Chapter 53: Transition

NOTE: Chev actually gave me the idea to change the title of the chapter to 'Transition' after his review. It was originally supposed to be Summer but he pointed out the theme so he takes full credit for the fitting name.

It seems inevitable that after the colossal events of the last chapter, everything seems to fall short by comparison.  It’s like the desert that must invariably exist in the shadow of a great mountain range.  This chapter comes off as a pretty routine day-in-the-life scenario without any ground shaking events but, these events are important for the story as a whole and will no doubt link up to the chapters that follow.  The one theme that seems common throughout the chapter is transition.  It seems that with the close of the school year, everything is in a state of flux as life events pass, people move on, relationships change, etc.  It that sense, it really does capture the fleeting nature of life.

The boys have just finished their last exam of the school year and they are exhausted; but mostly because of all the s*x during the previous night.  Por is so happy exams are over he’s yelling wildly and irritating Card.  They squabble briefly before Por grabs Card in a rare headlock, refusing to let him go on the grounds that Card will be going away for a month.  Eventually, Card introduces an embarrassing story from Por’s past and threatens to share it with Josie.  Upon hearing the details Por relents and lets Card go.  After denouncing his friend, Por turns to Pete and Earn to ask them what they’re up to.  Feeling the soreness in his nether region and general fatigue, Pete declines anything physical as does Earn.  Card questions why they are acting so weird, but the two deny it’s anything.  Even Por notices they could barely sit still during exams but were sleepy all morning.  The boys indicate that they had a long night of studying and just need to sleep a few hours before meeting up to play DOTA later, and they agree to meet up later at the usual place.

The moment they’re alone, Pete gives into his pain and begins blaming Earn for his soreness.  Earn defends himself and lets him know that he’s plenty sore too.  The banter descends into teasing and accusations as they recall the salacious events of the previous night with Pete playfully telling Earn how much he hates him while Earn replies with how much he loves Pete.  Pete secretly admits that while he enjoyed what they did, they got a bit greedy and just kept going.  When they woke up however, the “depth” of what they did caught up to them.  Getting up was tortuous, but fortunately Earn’s dad dropped them at school.  They eventually make it to Pete’s house and get the rest they so desperately need.  Pete is awakened to find Earn going down on him and tries to object, but Earn wants a snack.  They argue back and forth about Earn being too and making them late but Pete ultimately gives in and the guys 69, showering afterward.  They cut Pete’s parents into their plans for the rest of the afternoon and night and head off to the internet café to meet their friends.

The next scene is hilariously stolen by Por when he greets the arriving Pete and Earn by shouting, ‘WHAT’S UP, FACES!’, and Tee reacts uncomfortably to this manner of greeting, but Pete quickly responds calling Por a d*ckhead, while Earn calls him a dumba*s and punches his shoulder.  Tee asks if they aren’t insulted but Earn simply acknowledges it’s true and makes Tee blush red.  Recalling what they just did, Pete smacks Earn on the head and berates him for being so direct.  Entering the room, Card tells Tee not to be bothered by Por’s greeting explaining that even if Pete and Earn weren’t a couple Por would still call them that.  Card asks the pair what took them so long to get there and they lie about the alarm not going off.  Card accepts their excuse, just so long as they aren’t late because they were each other off.  Earn gives out a chuckle, but his red face betrays the truth.

The DOTA challenge turns out to be a grand competition among the Cheer Club members featuring a showdown between the outgoing Cheer Club leadership and the incoming leadership of underclassmen.  The teasing and bantering between the latter groups before the play commences is pretty cute, featuring some outright boneheaded yet hilarious remarks from the Nongs.  Card has arranged a series of team challenges and elimination rounds leading up to the final winners, and of course there’s money to made and lost.  Card ultimately reveals that their team of Earn, Pete, Por, Tee and himself will be the main target of all the other 7 teams.  The big challenge will come from the team of Hack, Dirk, Choi, Odd and a nameless boy who previously objected to Hack acceding to his position due to favoritism by Por.  On the line is a large pot of money going to the winning team and when Card makes known how deadly serious he is about winning, he strikes fear in the hearts of the young team of challengers.   The set-up has both sides pumped up, with Por anxious to get into game.

After the competition, the large group of players head to Card’s house to celebrate the winning team and the end of the school year.  Here we learn that the outcome of the games is not what we would naturally expect.  The winning team was the somewhat befuddled and amazed group of young challengers, who can’t believe they actually won.  Card is resigned to the outcome when telling them it was still pretty close.  At this point, Pete lets on that Card was the instigator in throwing the game for the benefit of the new Cheer Club leadership, and his team repeatedly glosses over the truth with various rationales.  Por even grabs Hack in a headlock and messes with him, declaring that since he had previously played with them, he knew all their tricks and stratagems in advance which gave them an advantage. 

Earn raises to toast to the graduating members (Rad and Kal among others) and Odd takes their graduation pretty hard when the reality sinks in, but Por reminds him that they are graduating, not dying and they still have the camp trip ahead of them.  Pete remarks that he’s surprised by Por’s buoyant attitude considering Card will be gone most of the summer, prompting Por to ask Card when he’s leaving.  When Card replies that he’s leaving the next day, everyone gasps in surprise.  Pete ironically thanks him for telling them, setting Card to deliver his signature ‘You never asked’ line.  Earn jumps up to declare they should make the most of the night, shortly followed by the arrival of the Angels dressed up and primped for the occasion.  Pete admits his insecurity and plans to keep his eye on Princess, long known to have a crush on Earn.  This is followed by the arrival of more and more people Card invited to help ring out the end of the school year.  Eventually, the news of the graduating seniors and Card’s imminent departure makes the rounds and Card is approached by some of the shyer Angels who seem to blushingly offer their confessions which Card understandably shoots down while reassuringly encouraging everyone to enjoy the night.  The drinking and eating commence with relish and the sadness of the moments is replaced by the joy of reminiscing over times past spent together as well as listening to music, singing songs, playing games, jumping in the pool, and going on a beer run.  These details are narrated by Pete in a fond elegiac tone emphasizing how important the memories of this night will be for all in attendance.

The next scene opens with Por once again stealing the show with an overwrought round of sobs and pleas over his departing friend at the airport.  Card tells him not to make a scene as he tries in vain to liberate himself from Por’s tight embrace.  Pete tells him it’s hard not to make a scene when there are legions present to see him off.  Even Ody, Kern, et al. (Lhew excluded) turned out to see him off.  Insisting he doesn’t need so many people to see him off, Card nonetheless seems to search the crowd looking for someone.  In spite of his objections, Pete can tell that Card is both shocked and overjoyed at the huge turnout.  Pete recalls that when they started high school, only the close circle and a few others got along with Card at all.  It seems his family’s wealth created a barrier along with Card’s fierce facial expressions.   Pete notes that Card has come a long way from that apathetic snarky guy.   Once everyone has said their goodbyes, Pete, Earn, and Por give him a hug and he reminds them of his video call availability and the promise to call at least twice per week before stepping into the screening area.  With that, Por heads home to work on cars and Pete and Earn decide to hang out at Pete’s the rest of the day.

So as noted in my opening remarks, the chapter offers some fairly tame entertainment in comparison to what has just come before, but this turns out to be a transitional time in their lives and there is actually a lot of events requiring adjustments and adaptations.  The initial event in this chapter was the ending of school, marked by DOTA challenge and followed by celebration at Card’s that sort of bookends the prior school year experience for everyone.  Summer starts the next day, and a new transition takes place when Card departs for Singapore forcing Por, Pete, and Earn to adjust to his absence for the summer.  No doubt we will continue to see events like this as the chapter moves forward.

We are now at a lush park by a lake or a river and Pete and Earn are kicking a soccer ball around.  Earn chides Pete for blocking a kick with his chest, but Pete reminds him that he isn’t made of straw and they aren’t playing dodge ball.  When Earn does the same and complains he’s hurt, Pete rushes over to him only to find Earn has tricked him, causing Pete to whine.  Earn tells him he’s cute then asks if he can take Pete with him tomorrow.  From here we learn that Earn and his family are going to Chang Mai and Pete can’t go because his parents want him to enroll in cram school.  In spite of Earn’s tight grip, Pete raises his hand and counts the potential reasons for why his parents want him to go to cram school.  With a child-like frown on his face, Earn declares he won’t let Pete go, but Pete raises his arm and tickles Earn’s side making him burst into laughter and giving Pete his freedom.  Earn calls Pete a cheater, but Pete replies, ‘All’s fair in love and war and in this case, doubly fair’ while sticking his tongue out in triumph.  In preparation for a wrestling match, Earn removes his shirt and warns Pete he’s going to get it, but Pete tells Earn he has to catch him first.  With the gauntlet thrown down, Earn grins and charges, and the chase is on.  The insertion of a very sweet love song at this point (Jigsaw Heart) is masterfully appropriate with a link provided in the text. 

Earn’s goal is to tackle or hug Pete while Pete’s goal is to see how long he can avoid Earn’s grasp.  They run around like a pair of idiots, with Pete dodging Earn time and again but he knows in his heart that it’s only a matter of time before Earn inevitably captures him.  In the end, the boys end up on the grass with Earn on top of Pete and both of them laughing and out of breath while gazing deeply into each other’s eyes.  Pete concedes defeat and tells Earn he can get off of him, but Earn is in a gloating mood and won’t budge.  All Pete can think about is being crushed under him, but all Earn can think about is keeping Pete there with him in the moment.  Pete finally asks if there is any way to get him off, and when Earn answers no, Pete does the only thing he can think of and kisses Earn on the lips.  At first, Earn is taken aback, but he quickly pushes back, sending Pete into the clouds, and they both relish being so open with their affections in such a public place, even if it is sparsely populated at the time.  When Pete senses Earn is absorbed in the moment, he quickly takes advantage and rolls him onto his back while sitting on his stomach, their lips still connected.  Pete declares his victory and Earn happily accepts it.  Pete then taunts him about not objecting to his declaration, but Earn says in a solemn tone that he has no objection.  This prompts Pete to immediately remind him that he’ll only be gone for a week, but Earn can only express his desire to show Pete around his hometown and introduce him to his friends and family, assuring him that they’d like him a lot.  This only serves to fill Pete with joy that Earn feels so strongly about showing him off.  Pete places both hands on Earn’s chest and declares that once he clears the air about their relationship with his parents, he will ask to go to Chang Mai during Christmas break.  This creates some excitement in Earn, and Pete goes on to explain that he would find a change from what his family usually does over the holidays very welcome.  Earn is elated and the boys exchange the three magic words with sincerity, as Pete feels a certain hardness press against him.  As Pete squirms away, Earn defends himself by noting that, ‘Aggressive Penguin is hot.’  Pete merely responds that, ‘And Panda is ’ before slapping Earn teasingly and getting up.  Earn resists, but responds when Pete explains that after more practice they can take a shower (together – implied).  Earn takes the bait and Pete finds his reaction priceless.  So goes their day and they spend an intimate night together at Earn’s.  Pete finds their imminent separation difficult and compares it to a year ago when he thought his feelings were one-sided, but now he just wants the week to be over.  He notes that it’s great Earn’s mom and dad are okay with their relationship because it makes their long hug understandable.  After some playful departing banter, Pete waves them goodbye and finds himself looking forward to his return the following week.

This is the slice of Pete-Earn heaven in the chapter that grounds us and reminds us what this story is really all about at its core.  The entire scene from top to bottom is to-die-for romantic.  The lovely and lush setting is idyllic.  The image of the two lovers is romantic and made even more so by their antics and interactions.  The playful cat and mouse (or should that be Panda and Penguin) chase scene is just too adorable.  Then the serious and emotionally wrenching turn as they face the reality of being young and in love and soon to be separated for a week.  Don’t we all remember being in such a situation, when you’re convinced you’ll die without him by your side?  I know I sure do!  This is captured so tenderly and perfectly.  And yes, this is another one of those transitions mentioned earlier challenging our boys in this chapter.  What do you do when the one you love the most is separated from you, even if only for a week?

Pete returns home where his parents inquire about his time spent at Earn’s.  Pete fudges on the truth to avoid revealing his anxiety over Earn’s departure.  Pete’s mother accepts his statements at face value and comments that she was just speaking with Earn’s mom recently and she commented on how much they love having Pete over.  Once they learn Pete hasn’t yet eaten, they all sit down to a comforting breakfast prepared by P’Kwanjai.  During breakfast, his parents question him about his exams and Pete tries to assure them that he performed well and is still ranked high in his class.  His father still reinforces the desire to see Pete’s results the following week when he enrolls in summer classes.  Pete reminds his parents of Afforestation Camp he signed up for earlier in the year.  They appear concerned until Pete explains that it’s held by the Faculty of Pharmaceuticals which is why he wants to go.  His parents relax with the notion that Pete is thinking about his career.  Pete’s parents encourage him to make friends and connections which turns the conversation in a burdensome direction, so he excuses himself while mentioning he’s going over to Por’s house.  Pete’s mom reminds him that he has to enroll in cram school the following day which annoys Pete because it’s all on top of summer classes.  As Pete dejectedly puts his plate in the sink, his father mentions how costly it is to take taxis everywhere while Pete hears a jingling sound.  Pete swings around to hear his father announce that they are giving him back his car while dangling the keys off a finger.  Pete runs to his father thanking and wai-ing to him and his father drops the keys onto his waiting palm.  Pete’s so overjoyed he hugs his surprised father, who wraps an arm around him and gives him an affectionate squeeze.  He then embraces his mom while thanking them both repeatedly.  While racing to clean up and head over Por’s, Pete understands that even though his parents seem more focused on his academics than on his emotional and social life, they really do love him.

Pete head’s over to see Por who reacts warmly to the return of Pete’s ride.  Of course since Por’s been working on cars, he’s shirtless, a fact that doesn’t escape Pete’s eyes.  The moment doesn’t last long; ending the moment Por opens his obnoxious mouth while trying to get Pete greasy with his dirty hands.  They ultimately end up at Siam Paragon walking aimlessly; sort of a repeat of what they did last Christmas when their best friends were out of town, except since they are both in relationships, Por talks even more about s*x than before.  They eventually meet up with Hack and Dirk who ask about a new computer app they’re interested in.   The day wears on and in the end, Hack and Dirk head one way and Por heads off to see Josie which leaves Pete to head home early haunted, by thoughts of enrolling in cram school the next day.

Here’s yet another transition in Pete’s life – searching and enrolling in cram school.  He’s pointedly opposed to going since he has to attend summer classes as well, and is only doing so at the insistence of his parents.  As much as he’s been fording his own path in life on one level, he’s still not calling all the shots.  Even as he seeks to establish his own priorities in life, he must contend and adapt to those upon him from outside.

Pete awakens the next morning decidedly ed as far as he’s concerned.  He has to sign up for school but doesn’t want to do it alone.  He runs down a list of possible companions and comes up short.  Then he trips over the thought of asking his old friend Lhew, so he shoots her a text to see what she’s up to.  The text exchange proceeds casually but carefully until Lhew asks him if he’s going to be bored all day too.  This creates a momentary crisis in Pete’s mind as he remembers that she has a boyfriend he doesn’t like and that Card told him she missed being intimate with Pete which led to the one night stand with Card.  In the end, he seizes on getting together as a path toward clarifying all these loose issues and calls her to ask if she’ll go with him to screen schools.  She asks why Earn isn’t going with him, and he explains he’s out of town, and that everyone else is either likewise or busy.  She readily agrees, noting they haven’t hung out in ages and offers to pick him up.  He notes he just got his car back with a snicker, and after some teasing and banter about Earn rubbing off on him, they agree to hook up in about an hour.  Pete notes that it has indeed been a long time since they dated as friends, and it offers a great opportunity to catch up in issues like Card and Ngaw, but he’s concerned she might feel like he’s prying or meddling.  Even so, he’s resigned to get some kind of closure. 

He arrives at Lhew’s, ready to go, and Lhew emerges from her home in typical fashion, reminding Pete of the times he was awestruck by her beauty and is hit with a wave of nostalgia as she approaches his car.  She gets in and they head off to the first place on the list.  After completing their second visit, they chat amiably as they ride in the car.  Pete tells a clearly stunned Lhew about when they got tested and Earn told his parents that Pete was his boyfriend.  She comments that she hopes Pete slapped him doing that, and Pete draws on a technicality to represent to her that he did.  They laugh together over it, with only Pete realizing the depth of the joke.  They suddenly encounter traffic on the road, and the slow time allows their conversation to open up even further.  After some harmless gossip about her friend Grace, Pete summons the courage to warn her he’s about to get serious.  Noting how Earn has changed him, she steels herself.  For starters, Pete asks why she didn’t go to see Card off at the airport.  She hesitantly says she was busy, but Pete knows she’s lying.  After additional dodging, Pete comes out with knowing about her one night stand with Card.  Lhew is sort of shocked, and remains silent, so Pete explains how it came out and that they were worried about their friend.  Her continued silence prompts him to state that even though she’s a great friend, an explanation is due. 

With a heavy sigh, she admits that’s she’s not proud about what happened and didn’t mean for things to get like this.  Pete acknowledges he knows that, but asks if she even has feelings of any kind for Card.  Lhew is very conflicted and struggles to express herself in spite of Pete’s urging her to be honest.  She tries to downplay the significance of his question by pointing out her current relationship with Ngaw, but Pete persists in his search for the truth in her eyes.  With a heavy exhale she finally confesses that she does like Card, and Pete quickly asks why Ngaw gets a second chance and Card gets squat.   It seems to boil down to Card having first been her friend and Lhew trying hard not to destroy that friendship, but quickly notes that their friendship is plenty strained already and points out that she would not have mentioned Card if he hadn’t brought him up and that he can’t even say her name in front of Card without it affecting him.  He persists in stating that it’s not fair to Ngaw either that she might have feelings for someone else.  It all comes down to what her feelings might be toward Card and she doesn’t think that things would work out between them currently.  Plus, she adds, she really likes Ngaw the way she used to like Pete and she doesn’t want to strain her relationship with Card more than it already is.  After getting Pete’s assurance that he doesn’t hate her, she asks how Ace has been.  Pete debates fibbing, but decides to tell her that he’s not all that great, adding details of his fight at school and general sense of depression.  Noting Pete’s directness, she asks if Pete sees any way for her to resolve the mess they’re in, and Pete tells her his honest belief that if Card heard her heartfelt feelings on the matter that she just related to him, the air between them would clear considerably.  With that, she seems to accept that avoiding the situation isn’t going resolve anything and pledges to contact him.  From here, they degenerate into a playful comparison between Ngaw and Pete that’s pretty cute.  Pete brings up that the group is split over liking Ngaw, but she reminds Pete that the reason they broke up was because he didn’t like the fact that he was making her choose between him and us. This makes Pete realize that they are putting her back into the same situation and he vows to try to like him more, or at least tolerate him, and certainly bring it up to Earn, Por, and the rest. 

The conversation with Lhew about Card is a transition in relationship status primarily for Lhew with respect to Card.  Through his genuine concern for the wellbeing of both his friends, Pete the peacemaker has helped her admit her own feelings toward Card and encouraged her to address the strain in their friendship.  This is an important step in helping them find a way forward, whatever it turns out to be or become.  There is no answer here, but Pete has managed to break the logjam and get things moving again, sending Lhew on a trajectory toward addressing the difficulties in her relationship with Card.   There is also a bit of mini-transition for Pete with respect to his friendship with Lhew in the sense that he has re-established an emotional connection that they have fought so hard to maintain throughout this story.  It is crystal clear that these two young people trust each other, believe in each other, and only want the best for each other.  Through his actions on this little car trip, Pete has demonstrated his always present concern for his friends, Lhew in particular in this case, and she has shown that Pete is the one person she implicitly trusts and who’s opinions she respects.

Upon arrival at the next cram school, Pete can see that there are a lot of people milling about, so he heads inside to the receptionist desk for a brochure when someone bumps into him.  As he apologizes, he realizes that he knows the person.  She too turns to apologize and quickly comes to the same conclusion about Pete.  They both stare at each other with mouths agape trying to make sense of their change encounter when Lhew’s voice enters from the side, greeting Yuri with friendliness.  Pete is surprised Lhew knows her, but Lhew explains that they’re classmates.  Yuri asks Lhew if Pete is her boyfriend, but Lhew simply answers that he’s her former boyfriend, now friend, before asking Yuri how they know each other.  Yuri struggles to explain, so Pete cuts in humorously stating that she has a habit of running into him.  Lhew makes a joke about Pete wandering around clueless and Pete tells her to shut up while Yuri chuckles off to the side.  As the conversation turns to why they’re there, Yuri explains that she’s attended this school since her freshman year.  After looking at the brochures, Pete has shown her from the two previous places, she notes that her school is less expensive and uses the same curriculum and tapes.  Yuri even has insight into the place they were planning on going to next and is impressively informative.  Pete playfully indicates that they will most likely be classmates and asks Yuri to take care of him as they laugh.  Thereafter, Lhew and Pete review the brochures of the prior and current schools and Pete informs his parents of his choice and they approve.  Pete enrolls with Yuri and finds they actually have a few classes together.  While filling out the forms, Pete realizes that one girl he had a crush on and another he actually dated are both with him.  Shaking off Earn’s reaction to seeing the situation, he looks on the bright side that at least he won’t be lonely or bored.  They end up hanging out at the mall while getting to know each other better, and while Pete looks forward to hanging out with his friends, he wants time to fly so he can see Earn.

The chapter ends with the entrance of Yuri into the story to link this work up to the events from the series.  I personally don’t give a rat’s a*s about the series storyline and have been far more interested in this work and its reality-based and original themes, finding them far superior.  As I said in an earlier chapter comment, I don’t care if this work ever crosses paths with the series again.  Of course, I’m in no position to make any demands whatsoever, so I have to resign myself to looking forward to how this story dovetails with the series.  Thanks again!