Krist worked his way up the red-carpeted stairs, his feet sinking into the small grooves, until he reached his door: 206.

Luckily for him, he only had to walk up one flight of stairs. His friends were on the fifth floor and only the students with medical problems or disabilities could use the elevators. He swiped his card in front of the scanner and opened the door promptly at the flashing green light.

Throwing his small backpack on his desk, he plopped down on the bed next to his roommate's.

A quick glance at the clock reminded him that it was only one in the afternoon; and while everyone else was in a stuffy, boring classroom, he was in his dorm room.

The opportunity to stay awake and enjoy the few hours of freedom his roommate didn't have, was almost too great to pass up. But Krist hadn't been feeling well since that morning. It was only when given an English test did his stomach really insist on resting.

But he didn't have much of a say in to sleep or not. Because before he could think of what to do, he was so tired, and bed felt so warm, and the air felt so cold, he fell right to sleep.

He awoke hours later to his roommate, Newwie, staring in his face. Krist's body tensed in surprise.

"You just don't like getting up, do you?" Newwie said with an air of playful anger.

"Oh jeez, I'm so sorry New!" Krist pushed the covers aside and got up, "I forget to set an alarm."

Newwie laughed, "Hey, it's fine. Really."

Krist went his closet to look for a clean uniform. The one he was wearing was wrinkled and tarnished from sleeping in it. Krist felt bad, and embarrassed, for Newwie having to wake him up.

"We gotta hurry up and get down to dinner. There's a few new guys down there the headmaster's gotta introduce."

"New guys?"

"Yeah, one of 'em's a junior. He's from Germany or something."

Krist remembered Prachaya, from the courtyard. Was that a German name? He couldn't remember. But he wasn't a junior. Maybe he just dreamt he had met Prachaya 🤣🤣🤣. Maybe none of it had ever happened.

A new feeling emerged. Krist didn't want that to be a dream. He was glad he had met Prachaya. For some reason that he couldn't pick up on.

'C'mon let's go!"

"Coming."

Newwie and Krist ran down the long, stained, cherry-oak hallway into the dinning room. Newwie pushed open the doors and sound exploded into the quiet hallway. Over a hundred boys in either green and silver (school colours) or all black uniforms sat chatting away at four, long, wooden tables. In front of them was another, smaller table, placed at an angle and elevated, at which the teachers and headmaster were conversing as well.

They both went their separate ways; One looking around with hopeful eyes, for his mystery man, and other finding his friends immediately.

Across the hall, he noticed someone slightly taller than average stand up from his seat. Krist studied the boy carefully, only to find that it wasn't the man. It couldn't have been him. Krist could tell, somehow.

He finally sat down in one of the back tables facing the wall of the dinning hall, discouraged and not at all hungry.

A part of him longed to just go back his room. He still wasn't feeling well and he didn't want to sit alone. But before he gained the courage to get up again, the headmaster rose in the distance.

Having no escape route, Krist prepared for another long speech and then fourty minutes of sitting by himself in the dinning hall; he put his head down on the table.

Headmaster Sataporn's voice echoed clearly throughout the hall. He spoke of the spring sports that were quickly coming around the corner. He talked of a few minor disciplinary issues, but nothing of real importance to Krist ; he couldn't play sports, and he never got into any trouble. That would only cause his family to worry.

Someone placed a hand on Krist's slender shoulder. Not a hand to pull his head up from off the table, as would the dinnertime supervisors be doing, but more of a hand for comfort.

"You okay, Krist ?"

Krist looked up, expecting to see one of the teachers, Professor Knott, only to find Prachaya standing silently behind him, his hand on his shoulder.

"Singto!" Hale whispered as enthusiastically as his voice would allow him. Though he immediately regretted it. He didn't want to seem too happy to see the other one ; Prachaya might have thought he was weird. Or even worse, gay.

Singto was standing up against the wall, blending in with the cheery wood siding with his black uniform, and out of the headmaster's seeing range.

"Hey, are you sitting here by yourself?"

"Yup." Krist replied in his monotone voice.

"Come sit with me. I made a couple friends. We've got a table over there." Singto pointed to a small group of people sitting at the end of the middle table. They were all seniors.

Krist t was just happy to see Singto, he didn't care about age at that moment, "Okay."

"We gotta wait till Sataporn's done with his announcements."

"...And before I let you get your food, as it is well waiting for you, I'd like to recognize the following people as new students to our school. I'll give you the names in alphabetical order, then their class numbers.

Alex Peterson, class 3-4..."

He was a junior.

"Mark Benjamin, class 3-6..."

Also a junior.

"Ken Demux, class 3-2..."

Were they all juniors? What about Singto ?

"And Singto Prachaya, class 3-3."

Krist looked up at Singto suddenly, "Are you a junior?" He whispered.

"Congratulations and welcome to our fine school. I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that I hope your stay here is most enjoyable." The headmaster finished off.

And with that, the glass buffet area was open and ready for business. Tonight's specialty was meatloaf and potatoes. There were many other choices but that was the dinner paid for by the school.

The hall erupted with noise again. And as if a puppet suddenly filled with life, Singto moved away from the wall that had camouflaged him quite nicely in his sleek, black uniform, and took Krist by the wrist, "C'mon."

Krist allowed himself to be pulled away, weaving in and out of hungry students, to the middle table where the majority of the juniors were.

The group of 'seniors' Singto had pointed out before came into view.

"Are they all juniors too?"

"Yeah."

Krist took a seat opposite of the boys. Singto sat beside him.

Propping his elbows up at the table, Singto looked at the rest of the boys as to interrupt their conversation, "Excuse me..."

The table suddenly grew quiet. All eyes were on Singto. "What do you want?" A boy with brown hair sneered, leaning over the table at him.

Krist starred in disbelief. Where these his friends? Why were they so mean?

Krist opened his mouth as to say something to Singto , but found himself suddenly interrupted by the boys' laughter.

He looked at Singto. He was laughing too. There was that laugh. For some unknown reason, it sounded nice to Krist.

"I wanted to introduce my friend here, you gotta problem with that, Benjamin ?" Singto snapped back, shooting a playful glance at the brown-haired boy, "This is Perawat. He was the first guy I met here."

'I wonder why he didn't say my going name ' thought Krist.

"You just got here." Another boy with darker hair remarked.

"Yeah, but I met Him, first."

The boy made a face at Singto and the rest of them laughed.

Still smiling, he introduced krist to his newly found friends. The brown haired boy was Mark Benjamin, one of the new students as well; and the one with the darker hair was Lucas Gunn; Singto's roommate. The other boys didn't say much, so Krist had forgotten their names quickly.

"C'mon Singto , we're gunna get some food. The lines have gone down a bit." Benjamin boomed. His voice: loud and clear. Krist hardly knew him, but somehow he could already tell him apart from the others. He had strong facial features and solid blue eyes. His wild brown hair was gelled up into spikes.

Before Singto responded, he turned to Krist , "Come on up with us."

"No thanks." Krist starred down at the floor, "I'm not hungry."

Deciding quickly what to do, Singto turned back to Benjamin and Gunn, "I'll catch up."

"Whatever." Mark shrugged, walking off with Gunn and striking another random conversation on the way.

Singto turned his focus back to Krist, trying to read his expression. Krist 's head was still hung low, his eyes clouded by grey.

"What's wrong?"

He didn't look up. "I'm just... not feeling well." For the first time since Krist had sat down, he exchanged glances with Singto, "That's all."

"All-right then. I'll be back."

"Okay."

Leaving the table to get dinner, Singto caught up with Gunn and Mark in the long line across the room.

Krist sat quietly, thinking to himself of that morning, before he had met Singto, and before he had gone to school. Maybe retracing his steps would help him figure out why he had gotten so sick.

Having woken up at five in the morning due to a sudden stomach pain, Krist 's day had already started out uneasily.

He left before his roommate, Newwie, had even gotten up. It was usually the other way around. Remembering he hadn't studied for his English test, and, being an hour early for class, Krist headed down to the library to study.

He sunk into one of the red, fluffy chairs and took out his book while checking the time which is five thirty in the morning. The breakfast chefs were just getting ready themselves.

The only librarian there was an older woman whom Krist had never seen before. Ironic as it was, Krist began to feel tired again in the red chair. He fell asleep, the English book in his lap, before his eyes could even glance at the text book.

Second hour rolled around and not studying began to kick him in the butt as the English test was handed out. Having scanned the first few pages and not known any of them, a sudden and excruciating pain dug its way into His stomach. He was dismissed to his room to work there for the rest of the day. That's when he met Singto .

But what was it that had made his stomach hurt so badly to begin with?

Wandering back into reality, the roar of the hundreds of boys in the dinning hall talking and laughing engulfed his mind. Singto and the other boys were back from the lunch line and had sat down beside him, their lunch trays in hand. Gunn had gotten the special, but other two bought the pasta dish.

Krist looked curiously as their plates, "How come you didn't get the meatloaf?"

"I don't eat meat." Benjamin replied, grabbing a forkful of pasta and shoving it into his mouth.

That was news to Krist . He had expected someone like Benjamin to be a pure carnivore.

"What about you?" Krist asked singto.

"Same. No meat for me."

"Don't worry Krist ." Gunn said, leaning over the table to talk to Krist , "I eat meat." He said, smiling.

Kriat faked a laugh, as his insides were churning and groaning over the smell of the food. The only thing he wanted was to lie down on his nice, soft bed and get a good night's sleep.

"Here's an idea." Singto changed the subject suddenly, "How about, tomorrow, after school, Gunn and Krist here, can show us new guys around the school."

That was the first idea brought up at dinner that grabbed Krist 's attention, "Okay."

"Mmthad be fineth." Benjamin mumbled through a mouthful of spaghetti noodles.

"Sure." Gunn chimed in.

Singto smiled, watching the responses circle around the table, "Great. Then tomorrow after school."

The group left to their dorms directly after dinner, and by the time Newwie showed up, Krist was already fast asleep.

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A/N: can I get some love and comments!