Distant Signals: The Definition of Us

Chapter Four

Arthit ignored his friends' idle chatter and chewed his food slowly, staring at an ultrasound photo Puen had sent him of his nephew. It bothered him that he still hadn't gotten them a gift, but what could he do? Every time he thought of something to buy, it turned out that Sarah's mother had already sent it. Apparently she was upset that she couldn't throw her daughter a baby shower and was making up for it by sending package after package of stuff they'd need for the baby. It was ridiculous and, frankly, irksome.

"Hey, Arthit," said Bright, who was sitting next to him. "You're done with the assignment, right? Can I borrow your notes?" He leaned over, looking over Arthit's shoulder at his phone, and let out a small gasp. "Arthit! What is that?"

"Huh?"

Bright sucked in a deep breath and grabbed Tutah's arm, tugging on it urgently until he had his attention. "Tutah! We're going to be uncles!"

"Uncles?" Tutah's face lit up. "Really?"

"Bright, what the hell are you going on about?" asked Arthit, frowning. He put down his phone and picked up his fork and spoon. "Neither one of you two have siblings. How are you going to be uncles? And no, you can't borrow my notes. You'll just lose them."

"Lose them?" Bright repeated, incredulous. "I would never! I'm hurt you'd even say that."

Arthit pushed some rice onto his spoon, smiling slightly despite himself.

"But don't you try to change the subject, Arthit. I saw that picture!"

"Picture?" Had they seen something on instagram? What had he posted recently? There had been the pictures with Kongpob at the ice rink, and then one he'd posted while fixing his bike's tire. Was there something in those pictures he hadn't noticed?

Knot and Prem, both of whom had been chatting about something on their own, quieted and turned their attention to the rest of the group. "What's going on?" asked Knot. "Did something happen?"

Shrugging, Arthit started eating. He had no idea what Bright was going on about, and he had other things to worry about. Like the gift he still hadn't bought for his uncle, or the fact that he'd barely seen Kongpob since school started. Normally, they'd get dinner and study together a couple nights a week, but one of Kongpob's professors decided to assign a collaborative project right away and he'd had to meet with his group instead.

It wasn't that big of a deal. He saw Kongpob every morning when he got to school, albeit only for approximately five to ten minutes depending on how many times he'd hit the snooze button that day, and once or twice when Kongpob stopped him in the halls to tell him something. That should be enough, right? So why didn't it feel like it?

Arthit glanced at the other side of the canteen where Kongpob was sitting with his friends. Something happened that caused the entire table to erupt in laughter, except Kongpob, who merely shook his head and smiled fondly at his friends' antics, adding a comment after a few seconds that had them laughing even harder. Arthit's stomach hardened. It wasn't fair. Why did they get to monopolize all his time?

Except, that wasn't what was happening and Arthit knew it, but that didn't stop the bitterness from building in his chest. According to Kongpob, his group kept wasting time playing games on their phones, and it was probably going to take them another week to finish their project. It pissed Arthit off. He liked games as much as the next person, but he knew better than to play when others were counting on him to do something. Who was in Kongpob's group? He had half a mind to find out and order them to do a hundred squats for being so irresponsible.

"Oh, he's not answering!" Bright gave him a hard slap on the shoulder, effectively tearing him away from his inner turmoil, and loudly said, "It must be true! Did you dump her for 0062 or something?"