TROUBLEMAKERS
Saint was famous at Bangkok Elementary—but not the good kind of famous. Known as the class troublemaker, his days were filled with "brilliant ideas" that usually ended in chaos. He was the kid who always seemed to find trouble, whether it was by accident or on purpose. The teachers called him "spirited." His classmates called him "wild." Saint called it "Fun"
When Shin showed up as the new kid, he didn't seem like someone who'd team up with Saint. Shin was quiet, neat, and serious. But fate—or maybe bad luck—had other plans.
On his very first days, during recess, fate—or bad luck—decided to introduce him to Saint's troublemaker side.
It started with one of Saint's experiments. Saint had come up with what he thought was a genius idea: to see how high a dodgeball could bounce. He threw it as hard as he could, but instead of bouncing, it flew straight into the classroom window. The glass didn't break, but the loud THUD was enough to send everyone into a hush.
"SAINT!" the teacher yelled from across the playground. "Stay right there! Don't you move!"
Saint froze. His eyes darted around for a way out, but then Shin stepped forward. Without saying a word, Shin picked up another dodgeball and threw it at the opposite wall, making an even louder BANG!
The teacher spun around. "Shin?! You too? Come here!"
Saint stared, dumbfounded stood there, stunned, as Shin calmly walked up and stood beside him. "It's my first day. I wasn't aware of the rules." Shin said smoothly. "I didn't know dodgeballs weren't allowed."
Later, as they sat side-by-side in detention, Saint broke the silence. Finally whispered, "That was so cool. I mean, dumb—but cool."
Shin looked at him sideways and said, "You're welcome."
From that moment, Saint decided Shin wasn't just cool. He was hero material.
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Later that week, the class was assigned to work on an art project in pairs. To no one's surprise, Saint claimed Shin as his partner.
Shin, who had some artistic talent, was already annoyed when Saint partnered up with him.
"We're gonna make the best project ever!" Saint declared as they gathered paints and brushes.
"Just don't mess it up." Shin warned, mixing paint on the palette.
Fifteen minutes later, Saint had managed to knock over a jar of paint water, smudge their canvas with his elbow causing smear green paint across his face and spill glitter all over the table and somehow get glitter in his hair as well. Shin pinched the bridge of his nose.
"You're hopeless."
"Hey, I'm adding personality!" Saint argued, gesturing to their very abstract-looking painting.
"Did you know? You're a disaster!," Shin said, trying to salvage their work.
"Yeah, but I'm your disaster," Saint replied cheerfully. Shin didn’t know why, but he couldn't stay mad at Saint. Instead , Shin grabbed a brush and started fixing the mess while Saint "supervised" which mostly involved making more of a mess. By the end of the day, their project was far from perfect, But its looked… unique. But even as Shin grumbled about Saint's lack of talent, he couldn't deny he'd had fun.
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Their newfound friendship was quickly tested during a science project again.
The assignment? Build a model volcano. Everyone else was making neat little volcanoes, but Saint and Shin's project was more like an adventure.
"Careful with the vinegar," Shin said as he carefully painted the volcano's base.
"Got it!" Saint replied—and then promptly dumped the entire bottle of vinegar into the volcano.
"No, no, NO!" Shin groaned as Saint already dumped an entire bottle of vinegar into the half-painted volcano.
The mixture erupted prematurely, spewing foam everywhere—onto the desk, their shirts, and even the floor.
"Oops!" Saint said, bursting into laughter. "It works !" Saint doubled over laughing.
Shin sighed, wiping foam off his face. "At least wait until we add the paint next time."
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Another time, their bond was sealed for good.
At lunch, a fifth-grader decided Shin's neatly packed bento looked too tasty to pass up. He reached over to grab it seen it as an easy target. But before he could touch it, Saint jumped up like a superhero.
"Back off, thief! Leave my best friend's food alone!" he shouted, throwing himself at the older kid.
The fifth-grader fought back, and soon the two were rolling on the ground, covered in dirt. When it was over, both boys had messy hair and scraped knees.
Saint's grin never wavered. "Nobody messes with my best friend!" Saint declared, puffing out his chest proudly.
Afterward, Shin quietly handed Saint half of his untouched bento.
"What’s this for?" Saint asked, already shoving food into his mouth.
"You defended it," Shin replied with a shrug. " Might as well share." Smiled slightly at Saint who looked like a puppy.
From that day on, they were inseparable and unstoppable team. Saint became the fearless, reckless defender, and Shin the steady, quiet protector.
Bangkok Elementary would never be the same again with the chaotic duo on the loose.
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To Be Continued.....