Chapter 3

Hyunjun-

A chain of ants crawled along the path, some carrying leaves and others stems, even the occasional flower.

"Hyunjun, we've got to catch up with the others," Diego said, patiently waiting beside him.

"I know… just two more minutes."

"You said that ten minutes ago."

Hyunjun sighed and stood up, running a hand through his hair. "Okay, okay."

Diego raised a brow at him. "So you're done looking at ants?"

"Yes. Unless you want to wait a little while longer."

Diego snatched his wrist and began to drag him forward. "We've been here twenty minutes. The bus has probably already left."

They pushed through the doors of the museum and headed for the exit.

"I think it cool," Hyunjun began carefully, "About the types of rock, you know?"

Diego nodded, seemingly distracted. "I know."

"Something wrong?"

"No. Nothing."

Hyunjun tripped on a step as they reached the doors and would have banged his head on the strong wooden barriers, had Diego not grabbed at the back of his hood.

"Careful."

"Oops, sorry."

Outside the air was cold and people were filing into the bus already. Hyunjun made to walk forward but was pulled unexpectedly by the back of his hoodie. He glanced over his shoulder to see Diego patting himself down, mumbling in a language he didn't understand.

"What is it?" asked Hyunjun.

"My camera, I forgot it back in the garden," he replied.

"Okay…"

"Go onto the bus, I'll grab it and meet you there," Diego ordered.

"I'll come with you. It'll be faster if two of us search the area than one."

The garden was quiet, only the quiet buzzing of insects and the splashing of running water broke the silence. The chain of ants was still travelling across the stone path and Hyunjun had to resist the urge to watch them again so he could help Diego instead.

"I don't see it," he called.

"I got it!" Diego declared, coming out from a pair of bushes.

Hyunjun laughed. "What are you doing in there?"

Diego looked up from inspecting his camera. "There was a separate area, some benches over there."

"What's it doing that for?"

"What?" Diego's brow furrowed in confusion. "I took pictures over there when you were watching ants."

"Oh."

"Come on, the bus will be leaving now."

The sounds of footsteps made the two pause; looking behind them.

"We're lost, admit it!"

"Shut up."

"Fine, but the last time you told me to do that we were climbing through two feet high hedges."

"Jason, I swear to god, if you don't stop making smartass retorts…"

Hyunjun exchanged a glance with Diego, shrugging in confusion. "Friends of yours?"

"I don't have those."

From the bushes appeared two other boys, both in the same class as them. One was tall, dark and stocky, while the other had a golden tan and messy blonde hair.

"Hey," the tanned one greeted, casting a sideways glance at his friend. "You guys lost too?" The boy beside him looked about ready to blow, though seemed to settle for a nudge in the ribs.

"Um," said Diego, looking nervous. "No."

"And neither are we," spat the taller of the other two.

Diego seemed awfully confused by them as he inched closer to Hyunjun. "The bus is about to leave. We should probably go."

"It is?" asked the first boy. "Man, that would be so funny if it did."

Diego uttered something in Spanish and fled back through the museum, Hyunjun and the other two following.

"I am Kim Hyunjun," he said, glancing over his shoulder at the two boys behind him.

"Coolio. I'm Jason Glee, been going here for a while now," said the blonde one. He jutted a finger beside him. "That's Karim Johnson. But he prefers to go by Royal Pain in the Butt."

"I thought that was your name…" mumbled Karim.

Hyunjun smiled at them, stumbling as he looked away from the floor. "This is my friend Diego Santiago."

Diego tensed as they walked but said nothing, just pushed the doors open for them to leave.

There was no bus outside, just a few cars and bikes, but no bus. Diego cursed fluently but Hyunjun just ignored it.

"I had a feeling this would happen…" Diego said bitterly.

Hyunjun lightly petted his back. "Don't worry, I'm sure we could ask one of them for a lift."

Jason held up his hands as if surrendering. "We came by bus too."

"Oh."

"Can you call someone?" Jason asked.

Hyunjun shook his head. "I do not have my phone with me. Diego has phone back home."

"My phone's dead," Karim chimed in.

"Wonderful," Jason huffed. "I can ask my sister to drive up and collect us. It might take an hour or two for her to get here, though."

Diego looked away, running a hand through his hair. Hyunjun frowned and crossed his arms.

"Excuse me," interrupted a rushed voice.

They turned around, eyeing a boy behind them. He was dressed with his shirt tucked in and a tie hooked around his collar. Hyunjun could tell he was a new student because of his clothes and stature. And the fact that he himself looked similar.

"What?" Karim snapped impatiently, nothing like Diego who was always tolerant.

"Do you guys know where the school bus is? It should be here," the boy said.

"It just left," Jason piped up. "Like, a few minutes ago."

Fear crept into the student's eyes. "What?" he demanded.

"Yeah, literally just left."

"I…" Hyunjun began nervously. "Am not sure you are h-helping." He turned to the panicking boy beside him. "What is your name? I am Kim Hyunjun."

"Roy, Roy Riverson."

"Then fear not, Roy Riverson, Son of the River," interjected Jason, "For I shall call my sister."

"Could you speak like a normal person for once?" Karim snapped, folding his arms tightly across his chest.

"I shan't." Jason moved away from the group and talked in a hushed voice to the phone.

"How long… have you two known?" Hyunjun asked, looking at Karim who was paying no mind to anybody.

"Dunno. Three weeks maybe. Who cares?"

Jason joined them again, his ever-present grin still shining from his face. "She'll be here in an hour."

Diego sat down outside the doors to the museum, tapping his fingers rhythmically on his knee. Hyunjun crouched down beside him. "Are you alright?" he whispered.

"Fine," Diego whispered, turning his head and shifting further away.

A pang of hurt echoed in Hyunjun's body, but he said nothing. Diego wasn't one for talking about emotions. "So," he said, looking over at Roy instead, "Where are you from?"

"London, England." Roy was bouncing on the balls of his feet, eyes darting about distractedly.

"I'm from Busan in Korea," Hyunjun replied.

No one added to their conversation and Roy didn't seem inclined to speak more, so Hyunjun just kept quiet, eyeing the laces on his sneakers. He retied them and slumped onto the ground.

A clatter caught Hyunjun's attention and he turned to see Jason cursing, picking up a fallen water bottle. He flipped it and it crashed onto its side. Was he doing the water bottle challenge? Was that what it was called?

"Hey, you," Jason called.

Hyunjun looked around, searching for who he was talking to before realizing it was him. "Oh… Hi."

Jason gestured to a space beside himself and cautiously Hyunjun sat down next to him, watching as the boy handed him his water bottle. "The aim of the game is to flip it so it lands upright."

The bottle flew out of Hyunjun's hands as he twisted his wrist. It collided with the ground, succeeding in scratching and tearing up the plastic label around the middle.

"Ah, see, I knew no one would be as good at it then me," Jason declared, sighing dreamily.

"You literally failed three times out of three tries," Karim chimed in. "Jason, you suck."

"Try then, if you think you can best me."

Karim scowled and crouched down in front of him, snatching up the bottle and chucking it into the air. Jason barked a laugh as it bounced off the concrete floor.

Soon enough Roy and Diego had come in to join their game. Roy was surprisingly good at it and had even tried to teach the rest of them. Jason, however, was still having trouble grasping the idea that he'd lost.

A car horn blared from behind them. Jason stood up, picking up his battered and beaten water bottle.

"That your sister?" Roy asked.

"Yep." Jason waved enthusiastically, only to be rewarded with another honk, signalling they should get in. "We'll have to cram," he said, swinging the backseat door open. "Well, I won't since I've already called shotgun."

Karim was the first to slide in, followed by Roy then Hyunjun and Diego. Jason had been right, it was stuffy. Karim's body mass was much larger than Hyunjun's so it was a painfully tight squeeze between Diego and Roy whose frames were slightly bigger than his own. It made him feel small, smaller than he currently was at least.

The car smelt of smoke and must, but Hyunjun tried not to concentrate on it too much and instead revelled in the feeling of strong wind on his face as Karim's window was wound down. It helped with the feeling of claustrophobia.

"Y'all want to listen to some music?" Jason's sister called.

There was a rush of agreement as the radio was turned on.

"Be careful," Jason said from the front. "You're about to experience a lot of Shawn Mendes."