Chapter 5 Mee Noi
Chapter Five: Mee Noi
Sud and I rehearse our scene every spare moment we can, mostly at his apartment because there’s more room. The next time we meet with the others, we do it there and block out the scenes. Save joins us this time, and, after an hour or so, we try filming.
Sud and I put everything we’ve got into acting like two people falling in love.
Which is…weird. I mean, we’ve been practicing the scene.
It isn’t new to us. But something about having the camera rolling makes it almost seem real.
As we say our lines, I can feel myself sinking more and more into character.
That’s good, of course; I just wasn’t expecting to feel all emotional and everything.
My heart’s thrumming in my chest, and my hands are sweaty.
I feel like it’s all happening to me for real.
After another couple of hours, we wrap it up and Sud walks me back to my dorm.
It’s something I normally gripe about because it’s unnecessary and Sud insists, but this time I don’t say anything because it’s pitch black out and a couple of owls are hooting creepily back and forth at each other in the woods by the parking lot.
“See ya,” Sud says, waving before turning to leave. I watch him go, part of me feeling mushy that he cares enough to walk me home and also annoyed because I feel like a baby.
The following day, my friend Bua and I sit in the university canteen eating lunch. Without meaning to, I tell her how odd I felt when we filmed the scene.
“Are you saying you’re crushing on Sud?” she asks.
“What?” I put down my drink that I just picked up and stare at her.
“No! That’s not what I’m saying at all. I’m just saying that pretending to be in love has given me thoughts and feelings I’ve never had before.
Not about Sud, but…in general.” Suddenly feeling too warm, I look at my food instead of at Bua.
“Maybe it’s time you start dating,” Bua says.
“I just told you—“
“Not Sud, dummy. I mean ask a girl out. Or a boy. You’re pretty old to have never gone on a date before, wouldn’t you say?”
“There’s no one I’m interested in.”
“Not at all? Come on. Someone must make your heart beat a little faster.”
I shrug. “Not really.” Although, lately, Sud’s been having that effect on me. Acting in this video is turning my world upside down, but we’ll be finished with it soon and everything will be back to normal.
A shadow falls over our table.
I look up and see it’s P’Tam, the top second year girl at our university. Tall and slender with a heart-shaped face and straight black hair that she’s braided today, she’s very pretty, especially when she smiles like she’s doing to me and Bua right then.
“Sawasdee-kha, Mee Noi.”
“Sa’dee-khap, P’Tam,” I say, giving her a wai, and Bua echoes, “Sa’dee-kha, P’Tam.”
“May I sit down, Nongs?” she asks.
“Of course,” Bua says, scooting down on the bench to give her room.
“You’re Bua, right?” P’Tam asks her.
“Yes.”
P’Tam looks at me. “And you’re Mee Noi.”
I nod. I’ve only spoken with her a couple of times before in passing. I’m a little surprised she remembers my name.
“Can I get you a drink, P’Tam?” Bua offers.
“That’s so nice,” P’Tam says, flashing her a smile that makes Bua blush. P’Tam gives her drink order, then turns back to me as Bua heads for one of the drink stations.
“Where’s your friend today, Mee Noi? The tall football player you normally sit with,” P’Tam asks.
“You mean Sud? He’s finishing an assignment. He’ll be here soon, though.”
She hums. “You two hang out together a lot.”
“We’re best friends,” I say, wondering where this is going.
“He seems so protective of you. He gives a vibe that says stay away.”
“Well, he’s really nice,” I say, wondering if she wants to ask him out or something. Wouldn’t be the first time a girl tried to get to him through me.
Gaze roaming to the drink line, P’Tam asks, “What faculty is Bua in?”
“Business Administration. Same as me.”
P’Tam nods, still watching Bua. “What kind of things is she interested in?”
“Well, she reads mystery novels. And she sews.”
“Where is she from?” P’Tam asks, then sits up straighter as Bua approaches with the drink.
“Thanks,” P’Tam says, smiling sweetly at Bua who, again, blushes.
After a few sips, P’Tam says, “The horticulture club is going on a three-day field trip next month after mid-term exams to Nakhon Pathom to do some community work. I’m the president. Would you two like to go?”
Finally, the reason for her stopping to talk to us. She must need more people to sign up and the rest was just small talk. I look to Bua to see what she thinks.
“We don’t know much about gardening,” Bua says doubtfully.
“Speak for yourself,” I say. “I love to garden.”
“Really? You should have joined the club, then,” P’Tam says.
“I tried, but it was full.”
“Oh, well I’ll save you an opening for next year.” Turning back to Bua, her smile widens.
“It’s okay if you don’t know anything about it. Stick with me, and I’ll help you. We just need more hands. And the trip can be used for community service points.”
Glancing at me to make sure I’m agreeable, Bua says, “Sure, we’ll go.”
“Terrific! I’ll put both your names down.” P’Tam stands. “I’ll email each of you the information.”
When she leaves, I ask Bua, “You really want to go? You don’t like plants or dirt.”
“I need the community service points. Did you forget we have to have a certain amount of them every term? How many do you have so far?”
“Three, for teaching kids to swim at the community center a couple of weekends ago.”
“I only have two. Do you realize we need ten total this term and only have a month and a half left to get them? An off-campus trip will give us five. I’ll have to pick up the rest of the points in the meantime.”
“It slipped my mind. I guess it’s good P’Tam asked us, then. I think I can earn the rest of the points I need by tutoring in my free time.”
Bua takes a sip of her orange tea. “What did you and P’Tam talk about while I was getting her a drink?”
“She asked me where Sud was because we’re usually together. I thought she was going to get me to give him her LINE ID or something, but she just said something about him being protective of me. It was weird.”
“He really is protective of you.”
“Okay, maybe, but she said he gives off a vibe for other people to stay away. He doesn’t do that.”
“He kind of does.”
“No, he doesn’t.”
“Yes, he does. When I first met him, I assumed he was interested in you.”
I stare at her. “What? You’ve never told me that before.”
“It was just a passing idea before you told me you were best friends and lived together. Then I figured he was looking after you like a brother, even though you’re the same age.” She frowns. “Why is he so protective of you, anyway?”
“He’s not. You’re imagining things.”
Bua rolls her eyes. “Sure, and I guess P’Tam is imagining things, too.”
“She must be,” I say. “By the way. She also asked me about you.”
Bua stills. “She did? What did she ask?”
“What faculty you belong to, what your interests are, where you’re from.”
“What did you tell her my interests are?” Bua asks.
“Mystery novels and sewing.”
“What? She’s going to think I’m such a geek. Why didn’t you tell her I like surfing and mountain climbing or something else cool?”
It’s my turn to roll my eyes at her. “Gee, I don’t know, since that sounds so believable,” I say snarkily. Something occurs to me. “Maybe it wasn’t about liking Sud but about liking you!”
Bua’s face reddens. “Don’t be stupid.”
Someone plops down on the bench next to me, and I know it’s Sud without looking because of the cologne he wears. I’d recognize it anywhere.
“What’s going on?” he asks, taking a sip of my bubble tea even though there’s a perfectly good drink of his own on his tray. His mouth is on the exact same place mine just was—This is the kind of weird thought I’ve been having since we started working on the video.
Clearing my throat, I say, “Not much. Are we filming tonight?”
He nods. “ Is six o’clock okay?”
“Yeah.” The sooner it’s finished, the better.
Sud digs into his meal. “Was that P’Tam I saw sitting with you guys?”
“Yeah. She was flirting with Mee Noi,” Bua says, eyes on Sud.
I aim a kick at her under the table, but she avoids it.
“She was not! She was flirting with you!”
Frowning slightly, Sud holds out a piece of his seared pork for me to eat. “Did either of you flirt back?”
Taking the bite of pork, I shake my head as I chew, then flinch when Sud comes at me with a napkin.
“You’re such a messy eater,” he says, smiling.
When I glance at Bua, she’s giving me an odd look. I don’t even want to know what that’s about. She’s ridiculous.
Clearing her throat, Bua looks at Sud again. “Mee Noi doesn’t know how to flirt. Maybe we need to teach him so he can get a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend.”
“He doesn’t have to date anyone until he’s ready,” Sud says.
I give Bua my best threatening look, but she only chuckles and goes back to drinking her tea.
I’ll get her back for that.