22- The Night Out

"I swear to God, Han is more girlish than us!" Yara puffs the air while stomping her shoes on the ground.

Pan grins and chuckles a bit when she hears that statement from Yara. The girl, in her white puffy blouse and baggy jeans, can't hide her boring face while waiting together with Pan in front of their dorm.

"And why is that?"

"He takes a lot, I mean, a hell of a lot of hours just to get ready! I mean, what's hard being a boy anyway? You can just grab a hoodie, nice pants, car keys, shoes... And boom!"

Again, Pan laughs. Watching Yara with her over-the-top expression and gestures, she feels amused.

"The hoodie should match the pants, Yara..."

"Why? If not, then he looks like Big Bird on Sesame Street?" asks Yara with her sarcastic voice.

"Maybe..." Pan replies to her.

"And you..." Now, Yara's attention drifts to Pan. "What's with this oversized hoodie and baggy jeans?" she inquires Pan.

Now that Yara is bored, she attacks Pan's fashion sense!

"Your jeans are baggy too, Yara!" Pan sighs.

"No one will pay attention to me. But you!" Yara's pointy finger moves in a circle in front of Pan's face. "You're the center of attention, girl!" and with that, Yara snaps her finger.

"That's the most ridiculous statement I ever heard today," Pan jumps down from the bench. She then smiles as she takes a few steps forward and comes back, hopping like a bunny.

"There he is!" Yara squeaks when she sees a car approaching them. The window rolls down as Han grins widely from inside the car.

"Hop in, guys! Let's roll!"

***

Ta sips his cold beer slowly while his hand lays on Bear's shoulder. His eyes linger on his boyfriend who is busy watching something on his phone. Gradually, they whisper at each other, exchange glances, and giggle.

"Oi couple! Please have mercy on us, the single trope!" Seth sighs. The couple laughs and takes a glance at him who sits across them.

"Sorry but not sorry!" Bear teases his classmate. He playfully kisses Ta on the neck.

"Ai sutt!" a throw cushion flies across the table. Ta giggles while dodging it.

"Ignore them, Seth..." Lauring sips her beer slowly. "Let's move the attention to... You!" her finger points at Zee. The man sips his drink calmly. His eyes glance at his friends.

"Zee attends a party. That's so out of the blue!" Kitty exclaims.

"More importantly, he's attending the party organized by none other than Thia; the girl that he wants to ignore..." Seth teases Zee.

"I'm not that ignorant, Seth... I just... Wanna enjoy some free time before the mentorship program. Besides nowadays, we have so much to do. I need some pleasure once in a while," Zee replies. He looks calm and as he claimed, he does have fun.

"Does Thia know Zee is here?" asks Ta.

"Oh, you have no idea how joyful she was when she saw Zee! She almost jumped into the pool!" Kim laughs.

"You're so extra, pal... Just tone it down, will ya?" asks Kitty.

"Kim The Drama King is unstoppable!" says Seth. The whole table laughs. The statement is true, indeed.

"Hold up! Hold up!!" Seth stops the crew all of a sudden.

"What's wrong pal? You shit yourself?" Kim jokingly teases Seth.

"Ai shia, Kim!" Seth smacks his shoulder. "Look guys, over there!" the man points his finger towards the crowd.

All of them take a good look at the direction.

"Why there is a bunch of freshmen attending a senior's party?" asks Ta.

"Lau! That's your junior mentee!"

"Good! I encouraged her to come!"

"Ao, why did you do that?!" Kitty smacks Lauring's shoulder.

"She's too stuck up! I want her to loosen up a bit," Lauring replies to Kitty. Later, she waves at the trio who still looking around like a bunch of lost puppies.

"Shia, Lau! Why did you call them?!" says Kim.

"To show them how deep shit you are when you're drunk!" Lauring smirks. Kim is about to throw another cushion at the girl when the three freshmen arrive at their table.

"Ah... You came! Good! Come, sit with us!" Lauring offers a seat next to her. Yara, being a nice mentee sits next to Lauring.

"You look different tonight, Han!" says Seth. Han just politely nods at him. Kim, on the other hand, lingers around Pan. The girl looks plain, compared to other girls in the room.

"You look nice..." he whispers to Pan.

"You look like usual..." she replies, eyes glaring at Kim.

"Handsome?"

"Nope. Pain in the ass..." Han replies to him on behalf of Pan. The girl snickers and giggles a bit.

"Ai Han..." Kim starts to look triggered when Ta stops him.

"That's enough... Let them have a seat..."

Kim releases Han from his grip. The boy drags Pan to an empty seat next to him. They sit together.

"You sweat a bit..." Han takes a handkerchief from his pocket and dabs Pan's forehead. Pan smiles at him sweetly. Their action makes Zee look bitter. He lifts his glass and takes a shot without hesitation.

"Wow, take it easy, pal!" Bear tries to stop Zee. Pan glares at him.

"No need to stop him, Bear. You know he is a heavyweight. Give him a barrel, he can still walk straight," says Kitty. She mixes a new drink for Zee, just in case the boy needs a new batch.

"Wait until you're 30..." says Ta.

"You don't know. Maybe he still can drink until 70," Bear replies. Ta jokingly flicks his nose.

"Wait... Are you two... Couple?" Yara looks at Ta and Bear, her fingers entwined together.

Ta and Bear smile at her, then exchange a flirty look. Yara stares at them with her jaw hanging open.

"Since freshman year. They got punished together by the seniors. Spending a night at the lab together. We don't know what happened that night, all of a sudden, this moron is head over heels for this smitten otter," Lauring points her finger at Ta when she mentioned the moron.

"Three years have passed and here they are, playing with our single heart..." says Seth.

"Aftermath of the orientation program. Well, we might have a chance like them, don't you think, Pan?" Kim winks at her.

"Maybe the chance belongs to us, senior..." Han smirks at Kim. The senior ignores him, and quickly empties his glass.

"Wanna drink? I can fix it for you..." Han offers Pan. Zee quickly hands her a glass of drink that he mixed just now.

"Have this. Starts light first," he told her. Han looks at them. His eyes slowly lost its dimness.

"Han, fix one for me!" says Yara.

The whole table suddenly shifts their attention to the girl.

"What?"

"You can drink?" asks Lauring. Yara grins widely.

"Well... My dad used to teach us... I mean, me and my brother, how to drink. He's a lawyer, so he told us, this..." Yara takes the glass from Han. "This is one of the ways to associate with people. That's why I know how to drink," she shows everyone her empty glass.

"Okay, the most important thing... Can you take it heavy... Or...?" asks Kitty, full of curiosity.

***

"She's still a baby..." Kitty sighs. She glares at Yara who technically passed out after only two glasses of drink.

"Han, did you mix it strong or what?! Poor baby is blackout now!" asks Lauring.

"Ai Lau, worry about yourself first! You can't even lift your finger!" Kitty smacks Lauring's hand. The girl suddenly releases a weird giggle.

Pan still holding her glass. It's the fourth for her tonight. But she still chilled out. There is no sign of her getting drunk. The same goes for Zee. He maintains his sober state, even after so many shots.

"Next!" Ta yells. He throws a deck of cards off the table. Everyone, except for Lauring and Yara who already blacked out, grab each other a card.

"Hah! Finally!!!" Bear yells his lungs out. Everyone looks upset. Seth even smacks his card on the table.

"As your King, it is an honor for me to ask..." Bear's eyes linger around the table. "Number 2 and number 1 to... Kiss!" he smiles, ear to ear.

"You certainly taking a risk, Bear! What if Ta has those numbers? Would you mind seeing him kissing another person, huh?!" asks Kitty.

"Because I know he doesn't have any of those two; not even number 1, not even number 2... So, I dare to challenge the crowd," Bear flashes his smile.

Now the whole table glares at him.

"So... Number 1? Number 2?"

Pan slowly flashes her card. She belongs to the number 2.

"Who has Number 1?" asks Ta.

Kim smiles proudly and flicks his card on the table. He has the number 1.

"Ai shia..." Bears curses. Kim smirks at Pan.

"Looks like destiny brings us together, freshie..." he prepares himself to crash Pan's lips. The girl curses under her breath. Her eyes linger on Zee. The man stares at her, unresponsive.

"So, freshie... Are you ready?" asks Kim.