Chapter 2
Chapter Two: Sud
“Are you sure you’re willing to do this scene?” Bekki asks after reading the script.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be? What’s wrong with it?”
She wrinkles her nose. Bekki’s pretty, but she’s the fussiest girl I’ve ever met. Everything about her has to be perfect. Her nails match her outfit, and her makeup and hair look like a professional did them. It’s too much.
“It’s just really romantic, and you’re doing it with Mee Noi.”
“What’s wrong with Noi?” I ask, narrowing my eyes.
“Nothing. I mean, he’s grown into a really handsome guy. But you and him?” She wrinkles her nose again. “Isn’t that kind of incestuous?”
Okay, so maybe I stretched the truth a little when I told Noi that Bekki was all for him doing the video with me.
“We aren’t real brothers,” I tell her. “You know that.” Noi’s lived with my family for years, but we aren’t blood related.
My parents wanted to adopt him, but that didn’t work out.
“We’re close, and that’s going to work in our favor because I won’t be all nervous like I would with some other guy I have to act romantic with for the first time.
I want the Rainbow TV execs to see I can do real boys’ love material. ”
Bekki looks doubtful. “You don’t think Ez might be a better choice?”
“Ez is a terrible actor. You said so yourself,” I remind her. “This is your grade, too, you know.”
Bekki sighs. “You and Mee Noi better start rehearsing, then. If we’re going to be on schedule, we’ll need to start filming next week.”
“We’ll be ready.”
***
That night after football practice, I knock on the door of Noi’s dorm. His roommate, Jess, opens it.
“Oh, Sud. ‘Wa’dee.” He gives a quick wai before turning and walking to his desk.
I close the door and walk over to Noi, who is lying on the bed in his pajamas reading a book.
“Hey, I brought you the script.” I smack his butt with it before handing it to him.
“Is Noi going to be in a play?” Jess asks, staring at his computer screen, which is filled with what looks like a half-written essay.
“He’s doing a scene with me for my theater arts video exam,” I explain. “It’s a boys’ love scene. Didn’t he tell you?”
“I was hoping it would get cancelled,” Noi says sitting up now with the script in his lap.
“No chance, buddy. We’re doing this.”
“Wait, what? Did you say boys’ love? Like, one of those gay dramas my sister watches?“ Jess asks, dark eyes going wide. “You guys are gonna kiss?”
“If the scene called for a kiss we would, but it doesn’t,” I say, noticing Noi sinking farther behind his script. “Why are you making such a big deal out of it? BL dramas are really popular.”
“I know that. I just never thought I’d have friends acting in one together,” Jess says.
“It’s just one scene, and it’s for school,” Noi says, putting down his script and glaring at Jess.
“So, you’re going to act like you’re all in love with Sud and shit?”
Rolling his eyes, Noi goes back to reading.
I pull my copy of the script out of my bag and drop down on the big yellow beanbag on the floor by the window.
I’ve already read through the scene a couple of times.
It’s basically two guys coming to grips with the fact that they like each other.
Koman did a really good job writing it, and I’m excited to act it out with Noi.
Jess rolls his desk chair behind me and looks over my shoulder.
“Who’s who?”
“I’m playing Leo and Noi’s Put,” I tell him.
After a moment of reading, Jess grunts. “Looks like Mee Noi is the bottom.”
“What’s that mean?” Noi asks.
Jess points at me. “It means he’s doing the fucking.”
Noi’s eyes widen. “What?”
“Don’t listen to him, Noi.”
“It’s the truth! I’ve listened to literally hours of my sister and her friends talking about bl’s. One guy is always the top and the other is the bottom,” Jess says. “Noi’s smaller, so he’s the bottom.”
“I’m not small!” Noi protests. “I’m an inch taller than you are!”
“But you’re smaller than Sud, and that’s all that matters. The smaller one is never the top. Well, rarely. They’re getting a little more realistic these days, or so my sister claims.”
“I think you know an awful lot about this,” I say, eyes narrowing. “Are you sure it’s your sister who’s a boys’ love fan? And, they never say that about tops and bottoms. Stop stereotyping.”
“It’s not me, it’s them! And they may not say it out loud, but everybody knows it.”
“Well, that’s just stupid.” I go back to reading my script, but Jess has managed to get Noi overthinking.
“But we aren’t going to fuck in this scene!” he protests.
I look up. Noi’s sitting ramrod straight on his bed with the teddy bear I gave him when he was a kid clutched in his lap. He has such a serious look on his face, I want to smile.
“It doesn’t matter,” Jess says. “They just know that when you do fuck, Sud’s the one who’ll be doing the fucking, and you’ll be the fuckee.”
Turning to Jess, I say, “Would you mind your own business, please?” before getting up and going to sit beside Noi on the bed.
“Some fans just categorize the main characters like that,” I tell him.
“It’s a holdover from Japanese manga or something.
” I gesture at his script. “What do you think of the scene?”
“It’s pretty good, I guess,” Noi says. “I don’t know much about this stuff, though.”
“Think you can memorize it by Monday?”
Noi nods.
“Good, because Bekki wants us to have a rehearsal that night. She wants to block out the scenes—you know, figure out where everyone should stand and stuff. “
“Let’s run though it right now,” Noi surprises me by saying. “Just a read-through.”
“Okay,” I say, opening my script back up.
It doesn’t take us long, and when we’re finished, we do it again.
“Shit, Mee Noi! Did you see the Best Boys page?” I look up to see Jess staring at his computer screen.
“No, because I don’t go looking for pictures of cute boys,” Noi says, and I laugh.
I pull up the university’s Best Boys page on my phone.
It’s a website where the admins post candid photos of the university’s most popular guys.
The latest pictures come up first, and the third one is a picture of me and Noi at the student center, taken when I lifted him in the air after he agreed to do the scene with me.
I’m smiling up at him and he’s smiling down at me, and the caption reads, Sud and Mee Noi. Best friends or more?
“Damn.” Noi grabs the phone from Jess and stares at it.
“Your ears are red,” I say, flicking the one closest to me.
Noi bats me away. “Cut it out! Are you believing this?”
“Ha! Now, you’re on the Best Boys page,” I tease.
“Ugh, go away. I don’t want to look at your face again tonight,” Noi says, throwing his teddy bear at me.
“Fine, fine. I’m leaving,” I grab my bag and script. “And I’m taking Fuzzy with me.” I wave the bear in the air as I head for the door.
“Sud,” Noi whines.
Grinning, I toss it to him before leaving the room.