Chapter 3: Pal

The following day Sun awoke, having dreamt that he was riding a pink elephant, he felt uneasy about continuing with his day. He decided that he once again needed to visit the shrine near his home and select a fortune stick but he worried that no matter what he chose he wouldn't agree with his. That was how much Sun felt off. Not much came from the Awkward lunch with Unn, Sky and Decha the previous day. Sky didn't talk much during the encounter and neither did Decha, however that wasn't unusual to Sun. Mostly, it was Sun and Unn who partook in the most of the conversation, they joked and laughed while occasionally involving the other two. The lunch ended without any problems and they all went about their schedules. And Sun was left with an odd sense of Bitter disdain for Sky.

Sun took his motor bike to campus, his bike was a standard black model with a worn out smiley face sticker attached next to the handle bars. When he arrived at the parking lo he pulled in his bike. As soon as he took of his helmet he saw Sky. Sun observed him for a moment, watching him walk across the court yard. He watched him stop and look up at the school's university logo, watched him take a deep breath, and continue on. This kid if kinda weird thought Sun. Sun shook his head to both clear his thoughts and fix his hair to avoid the helmet hair he had just obtained. Sun wanted nothing more than a normal day, and a day where he would hopefully get to see his goddess pam again.

The weather was nice today, a light breeze but overall it was sunny without a cloud in sight for rain. Sky was pleased with the weather, it felt consistent and stable, exactly how he preferred. Today Sky only had one class, and he was glad it was an early morning class. It meant he could get everything done he needed to in one day if he chose to. Although all this freetime was something he needed to get used to. Sky entered the health science building just as he had been for the last two terms. He always took the main staircase, ran his hand along the railing, stopped for a short moment at the top of the steps and then continued. It was his personal routine, even though it wasn't something he actively realized about himself.

Sky entered his classroom. like usual, he was early, but so was another familiar face. Pam was also in this class. Comforted by a face he knew he immediately went to sit next to her. "Hey Pam" He greeted her in a warm friendly tone. This class might not be so bad Sky thought as she smiled at him. "Hey Sky, It's nice that we're in the same class!" Sky agreed. It was nice. Even though Sky liked pam, and that he was comfortable around her in the back of his mind crawled out the idea that being in the same class with her might not be such a good idea after all. There was not logic behind that thought so Sky pushed it out of his mind.

"Hey Pam, do you remember Unn? My friend from orientation?" Sky inquired hoping to keep things from being awkward up until class starts. "He's also in this class but he has it the day before us. He told me the final is a group project in teams of three. Do you want to be in my group?" He thought he might regret this question later but he decided to roll with it. "Of course! But we'll need one more person later on" She gladly responded.

"Um, how about me?" A super bright voice showed up out of nowhere. It came from someone sitting in the row in front of them. "I overheard your conversation about the project and thought, hey! Im one more person"

"OMG you're so cute!" Pam exploded in the direction of the new individual. Sky had never seen that side of her before. Granted they barely knew each other but her reaction was more that Sky could have predicted. However, her reaction was spot on. The person in front of them was cute. Infact, maybe too cute to even be considered male. Although his hair was short it was wavy and curled at the tips. He had high cheekbones and big eyes. The round glasses he wore were just slightly too big for his face and his stature was petite. He looked like a ball of rainbow sunshine if it had a physical manifestation. He even had a kitten pin latched onto his shirt collar, although this was technically against school regulation he was cute enough to get away with it.

The new figure chickled sweetly "Thank you, so how about it? Group partners?" Sky could tell this guy was quite outgoing, the way he carried himself screamed that he could get any number of people to like him, be it male,. Female, child, or elderly. That was how much affection oozed from his persona. Without hesitation Pam consented to his joining the group before even asking his name. Sky was ok with this, oddly enough, seeing Pam happy like that made his discomfort with her diminish. Even if it was just a little.

"So, what's your name? Im sure you heard ours already when you were listening to our conversation." Sky stated. He said it in a manner of not trying to be rude and he hoped it didnt come off that way. He had a habit of putting things plainly on occasion and he didn't want anyone to misinterpret his intention of being friendly.

"Haha, yeah sorry. My name is Palawut Chaimongkhon, but you can call me Pal" It had been a while since someone introduced their full name to Sky upon the first meeting. Sky liked this, it displayed a certain level of transparency and openness which he rarely got from people right away. Pam was quick to steer the conversation to all the trinkets and stickers Pal had on his belongings. It was apparent that he liked cute things, if fit his image really well. Being as small as he is, if he dressed as a girl it would be hard to notice otherwise that he was a guy otherwise. But truly, Sky did not mind this. Pal was easy to read, and very expressive. His personality was exactly one that Sky would want to be friends with. And thus, Sky became resolute, to befriend Pal.

Their lecture ended and Pam left to go to another class, She was part of the Nursing Faculty so her course load was a little heavy for this term. With Pam leaving Sky felt a tinge uncomfortable and wasn't sure what to say to Pal. He hadn't ever been the one to reach out and make friends first, usually people found him. Pam was his rock and Sky felt like he needed her around to feel like something was normal. But wth her gone, he was left alone. Although Sky might enjoy being alone, he didn't enjoy being alone with other people. However, Sky was resolute. If he befriended Pal then he wouldn't be alone with a stranger. He would be alone with Pal.

"So, you finished for the day?" Asked Pal seemingly out of nowhere. How long have I been standing here spaced out? Thought Sky to himself. Relieved that Pal asked something first, Sky was delighted to oblige in the conversation. "Yeah, I only had one class so now im free"

"Oh me too!" Pal sounded so happy to hear that Sky was done, because not so secretary did Pal want someone to hang out with for the day. "Do you want to go to a cafe and hang out? I know a great place that sells smoothies" Taken back by Pal's sudden offer to hang out Sky had no reason to refuse so he agreed.

The two sat across from each other. Pal drank a mango smoothie and Sky a strawberry one. Sky was allergic to mango but he wasn't going to let Pal know. " So Sky… How long have you and Pam been friends?" These were the words that Pal used to begin the conversation that would change Sky's entire life.

"I've only known Pam for a few months, we met at freshy day" Said Sky sipping the last of his Strawberry smoothie. "Why do you ask?" Sky was naturally inquisitive he just was particular about when and where he asked questions.

" I don't know, you two seem like you get along well. I thought you might be dating or something."

"Us? No, we're not dating" Sky responded matter of factly

"Do you like her?" Asked Pal

" Yeah I mean she's nice, and i'm comfortable around her" Sky felt no reason to lie to Pal.

"If she disappeared how would you feel?" This question shook Sky

"Why? Are your going to make her disappear?" Although Sky tried to make this sound like a joke he couldn't help but be apprehensive about this kind of question.

"No, its just a hypothetical question. One of the type of questions you ask when you're trying to become friends with someone"

"I see..." Sky pondered. He hadn't had a conversation like this with Unn before so he wasn't sure how to feel about it. However, Sky did want to be friends with pal so he went along with it. "I wouldn't know what to do if she disappeared. I like having her around, her presence makes me feel stable, so if she was just gone… I think I would struggle." This answer was true for Sky. Pam was a constant, something to keep his anxiety from setting in. if Pam was no longer around, and a friendship with Pal didn't work Sky would be left with alone in a sea of people he didn't know. Even though he has Unn, they don't share any classes so he couldn't rely on him. And Unn now had new friendship with Decha and Sun, that Sky would simply get in the way if he was always around them. Of course, this bothered Sky, So he needed Pam.

"You're an interesting person" Said Pal. There wasn't much more to their conversation, they talked about things here and there, discovered they're both in the Faculty of Psychology, and that they shared a fondness for Korean dramas. Sky and Pal became friend's almost as quickly as Unn, Decha, and Sun did. Meaning finally, Sky had someone to bring along with him to avoid another one of those awkward lunches.