On the Road Again
Tone couldn’t keep the smile off his face. The drive there wasn’t going to be too long if all went well, only about half an hour. He was the one driving, and since they had the window open, he and Akk could talk to the others. Not that they seemed to be in a talking mood, as everyone was singing random songs at the top of their lungs. Tone sang along when he knew the words, while the others would just make up lyrics if the songs weren’t in Thai. He couldn’t see the others in the back, but he knew Kay was in Neung’s lap and that Pong was probably holding hands with Kin. As they started their next song, Akk put his hand on Tone’s leg, letting him know that he was incredibly happy as well. Tone squeezed Akk’s hand before putting his hand back on the wheel.
Meanwhile, in the other car, Toey and Ying were catching up on gossip from Valen and Nook. Ying had heard some of the hotel gossip from Sompai, but she was learning some new things from Nook about the other interns. She pretty much only talked to Toey, sometimes Valen.
“Yeah, Pong says that he’s looking for environmentalist companies, if any of you have any connections” Nook said through the window.
Min, who was driving, looked thoughtful. “I thought he would have ended up a doctor, like me. That’s what he wanted in high school, at least. So did Akk, actually, isn’t that funny? And now he runs a homestay. But Toey, don’t you know people? You’re the science major”
Toey stuck out his tongue at Min. “I already told him I can help him, he said he would get back to me when he’s closer to graduation. So there. But how’s the hotel, you three?”
“Oh, it’s doing fine. The next set of interns are coming up, isn’t that crazy?” Valen replied.
“They can’t be as crazy as you guys” Sompai said with a laugh. “You guys made it so interesting. I wasn’t here for the first two, so I wouldn’t know, but apparently P’Krit said you guys were the best behaved”
Toey whipped his head around, while Nook leaned closer in.
“US???” exclaimed Toey, Ying, and Nook. Valen burst into laughter at their expressions, surprising the others.
“I don’t think I really saw you laugh before, Valen” Toey said.
“I think you were too busy sabotaging yourself, and playing games in our room to notice” Valen replied.
“Hey, at least I wasn’t as blind as Akk! I might have been self-centered but at least I could see something between Neung and Kay!”
The others laughed at that, knowing that Akk would never hear the end of it.
“Did you guys know that the baristas had a bet going on for when they would get together?” Valen asked.
“I mean, I knew about the one for us, but not Neung and Kay” Nook answered. “P’Phume won ours, right?”
“Yup, seven months after you started working at the hotel”
“P’Golf won ours” Sompai called out. “I didn’t even know they had seen chemistry between us”
“Did P’Tom win Neung and Kay’s then?” Ying asked.
“He did, actually. Isn’t that crazy? He thought Kin and Akk we’re dating for a hot minute” Valen said.
“Well, to be fair, those two hold hands all the time, it just doesn’t mean anything” Toey said thoughtfully. “Pong said they spam each other with pics of their boyfriends all the time too. That’s probably one of the reasons they didn’t see anything especially gay about Neung and Kay”
“Kin is the gayest of us all, though” Sompai replied. “Akk is just such a disaster bi, though. I don’t know if I would have been able to deal with a guy who couldn’t realize he did indeed have multiple crushes at the same time, actually. Glad I saw you that day, Ying” Sompai gently touched Ying’s face as she spoke.
“Me too” Ying said softly.
“Hey, isn’t that the other car?” Nook asked as they came up to a light very near the beach. They all looked where she was pointing, and sure enough, it was the other former interns, singing the song they had sung their last day at the top of their lungs. When Kin spotted them, he waved enthusiastically and the others all cheered as well. Both cars drove into the parking lot, and by some miracle, got two parking spots next to each other.
“This will help later, won’t it” Valen whispered to Nook as they got down from the back.
“I think so. You hid it, right?” Nook whispered back.
“Of course, Toey hid it in front of his seat”
Nook gave him the okay sign and helped Ying with the bags she had brought. Valen carried the umbrellas and all twelve of them walked to the sand, laden with supplies. The beach was slightly crowded, but not as awful as it could be. It only took a few minutes to find a spot, so they set it up.
“Hey these blankets look familiar” Neung called out to Valen, a knowing grin on his face.
“Don’t worry, we just bought new ones. Uncle Krit said we could use these and if any of you want any, tell me soon and I’ll get some for you”
Neung looked thoughtful. “I might take you up on that, we could use new blankets—“
Pong looked cross as he loudly said “I DON’T WANT TO KNOW” causing the others to laugh. Kin pinched his cheeks as they continued setting up the umbrellas, causing Pong to slap his hand lightly.
Once their spot was to their liking, Kin asked if they were going to get in the water, which everyone said yes to. Everyone stripped to their swim clothes and held hands as they ran into the water. They ran till the tallest of them were up to their chests, with the others treading water or hanging onto their taller partners.