"Hey Lee," Sothea stands up and calls out to Lee, as he sees her coming in. Disturbing, the other students who are sitting there in the library turns to Sothea and warns him to be quiet. Apologetically, Sothea nods his head for several times showing that he had no intention to distract their study. Sothea smiles to Lee as if to invite her to his table.
Sothea is another scholarship student who have been accepted to the Television Production Program at Pearl City Community College one year before Lee. Practically speaking, he is Lee's senior and he is Lee's only Cambodian friend in Hawaii. However, not only in Hawaii do they know one another, they have known each other for many years already since they were in Cambodia. In fact, they were once colleague who had been working together in the same organization. Unbelievably, they were once supervisor and volunteer. Small world, isn't it? Surprisingly, Sothea had also chased after Lee for quite awhile; yet, he did not succeed. Lee had rejected his girlfriend proposal, given that they had different perspective on how they view the world. Lee was quite open minded kind of girl, while Sothea was a bit conservative. As an independent young woman, Lee did not like being owned by a man. Though they did not have a chance to be together as boyfriend and girlfriend, they still befriended with one another.
"What are you doing here?" Sothea inquires Lee and invites her to sit down.
"I don't know what I want to do in here," Lee responds as she sits down on a white plastic chair opposite Sothea. "I don't want to go to my room, and so, I am here."
"Yeah, I know you are here," Sothea surprises. "Are you okay?"
Lee does not reply Sothea's question. She places her bag on the other nearby and lies her chin on her hand.
"Are you okay?" Sothea repeats his question, looking straight into Lee's eyes. But Sothea could not tell if Lee is looking at him though her eyes are open. She must be thinking about something else, Sothea says to himself. Sothea lies down on the table and moves close to her and whispers, "Are you alright?"
"I'm sorry. Are you talking to me?" Lee asks Sothea, as if she just woke up from daydream.
"Of course, I am talking to you," Sothea looks at her. "Or else, I talk to somebody? There is nobody around us. Anyway, are you alright? You seem not yourself."
"I'm fine," Lee says apologetically. "Maybe I just feel a bit tired these days."
"I see," Sothea sighs. "Maybe you are working too hard on your study. You should give yourself some times to relax."
"I think so," Lee smiles.
"You should. End of semester is approaching in a few days."
"I know. I should really relax."
"Do you have any end term assignment to turn in?"
"No, I don't think I have any."
"Good."
"Why?"
"Nothing." Sothea is reluctant for a few seconds before he asks Lee, "Talking about school break, do you have any plan or activity?"
"No," Lee says, after recollecting her memory for a few second in order to check if she has planned any activity during the school break. "I don't have any specific plan."
"How about going with me to Thailand on a research trip?" Sothea suggests to Lee. "I am accepted for a small research grant in Thailand to produce a short documentary film about Cambodian child labor there, and I need an assistant. What do you think about this?"
Being desperate about earlier incident, Lee agrees with Sothea to go with him to Thailand.
"That's great," Sothea excites. "I'll inform my professor about that."
"When is it?"
"This Sunday."
"This Sunday? Wait, what day is it today?"
"Today is Thursday. Are you okay about the plan?"
"No. I think I can manage to get things done by then."
"So, is it a 'Yes'?"
"Yes. I'm in."
"Okay, great. Then I'll go to inform my professor now. Be prepared."
Sothea throws everything into his bag and runs off to see his professor, leaving Lee sitting there alone and confused.
To be continued....
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