Rule No. 1: Don’t be too emotional : Chapter 6

Puttin’ my defenses up Cause I don’t wanna fall in love

If I ever did that, I think I’d have a heart attack ···

After that, I found myself with P’Jane constantly-so much so that I forgot my nickname was just “Jane.” I started thinking of myself as Nong Jane, and he really became P’Jane. Since we spent so much time together, even people who knew us before decided to call us that to avoid confusion.

We went out to eat many times, but I still hadn’t managed to treat him back because I could never pay faster than him. I decided I’d buy him a gift instead; just receiving all the time made me feel awkward.

“Where are you? I only went to check my scores for a second.”

[ Smoking. What’s up?]

“Are you smoking too much, Gap? It feels like every hour now.”

[My business… ]

“Are you with Putt?”

[ Yeah. Come join. ]

“Gross, no way. It stinks. Why would I want to breathe that in?”

[Fine. Go find Namkhing and Sherry then. They’re studying at the MLC. I left your laptop with Sherry. ]

“Fine. See you later.”

“So, did you sleep well last night?”

“Ack! P’Jane! Let go of me!” I cried out when someone jumped and locked me in a hold from behind. A large hand began vigorously rubbing my head. P’Jane must be a psycho. If he catches me without me seeing him first, he messes with my hair every single time. But if we greet each other normally, he doesn’t do it. Weird, right?

“Hmph, my hair is a bird’s nest again,” I grumbled.” Wearing an oversized shirt again today?” “Yeah, didn’t do laundry in time. Hey! Stop! Don’t button it!”“ Just one button… ” And in the end, I was forced into the dorky look with the top button done again. Amen.

“Where are you going, Nong Jane?”

“Finding something to eat, then heading to the MLC. What about you, P’Jane? Did you finish your errands?” Yesterday, he skipped Abnormal Psych. I messaged him, and he said he had an “important errand.”

“Yeah, all done,” he smiled. “You really have a lot of errands. You’re working too, right? Not just studying.” It wasn’t strange since he was a senior; that’s usually when people start setting up their future careers rather than just focusing on school.

“Something like that.”

“Doing what? Can you tell me?” “Just general stuff.” “Fine, I won’t ask.” “Hey, it’s not like that,” he laughed, seeing I was a bit miffed.” It’s just general stuff that’s hard to explain. Basically, someone asked me for help with something… Can I put it that way?”

“Like helping with work?”

“You could say that.” We walked down to the ground floor. Today was a faculty fair, so people from different departments were setting up booths. The atmosphere was bustling. I wanted a snack before tutoring Statistics with my friends anyway.

“Want something to eat, P’Jane?”

“Sure. I’ll have popcorn chicken.” “Okay. Ma’am, one box of popcorn chicken, please.” I quickly handed over a fifty-baht note. I felt great finally getting to treat him, even if it was just something small.

“Here, popcorn chicken.”

“For me?”

“Of course it’s for you, P’Jane. Who else?” I asked, confused. He smiled, took it, and immediately popped one in his mouth.” Want some, Nong Jane?” “Okay.”“ Open wide.” I opened my mouth and took the chicken. We walked and ate while browsing the booths. There was pottery, glass-blowing, and balloon art. We wandered through several booths but didn’t buy anything. Once the chicken was gone, we went to get water. Again, I successfully paid first.

“You’re very quick with your hands.” “Gotta be quick, or ‘Sia Jane’

[WealthyJane] will snatch the bill first.”“ Sia Jane?” “Yep.” “Okay.

I’ll take it. I like that title.”

“In your dreams. Oh, P’Jane, I have something for you.” He raised an eyebrow curiously. I opened my bag and pulled out what I had prepared.

“A notebook?”

“Yeah. I saw your old one was full the other day. You were asking the person next to you for paper to take notes. So, I bought you two.” I didn’t know exactly how rich P’Jane was, but I could tell he was “comfortable”-definitely more so than me. Buying him something expensive wouldn’t feel right; his taste was likely better than mine anyway. I thought giving him something simple, necessary, and sincere would best express my feelings.

“Take it.” I held them out again. P’Jane went still for a moment, then broke into a wide, boyish grin as he took the two notebooks. “Thanks. I’ll make good use of them.”

“Do you like the pattern? I didn’t know what you’d like, so I went with something plain.” “Nong Jane… I’m serious.” “I’ll use them well.” I get it already. Don’t look at me with that face… it feels weird, you crazy P’. “P’Jane!” A girl’s high-pitched voice called out from a distance, making both of us turn.

“Oh, it’s Pop and New, right?” I greeted them first. These two were the cause of the chaos in my life for a while, though things had settled down now. “Yes! P’Jane, we actually came here to wait for you! We thought you might come to your own faculty fair.”

“Wait for me? Why?” I asked, startled. Did I do something wrong?” The photo we posted last time… the feedback was insane! So many people want to know more about you. Our inbox is full of people asking for more photos since your IG is private.”

“And it’s not just girls asking; guys are asking too! Everyone wants to know you, P’Jane.” “Whoa, no way. Let’s not. Last time was enough.”

“Aww, P’Jane, help us out! Wait, who is this… ?”” He’s my senior.”” Whoa, he’s so handsome… ”

“I know, right? Why haven’t we seen him? How did the page miss someone like this?” I heard them whispering. Hey! First they want my photo, now they’re eyeing him. I wasn’t staying here; they’d definitely try to take P’Jane’s photo next. I didn’t want that. I’ll admit it-I was protective. Just a little. I’m a sensitive guy, okay?

“I’m not taking any more photos. Don’t tease me, I’m uncomfortable.” “Please, P’Jane… ?”

“I don’t know anything! I’m going. P’Jane, let’s go!” I pulled on his shirt.

“Wait!” New blocked my path.

“Just one photo!”

” You said that last time.”

“We promise! No-we swear!”

“Why not help them out? It’s not like it hurts anything,” P’Jane said.” P’Jane… ”

“Exactly! The handsome senior is right!”

“Let’s take one, Nong Jane. Actually, can I be in the photo too?”” Huh? Oh! Yes! Of course! We’d love that!” Ugh. The two girls squealed in delight. Before I knew it, P’Jane and I were standing still as targets for their camera. I turned to double-check with him.

“P’Jane… are you serious?”

“Totally. But we have to take it together.” Well, if it’s a couple photo…

“Fine. A couple photo. Pop, we aren’t doing solo shots.”

“No problem! Smile, please! More! You can chat or do whatever, just be natural. New will just keep snapping away.” Soon, P’Jane and I actually started enjoying it. We had photos where we both posed with our hands under our chins, one where P’Jane playfully “bonked” my head, and one where we both made “wings” with our arms. The girls said they’d take that last one but definitely wouldn’t post it (go figure).

“Thank you both so much! What was your name again, P’?”

“Jane.”

“Wait, you both have the same name? Hey, would this Jane like to do a solo shot?”

“I’ll pass,” P’Jane smiled.

“Nong Jane and I will head out now.” “Okay! Good luck, Jane and Jane!” Social Media * Caption: Jane, Year 4 (IB) & Jane, Year 2 (IB). Word is the faculty calls them “Big Jane” and “Little Jane.” You can probably guess who is who by the year and size! Squee! * “Nong Jane is so cute! I want to be the top button he’s wearing!” *“ Wait, how did you get a photo of P’Jane? He NEVER lets anyone take his photo for pages. I know because I was an admin before!” * “P’Jane is so handsome I’m drooling.” * “Is P’Jane a human or a god?” * “I love the photo where they’re looking at each other. P’Jane’s smile is so soft-the love aura is radiating!” * “There’s already a shipper page! Join here:@ bigjaneandlittlejaneofficial” * “This couple is so real. I saw them feeding each other popcorn chicken at the fair!”

“Man, the photo of you and P’Jane is the hottest issue. It’s all over my timeline. I’m about to mute it,” Gap teased.

“I’m shocked too.” New and Pop worked fast; they’d uploaded it last night. The reaction was even bigger than last time. “There’s even a couple page. In one day, it got 1, 600 likes.”

“Gap, do you think P’Jane will be bothered? Like, wilI he feel suffocated?” I asked, worried.” How would I know? But he doesn’t seem like the type to care about this stuff, does he?”

“I don’t know.” We chatted for a bit before Putt, Namkhing, and Sherry joined us for tutoring. Namkhing gave us photocopies of her notes. We practically bowed to her. “Nong Jane!” P’Jane called my name from a distance. “Oh, P’Jane, hello!” Gap greeted him. The others wai-ed him as well. P’Jane walked over with a smile. “Hello, everyone. Hey, Putt.” He tapped Putt’s shoulder lightly and smiled in a friendly way. I saw Putt flinch slightly before giving a small smile back. Strange-l thought Putt disliked him. Why did they seem close now? P’Jane walked around to stand next to me, leaning his hands on the wooden table.

“Tutoring? Which subject?”

“Business Computing. We have a quiz this afternoon,” Sherry answered .

P’Jane narrowed his eyes, pulled my book toward him, and flipped through a few pages. He picked up my mechanical pencil and circled a few spots.

“It’ll be this, this, and this. Don’t bother with the previous page; I remember it not being on the test.”

“Whoa, you still remember from years ago? Amazing!” Gap cried.

“Read carefully, Nong Jane. It’s worth a lot of points.”

“Why are you only nagging me? You didn’t tell the others,” 1complained. “Because you’re like this… ”

“Ow! Ow! Don’t mess with my hair! My hood!”” I’m just fond of you. Want some makeup today?”

“P’Jane! Ack! Get that highlighter away! Why are you drawing on my face?! Let go!” Everyone roared with laughter as P’Jane grabbed my neck and fluffed my hair into a mess again. Worse, he took Namkhing’s pink highlighter and drew a line on my left cheek. Then he buttoned my top button. He finally let me go, looking satisfied.

“I’m off, kids. Putt, want to come smoke? We didn’t finish our talk last night.” Putt nodded. “Sure, P’.” I was extremely curious. When did they become friends? Putt used to tell me those weird rumors and seemed to hate him.

“Does anyone know when Putt and P’Jane got so close?” I asked the table. Sherry, still writing, answered, “I heard they met at the races the other day. Probably got close then.”” Races? P’Jane didn’t tell me. Neither did Putt.”

“How do you know, Sherry?” I pressed.

“Last night after the pub closed, I went for late-night porridge with P’Pai. We saw Putt and P’Jane sitting together. There were a lot of people at the table. I asked Putt, and he told me.” Gap spoke up once the girls left to buy coffee.” So, satisfied now?”

“About Putt and P’Jane? I guess… ”

“No, I mean about the couple page. You were worried he’d be suffocated. He didn’t say a word about it.”

“Maybe he doesn’t know.”

“Please. He has friends. Someone would have mentioned it. The fact that he hasn’t said anything means he’s okay with it.”

“What do you mean?” Suddenly, I felt a bit flushed.

“The way he looks at you is just… so fond. Like you’re the cutest thing in the world to him.”

“Shut up!” I yelled, my cheeks burning.” It’s true. He favors you, that’s for sure. And he’s a genius, you know? Straight A’s. Even Professor Jerry, who gives A’s to no one, gave him one. He’s ‘God Jane.”

“It’s a blessing you’re close to him, ‘P’Jane’s little mouse.'” “I’m going to kick you.” Later, Namkhing came back and set a small box in front of me.” What’s this? A gift?”

“It’s for you, but… not for you as our friend.” I looked at her. Her eyes were bright, and her cheeks were slightly pink.

“Can you give this to P’Jane for me? Please? You’re close to him-you’re our only hope. I was too nervous when he was here just now. I’m too shy.” I looked at her excited face. She really liked him. It wasn’t surprising; he was handsome and kind. As a friend, I had to help.

“I’ll give it to him this evening. We have class together.”“ Yay! Thanks, Jane! I’ll buy you a tea later!” I found myself thinking about Namkhing’s request more than l expected. I’d give him the gift, they’d start something… and I’d just be his junior as usual. No reason to feel anything about that, right? Putt arrived at the library, late as usual. After we studied for a bit, l asked him,” When did you and P’Jane become friends? You seemed to dislike him before.” Putt’s hand paused for a split second.

“We aren’t close.”

“What? But he invited you to smoke and you guys were at the pub together.”

“That doesn’t mean we’re close. It means we have things to discuss.”

“About the cars?”

“You could say that. Jane… since you brought this up, I’m going to say it one more time. Stop hanging out with him.” I was speechless. Putt looked at me with genuine worry.

“He’s not someone you should be involved with. Believe me, the risks outweigh the benefits. Seeing you two together makes me feel very uneasy. I let it go because nothing had happened yet, but I’m telling you now: stay away. Talk only as much as necessary.”

“Why? You said you aren’t even close to him. I consider us fairly close, and from what I know, he’s not dangerous at all. He’s been great to me.” Putt laughed harshly.

“Did I say he wasn’t good to you?”” Then why tell me to stay away?”

“I told you not to get involved. You have to separate the two things.”” I’m confused.” “What makes you feel he’s ‘good’ to you?” “Well… he treats me to dinner-” “Treats you?” Putt cut me off, shaking his head.” Jane, don’t let him buy you dinner anymore. A man like that doesn’t give anything for free.”

“You make him sound stingy, like he’ll demand a favor back.”

“No, he’s not like that. He’s… calculated. He collects every ‘grain.’ That’s who he is.”

“Putt, it’s not that big of a deal.”

“It is. Ten baht, twenty baht-don’t owe this man anything. Don’t give him anything he can use as leverage against you.” I was stunned.

“Why do you make everything about him sound so serious? If he’s not a bad person, why can’t I hang out with him?”

“Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to play with fire? Even ‘sparklers’

[cold fire] ?” “… ” “You know sparklers look cool and harmless, but they’re actually burning at over 1, 600 ° C.

They can burn your hand to a crisp. If you don’t want to get hurt, back away. Because ‘cold fire’… doesn’t stay cold forever.”

“Putt, I need more of an explanation than this,” I said, confused. Putt sighed and put a hand on my shoulder. “Look, what I told you from the start wasn’t a joke. I’ve told you everything I can. If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing more I can do.” “Putt, P’Jane isn’t-”

“How well do you really know him, Jane? How can you keep defending him like this?” That’s true. How well do I really know P’Jane? “I’ve warned you, Jane. Ge out now. Don’t let yourself get hurt.”