Rule No. 1: Don’t be too emotional : Chapter 47

Can we just conduct ourselves here, please

“Fuck!” P’Jane let out a low curse the moment he saw P’Dan’s face. He finally realized what was happening. P’Dan shouted across from his car with a taunting smirk.

“Hey! How’s it going, my dear friend? Sorry I’m a bit late to say hello, but I just got the news and landed back in Thailand yesterday. This party is just getting started!” P’Jane cursed again. He looked around, his survival instincts and wit kicking into high gear-especially since Jamie and I were in the car. I was paralyzed with shock, but Jamie was worse; he was shaking from head to toe. P’Jane barked an order: “Everyone, seatbelts on!” He slammed on the gas, spinning the wheel with lightning speed. P’Dan’s car and his lackeys followed instantly. I thought it was just two cars we had to outrun, but I was wrong. We were surrounded-front, back, and sides-by a fleet of about six cars. Jamie screamed as a car rammed the side where he was sitting. I pressed my hand over my mouth to stifle my own cry, knowing that if I panicked, it would only distract P’Jane. I shouted to comfort Jamie while the car surged forward at high speed.

“It’s alright, Jamie! We’re just playing a racing game!”

“A game?” Jamie gasped.

“Yes, it’s just a game!” Jamie tried to believe me. I don’t know if it worked, but he seemed to calm down slightly. We were boxed in. P’Dan and his crew herded us toward a deserted road. P’Jane stopped cursing; his eyes didn’t blink once. He was operating on pure focus and instinct. Luckily, P’Jane drove an incredibly expensive car-it was built like a tank. Even after being rammed three or four times, the body didn’t crumple and the engine held steady.

“Guys, keep your eyes closed!” P’Jane commanded. Jamie obeyed instantly, but I didn’t. Even though my heart was hammering against my ribs, I wasn’t going to let P’Jane face this madness alone.

“Jane, close your eyes!” he snapped.

“No! I can handle it. Whatever you do, I want to be aware of it.” My voice was steady, the voice of someone who had made up their mind. P’Jane didn’t argue. He checked his mirrors, then decided to ram the car on our right-hard-three times in a row until it spun off onto the shoulder. Finally, an opening. P’Jane swerved through the gap and floored it so hard I could feel the skin on my cheeks vibrate. P’Dan’s crew pursued us like heat-seeking missiles.

“Find something to hold onto! Jamie, hang on!”

“Wait, what are you going to do?!”

“No time to explain!”

Jamie and I screamed as P’Jane launched the car onto an unfinished road slope ahead. At a speed close to the speed of light, he jerked the wheel mid-air. The car soared over a massive center divider, slammed onto the opposite side of the road with a bone-jarring thud, and spun in a cloud of dust. The screech of the tires against the concrete was ear-piercing.

The car finally came to a dead stop, parked sideways in the middle of the road. Some passing drivers rolled down their windows to flip us off and shout insults.

“You think you’re in a movie or what, you fucker?!” P’Jane was panting for breath, while Jamie started laughing and clapping, thinking it really was just a game. P’Jane ignored the hecklers, straightened the car, and sped toward home way above the legal limit, leaving P’Dan and his goons stranded on the other side of the divider. Two weeks passed. P’Dan had vanished into the shadows again, but P’Jane was on high alert, even using his immigration contacts to track P’Dan’s movements. During my weekend off at home, I accidentally overheard my mother on a video call with Jean. My heart sank.

[“ Mom, if I don’t debut, what am I going to do? I’ll die. No, I’ll kill myself!”]

Jean’s voice was full of misery. Just two months ago, she said this was “heaven.” Now, everything was inverted.

“Don’t talk like that!” Mom pleaded. “Think of your father and me… and why is your face covered in red acne, honey?”

[“ I’m on a diet program. They say I’m too chubby. I can only eat chicken breast, raw vegetables, and bananas. They weigh us every evening-if we gain even a fraction of a pound, we get scolded. I was so hungry last night I snuck out for ramen, and now my face is swollen. The trainers screamed at me, asking how a face like this could ever be on camera. Then they punished me.”]

[” I’m so tired, Mom. I wake up at 4 AM and practice until 1 AM. There are hundreds of trainees here, and they are all so beautiful and talented. I know I can’t compete with them… I miss you and Dad. Sob… “] I quietly closed the door, my mind in a whirl.

Jean had chosen this path-she had even officially dropped out of school. There was no turning back. Back at P’Jane’s house, the tension regarding P’Dan remained, but things had settled into a “relaxed-but-guarded” rhythm. While Jamie was at his piano lesson, P’Jane called me out to talk.

“Teacher Anna has to quit. She’s moving abroad. I need you to find a new piano teacher for Jamie-someone who speaks both Thai and English.” “What about Gap? My best friend. He used to teach piano.” P’Jane frowned.

“No. I don’t want people we know. Besides, Gap is a bit too playful.”

“How do you know that? Have you seen him work?” P’Jane looked me in the eye, his voice dropping low.

“Gap works at my company. His latest evaluation wasn’t great because he fools around too much.” “Oh! Right… I forgot.” As I turned to go back to Jamie, P’Jane stopped me. He had his hands in his pockets and a small, rare smile on his face.

“I just bought a new car.”

“Another one?!” I blurted out. The man had a two-story air-conditioned garage. Does he drive them all at once? “It’s my hobby. Anyway, I’m telling you because… I want to invite you to go for a drive with me.”

“Now? Just the two of us?”

“Are you coming or not?” My heart raced. Was this a date? For months, I’d been throwing “steel bridges” (flirting heavily) at him and he never crossed them. Now he was asking me? He looked at me standing there frozen, then gave a wicked smirk and a quick wink.

“Now or never.”