Chapter Text
“I’ve saved the worst for the last,”said the teacher. “Kamon-khun!”
Two boys in the back sniggered for a moment before Kamon shot them a glare, upon which they immediately ceased. Kamon had a reputation as someone who knew how to fight, and they did not want to find out if the rumours were true.
He got the paper from his teacher and slumped down in his seat heavily. He did not bother to check the marks - he knew he had not done well enough to warrant a look.
“You will see me after class, khun.”
This time, no one dared to even whisper, though Kamon did not doubt that they would gossip the moment they got out of class. And soon the whole school would somehow know. He was already in a sour mood this morning, after knowing what had happened to his sister two days ago. This… did not help.
Just then, the bell rang. Before the teacher could get a word edgewise, most students were out the door, spilling out into the corridors. She just sighed, and Kamon walked up to her, bag hanging off one shoulder.
“Kamon, do you know that your performance is… very lacking this semester?”
He gave a noncommittal shrug.
“Whatever you feel, it has been. Our school has a programme for students who are academically behind, and you’ve been enrolled in it.”
“What is that?”
“After school, you will have to stay back and go to the Academic Club’s club room. They will assign you a student tutor who will help you with any material you don’t understand.”
“Everyday?”
“Yes,” She watched Kamon narrowing his eyebrows in annoyance. “You brought this on yourself, khun. Do better by the end of this semester and you won’t have to go anymore.”
“I don’t even know where it is.” Kamon grumbled.
“Third floor, beside the janitor’s storeroom. And since today is a Friday, you’ll be starting next Monday,” she replied firmly. “Now get going. You have a lot of studying to do to make up for your performance.”
Kamon grunted vaguely as he left the classroom. He could not give a damn about this new problem right now. His mind was on that one bastard from Class 6-3 - Aroon. That rat had hurt his little sister, and Kamon would not leave without a threat. Just because he was the top student in their school, with a pretty face that all the girls fawned over to boot, did he think he could be cruel to people? Kamon’s steps quickened as he fumed. Soon he was at the 6-3 classroom. The place was empty, save for one boy quietly reading a thick book - that too in English. Kamon scoffed. This guy must really think he was all that, huh.
He marched over and slammed his hands on the desk, leaning down to glare at him. But Aroon merely looked up, unfazed. His cool gaze rested on Kamon, giving him a tingle down his spine that he purposefully ignored.
“Are you Aroon?”
“That would be P’Aroon to you,” the boy replied.
“Are you the bastard that made my sister cry?” Kamon spoke, his voice low in anger.
“Oh, that girl Prim?” He smirked slightly.
Kamon grabbed his collar. “Remember this. You can toy with any of the girls here in this school. But if you try anything with my sister, I swear-”
The senior stood up, leaning close to Kamon, their noses almost touching. “Why don’t you ask your sister what actually happened,” He brushed off Kamon’s hand, without much resistance on Kamon’s part, who had been shocked at the sudden nearness to respond. “Then we’ll see.”
He left the classroom, leaving Kamon alone and confused.
...
“Nong!” Kamon yelled as soon as he reached home and kicked off his shoes. “Nong!!”
“What, P’?” His sister yelled back from her room.
“Nong,” Kamon ran inside, skidding to a halt in the doorway of his sister’s room. “Nong.”
“What.” His sister said flatly, squinting up at him as she looked up from her homework.
Kamon tsked. “Have you taken your vitamin C yet? Your eyes are going to get worse if you don’t take care of yourself, you know.”
“P’,” His sister huffed. “Is that what you ran in here for?”
“Of course!” He bluffed.
His sister narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Damn it, she was too good at reading him for his lies to be effective. She stood up from her chair, her eyes fixated on him. Welp, he thought as he took a step back.
“P’... You better tell me what you actually came here to say…”
Kamon gulped. “Well, on the day before yesterday I noticed that your eyes were really red when you came home… And the next day I overheard people talking about how that senior boy Aroon made Kamon’s sister cry after she confessed to him, so-”
His sister groaned, shielding her eyes with her hand in embarrassment. “Please don’t tell me you…”
“I may have given him something to think about,” Kamon’s eyes widened as his sister’s head shot up immediately. “No no! I didn’t beat him up, I just gave him a few words, that’s all…”
“And you didn’t even think to ask me before you did that?”
Feeling sheepish, Kamon’s hand cupped the back of his neck. “I guess not,” Suddenly feeling defensive, he said in a rush, “He still made you cry, didn’t he?”
“He didn’t make me cry. Yes, I cried after I talked to him, but it was from shock more than anything.” His sister said, flushing. “It was stupid, really.”
“But why did you cry? Because he said no?”
“Umm, something like that,” His sister said, avoiding his eyes. Now it was Kamon’s turn to feel suspicious.
“So you were shocked because he said no?”
“Mm,” his sister said, looking busy.
“You’re not telling me something.” It was a statement, not a question. Her sister was shaking her leg - a clear tell when she felt anxious or when she was lying.
“No…” his sister drew out the word.
“Nong…”
“You don’t need to know everything, okay! It was nothing! I didn’t even tell you about it and you went to take action! ” His sister’s voice rose in frustration. “And you better go apologise to him next week, or I’m going to be really mad at you P’!”
Damn it, she had turned it around on him. His Nong was too good at handling him, the only one who could do that, really. Not even their mother could. “Okay, okay,” He said, beating a hasty retreat.
He could not help but feel as if there was something he was missing. But as long as his sister was okay, he was okay with not knowing, even though his curiousity was piqued now. He felt apologetic towards Prim for doing something on her behalf when she did not even ask him. But he had always been protective of his sister. When they were much younger, before high school, their parents had separated, their father completely leaving their lives. Their mother started working for long hours to make ends meet. His sister and he had only each other for comfort.
When the news of their parents’ separation had spread around in school, a few of his sister’s classmates had begun to tease her constantly. While people had steered clear of him, his sister would suffer from the bullying she received everyday. That was when he had started beating up people and becoming overly protective of his sister. It was a dark time for both of them - things had become very serious, especially when he had faced expulsion, but more than that… when one night he had found his sister with a bottle of pills in her hand. Their mother had reacted immediately, moving them from the city, all the way into the small town where her mother lived.
Things were better now, but his reputation had followed him here too - someone from his old school must have had family here. And in a small town, there is no escape from your reputation. At least it kept people from hurting him. Small mercies, he supposed.
He heard his grandma walk in from the back door, presumably from her gardening. “Kamon?” She appeared in his doorway, a warm smile. “Come, I made you your favourite basil chicken. Come and eat. Get your sister too.”
“Okay Yaai,” He smiled and nodded, only now noticing the delicious smell of home cooked food wafting from the kitchen. Very much in contrast to the cold meals they would have back when they were in the city because their mother was too worn out and time-crunched to make proper meals.
Yes. Things were much better here, than they had been before.
But life always had a way of devolving. Of lulling you into a false sense of security before throwing you into the deep end. Kamon put little trust in anything and anyone other than his family. So he would know to expect when it would all go to shit.
And maybe, just maybe, that deep end was coming to engulf him soon. Let it come. He would not drown.