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Part 3

I didn't know how I was able to do it, but just before Kongpob could see the phone number, I managed to snatch it away from Michael's grasp. After I did, I let out a silent sigh of relief.

"What's wrong?" Michael asked with questioning eyes. He looked so naive, like he didn't know he was about to ruin my life big time. But in reality, he really didn't know.

I gave him a sheepish smile. "M-my friend doesn't like Kongpob." I reasoned.

Michael's forehead furrowed seriously. "Why not?" he asked, turning from Kongpob to me then back. Suddenly he smiled. "Kongpob and I are very similar. We're both cute and handsome. Aren't we, Kongpob? Why won't your friend like a cute guy like Kongpob? That's really weird."

I shook my head. "My friend doesn't like players." I replied, looking towards Kongpob accusingly as I did. "And even if she liked Kongpob, I would never allow her to have any relation with him."

Kongpob seemed to be hurt by what I said because he suddenly turned away from me. That's right, feel the pain of being insulted. You deserve it, I thought to myself.

But he recovered pretty fast because after turning away, he faced Michael with his usual bright smile. "Oh, I almost forgot, what happened to your game the other day?"

Michael didn't mind the instant change of topic. In fact, he seemed very interested with the topic Kongpob started. "Before the game started, I was really nervous. My supposed partner in mixed doubles stood me up. Luckily, I saw a girl with a badminton racket entering the court. I didn't even have the chance to ask for her name, but she was awesome, my lifesaver." He narrated enthusiastically.

"Let me guess. You won, didn't you?" Kongpob returned his enthusiasm.

"Of course, I was there, wasn't I?" Michael joked. "But seriously, that girl helped me a lot. I wonder if I can see her again..."

As Michael finished speaking, the bell signaling our detention was over finally rang. Upon hearing that, I stood up from my seat and headed out quickly. I couldn't bear to stay a minute longer with Kongpob. How he could get along easily with anyone really irked me.

But in my hurry to get out of there, I hadn't realized someone was following me until I was nearing my locker. It was Michael, who knew I had no siblings, and he was smiling at me teasingly.

"Why are you..." I started to say but I cut myself off when I saw a familiar piece of paper on his hand as he held it up for me to see. It must've fallen when I was hurrying out. I extended my hand towards him. "Can I have it back please? Or maybe you're interested in texting my friend."

"Whose number is this, really?" he asked, looking at the number in his hand.

I placed an innocent expression and smiled. "I told you, didn't I? it's my friend, Mary's number." I remarked. "And I assure you, you'll have a very interesting conversation even on the very first call you make."

"And why would we have an interesting conversation?" he asked again.

"Because she's different from other girls." I answered him convincingly. His eyes seemed to want me to elaborate. "She's very different because...she's tomboyish."

His eyebrow suddenly arched. "Why would I be interested in a tomboy? And if she were a tomboy, why would she look for a boyfriend? Are you lying again?" he said, not really mad but not amused either. "Honestly, Arthit, whose number is it?"

Seeing how our conversation could last for a long time, I decided to give in. "Okay, so maybe it's not my friend's number. But I can't tell you whose number it is." I admitted. "Can I just have the paper back?"

"Let's make a deal. How about you tell me the owner of this number and I'll tell you how I knew you have no siblings?" he suddenly suggested with a sly smile. "You are curious about it, aren't you?"

He was right, I was curious about it. But the question was, could I trust him? What if he was on Kongpob's side, like almost everyone I passed? He'd definitely tell Kongpob about my scheme. But then, I could be wrong.

"Tell me first, before I reveal whose number that is." I finally agreed.

"I sat in front of you during our freshmen year. And when we were passing those information sheets our teacher asked us to fill up on our first day, I was able to catch a glimpse of yours. The part where you write your siblings' names was blank. That's how I know." He finally explained with a proud smile. "So tell me about the number."

I could run now, and I wouldn't have to tell him. But then, he would ask around since he had the piece of paper. And so, I decided to just tell him. "It's Kongpob's." I said in a small voice so that no one could hear.

"So it's true then." He suddenly responded as a reaction.

Surprised by his reaction, I asked him what he meant. "What do you mean by that?"

"It's true that you're trying to ruin Kongpob's life." he explained. "Everyone's been talking about it, you know. I didn't see enough proof to believe though. At least not until now. I can't believe it's true. Just because he doesn't like you, you're sinking this low?" he shook his head and started walking away.

I knew it. How could I have thought he was trustworthy? Great. Just great. And I thought my life couldn't get any worse. I bet that he'd show that to everyone and then a lot more people would hate me.

But, as if he could hear my thoughts, he turned around with a serious expression on his face. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone, even if I don't like what you're doing. I don't break promises."

That was a relief, really, even though he was trying to tap my conscience into stopping this. But no matter what, I wasn't going to quit. He was just like every other person who thought so highly of Kongpob just because he had a perfectly sweet face and a cute smile. Was there anyone else besides me and Nam who could see behind his deceiving mask?

When I got home from school, I immediately called Nam and told her all about the weird guy I encountered. Not that I cared about him or anything. I just wanted to let her know that even guys who I'd never seen hang out with Kongpob before were on his side too. "I really couldn't believe it. I thought only girls listened to gossips and now guys too?!" I ranted in fury.

"Usually, gossips do only linger among girls. But sometimes, when it's really something big, even guys get involved in it. Someone must've really thought this gossip is big enough for it to have spread so greatly." Nam remarked with a sigh. "So what are you going to do now?"

That was the big question. Should I go on with my plan of posting up notices with Kongpob's number on them? After all, the weird guy promised to keep his mouth shut about it, so it would be okay then, wouldn't it? "Remember how Kongpob used to hate it when some girl calls or texts him especially when he's doing something like when he's busy spending time with you?" I asked her, a smile forming on my lips as I thought about it.

"Yeah. He even got so mad before that he threw his cell phone in the garbage." Nam recalled. "Why?"

"Well, I think he's going to be furious this time because I'm going to post up his number on every corner of out school." I told her proudly. "Girls would definitely want to call him."

Nam was silent for a moment. "...You do realize he's going to be very pissed with that, right?" she finally spoke.

"Of course. But he deserves to be pissed after what he's done to you. And I'm not going to stop trying to make him feel that way until he feels sorry for what he did." I answered in reply. "Don't worry, Nam. I'll really make him feel sorry for hurting you."

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The next day, I arrived to school an hour earlier than usual. As I thought, there weren't any students in the halls during that time. Having gone to a computer shop yesterday after talking to Nam, I was able to print and make copies of the notice I had made the night before. The only thing left to do now was to post them up. I moved fast and didn't encounter any problems, so I finished quickly. Soon enough all the walls and doors were plastered with the flashy notice with Kongpob's number.

Hehehe he's gonna be sooo pissed when people start calling him.

Accomplishing my task, I headed for the bathroom to wash my hands. There were two junior students there and they seemed to have seen the notice already because they were talking about it.

"Do you think the notice is real?" one of them, a tall bulky guy asked the other guy who was wearing glasses and holding books in his arms.

The other guy shrugged. "I don't know, but it's worth a try, isn't it?" he responded excitedly. "Why don't we try calling the number?"

"Yeah, who knows, maybe it really is Kongpob's." The first guy agreed. He took out his cellphone and called.

Just as the guy pressed her cellphone to his ear, my cell phone began to ring, causing the two guys to turn and look towards me.

What the...

Could it be...?

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