Chapter 7: Revelations 

Mick arrived at a modestly-sized house in a quiet area of the neighborhood not very far from his place. His mom had been more than happy to drive him over once he mentioned Om's name, though he hastened to add that other club members would be there too. 

“Make sure you call me once you’re done!” she insisted.

“Ma, it’s not that far, I can take a motorcycle taxi,” Mick said.

“No, just call me. And give me Om’s number too,” and that was that. 

Mick pressed the doorbell, and looked apprehensively at the large, brown dog which ran up to the gate and sniffed hopefully at Mick.

“Tako! Go inside!" He heard Om's voice instruct the dog, who pretended not to listen. "He belongs to my older brother, that's why he doesn't really listen to the rest of us," Om explained, coming out of the house as the dog continued to prance before Mick, who only just noticed the chew toy it was carrying in its mouth. Om pressed the remote to open the gate and Mick could see he was only dressed in a singlet and shorts that he clearly outgrew years ago, making it very difficult for Mick to stare anywhere else but at those long, lean limbs of his. 

"This mongrel's called Tako. Don't worry, he won't bite. In fact, he wants to play," Om told Mick, who stared at him dumbly before realizing he was talking about the dog. Mick’s family had never owned so much as a goldfish in his life, and he was slightly afraid of big dogs.

"Just take the toy from him, and throw it into the garden," Om told him. Mick gingerly grabbed one end of the toy, but the dog refused to let go. Mick was surprised at the dog's strength, and looked questioningly at Om, who rolled his eyes. 

"He's playing with you. Just pull it out and throw it," Om said. 

It took Mick almost all his strength to twist the toy out of the dog's mouth and throw it. He watched as Tako ran after it joyfully and picked it up to return straight to Mick, tail wagging furiously. Mick petted the dog's head, smiling. 

"And now he will love you forever and hump your leg when you least expect it," Om said with a smirk. Mick just continued petting Tako, who had now rolled over onto his back, exposing his belly. He put down the case containing the French horn Om had asked him to bring, and really went at it on the dog's furry underside with both hands, giggling as the dog closed its eyes in ecstasy. 

He was fascinated at how easy it was to win over a dog's affection. If only it were this easy with Om, he thought, glancing sideways. The senior was smiling at them with a bemused expression on his face.

"If you're quite done molesting my dog, we'd better get to the studio before the rest arrive," the older boy said. 

I'd rather molest you, Mick thought cheekily, but a voice came from the gate before he could continue.

"P'Om!" a familiar voice called from the gate. Mick couldn't see who it was from where he was crouching.

Om opened the gate once more. "What are you doing here so early? I thought I told you guys to come after 1."

"I had to escape after lunch. Ah Ma wanted me to clean the bean sprouts for dinner,” Mick finally recognised the voice as belonging to Mum.

“You’re a terrible grandson,” Om said, shaking his head.

“Why don’t you go over and - “ the chubby ninth grader stopped in his tracks, finally noticing Mick. “What is he doing here?” Mick thought he detected a note of hostility in his tone.

“Mick? You guys wanted a replacement after Tom dropped out, right? I thought Loy told you,” Om said. “Mick’s horn should round out your sound."

“I didn’t think he was serious. Hi, Mick!” Mum waved at him. Mick waved back uncertainly. Was he the culprit? He wasn’t acting any differently toward Mick though.

“You’re getting to know Tako, I see. He’s such a good boy. Aren’t you? C’mere, Tako!” Mum clapped at the dog, who merely looked over to him and wagged his tail at the sound of his name, but otherwise stayed put for Mick to continue petting his belly.

“He’s completely under Mick’s spell now,” Om laughed. “He loves strangers. If anyone broke into the house he'd probably help the thieves carry off the loot as long as he got belly rubs. Won't you, you useless dog?"

Tako's only reply was to thump his tail. 

"Come on guys, let's go in, it's too hot out here," Om said. Mick wondered how he could possibly be hot since he was wearing so little, but he nodded and followed him in.

"You two go ahead first, I'll wait for the rest here and play with the dog," Mum said. Om gave him a puzzled look, but just shrugged and passed him the remote for the gate.

"Where are your parents?" Mick asked as they walked through the empty house, which looked a lot roomier on the inside. 

"Some wedding in Hua Hin," Om waved carelessly. Mick passed through a hallways that was covered with pictures and awards. Om's father, Dr. Whaen, was in a lot of them, and a younger guy that must have been Om's brother. Mick checked, but there appeared to be none of Om.

"Is this your older brother?" Mick stopped and pointed at the picture of a young man in graduation robes. Mick could see the family resemblance.

"Hmm? Oh yes, that's p'Aun. He's in the UK now getting his Masters degree. He should be back soon, though. Handsome and smart, so unlike me," Om gave a short laugh. “The whole wall is dedicated to him and my dad. I don’t think there’s any room for me.”

“P’Om, don’t say that! Of course you’ll be up there. You’re like the most talented and handsomest guy I know,” Mick blurted before he could stop himself. 

Oh god, did I really just say that? Not for the first time since he met Om, Mick wished a hole in the ground would appear and swallow him up forever. He really couldn’t help it, he’d only ever seen Om in school clothes or t-shirts and jeans, and here he was in simple house clothes looking hotter than ever.

An awkward silence followed as the both of them pretended not to hear what Mick had just said. In the end, Om just continued down the hallway, and Mick followed him until they came to a small but fully-furnished studio. Mick had never before seen one in a private residence before.

"This is so cool!" He said, wide-eyed. "Your dad is a musician too?"

"Well, a bit more than that. He's in a symphony orchestra, and he also teaches music at Mahidol University," Om said with a trace of pride. "But he's truly into every kind of music. He can rock with me on the electric guitar on one minute and go back to the violin the next."

"Nice!" Mick said. He wondered what it was like growing up as Om. It couldn't have been easy, as there were pretty big shoes to fill, between his father and older brother, but the handsome senior never seemed to be under any sort of pressure to prove anything. He was one of the most laid back guys Mick had seen - except when it came to training the juniors, perhaps.

Om had Mick practice on several notes before gradually going onto some songs. He hadn't even realized the time passing until the studio door abruptly flung open and six other boys started pouring in. 

"Mick!" One of them exclaimed. "Hey man, I had no idea you were interested in this, otherwise I'd have asked you to join us before the preliminaries," Loy said. He was one of the three Mick had met yesterday, therefore one of the suspects as well.

Mick waved to the rest, and was introduced to the other three, who weren't in the music club but in his year as well. They all seemed friendly enough, and everyone busied themselves setting up, and Heng came over with the list of songs they were going to play at the Live Show finals. As Mick pored through them, he didn't even notice that Om had quietly left the room.

"Oh, where's p'Om?" Mick asked, looking up, just as they were about to start tuning their instruments.

"He doesn't want to stick around and see us practice in case it affects his judgement in the Live Show," Loy said. "He's really principled when it comes to music club duties."

"Yeah, just not in anything else," Heng added, to everyone's laughter. "Still, it was nice of him to let us use his sweet studio to practice. I've wanted to get in here and jam forever."

"I've been here loads!" Mum piped up. "Dr Whaen is teaching me to use the soundboard."

"Whatever Mum! Show off!"

They practiced the entire afternoon, making full use of the studio. Om came by halfway through with drinks and snacks, which everyone fought over to get to, except Mick.

"So have you guys decided what to call yourselves yet?" Om was coolly sipping from a beer can but had only provided iced tea for the 9th graders.

"Oh, oh! I've got a great idea. Let's call ourselves the Seven Dwarves!" Loy said excitedly. Everyone groaned at that, only Om laughed.

"What, I think it's a great idea. Since you're all so short..."

"You can be our Snow White, p'Om!" Mum shouted to everyone's laughter as Om batted his eyelashes coyly. No one else could think of a better name, so they decided to go with that. Mick was surprised he was enjoying everything despite himself. 

"Here," Om a cold glass of iced tea at Mick. "Aren't you going to have something? I went to all that trouble of cutting lemons too."

Mick accepted the drink gratefully. "Thanks p'Om. Thanks again for letting me do this," he added.

Om smiled. "I didn't do anything. All this effort is gonna be on you. I'm certainly not going to go easy on you guys if you screw up during the Live Show."

"Aww look at the two lovebirds!" Mick heard Loy say before he could reply. Blushing, he quickly took a sip of his drink. "It's just like yesterday on the train to their secret date."

There was a loud clatter as Mum stood up noisily. "I'm going to the toilet, this lovey-dovey display is making me ill," he muttered, making everyone laugh, including Om. Mick noticed, however, that Mum wasn't smiling when he said that.

"It wasn't a date," Mick protested, after Mum had left the room. "P'Om helped me fix my phone."

"Oh Mick we're just kidding," Loy said soothingly. "Everyone knows p'Om likes big s. Like nong Carp's."

"Loy! Is this how you repay my hospitality!" Om boomed, to more laughter all around.

"You know, I think we saw her yesterday, at MBK, didn't we Heng?" Loy continued, looking at his friend but Heng was frantically shaking his head, as if signaling something to him.

"Wait, I thought you guys went to Siam?" Om asked. Mick leaned forward, he was dying to know as well.

"We, er, did. But we did drop by MBK quickly. At least, one of us did -ow!" Loy winced as Heng jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow. 

Mick looked from Heng to Loy as they whispered furiously among themselves. So one of them was at MBK. His suspicions were right. They weren't looking at Mick or Om, though, and hadn't acted differently toward Mick at all. Could it be Heng? Was it him who had wanted to keep their trip to MBK a secret?

"I don't know what's the big deal!" He overheard Loy say, when Mum returned to the room, the other two ceased whispering immediately, and acted as if nothing had happened. 

"Loy says he saw nong Carp at MBK, did you see her too, Mum?" Om asked his neighbor.

Mum looked stunned, before turning angrily to his two friends. Heng looked away and just pointed a finger at Loy, who grinned sheepishly. “Blame him,” Heng said.

"Yes, just outside MBK. We didn't go in, though," Mum said finally. "Maybe she's stalking you, p'Om!" 

Om groaned theatrically, apparently there was something about this convent girl having a crush on Om since forever, but Mick wasn't listening. His gaze was fixed on Mum, a sick feeling forming in his stomach, even though he'd expected this.

As if he could feel him staring, the other 9th grader turned his head to look at Mick. Mum just raised an eyebrow at him, before smiling and joining in the teasing.

It wasn't nong Carp doing the stalking, he thought. It was you, wasn't it, Mum?