Chapter Thirteen.2: He's The Boss

Drake went back to their classroom with Mae and Darryl, and immediately saw Keith on his desk, focusing on the worksheets given by Teacher Lim. After talking with Mae and a few other girls, Drake returned to his seat and observed what Keith was doing. Apparently, Keith was answering complicated problem questions on Physics, which shouldn't be his concern in the first place.

Class began, too, but Keith continued working on it. He was so focused that after answering, he fell asleep again. During PE, they were out on the field because their lesson was about track and field. At that time, they tackled hurdles, high jump, and pole vaulting, and hurdles were the only event they could do at the time because of equipment limitations and safety concerns.

While they were stretching, Drake talked to him.

"Babe, you look tired. Will you be okay?"

"I'm fine." Keith yawned again.

"What were you working on earlier?" Drake adjusted his tone when there were classmates who walked near them.

"Physics. I'm going to join a quiz bowl after my birthday." Keith answered with pride on his face.

"But you're not in the Science Program, and we don't have Physics. Are you going to have self-study for that at home too?" Drake can't help but worry about Keith's unending activities.

"Believe it or not. I studied so much in seventh grade because I had to catch up with a genius classmate. I basically spent middle school studying advanced lessons. That's why I dare to slack my ass off now. When I started spending overnights reading novels, my parents got so mad, and they almost wanted to sleep beside me!" Keith laughed, reminiscing about his struggles in middle school.

Drake laughed with him as he was clueless how to react to that. "Aren't you tired?" He asked. His eyes were brimming with concern.

"Well, as long as I can see your smile… I'm okay!" Keith whispered. During his busy day, he didn't forget to squeeze flirting into his schedule.

"Pfft!" Drake chortled and dared to talk dirty with his boyfriend, "We both know that smiling is the second best thing my mouth could do to make you okay… Are you sure you only want my smile?" He was so close to pushing down Keith, but their environment wouldn't allow that.

"What's the first??? I'd like to get the menu, and let me order everything, please." Their eyes locked on each other, and the atmosphere instantly turned ambiguous. Nick noticed that the girls were looking at them blindly, admiring the boys' smiles, and since Nick was the fairy godmother of their relationship, he immediately acted as the lightbulb.

Nick grabbed both of their necks for a tight hug. He screamed to make others think that the pink air around the two was not bromance but simple brotherhood, thinking he could fool the girls who watched Chinese dramas and read the original novels... "What menu? Are you going to treat me Keith?!!! Or is it your treat Drake?!!! Let me join! We're brothers, right?!!!" The two didn't like the interruption, but Nick had to take the initiative at that moment. Then he whispered, "Why are you flirting in your own world again? Don't you see that people are always watching the two of you?"

"We were just talking, though," Drake reasoned out. Keith, a flirting newbie, cannot help but bow down to the king of natural flirtation. But what Nick said was true, so he just shut up as he thought of things others might say about their interaction.

"Yeah, right. Talking about what exactly, Drake?" Nick didn't want to back down.

And Drake smilingly responded, "Food, schoolwork, middle school, and my beautiful smile that he likes so much." 

Nick trapped Drake's head in his arms, choking him to death because of his bitterness. The two brawled after and acted immaturely and boorish like typical high school boys.  

They did the task for PE, and Keith did not pass five hurdles… He hates strenuous physical activities, after all, and his mind was elsewhere rather than on the field. He tripped many times and had scrapes on his palms and knees. On the contrary, Drake did the best in their class and aced the activity, as expected of him.

To treat Keith's palm, Nick and Drake went to the infirmary with him. They watched their handsome school doctor mend Keith gently. The doctor was very charismatic when he talked to Keith, which annoyed Drake a little bit. Thanks to nosy and talkative Nick, the doctor did not monopolize Keith. Nick kept asking questions to the doctor, like his salary and how much was deducted from his pay when Keith was hospitalized. What shampoo was he using? His skincare routine? And if he already has a girlfriend. If he did not ask about skincare and shampoo, Nick would have sounded like his mother during family gatherings.

After class, Keith went to the teachers' office first to give his worksheets to his mother. She was drinking coffee at that time and preparing for her evening class. Other teachers make the students self-study, but Keith's parents have to catch up with their lessons so that students can't afford to skip their classes. She skimmed through Keith's worksheets and only found one item to correct because Keith forgot to put the units.  

"Nicely done. Would you like another worksheet?" she happily asked.

"Your highness, I just completed the worksheets that other students must complete within a week. Please give me a rest and give me the documents for the club instead." Keith weakly gave in to his responsibilities.

"I'll bring them home later."

Keith waved his hand, "Then, I'm going to the drama club first."

"Okay!" His mother faked a supporting smile. "Before we go home, let's have dinner with your father at the diner and buy your dog food too. Okay?"

Keith smiled at her, a fake one too.

The smile turned genuine when he saw his boyfriend carrying his things and waiting for him in front of the infirmary. Keith wanted to take his backpack, but Drake wouldn't let him.

"Sorry, I can't have dinner with you today." Keith apologized. He doesn't like thinking about the empty table at Drake's place.

"It's fine. You have to have dinner with your father, especially at this time. So, you can stop this cold war as soon as possible."

Keith frowned. "It's his fault."

"You're too stubborn. If I were your dad, I would probably confiscate your phone and watch you lose your mind." Drake jokes.

"I survived life without a phone when grandma confiscated mine. And if you were my dad, you'd be called my sugar daddy." Keith felt his sides hurt imagining how Drake would act if he were a little older. The image was too sexy, so he stopped thinking about it anymore since he had to practice abstinence.

Drake snickered and smelled Keith's cologne. "Am I not, though?"

Keith elbowed him and shyly dismissed Drake's age-inappropriate delusion, "No, you're definitely not."

The school doctor inside the infirmary heard their conversation and finally knew why Drake kept glaring at him earlier. He sipped his tea and finished the cup. He spilled nothing and will never be.

When they entered the clubroom, the setting was somber. Their clubroom was big, but they had a lot of members. They could almost not fit if Darryl did not reserve chairs for them. The juniors and girls felt excited when they appeared, while Tristan wanted to shit his insides when his eyes met Keith.

Alex led the meeting because Tristan wasn't feeling well. Tristan told him what Keith said, and as the secretary/Tristan's follower, he also had to bear the accountability. Dianne, on the other hand, the offender, was beyond heartbroken. She did not attend the discussion and had no choice but to stay for the evening lessons.

"Hello. Please quiet down. I'm officially starting this meeting." Alex stood and leaned on the podium confidently, and the whole crowd obeyed. "We have two important matters on our agenda. Firstly, I'm glad to announce that, finally, our poor days are over! Please welcome our new officer, treasurer, and auditor, Keith Lim!!!"

The club members clapped their hands. They know Keith's influence and how the faculty staff "dote" on him. Keith, who warned Tristan that he'd mess with their funding, was surprised, too, when Alex turned the table. "Too cunning!" Keith nodded and smiled on the outside but he wanted to choke Alex immediately and his inner self had already torn his membership form to pieces. While people happily accepted the announcement, Drake raised his hand and stood up.

"Senior, Keith is already the president of the Natural Science Society. He's also preparing to join the Physics quiz bowl. He has a lot to deal with, and I don't think Keith has agreed to be an officer here." Drake was infuriated with Alex. He can understand if Keith's parents demand him to do schoolwork, but he can't stand people trying to take advantage of him.

Keith felt touched seeing his boyfriend stand up for him. He smiled and pulled Drake to sit down. "It's okay."

"But it's too much. We just joined the club yesterday, but now they're making you carry out their problems already! Don't they have their treasurer or auditor? Why do you have to be both?" Drake's words resonate with others. It was indeed too much.

"Because you heard him. This club is poor. They don't have enough funding, and the previous accounts were problematic!" Keith didn't control his voice. If he's going to do errands, he could at least shame them implicitly.

Alex awkwardly clapped his hand. He spent fifty percent of his allowance on the club, and he did not get any from their price last year because of his pride and integrity. He didn't want to do it, but he had to shamelessly put Keith into the corner and make him deal with the club's finances. Tristan's face on the corner looked like he was already shitting. He thought, 'Why is this idiot messing with the school tyrants' heir?'

"But still. It doesn't mean you have to fix this alone." Drake felt so uneasy. He always knew Keith was a pushover despite his cold interior and unapproachable facade. But he didn't think it was so easy to take advantage of him.

"It's okay!" Keith used his strength to drag him to his chair.

"Now, we have Keith as part of the officers." Alex broke the opposition. Then he turned to Keith and, using all his shamelessness, he asked, "Would you like to share a short speech?"

Keith stood up and wanted to say, "First of all, FUCK ALL OF YOU!" But he has to be decent in front of his boyfriend. He tried acting like a thug in their class on the first day of school, so he won't become the class's errand boy and have a peaceful life. But now, he's grieving because his slacking days are over. Despite that, he flushed his temper and faked a calm demeanor. "Since I'll deal with the club's money issues, I get to be the boss," He confidently stated.

The club's seniors and officers were speechless. The newbies thought he was very cool. Drake, on the other hand, was displeased but suddenly thought this wasn't a bad idea after all. Keith's thick face was refreshing for him and all of them.

Keith continued, "I demand respect from everyone. Don't take pictures or videos secretly, and don't approach me casually if it's unimportant."

He sat comfortably, treating the stares like bugs. It felt uncomfortable but not important, so it was better to ignore all of them. They clapped their hands, admiring his straightforwardness. "He's definitely worthy to be the boss," the younger members thought collectively.