Rule No. 1: Don’t be too emotional : Chapter 4

It’s raising my adrenaline You’re banging on a heart of tin Please don’t make too much of it baby

“Nong Jane, did you see On pass by this way?”

“Oh, I didn’t see her at all. Sorry!”

I looked up from my phone to answer.” No worries.”

And just like that, after that Social Dance class, I fully transitioned into being Nong Jane.

Some people who just met me don’t even call me “Jane” anymore; they all call me Nong Jane. P’Jane suffered a similar fate, though more people still call him just “Jane” since he’s been around for four years already. As for the drama surrounding Thee, I can only say it faded with time. Eventually, people talked about it less… and less… until they didn’t mention it at all.

Even though it hasn’t been long, students always find new topics to gossip about-new things to be alert and interested in. At the very least… like this game right in front of me. “Nong Jane!” Before I could look up, two hands grabbed my head and rubbed it vigorously. My phone immediately dropped onto my lap.

I knew exactly who it was. There’s only one person. “P’Jane! Let go of me! Aaaaagh!” Just from the expensive fragrance that has become familiar to my nose lately, I knew it was him. Today, it was mingled with the scent of a freshly finished cigarette.

“Putting up a fight today?”

“Let go, let go, let go! I can’t die this round! Ouch! I died… damn it, P’Jane!”

“What are you grumbling about? I don’t understand a word.” P’Jane shook my head back and forth until I was dizzy. I couldn’t fight back at all until he finally let go.

“P’Jane! Again! Is my head really that fun to mess with? You have to rush over and do it every single day.” “Guess so.”

“You made me lose the game. Seriously… ” He ignored my annoyed face and instead used both hands to tilt my chin up. Both of my cheeks were squished flat in his hands. “Whath no?!” (What now!) “Why is your shirt so big today?” “Bough the wrong thize.” (Bought the wrong size. ) I’ve bought the wrong size since freshman year-an XL. It’s so big l have to fold the sleeves up, even though it’s a short-sleeved student shirt. My faculty isn’t strict about uniforms; guys and girls can wear short or long sleeves as they like. The listener raised an eyebrow with interest before finally letting go of my cheeks. Then, he idly buttoned my shirt all the way to the top button with a straight face. “P’Jane, what are you doing?!” I protested.

“Since you’re going for the dorky look today, you might as well go all the way.”” No! Unbutton it!”

“I’m not unbuttoning it. And don’t you dare unbutton it either. I’ll check if it’s still like this when we go up to Abnormal Psych.”

“What? What are you going to do to me?” “I won’t teach you how to dance anymore.”

“Hey!” My Begin steps are still a disaster, and the practical exam for this move is next week. “I’m off.”

“What? You just came for this?”

“Just stopped by for a smoke. I’m on a break. See you at four.”“ Right.” I called out a response and sat cross-legged, smoothing my hair back down before opening my game again. Sherry went with her boyfriend, Namkhing went home, and Gap and Putt went back to sleep like the dead at the dorm. No one else had classes today. As for me, well, I still had Abnormal Psych. Everyone abandoned me. I felt a bit sulky, but I understood them. “Excuse me, P’… ” Once again, I had to look up from my phone screen. I saw two freshman girls I didn’t recognize standing in front of me.

“Yes? Can I help you with something?” The girls looked at each other hesitantly until one of them finally spoke up after being nudged by her friend.

“My name is New, from ICT. This is Pop, from Liberal Arts.” “Oh… ” No wonder they didn’t look familiar.

“Actually, we’re from the University Cute Boy page. Can we take a photo of you to post on the page?” She held up a professional camera.

“What? Me? No, no, no. I don’t think so.” immediately refused in a flurry of panic. I’ve been here over a year and no one ever asked for a photo. Why ask now when I look like a dork with my shirt buttoned to my chin and my hair a mess?

“Please? Please? Just one photo. You’re so cute! What’s your name?” “My name is Jane, sophomore… Uh, look, I’m really not comfortable with this. Besides, I’m not even good-looking. Go ask someone else.” I stood up, ready to bolt.

“Aww, P’, you’re adorable! This ‘playful, innocent’ look is really popular with girls right now. It’s a huge trend!” “It’s true! Besides looking playful, you also look a bit ‘soft’-like a dream boy. This look is really rare on campus!” Soft? My foot. I play football, kids. “Please? Please help us out.”“ Please, P’Jane?” I felt awkward refusing, especially when it came to girls. “Uh… okay. Just one photo.”

“Just one, we promise!”

“Then let me unbutton this collar and comb my hair first. Do you have a comb?”

“No need! You’re perfect just like this. It’s great. Please sit down, P’Jane. Sit!” I was totally confused but sat back down as Pop requested. New told me to smile. Click! First photo. Ah… she said I looked too stiff. Second photo, still stiff. It’s not like I do this every day!

“P’Jane, can I get something more natural? Like how you were smiling just now when your friend came to play with you?” Did she mean P’Jane?

“Got it! That’s the face! Omigod, he’s so cute, look at him!” Click! New kept hitting Pop’s arm repeatedly as the two girls squealed. Then one of them turned to me.

“Thank you so much, P’Jane! We’re going now!”“ Uh… good luck.” What a strange experience. “Man, I thought the new ‘Cute Boy’ wouldn’t join us commoners at the table anymore.” Putt shouted the tease from a distance as I carried my crispy pork basil rice to the table.

The others in the group were grinning ear to ear. I snapped back immediately. “Shut it!” After those two girls asked for my photo, it really did go up on the university’s Cute Boy page that night. I was shocked by the feedback. Tons of people added me on Facebook and Instagram non-stop. In the comments, girls were screaming about how cute l was.

Many thought I was an Arts or Architecture student because of my look in the photo. Some even slid into my DMs. Of course, I didn’t reply to or accept anyone. it was so chaotic I thought about messaging the page to delete it. I felt suffocated; I don’t like this kind of attention. Good thing no one has come to wait for me at the faculty yet, or I’d be dead.

“What were you thinking that day, buttoning your shirt all the way to your neck?” Gap asked .

“I didn’t do it myself. P’… I mean, someone played a prank on me.” I avoided saying P’Jane’s name because Putt was right there, and I remembered his warning. Even though I can now confidently say I’m close enough to P’Jane to know those rumors are trash, I still didn’t want to argue with my friend. So, I decided to dodge it. “P’Jane, right?”… How did you know? But my avoidance was useless when Gap said it bluntly. Putt’s head whipped around to look at me instantly.

“How hard is it to figure out? You’ve only gotten close to one person lately. You’re project partners, so it’s normal, right?” “Uh, yeah. Exactly.”

“Plus, you became Nong Jane because of him. At first, I was confused when someone asked if Nong Jane was playing football today. I was like, ‘Who? Nong Jane? Is that a type of noodle?’ Turns out it was my best friend.” Namkhing and Sherry laughed, but Putt didn’t crack a single smile. Gap continued: “Actually, it’s good. You’ve been hanging out with him a lot lately. If someone calls ‘Jane, ‘ you’d both turn around. Calling you Nong Jane and him P’Jane makes it clear. Only one person turns.” “… Yeah.” Putt stared at me intensely as if he wanted to say something, but he didn’t get the chance because the five of us were stuck together. It would have looked suspicious if we pulled away to talk privately. Even when I split off to go to Abnormal Psych, Putt didn’t say a single word to me about P’Jane.

“Nong Jane, you can sit here.” “Thanks, P’Yim.” I thanked the senior who pointed out the only remaining seat since I was a bit late today. See? I really have become Nong Jane… Then, Professor Samantha started the roll call as usual. “P’Jane.” “Here.”

“Nong Jane.”“ Here.” Even with the foreign professor, it’s P’Jane and Nong Jane. Imagine that. Professor Samantha said it was a very clever distinction. She asked the students in the room about it because she heard a junior calling hi P’Jane and me Nong Jane. She asked for the translation and decided to use it too. (At first, she thought about calling us Jane Senior and Jane Junior, but this was better. ) She said it’s not confusing. At first, I felt weird, but now I’m used to being Nong Jane. The subject was as interesting as ever. Professor Samantha held my attention until the end of the lesson. With about ten minutes left in class, she let us get with our partners to continue the project she had assigned. Those who didn’t bring laptops were told to at least discuss their progress.

“How’s it going, Cute Boy?” “P’Jane, don’t you get bored? Teasing me from Line all the way to real life. How many days has it been?” He grinned widely and said nothing more before turning to open his laptop. Since I didn’t bring mine, I had to lean in to look with him. I spoke while scanning the work.

“We’ve actually gotten a lot done.” “Yeah. I think one more meeting and we’ll be finished. We’ll be set until midterms for this class.”

“But there’s still Social Dance, which is brutal… ”

“We just have to keep practicing. But that’s nothing the new ‘Cute Boy’ can’t handle, right?” “P’Jane, stop it right now. Don’t even. It’s all because of you buttoning my shirt that those two girls who like weird things saw me and took that photo. It’s your fault.” I immediately pinned the blame on him for my chaotic life. P’Jane smiled.

“It means I have a good eye.”

“What do you mean, ‘good eye’?” “I mean… like this.” He turned toward me with a smile and used his long, slender fingers to button my shirt all the way to the top button again. The shirt I wore today wasn’t oversized like that other day, but it was still short-sleeved. The tips of his fingers brushing against my neck and chest made my heart flutter so much I had to swallow hard. The fine hairs in that area stood on end, like a mimosa plant closing its leaves when touched by a human hand-only my reaction was the opposite mechanism. What is this feeling?“ See?” His sharp, glistening eyes looked up at me. His breath was warm and tinged with the scent of nicotine. His voice was low, raspy, and unintentionally sexy, making me feel like the heart in my chest was about to explode… “Buttoning it like this is adorable.” His large hand rested on my hair, stroking it gently while no one else in the room paid us any attention. His deep voice continued with a smile: “You’re so cute it hurts, Nong Jane.” I could only sit in silence, letting him pet my hair like a tame dog. I had no idea why my heart had to beat this fast. All I knew was that in this very second, I realized I really was Nong Jane. Not just because I was younger or smaller than him as others judged by sight… but because I truly wanted to be Nong Jane… I really wanted to be the Nong Jane to a big person like P’Jane.