they were no longer there.
However, school was where Arthit's nightmare truly began.
The remaining group of boys who were good friends with Jay viewed Arthit as a thorn in their side, and frequently bullied and tormented him – they began to blatantly mimic and mock his stutter in class without a single ounce of fear; they would frequently trip him whenever he was distributing worksheets; and they even splashed muddy water on his chair, so that his white uniform would be splattered with 'dirt' the moment he sat on his chair. After school, their bullying extended to secretly pinching Arthit whenever he walked past them and locking him into various cubicles; on innumerable occasions, they would splash Arthit with water 'by accident' in the course of their bantering, and whenever Arthit 'blocked their way', they would simply push him out of the way or even slap and punch him directly.
Arthit had informed the class teacher about these bullying incidents, but this group of students were no longer amenable to the disciplinary actions of the school.
Phana tried to help him several times. Arthit too, attempted to fight back. However, the end result was that the bullying became more severe. And when Nai attempted to help Arthit, he too, nearly became the target of bullying as well.
Many others, however, simply chose to turn a blind eye – like Jamie.
Jamie's parents had instructed her to strictly keep herself out of these troublesome matters; rather than lashing out and making enemies, she ought to be fully focused on her studies instead. That day, when Jamie and Jay were at the Police station, Jamie's parents voluntarily forgave Jay and subsequently forced the two to shake each other's hands as a sign of "reconciliation".
As a result, out of all the potential prey Jay could hunt, only Arthit remained.
The school was akin to a community of biological animals. Just as animals instinctively yearn after various benefits and conscientiously avoid all forms of disadvantages, Arthit's classmates naturally drifted away from Arthit, the current target of bullying and ostracism.
As graduation neared, the class teacher faced an increasing pile of work. As a result, he no longer had the effort and energy to deal with Arthit's troubles, and could no longer find the time to send Arthit to and fro from school. Additionally, Jay failure to reappear also helped to soothed his worries.
One day, the class teacher informed Arthit that he was no longer able to send him back-and-forth from school, and instructed Arthit to contact him the moment he encountered any form of trouble as he was on his way to school.
That day, Arthit didn't dare to stay in the classroom after school ended. He didn't dare to walk out of the school compound either, and simply lingered in the vicinity of the school gates. As his schoolmates streamed past him, he seemed akin to a mortal who was unable to move a single inch after having been placed in a protected zone by the immortals.
As the last student exited the school compound, the light in the guardhouse flashed on. The security guard exited his guardhouse, ready to purchase his dinner. Upon seeing Arthit , he asked out of curiousity, "Why aren't you leaving?"
Arthit shook his head.
As Arthit's legs gradually grew numb, he seated himself on the steps of the school gates. Silence descended upon him. As he stared into the darkening sky, he felt as though he was trapped in his very own grave.
He was at the end of his rope.
A fuzzy memory suddenly flashed across his eyes. Hurriedly, he dug out Knott's namecard from his school bag.
By the time Knott arrived, the sky had already darkened completely. Soft glows of yellow light radiated weakly from the open windows of every household in the vicinity, as though each and every single household was an old lantern. Arthit quietly sat on the steps, his body curled into a small ball.
"I'm sorry I'm so late, work's simply too busy." Knott huffed and puffed as he ran towards Arthit. Carefully, he caressed Arthit's hair, "Let's go.
Arthit sat there, unmoving. His arms were wrapped around his legs, and his head was buried in his lap. It was as though he was a pupa.
Arthit was simply too tired.
The gentle night breeze drifted past Knott's drenched back, causing a small chill to run up his back. Gradually, Knott sensed that Arthit wasn't behaving normally. He distinctly recalled his promise to the younger – that as long as he told him the truth, punishment would definitely be meted out to that group of bullies.
However, they weren't punished – not even in the slightest. Ultimately, the person who was dragged to hell was him. Arthit Rojnapat.
His inability to keep his promise filled him with a great sense of frustration and disappointment. He made an internal promise to himself – from this point forth, he would use his utmost effort to protect Arthit , and shield him from harm.
Slowly, Officer Ittikorn squat down till he was at Arthit's eye level. However, before he could even open his mouth, Arthit had already shook his head. His gentle and quiet voice rang out in the night, "School, isn't supposed to be like that."
His single sentence rendered Knott speechless.
"Will University......be any better?" Arthit raised his head, his eyes filled with tears. "It will, won't it?"
He pleaded, "It will definitely be better, right?"
Knott looked at the young boy seated in front of him, his heart feeling as though it's been stabbed by a knife.
Arthit's eyes brimmed with tears, his lips quivering as he confessed, "Officer Ittikorn, I......I lied. I have......sinned. Sorry.......Namtarn, that......that day when she......committed suicide, she.......she did say something......to me."
Knott felt his heart tighten, "What did she say to you?"
"Jay, and his friends, are bullying me, can't all of you see that?"
Can't all of you see that?
Why isn't anyone doing anything?
Why aren't you guys doing anything?!
27/12/2021