Getting Prince Fluffy out of the shed proves to be a challenge. The dog is in a bad mood and won’t stop barking. Steph is going on in her high-pitched cutesy voice and it’s giving Taeng a headache.

“Let me try,” he says and takes Prince Fluffy from Steph’s arms. “Hey, Prince.”

The dog looks at him with big, brown eyes and his nose. Taeng chuckles.

“We wanna take you out for some fun but you gotta be quiet or your mommy will be caught and get into serious trouble.”

Prince Fluffy sniffs at his neck and collar for a bit, then settles down and leans against Taeng’s chest and shoulder without a single bark.

“I think he understood me,” says Taeng with a bright smile while Steph shakes her head in disbelief.

“Well, that makes you his daddy. You’re legally responsible for him now.”

“Me? Daddy?”

“Yeah. See? He listens to you. He likes you.”

Happiness bubbles up inside Taeng’s chest and he nods. “I like being his daddy too.”

“Well, Daddy, you gotta hide Prince in your hoodie or something.”

“Don’t you have a better plan than this?”

Steph shakes her head. “You got a better idea?”

Taeng shakes his head too. “I guess he’ll fit into my pocket.”

“We’ll take a secret way out of school anyway. Nobody will see us.”

“Okay.”

|\/\/|

The good thing about a school as big as Soo Man High, is the fact that one cannot possibly guard every single inch of the perimeter. According to Steph, there is a corner of the surrounding wall that isn’t covered by the CCTV. That is to be their way out. There is just one problem. He has to climb it.

After giving Steph a leg up, Taeng is blushing. He didn’t mean to but he got an eyeful of the situation under Steph’s skirt as she clambered up onto the wall.

“Be careful. Prince is in your pocket.”

Taeng hands the dog to Steph. “Hold him for me.”

With Prince Fluffy in Steph’s arms, Taeng backs up and jogs a little to the wall. He jumps when he is close enough and managed to catch hold of the edge. But that is where the story ends. His arms are too weak to haul him up so there he hangs, fingers losing strength with each passing second.

“Come up.”

“I can’t,” Taeng grunts.

“Pull yourself up.”

“I . . . can’t.”

“Dude, you need to work those arms out more. What are you gonna do when you enlist in the army?”

“I . . . don’t . . .”

“You don’t know?” Steph finishes for him and clucks disapprovingly. “I’ll pull your right arm up. Try to get it over the top.”

“O . . . kay.”

Steph’s pull is surprisingly strong and Taeng throws his arm over, hooking it where it bends.

“The . . . o-other . . . side.”

“Hold on.”

Another pull later, Taeng has his chin and arms on the top of the wall. It gives him just enough leverage to haul himself up and swing a leg over. “Thanks,