Chapter Text
If, by magic, somehow Gulf was able to travel back 3 years to meet his younger self and tell him where he was now, his younger self would never believe him. Of course, magic isn’t real and the thought is already stupid to begin with, but that didn’t stop the fact that even himself, right now, was still in clear disbelief where he was and what he was doing.
This disbelief had several factors building up to the actual reason why it couldn’t be possible. However, it’s better to start with the minor facts before skipping forward to the full story.
First of all, Gulf had never been quite the studious person. Yes, he wasn’t dumb and somehow, he was talented enough in certain subjects that passing middle school wasn’t too much of a bother, but he was never quite the genius. He would much rather spend the day outside running around on a field behind a ball or take a nap in the sun than spend his free time stuffing his brain with – in his opinion – useless facts.
His mother would probably faint if she ever found out how many times the young man had skipped out of class to watch a soccer match or hang at the arcade. It didn’t exactly help with his grades, but he never had to worry too much about stuff like that. He wasn’t aiming to attend some kind of fancy high school or university anyway. Rather, he would take some course which wasn’t too easy nor too hard and see where life brought him.
Which brings up the second factor for him disbelief. The high school he was attending right now, the classes he was only half paying attention to, was definitely a place only the highly talented could attend. In some cases, maybe using the word ‘gifted’ would be even more suitable.
Ritdha High School was known throughout the country of Thailand as a school for smart people. Although getting inside it wasn’t that hard, many dumb students tried and somehow got admitted every year, the internal classification system of grades generally didn’t attract many of the less studious kind. It also wasn’t exactly a secret that with some money and the right connections, getting your child accepted into the school was quite easy..
However, one might wonder, with the clear injustice of classification by grades and hard competition among the students, why would a parent bother getting their child enrolled in a school like this anyway? The answer lies within its unique classification of grades, where an even higher ranking is possible. Disregarding a straight-up A-student, there was a title which opened every door with just a simple name and pin.
Every year at the end of the first month, a re-evaluation test is held for every student at the school. Even though it’s quite close to the application test and not many students achieve their dream of raising a grade in the classification, its primary goal is to determinate students who are worthy of the title ‘Gifted’. Those who are worthy, disregarding any grade they were in or IQ-test taken before, are promised a great future and many opportunities in its way. Because a student who is part of the Gifted Class brings prestige wherever they go.
Somehow, along with being granted the right to attend Ritdha High School, he had also somehow become part of the famous Gifted class.
If only he knew how.
These three factors on its own were already reasons enough for his younger self to just laugh at the suggestion alone. But as if fate was somehow pulling some strings to make sure Gulf’s life would be turned upside down, there were more, even weirder, factors playing at hand.
Because, you see, Gulf had dreamed about this exact moment. He had dreamt plenty of it. Yet somehow, he hadn’t remembered any of those dreams until he was where he was right now, standing in front of the result paper, name second only to one Atthaphan Phunsawat on the Gifted Class announcement list.
(Really, how was he second on the list? There were no scores next to him name as there were on the other classes lists, yet somehow his appeared second on the most elite one. He was pretty sure his answer hadn’t ALL been good, so how had he ever achieved this result? The only thing he could remember from the test in the first place was the immense headache he had gotten at the end.)
If he wasn’t still in disbelief that that was really his name on there, he might even say the dreams had felt so real that it almost felt like some kind of déjà-vu right now. Of course, there were other matters at hand right now.
Which finally bring us to the last factor of his disbelief from his younger self. The most important yet confusing factor. The only factor that his current self could believe, even if his younger self could never.
The reason why he applied for this school in the first place.
That reason, who has stopped responding his texts and calls since a couple of months, who was now standing in a corner of the room staring at Gulf. Eyes he had known his entire life to be joyful and loving, suddenly cold and distant. Judging. Scared.
‘Mew’ Suppasit Jongcheveevat has been Gulf’s childhood friend for exactly 12 years. They met way back in kindergarten, the two of them in different grades but somehow always together in between breaks. Their first encounter had been one typical of a child their age. They both had wanted the same toy – in this case a bright pink ball in the middle of the yard – so they had spent a fair amount of time fighting over who should get it, until a teacher suggested they could play together. “Sharing the ball and playing together is more fun anyway!” she had told them.
That, in Gulf’s eyes, fateful encounter had been the start of a friendship unlike any other. From playing together only at kindergarten until sleepovers at each other’s houses, they did it all. Although their school was huge, being in Bangkok, and they had plenty of other choice for friends, they always chose the other above any of their classmates. Growing up, the Jongcheveevat family had become Gulf’s seconds family, like the Kanawut family had become Mew’s. They were the perfect Phi Nong, brothers who loved each other very much, who did everything together.
However, somewhere along the line they had separated without any seemingly concrete reason, resulting in the awkward tension between Gulf and Mew right now.
Time had passed and most students were leaving the notice board, disappointed with their results with only a few excited yells from the freshly announced Gifted Class students being the exceptions. Gulf himself didn’t make any noise of celebration. His eyes were still on the paper in disbelief.
A small feeling of hope suddenly filled his heart. After all, Mew was also a Gifted Class student, so maybe he could use this as a way to approach his childhood friend. They would be sharing the same class, although on different hours, so they would at least pass each other during those times. Maybe he could even approach his phi to ask him to tutor him on the Gifted Class subjects.
He turned around to where Mew had been staring at him earlier, only to be met with an empty wall. Gulf sighed. He should be well aware that if any of the attempts to reach his friend hadn’t worked up until now, none would. But one couldn’t blame him for hoping.
He stared down at his hands, at the bracelet he and Mew had crafted back in elementary school which was still adorning his left hand. The leather was tattered, and the dangle had completely discoloured, but it was still Gulf’s most precious possession. Touching it, he couldn’t help but sign.
Being completely lost in self-pity, Gulf almost didn’t notice the hand which suddenly was placed on his shoulder. The nong jumped a little in surprise, before turning his head to see the person whose hand was on his shoulder.
The first thing that caught his eye was the same old leather band he was wearing on his own arm. Following the hand which was now wearing several rings he had not seen before, the arm which was more veiny than he remembered, he was met with the face of his childhood friend he hadn’t succeeded in talking to in ages.
His childhood friend, who was now meeting his stare full-on with a pained smile on his face.
“Congratulations, nong,” he told Gulf in a soft tone, “Good luck in the Gifted Class.”
Before Gulf could even answer or thank Mew for his kind words, the phi had already turned away and was walking to the other side of the corridor. Gulf was about to yell something, until he saw Mew nod to a girl who had been leaning against the lockers this entire time. The girl nodded back, met Gulf’s eyes briefly, before turning around to follow Mew. She was wearing the same pin that Mew had been, indicating that she was also part of the Gifted Class.
Gulf wasn’t exactly sure what he was feeling at that moment, but he was sure that he was getting sick. With one last look at the Gifted Class announcement list, he made his own way outside, planning to get some air.
Maybe he could go and kick a ball around the field to clear his head. He quickly took out his phone to text Win, recalling all the names on the list.
- Atthaphan Phunsawat 4-1
- Kanawut Traipipattanapong 4-2
- Metawin Opas-iamkajorn 4-2
- Thitipoom Techaapaikhun 4-2
- Lapassalan Jiravechsoontornkul 4-3
- Korapat Kirdpan 4-3
- Wachirawit Ruangwiwat 4-3
It seemed that at least he wasn't going to be lonely in the Gifted Class. 'Win' Metawin Opas-iamkajorn was one of his classmates in 4-2, and now they would be sharing the classroom again. It came as somehow of a relief that he was going to be attending those classes with his friend, especially because he already felt out of place between all these smart people without even meeting them.
When Gulf thought about it, it had come to a huge surprise to him and his mother that he was placed in class two, only second in academics to class one back when he applied to enrol to the high school. Gulf never thought of himself as smart, but somehow, he had made it. They had had a grand celebration when they heard the news.
Even after school started, the celebration of his good score seemed to continue. Class 4-2 came with many privileges, such as better dorms, faster internet, and most importantly, better access to the school cafeteria. If Gulf was placed in a lower class, he might've never gotten to taste the holiness that is the school's Krabpao. And, as Gulf had told Win many times, it was only second in taste to his mothers' cooking, so it would've been a huge shame.
Aside from being in the same class, Gulf and Win also shared the same dorm room. They didn't have the privilege of choosing their roommate like class one, but they didn't need it. As soon as they greeted each other at the door, an easy-going friendship blossomed.
"Metawin Opas-iamkajorn," the black-haired boy had introduced himself. Gulf idly noted they were the same high as they Wai'ed. "But call me Win, that's much easier." Win left out any polite language right from the start, and instead of offending Gulf, it made him smile. The easy-going grin and introduction of the boy making him throw any awkwardness away.
"Kanawut Traipipattanapong, my nickname is Gulf," he smiled back at Win.
"Gulf?" His new roommate opened the door, mentioning for him to go inside. He waited outside, letting Gulf decide on which bed he wanted first. "not Kana?" He was referring to his first name, just as his nickname seemed to come from his own first name.
"Both are fine," Gulf answered, still standing in front of the bunkbed. He was referring to both the beds and the nickname.
Win laughed, "Kana it is then," he decided, then threw his bag on the highest bed. Gulf was glad for him to decide, finding it easier to follow rather than to lead.
As it came to be, that pretty much summed up their friendship. Win was a one-of-a-kind type of extrovert. Anyone he talked with he could somehow befriend, and Gulf would follow him in his endeavours. Aside from both loving football and napping, the two easily clicked in anything they did. Gulf was rather surprised when Win kept inviting him to clubs and engaging him in conversations, but he wasn't going to complain about his new friend. It was an easy friendship he really appreciated, especially after the many lonely hours he spent in middle school.
Opening Line, he wasn't exactly surprised to see that Win had already sent him a text.
'Hey fellow gifted class student!!!' it said, followed with a spam of line emoticons, 'I've got your pin already from the teachers, let's meet @ room and go 2gether!'
Win had not only befriended every student he came across, he somehow also became close with some of the teachers. One-time Gulf saw him talking to one of the PE teachers, talking about some mobile game he didn’t recognise the name of. Win had spent most of the hour talking to the teacher about strategies on how to win the game, and the teacher had attentively listened. That is, until another student from 4-1 reminded him that class had already started, 40 minutes in the hour.
15 minutes later, Gulf opened the door to his room, only to be met by a loud yell of his name by his so-called best friend. "Kanaaaaaaaaa," the last syllable was stretched out, making Gulf smile a little.
"Congratulations," the introvert said back, voice noticeably quieter than his friends’. Win took it in stride, holding out his hand. Gulf took it and they spend a minute shaking them with way too much sway. It all seemed quite silly, making him laugh.
"You, too, my friend, you too," Win congratulated him back. He turned around, climbing the ladder and digging through the mess that is his bed to look for something. He jumped back down easily with one hand on the ladder, the other one occupied with a small bag. Gulf took the bag as Win held it out for him.
There was a small box inside. Opening the box, he immediately recognized the famous pin for the Gifted Class. It felt weird to pin it to his shirt, but he couldn't help but feel somewhat proud of it as well. The rest of the bag contained some unique books and documents related to the class but skimming through them he found them to be mostly empty.
Win was already wearing his pin and patiently waited for Gulf to get ready while texting someone on his phone. Gulf gathered he was probably texting his family with the good news, reminding him that he should probably do the same. He could call his mom after today's class, but that might be quite late. After all, Gifted Classes always found the place after their usual classes. In all honestly, the worst part of being part of the Gifted were all the late classes. With a sigh, Gulf realized that probably meant less time for naps and football.
They walked together towards the Gifted classroom explained to them on the documents. Win was still looking through the pages while he walked, as Gulf navigated them through the corridors.
"We will be assigned our own private dorm rooms on the Gifted floor as well," Win suddenly spoke up, sounding enthusiastic. Gulf frowned in reply. As much as he liked the sound of more space and privacy, it also meant that Win would leave him. He couldn't help but worry about it a little. Maybe once they didn't share a dorm anymore, Win would finally realize that Gulf wasn't as fun as a friend after all. Maybe he would even leave him, just as Mew did.
He felt bitter at the thought.
Mew and Gulf had been inseparable once, the bestest of best friends.
That is, until one day, Mew told Gulf that he was planning to attend Ritdha High, a school on the other side of Bangkok far away from their houses. Gulf had only heard about the school in passing about how famous it was for smart people. It wasn’t surprising for Mew to go to a school like that, after all his Phi was very well versed in his academics, but somehow Gulf still couldn’t accept it. Ever since the day they met, they had attended the same school and after school activities, they had joined the same clubs even when the other had no interest in it. They were the kind of best friends that everyone was jealous of.
So why was phi Mew suddenly leaving him behind?
Gulf wouldn’t call the feeling heartbroken to be exact, but it was pretty close anyway. Mew was leaving him, and he had little to no chance on following him. After all, he wasn’t nearly as smart as the other and their family wasn’t financially stable enough to pay such an amount of money to get him accepted into the school. So, that’s how all his plans of spending his entire life with phi Mew were thrown outside the window in a single conversation. Gulf tried not to show his phi how he felt at that moment, but as Mew threw his arms around the younger and patted his back, Gulf knew that Mew knew anyway. The man had always been good at guessing his feelings.
At least, some of them.
"Give me your papers, so I can check which room you are assigned!" Win brought him out of his thoughts, already reaching out to his backpack. Gulf opened it wordlessly, handing him the document. The other skimmed through it, almost walking into a wall until Gulf grabbed his arm to pull him away. As if nothing happened, Win suddenly started talking excitingly again. "Seems like we'll be neighbours, so you're not getting rid of me after all!"
Gulf wondered if his friend had somehow noticed his sudden worry and tried to console him by these words. He smiled in gratefulness. "Let's meet up to play games a lot, na," he told Win, who nodded and promised him they would.
Even though they had left their dorms quite some time before their scheduled class, it seems they weren't the only ones who had decided to go early. Most of the chairs were already occupied, leaving only three empty for Gulf and Win to choose from. They decided to pick the ones on the left so they could sit behind each other, Win sitting in front. As quickly as he sat down, he already turned to the side, half facing his friend while looking through the room. He greeted the short boy next to him as if they had known each other for years.
"Seems like we get to share more classes, Gun," Win said, leaning over. As Gun nodded in reply, Gulf realized that he indeed recognised the boy as well. In particular, Gulf remembered him as the boy who had reminded the PE teacher that time in class. It was nice to see another familiar face.
"Win, Gulf, nice to see you two here," Gun addressed them both, a familiar ease in his words Gulf didn't know they shared, "I'm looking forward to learning together with you," as expected of a class one student, it seemed he was most excited about the prospect of learning something new. Then again, even Gulf wondered about the content of the famous Gifted classes. Mew hadn't talked a word about it during their small break spent together.
"Kana here is super excited as well to learn," Win joked, making Gun look at him confused, then with a smile. His classmate knew well that Gulf wasn't a big lover of studying and had plenty expressed his surprise that he was in class 2, nonetheless. You must've studied a lot. Win had concluded, looking somehow proud of his friend.
Win and Gun started talking about meeting up to maybe study together, but it was lost to Gulf as he frowned. Thinking about studying together, he found himself suddenly reminded of the loneliness of just one year ago.
The last year of middle school had been a lonely time for Gulf. Because he had always spent so much time with Mew, he had never really bothered to make many friends. He could count on one hand how many names he actually remembered from his class. His closest friends were part of the football club, but none of those were in his class or at the school. So, most of his time was spent napping and playing football the entire year, until that long-awaited semester break.
Him and Mew had tried to keep communication through social media and text, but somehow Mew had been too busy to keep up with Gulf’s streams of messages. After feeling like he would only bother the phi with his insistent texting, Gulf stopped texting every day, only updating him once or twice a week. Even then, Mew answered every time, but the texts were short and capped off. Their tone was often tired or emotionally drained, but Gulf didn’t dare to ask what was wrong. He found himself waiting for the semester break, so he could finally confront the phi to ask why he had been so busy.
They had agreed to meet up at Mew’s house, but Gulf had always been the impatient one of the two – or at least, he wasn’t good at pretending to be patient like Mew – so he asked mama Jongcheveevat if he could pick up her son together at the station. Since Gulf was still part of the family, mae had no problem with indulging her adopted son like that. It would be a surprise for Mew, they decided, to congratulate him on his good grades. Gulf even bought a small cake from the corner shop for his phi, just for added effect.
However, when they were standing on the middle of the parking, Gulf with a cake in his hand and mama Jongcheveevat enthusiastically waving at her son, Mew hadn’t seen as happy with the surprise as he had expected. The boy had grown, so much it was hard to even call him a boy anymore. Gulf had gotten his growth sprint earlier that year as well, but it seemed that for the time being, Mew was a little taller than him. The ever-present smile on his face seemed tired, and the way his brows were put together seemed as if he had many things on his mind.
“My dear Gifted son!” mae greeted Mew, “I’ve missed you so much!” She threw her arms around the boy, pulling him into a heartfelt hug. Mew almost seemed to be stunned for a second, until he started hugging his mother back with the same loving tone. Gulf stared at the two in silence, a smile on his face. Eventually, mae let go of her son, causing Mew to finally take notice of his childhood friend.
“N’Gulf!” the phi smiled happily, “I didn’t expect you here!”
“Phi!” Gulf said back, almost wanting to jump from happiness to see his childhood friend again finally. “Congratulations on your admission to the Gifted class!” Gulf held out the cake he had bought.
Mew took a step towards the nong but didn’t attempt to hug Gulf as he had expected. Instead, he grabbed the cake out of his hands without touching the nong. “Thank you, Gulf,” Mew stared at the cake, eyes twinkling.
Mew would stay at home for one week, since that was the maximum of days he was allowed to stay away from school. Although the break was at least two weeks, he apparently had promised his teacher to go back early. Mae didn’t oppose, rather proud of his sons’ enthusiasm for his education. Gulf, on the other hand, was quite sad to hear the news. He had been looking forward to this for so long, and now he found the limited time they had together far too short.
It had been way too short, especially after what happened next.
The door abruptly opened, making Gulf look up from his pin. He hadn't even noticed that he started playing with the thing, being completely lost in his memories. Win and Gun had let him daydream while they continued their conversation, Win already being used to Gulf's absentmindedness.
A tall mixed-race man walked into the room, Gulf could hear Gun whispering the mans' name as he breathed in sharply. "Mister Pom."
As far as he had gathered, Mister Pom was the teacher assigned to the Gifted Class especially. Gulf wasn't sure if he actually did anything else in the school. He had once heard Mew talk to his mother about the teacher, full of admiration. Somehow, this made Gulf immediately feel a small amount of dislike for the teacher. After all, he was one of the causes of Mew leaving him so abruptly.
Mister Pom quickly welcomed everyone, as well as introducing himself. The man had a brilliant smile, seemingly very excited to be teaching this class.
"The Gifted Class is an extra class on top of your usual curriculum, which means you are still expecting to attend your own classes during the day as well," he explained to the students, "I am sure this might look as much in the beginning, but I can assure you all it will be worth the work." Another brilliant smile. Gulf could hear some of the student’s groan, but both Win and Gun just nodded silently.
"Now then, let's go over some rules first." The hour passed quickly, after the rules - some of which were ridiculous - Pom explained more of the advantages they got along with being in the Gifted Class. Not only would they receive their own dorm, they also had their own reserved seats at the cafeteria, their own section in the library, no restrictions on uniforms and make-ups, and the thing that surprised Gulf the most, they were allowed at any times out of their dorm and out of the school if given permission.
Then why hadn't Mew visited home more after last year, if he received so much freedom? Had he simply not wanted to?
Being a Gifted seemed to be very advantageous, he now fully understood why so many of the other students worked so hard to enter the program. Gulf himself hadn't even tried, yet he was here. So, what was up with that?
"There are a lot of students this year in the first Gifted Class," Mister Pom said at the end of his lecture, "so why don't we start with some quick introduction? Tell us your name and an interesting fact about yourself, such as hobby or favourite colour, anything goes." It was a bit ridiculous to introduce yourself already in one month into the semester, but Gulf had to admit he didn't mind learning the names of his classmates. He only had Win in his own class because he hadn't tried to make any other friends, maybe this was the universes' way of giving him another shot.
Pom picked up a paper, calling the first name that was on it. Gun abruptly stood up, turning towards the rest of the classroom. "My name is Atthaphan Phunsawat, but everyone calls me Gun. When I'm not hanging with friends, I like to read books or watch movies. I'm really happy to be part of the Gifted Class." After finishing his introduction, he quickly sat down again. As mister Pom started to clap, everyone quickly followed suit.
Gulf already knew his turn would come next, so he decided to get it over quickly and stand up. The sound of his chair moving was suddenly very loud as everyone focused his attention on him. Win tapped him on the back, encouraging him.
"I'm Kanawut Traipipattanapong, but you can call me Gulf" - "Or Kana," - Win was quick to interrupt, teasing his friend. Instead of bringing him out of his concentration, he was rather happy with his friends' casual tone. He turned to Win. "I'm fine with both," he admitted. "I like playing football or napping." With that, he sat back again. More clapping followed.
Win was next, introducing himself easily. "I also like football; you can find me and Gulf on the field a lot if you want to hang. Feel free to join us but let me warn you that you probably will lose if you're in the opposing team!" More laughter, Gulf joined in. Yeah, he was really lucky to have Win as his friend.
Next was a muscular boy who introduced himself as New. He looked too old to be a first year - in Gulf's opinion - but nobody asked him about it. “I’m a bit of a sports freak, I love swimming in particular,” he made some butterfly strokes with his arms, making the girl in front giggle and two boys in the back laugh out loud. “You can always find me at the swimming pool during my free time, and maybe at night now that we’re allowed to use the facilities at any time. Do come and join me!” He invited everyone, and Mister Pom was the first one to clap at his introduction as usual. Gulf had to agree with New, he rather looked forward to playing some midnight football together with Win.
“Maybe don’t encourage others to stay awake at night. Your friends need to sleepand so do you,” Mister Pom scolded New, who just replied with a half apologetic smile.
Next was the only girl in the class. She seemed rather anxious at first, her foot tapping at a fast pace as she spoke. “My name is Mild,” she left out her full name, “I don’t really have any hobbies in particular, I dabble a little in anything that seems fun.” She smiled. Then, as if she suddenly had an idea, she added: “I love travelling a lot, I want to visit as many places as I can before I grow old and meet many people!” More applause. Gun winked at her as she sat down, visibly blushing.
After Mild the two boys at the back stood up at the same time. Gulf noted their opposite in heights and body build. Instead of each introducing themselves separately, they somehow tried to at the same time. “I’m Korapat Kirdpan, Nanon,” the taller of the two said at the same time the other said, “I’m Wachirawit Ruangwiwat, Chimon.” Were it not for the difference in their voices Gulf wouldn’t have been able to separate them as they spoke. Immediately afterwards, they turned towards each other. “Shorty” – “Giant,” they hold the same annoyed tone as they addressed the other.
Mister Pom smiled in front of the class as the two glared at each other, apparently having no problem with their attitudes. They seemed to have some weird dynamic between them, something in between enemies and friends.
“Chimon pretends he doesn’t like studying but is actually a giant nerd,” it was Nanon who spoke up for the other, making Chimon scoff.
“Nanon pretends not to care about people but he’s actually a big softy inside, he’ll probably end up sucking up and befriending to all of you,” Chimon said, introducing his frenemy. It was rather amusing to see them bicker at the yet end up complimenting the other. Even with their weird behaviour, Gulf could feel they were close.
In the back of his mind, he started to think that maybe he could do this. Maybe this would be the year he would have a lot of friends and make many happy memories. Even without Mew by his side.
"One more thing before you leave," Mister Pom cleared his throat, making everyone pay attention to him again. "Your first assignment will be figuring out what exactly we teach in the Gifted Class. You will get a week to figure it out." He looked around the classroom and clapped his hands. "If you know before, feel free to discuss it in private with me. But as for now, class dismissed!"
With his best friend and potential new friend, Gulf left the classroom feeling quite elated. Even though they had already gotten homework, it seemed this extra class might become a lot of fun. Everyone was nice, and they were with few enough that Gulf had no trouble remembering everyone’s names. On top of that, they somehow already agreed to go and explore their new dorm rooms together. Really, it seemed this year was going to be a good one.
The nice feeling continued all the way up until the hallway of their new dorms, where they passed some of the second years. The girl Gulf had seen earlier that day was nodding at them as they passed, before turning back to Mew who was back to ignoring Gulf's very presence. Gun spoke up to greet them but was stopped in his words when they ignored him as well.
"Well, that was rather weird," Gun mumbled as they watched them step into the lift. Gulf nodded, indeed, how weird. Just as weird as always.
Back during the semester break, there had been something weird going on with Mew. He seemed more distant and lost in his thoughts, as if he had many secrets he couldn’t tell Gulf. This bothered the nong, especially since they had always been open towards each other, they had never held secrets for the other. It had been unusually weird, but somehow over time, Gulf had grown accustomed to it. Even if he did try asking the phi about it, no reply would come, because the phi had stopped replying to any of his messages completely after that break. It was as if their friendship had never existed in the first place.
When Gulf had found out he was accepted into Ritha High, he immediately texted Mew to share the good news, still holding on to that last sliver of hope. However, as expected, there had been no form of reply.
And he had no idea why.
The rest of their first week as Gifted Class students seemed to pass by quite uneventful. Except for the jealous stares he received sometimes, Gulf found that he really liked the advantages that came with being a Gifted kid. He always had the best food and seats and could use the football field whenever he liked even though he wasn't in the football club himself. He loved the freedom of it all. The other students used their new privileges as well, resulting in New being at the pool most of the time, Mild completely personalising her outfit, and Chimon and Nanon to more than often take their rivalry to the next level and testing out how much the teachers would allow them to cross the line. Turns out, a lot.
One day as Gulf was walking next to the pair, listening to whatever they were arguing about, he decided that rather than enemies, the two were actually just really close friends.
“I’m pretty sure the homeroom teacher hates you, by the way,” Nanon spoke to Chimon as they made their way back to the dorms from Gifted Class.
“Hates me?” Chimon scoffed. “Of course not, she loves me. Have you seen my grades? I’m top of the class!”
“Yet you’re still in 4-3 with me,” The taller of the two teased him. Chimon just rolled his eyes. “Or is that why you’re studying so much, so you can get away from me? Tough luck buddy, seems like your stuck after all!” He threw his arm around Chimon’s shoulder. Chimon tried walking a little faster to escape, but Nanon’s grip was too strong. Or maybe Chimon just didn’t pull as much, Gulf wasn’t sure.
“You two seem like good friends,” Gulf suddenly decided, stating his thoughts out loud. The two turned towards him, sporting the same look of disgust on their faces. However, all that did was just reaffirm his suspicion as they suddenly seemed to get along so well while denying their friendship.
As for Gun and Win, well...
"I still don't understand the assignment," Win complained as he easily stopped a ball on his way and turned to kick it in the goal. The ease of it all never stopped impressing Gulf. He knew Win had been good at football before, but lately he had gotten really good at being at the perfect positions when he needed to be. Gulf shrugged, running towards the goal to pick up the ball. It was after curfew, but the three of them didn't really care as they continued running around the field.
Although Gun wasn't actually kicking or running around at all. He was seated at the side-lines, contently texting someone on his phone while humming his agreement.
"I have a theory though," Gun spoke up, finally locking his phone. He stood up, walking to his two Gifted friends who stopped kicking the ball to turn at him.
"A theory?"
"Do share!"
Gun continued walking until he was in front of the ball. He picked it up, absentmindedly playing with it in his hands. "I asked around a little, and every second and third year says there's something weird going on with the second year Gifted Class. Actually, they also say this about us."
"Something weird?" Win's attention seemed peaked.
Gun nodded. "Something supernatural," he explained. Gulf wanted to laugh right then, but for some reason, he didn't. After all, he as well knew how weird one certain Gifted Class kid had acted. How one certain kid had changed from his normal best friend to a weird closed off person Gulf barely recognised.
After Mew had returned to school from break without a word, it had left Gulf in shock. More than shocked, he somehow was offended by his phi's actions. How could he return and suddenly start ignoring him like this? Call Gulf petty and stubborn, but he really wanted to find out what was wrong with his phi. Worry started filling his mind that something weird was happening on that school, or worse, that his phi had gotten a new best friend and that’s why they parted like that. Mew had always been Gulf’s, and although he could share, he couldn’t share the close bond the two had. That had always been special about them, unique for them.
He started attending all his classes, skipping club to go home early and focus on homework and studying. He asked his own mom for some money to pay a tutor, so he could get his grades up.
After all, is he was going to follow his phi, he needed to be smart enough to get accepted at Ritdha High.
Somehow, after many sleepless nights and papercuts, he made it. But Mew still didn’t look at him in the hallways, still didn’t reply to his calls or texts, rather he just pretended like Gulf was air. It bothered the nong so much that he used to spend nights awake thinking about what’s going on, keeping his roommate awake with the light on his phone, until eventually, he couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore.
All his effort had been in vain. But if he was going to discover the mystery behind Mew's weirdness, then maybe it hadn't after all.
"Think about it, I have never seen anyone practice diving so much as New at the pool. If I didn't know better, I would think he spends more time underwater than above!" Gun said, tone gossipy. "And Mild, one moment she was in the classroom, and the next, she was gone! I swear it!" The boy sounded more enthusiastic by the second.
Win was the one to stop the ranting boy. "That sounds ridiculous, Gun," he said, his tone in disapproval. As if he didn't like the way Gun was talking about their classmates.
However, the more Gulf thought about it, the more he found truth in Gun's words.
Is that what happened to his phi as well? Something supernatural? Magical even?
If he allowed himself to look at all the facts to get the full story, would it show him what was going on?
But what did it have to do with the Gifted class?
"I think it could be true," Gulf backed up Gun, surprising Win, who frowned at his best friend. "Things have been weird since we joined the class, and the materials we study seem far from normal things you learn in a classroom." Theories about the power of the brain, things like mind-reading and telepathy, they had discussed it this week.
"Exactly!" Gun joined in.
The three boys stayed in silence, until suddenly Win broke the silence by huffing annoyed. He stole the ball from Gun's hand, placing it to the ground and running away. Before Gulf could even ask him what he was going to do, the boy started running towards the ball again. As he kicked it as far as he could, with his left feet instead of his right, he saw Win mumbling something underneath his breath.
The ball flew all the way out of the field, landing perfectly into the hands of a boy who had been approaching them. The boy, Gulf recognised him as Nanon, seemed surprised for a second until he wasn't. He turned to Win. "Nice kick!" He yelled at him. Then, he walked up to them as well, ball in hand with a smile. Gun and Gulf looked in confusion as the boy approached uninvited, but Win had a rather panicked look on his face. "I think I have the answer you have been looking for," Nanon told them as he finally reached them.
"The answer?" Gulf asked.
"Of what we learn in the Gifted Class."
Win took a step back, as if he was scared of Nanon’s words. This only caused Nanon to focus his attention on the taller boy. "You know as well. Don't you?"
The boy looked at his feet, then at the ball, and then back to his feet. Then, he repeated the earlier sentence he had just muttered before kicking the ball.
"Right feet goes into the goal, left feet goes..."
"Right into my hands," Nanon finished, grinning.