Chapter-12

"Son! Wake up. Your phone has been ringing for the third time now. How are you not waking up? It's just near your ear!" Mom shook me.

I blinked my eyes sleepily. Was my phone really ringing for the third time? Because I didn't hear anything.

"Who is Jeremy?" Mom asked.

My eyes flew open and I spotted my phone in her hand. I jerked up on the bed and snatched my phone from her.

"What?" She asked, surprised.

Oh. "It's a friend."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Never heard about him before."

I scratched my head. "Because it's a new friend."

She grabbed the broom and walked out of my room.

My phone started to ring again. I checked if my mom was out of sight and then picked up the call.

"Hey." I greeted, getting out of the bed to close the door of my room which my mom never really thought necessary to close.

"Good morning." greeted back a deep voice.

I lied back on the bed. "Good morning. Why are you calling so much? Anything important?" I asked, a little annoyed by his continuous calls.

"Nah, nothing important. Just wanted to wake you up."

I frowned.

"It's pretty late. I think you said you wanted to go to the church in the morning."

I sat up and checked the time. "Shit. It's too late now. Father William comes every Sunday from seven to nine only. It's ten now." I ran my hand through my hair, suddenly feeling guilty for being annoyed.

"Too bad."

I sighed. "Anyway, thanks...for remembering it."

"No problem at all. You slept pretty late last night anyways.

"Yeah right." We had talked till two in the morning. "Uh...so I was wondering if you are willing to meet on first of December. I have my interview that day so I can meet you in the evening."

He took a moment to answer. "Let me check it later. I think I have a family member's birthday on first so I don't think I will be able to meet you that day. Can you reschedule?"

"Oh. Uh...I will be leaving on second early morning."

"That's..." He trailed off.

I bit my lips. Jeremy. The first guy I met through the dating site.

"What about thirty November? You might be arriving a day early, right?" He asked.

I stared at the wall of my room. "Yeah, but I have other plans that day."

"Hey?" he called.

"What?"

"Are you catfishing me? Why can't we fix a date to meet?"

For some reason, I laughed. "Come on, we saw each other through Skype. I am a real person."

"Hmm, that's right too. You look so unbelievable that if it wasn't for Skype, I wouldn't have believed that someone like you exists."

Same boy same. "You look unbelievable too. I thought your pictures were stolen from the internet."

He laughed. "Guess that's a compliment."

"It certainly is." I agreed.

"So what do we do?"

"Uh...guess we will need to reschedule until next time. If that is okay with you or else you can find another date. It's fine." I said. Yeah it was completely fine if he wouldn't want to continue talking with me.

He chuckled. "Are you serious? I am not letting someone like you go."

My heart started to race. "What?" I asked, surprised.

"I said I am not letting someone like you go. You are something different so yeah, I am willing to try it with you. If it doesn't work out, that's different. But until then, keep talking with me."

I nodded. "Okay sure. Maybe we will be able to meet the next time I go to the city."

"I will wait patiently."

I smiled. I could sense something good coming for me. I kinda liked him. He was nice and somehow we clicked.

"Well, I really want to meet you soon though. Just to make sure you are real." He laughed at his own joke.

I shook my head side to side slowly. "I doubt you too."

"You have every right to. Hmm...okay, how about I pick you up at the airport?"

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Uh..."

"You're arriving in the morning right? I can definitely pick you up and then you can do whatever you are planning to do that day. Meeting for a few minutes won't hurt."

I exhaled. "Okay...I will tell you when I book my tickets."

"Sure. Okay, have a good day Kwan."

"Have a good day too Jeremy."

........

I sighed and stretched on my study desk. Preparing for what to teach the next day was tiresome. My shoulders and backbone felt stiff. And I was bored. I closed my eyes and an idea popped up in my head. I quickly got out of my seat and rushed out of my room.

I stood in front of my younger sister's room, trying to listen to any sound from inside. When I couldn't hear anything, I knocked.

"Come in big bro!" She exclaimed.

I frowned. How did she know it was me?

I opened the door and peeped my head in. "How did you know it was me?"

She was sitting on her bed with her laptop and some snacks. "Because nobody ever bothers to knock in this house except you so it's pretty obvious. Now what do you want? Tell me quickly." She said, rolling her eyes.

I smiled. "Wanna go for a drive with me?"

Her face lit up and she smiled wide. "God! How long has it been? Let's go!"

I laughed.

So we hit the road, listening to Ed Sheeran's Beautiful People and singing along like old days. We had always liked to go for drives, have a little fun by ourselves but after our elder sister got married, things changed. It wasn't just so fun without her. Though we went sometimes but not frequent.

"Let's have some street food. Just thinking about it is making my mouth water." Puai said, bouncing on her seat like the kid she always had been.

I nodded, suddenly getting hungry. "Some grilled pork maybe?"

"Damn. Yum, let's go. Let's go."

I laughed.

Rear's Street had the most street food vendors in the entire area. It was always crowdy in the evenings and nights. The delicious scent of food could be smelled even before entering the street.

I parked the car in the parking lot and turned to my sister.

"Eat all you want. It's my treat." I grinned.

"Yay!" She giggled and opened the door.

My phone rang as I unbuckled my seat belt. I checked the caller ID.

"Hello?" I greeted, getting out of the car.

"What's up?"

"Nothing. Just came for a treat with my sister."

"That little peanut?"

I smiled. "Yes."

My sister put her hands on her hips, watching me talk over the phone.

"Wait for sometime." I mouthed her.

Jeremy sighed. "Well have fun. Go for a treat with me too sometime. It would be nice."

My cheeks burned. I turned away from my sister. "Hey, I will call you back once I get home."

He laughed. "Sure. Have fun."

"Yeah."

He hanged up.

We walked down the street, watching people cook in awe. Every food we laid eyes on made our mouth water. We couldn't choose what to eat. There were just too many options and only two little stomachs to feed.

We ended up eating Vietnamese Fried Spring rolls, steamed pork dumplings, Negima Yakitori and some Tsukune Yakitori. That was our limit. We ate too much and I felt like I wouldn't be able to eat for the rest of my life. I was just too full.

"I don't think I will be able to eat anything more. I am full to my neck." I said, watching my sister chomp down grilled pieces of pork seasoned with raw onions and chillies.

"Come on, dessert is still left." She spoke with mouth full of food.

I grimaced. "God! How big is your appetite?

"As big as the universe." She giggled.

I shook and head and turned to look at the crowd. The place was overflowing with people.

"Hey I will go buy chocolate shake for you. Wait here." I said, spotting a dessert vendor.

Puai nodded, still eating.

I stood in front of the dessert menu, reading in confusion. There were different and new desserts. I was confused if I should go with the usual or try something new.

"Tell me what you want. I will buy it for you."

I turned to see a young boy in a school uniform speak to a girl beside him who seemed to wear the same school uniform as him.

The girl blushed deeply as the guy drew closer and their shoulders touched. "Uh...I guess this one." She pointed at an option on the menu.

The guy smiled and called the owner of the vendor to give their order.

The scene took me back to memory lane, to a memory five years ago...

"Mister?"

"Hey, young boy?"

I focused on the person calling me. I was zoning out.

"Your order?" He asked.

"Oh um...an extra sweet chocolate shake with no ice please."

He nodded and left.

I sighed, my heart suddenly washing away the excitement.

On our way back home, my mind played the memory from the memory lane again and again. Tiny droplets of rain started to pour as we reached home. As we got out of the car, we were greeted by the cold wind. The smell of the rain made my heart sink. There was something in the smell of the rain. It was just too depressing.

"They say it's going to rain continuously for the next two weeks." Paui said casually as we walked in the house. When did it not rain at our town?

.............................