Chapter 8: .....Is Not Fake Anymore

Every student has to move to their dorms according to their groups. Students of science have their separate buildings and so do the business studies and humanities. Max went to the business studies students' dorm and Arman went to the science students'.Both said bye to each other before coming to their respective places. Max was super excited to meet his new roommate. Well, Arman already made him more comfortable but the one who's going to be his best friend for three and a half years now might not be like Arman. He's sitting on his bed waiting for his roommate to show up. The business studies students' all moved here together then how come his roommate isn't here yet? Finally, Max hears a knock and jumps to the door. He stands still surprised when he sees a familiar body. This figure is not here for a visit with all the luggage.

"You?!"

Both exclaim at the same time. Arman groans. Max is very happy to see him. So his lie became the truth now. Arman is not his fake roommate anymore. Max is so happy right now that he grabs Arman in a tight bro hug.

"Come in," he tells.

So loud that it sounds like yelling.

Arman is overwhelmed. Enough though Max is just being sweet it's still a bit uncomfortable to him so he tries to get free from his arms.

"Ok. You can let me go now" he says.

And Max lets him go and helps him with his bags. Max already chose the bed on the right side beside the window so Arman has no choice now but to sleep on the bed which is on the left side. Max puts Arman's bag on his new bed and inhales.

"These are heavy. If I knew that before I would have just let you do it" he says as he lands on his own bed. And then immediately stands up again.

"Wait, why are you, my roommate? Aren't you a student of the science department?" Max asks raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I asked them the same question too," Arman says casually sitting comfortably on his bed.

"They said since we were from the same University so it'd be best if we stayed together"

Max is delighted. He doesn't even know why.

"You don't have to lie to my parents now but I already paid for the cab so you owe me now," Max says confidently.

"Ok ok," Arman says "we'll see about that. We have to unpack now"

Max nods. If he hadn't wasted his time to wait eagerly for his roommate he'd finish unpacking by now. Max pulls his luggage on his bed and sits down on it.

"It's so heavy" he's losing breath.

He again gets up and unzips. Arman's jaw almost drops open when he sees only books coming out from his luggage.

"Did you even pack any clothes? Why do I only see books?" He asks with so many doubts.

Max then notices that he actually packed too many books. At his home, he decided that he'd only pack his favorite ones but he forgot that he has a ton of favorite books. He looks embarrassed when Arman said so. But he shakes his head and confidently says,

"Books are important. And no, I have packed clothes as well" then he starts putting them out one by one. And then suddenly turns to Arman.

"What about you? Why do I only see earphones huh?"

Arman was holding a bunch of earphones in his hand when Max asked him. This time Arman is embarrassed. The earphones are of different colors and each one is different from the other. They look so beautiful tied together. It's almost like an earphone craft.

"Well, I had some tough times with my family and the only thing that made me feel better was music" he takes a breath "and these earphones are like my second best friend. They were with me when no one else was"

Max can relate to Arman's every word. The only thing that made Max happy was those boys love fiction. They were with him when no one else was.

Max nods and looks up at Arman.

"I can relate. I love music too. Especially pop and R&B" he says smiling "I love Rihanna"

"I don't listen to pop or R&B. I have no idea why people even listen to pop music," he says while taking out clothes.

" I mostly listen to soul or rock music. I love Adele though. My playlist is full of Sting's songs"

Max has no idea who Sting is. And he also doesn't like rock music. And he listens to pop stars like Madonna, Lady Gaga. He doesn't have time for Rock or Soul or whatever. But he doesn't want to look stupid so he pretends he knows Sting and that he likes rock music.

"I love Sting as well. They are my favorite band"

This time Arman is the one who can't stop laughing. He's laughing hysterically.

"Sting is a solo artist. Sting is not a band" he says.

Max's face is green.

"Yeah, I know. I was just testing you" Max says.

Someone is knocking at the door. Since Max is not moving from his bed Arman goes to see who's here. His eyes stop moving when he sees the beautiful senior from earlier standing.

"Everyone is very tired today. Your orientation class will start tomorrow at 9 am. Don't forget to bring your boyfriend" she waves hi at Max when she says the word "Boyfriend"

Arman gets confused but Max is giggling.

"He's not my boyfriend. We're not... I'm not... we're just roommates" he's trying very hard to convince the beautiful senior.

"Oh," the beautiful senior says "Pity. You look very cute together. He's short and you're tall. Perfect for each other" then she claps her hands together and exclaims.

"Are you sure you two are not.…..? Because I saw you two holding hands together earlier"

Arman remembers he did hold Max's hand but not because he likes him but because Max was being clumsy and was stepping on his foot. He held his hand so he could stop moving.

"Fine. Whatever. Don't be late for tomorrow" the beautiful senior walks away and turns back around.

"I can't knock on every door and inform everyone so you just post about it on your first year's WhatsApp group chat, ok?"  She pats Arman's shoulder and wakes away. Arman just stands there looking at the senior walking away.

He closes the door and takes a deep breath

"She's so hot," he says

"I think she's pretty," Max says

"Pretty? No. That's hot"

the first day at the university and he already has a crush. Did he forget he just broke up with someone yesterday?

Arman then looks confused. WhatsApp group chat? Do we have one?

"Do we have a WhatsApp group chat?" He asks Max

"We do. I was already added to the group by that guy we talked to earlier. Remember? Wait I'm adding you as well"

Max adds Arman to the group and he tells everyone about the orientation class. Immediately after their phone starts chiming. Everyone is texting about how excited they all are to be here. People are sharing their pictures. Talking about where are they from and why they chose Thailand. Arman is not at all interested in this kind of conversation. He just ignores their texts.