*Author's Note: The use of "Auntie" doesn't mean they're relatives, it's just a respectful way of calling family friend elders and etc. It's usually done in Filipino culture, or toerh Asian cultures. (?)
Ch.2- A New Chapter
Mrs. Panichkul knocked on her son's bedroom door. It was eight-thirty in the morning, and Utt was supposed to leave for San Francisco in thirty minutes. Utt's mom knocked harder on the door, and still no response. Therefore, she then decided to just simply enter and see how her son was doing. Utt stood in front of his mom all packed up and ready to go. He smiled at her, put his blue baseball cap and sunglasses on, and walked out to the empty hallway. Mrs. Panichkul was curious about how her son acted and followed him down to the living room.
"You got everything?" Mrs. Panichkul asked.
"Not yet, I still have to get my other duffel," Utt replied in a low tone.
He ran up the white-carpeted stairs and grabbed a big blue bag from his spacious room. Utt looked around his cleaned out room to check if he forgot anything. The early morning sun shone brightly through Utt's room window. The room was very neat and organized, but most of all it was empty. The posters and the pictures on the wall were all off. There were no more clothes all over the white carpet; it was all arranged neatly in his light blue walk-in closet. The books that were scattered all over his computer desk were now placed compactly in his bookshelves located above the same desk. His shoes that filled up the space under his bed were now neatly stacked on racks located in his closet, and his DVDs and CDs that were hidden in the nooks in his room were all put in order in a CD holder by his computer desk. He wondered about what his future home in UC Berkeley would look like and if he'd find it comfortable and suitable.
As he was about to head out his orderly room, he paused as he saw Khaley from his bedroom window. She was out in her front yard. Khaley's car was parked in their wide driveway. She was loading her bags in the trunk of her black Mustang Coupe.
Mrs. Panichkul came through on her son's white bedroom door. "Honey, you don't seem like yourself, are you sure you want to leave today? I mean you can always--,"
"I'm good mom, don't worry about me," Utt told his mom, "Today's perfect." He turned back, looked at his sweet mother and hugged her.
"I'll miss you," said his mom in a feeble tone.
"Me too mom, but December is just a couple of months away. You can come up and visit me in Berkeley."
Utt came down the stairs with his luggage. He took them and dumped them in the trunk of his silver Honda CRV. He shut the door and waved farewell to his parents.
*
Khaley looked at her neighbor's house; it wasn't a luxurious mansion, but a simple, medium-sized, urban style home. Two stories high, Khaley looked up to view Utt's window, and found it shut up. 'What if he left already?,' Khaley thought to herself. She plopped her bags in her trunk and didn't bother to close it. She quickly ran to Utt's house and hoped that she could still talk to Utt before both of them head off to their own separate colleges. She sprang through the living room and startled Mr. and Mrs. Panichkul.
"Sorry auntie, but uhm, is Utt still here?" Khaley asked with an unstable expression on her face.
"Oh Khaley!," Mrs. Panichkul lightly slapped her forehead, "Hun, he just left a couple of minutes ago!"
Khaley nodded and left the residence. She walked along her neighbor's lawn and looked up at the cloudy skies. A ray of sunlight shone vibrantly on her dark hair and brown eyes. She stopped in front of her house and looked at it; her house was especially modern and it had a unique sense of its own. The walls were painted in different shades of blue, and the windows stood out with its white varnish. She stuffed the rest of her stuff in the trunk of her car and headed inside her house.
Her mom had already served breakfast. Khaley took a seat on the white kitchen counter table and grabbed her fork. She poked her omelet and drank her orange juice. Mrs. Andrews observed her daughter as she drank her fresh coffee.
She asked, "Khal? You okay, hun?"
Khaley looked at her mom with confusion. Nothing was wrong with her; at least that's what she thought. She started to think she was feeling sick, but in all honesty, she was feeling something; however, she couldn't figure out what it was.
"Why are you asking? Do I look ill or somewhat?" Khaley asked with a confused face. Her mom looked at her and just stirred her head. Khaley drank her orange juice, took a piece of toast and ran up to her room.
Varieties of colors filled her room: pink, green, white, blue, orange, and all the colors of the rainbow. Her walls were filled with posters and pictures of friends. Strings that were in beautiful shades of spring colors hung from the ceiling, assorted kinds of stars were stuck onto the ceilings and walls as well. She sat on her pure white bed and ate her toast. The crumbs fell on her colorful square patterned rug; she picked them up and threw them in her polka dotted trashcan. A hot summer breeze came from the open window that was facing her. The wind brushed against her face, she closed the window and fixed her curtain. She looked at a picture of her best friend and herself together and then clutched her purse. She had a last glimpse of her lively bedroom, and closed the door behind her.
A new chapter in both Utt's and Khaley's life was going to be written…it was now time for college.
*
It's been a few years since Khaley and Utt had seen each other. College was over and done, and it was time to go back home. It was time to face the past and confront what had been left open and hanging.
Utt's mobile phone rang and he hoped it was her, Tara.
"Utt?" asked Tara, it was her, "I 'm all finished packing hun. Pick me up around ten-thirty okay?" Tara walked around her pink and lavender furnished apartment. It was almost time to leave it. Leave and move to Los Angeles.
"Hey Tara, well uh…I'm not sure if I can get there on time, but I'll try," said Utt as he cleaned out his old oak desk. His friend Adrian sprang through the door and startled Utt, making him drop everything that he had cleaned up. The small room became filled with candy wrappers, and crushed papers once more. Adrian cackled, grabbed Utt's suitcase, and went back outside. It was exactly nine-thirty in the morning and it was only several hours until Utt goes back to his hometown and old life. This trip back home was different from other trips he made before, because this time he was brining along tow other people.
Khaley drove her new black Honda Element down Sunset Boulevard, with her new friend, Andrea on the passenger seat. The tinted windows were set down, the cold morning breeze stroked their hair and fair faces. The streets weren't as busy, and once again, Khaley raced through the streets of Los Angeles. Both girls laughed as each said countless jokes; they also talked about how they were excited about God's plans for their lives ahead. The only thing Khaley didn't know was that not only the future was ahead of her, but her concealed past as well.
It was time to finish writing the chapter that they left undone.
Khaley and Utt tried to get over the past, but they never had a chance to explain and say the things that were needed to be said, and now all was lost; the friendship and what started to grow in between the closeness of the two. The specific event never left the backs of Khaley and Utt's head, and it's been there ever since. The time apart grew them distant from each other, and it would be difficult and challenging for Utt and Khaley if both just showed up one day and acted as if nothing happened. Opportunely, that day was just about to come…
Ch.2- A New Chapter
Mrs. Panichkul knocked on her son's bedroom door. It was eight-thirty in the morning, and Utt was supposed to leave for San Francisco in thirty minutes. Utt's mom knocked harder on the door, and still no response. Therefore, she then decided to just simply enter and see how her son was doing. Utt stood in front of his mom all packed up and ready to go. He smiled at her, put his blue baseball cap and sunglasses on, and walked out to the empty hallway. Mrs. Panichkul was curious about how her son acted and followed him down to the living room.
"You got everything?" Mrs. Panichkul asked.
"Not yet, I still have to get my other duffel," Utt replied in a low tone.
He ran up the white-carpeted stairs and grabbed a big blue bag from his spacious room. Utt looked around his cleaned out room to check if he forgot anything. The early morning sun shone brightly through Utt's room window. The room was very neat and organized, but most of all it was empty. The posters and the pictures on the wall were all off. There were no more clothes all over the white carpet; it was all arranged neatly in his light blue walk-in closet. The books that were scattered all over his computer desk were now placed compactly in his bookshelves located above the same desk. His shoes that filled up the space under his bed were now neatly stacked on racks located in his closet, and his DVDs and CDs that were hidden in the nooks in his room were all put in order in a CD holder by his computer desk. He wondered about what his future home in UC Berkeley would look like and if he'd find it comfortable and suitable.
As he was about to head out his orderly room, he paused as he saw Khaley from his bedroom window. She was out in her front yard. Khaley's car was parked in their wide driveway. She was loading her bags in the trunk of her black Mustang Coupe.
Mrs. Panichkul came through on her son's white bedroom door. "Honey, you don't seem like yourself, are you sure you want to leave today? I mean you can always--,"
"I'm good mom, don't worry about me," Utt told his mom, "Today's perfect." He turned back, looked at his sweet mother and hugged her.
"I'll miss you," said his mom in a feeble tone.
"Me too mom, but December is just a couple of months away. You can come up and visit me in Berkeley."
Utt came down the stairs with his luggage. He took them and dumped them in the trunk of his silver Honda CRV. He shut the door and waved farewell to his parents.
*
Khaley looked at her neighbor's house; it wasn't a luxurious mansion, but a simple, medium-sized, urban style home. Two stories high, Khaley looked up to view Utt's window, and found it shut up. 'What if he left already?,' Khaley thought to herself. She plopped her bags in her trunk and didn't bother to close it. She quickly ran to Utt's house and hoped that she could still talk to Utt before both of them head off to their own separate colleges. She sprang through the living room and startled Mr. and Mrs. Panichkul.
"Sorry auntie, but uhm, is Utt still here?" Khaley asked with an unstable expression on her face.
"Oh Khaley!," Mrs. Panichkul lightly slapped her forehead, "Hun, he just left a couple of minutes ago!"
Khaley nodded and left the residence. She walked along her neighbor's lawn and looked up at the cloudy skies. A ray of sunlight shone vibrantly on her dark hair and brown eyes. She stopped in front of her house and looked at it; her house was especially modern and it had a unique sense of its own. The walls were painted in different shades of blue, and the windows stood out with its white varnish. She stuffed the rest of her stuff in the trunk of her car and headed inside her house.
Her mom had already served breakfast. Khaley took a seat on the white kitchen counter table and grabbed her fork. She poked her omelet and drank her orange juice. Mrs. Andrews observed her daughter as she drank her fresh coffee.
She asked, "Khal? You okay, hun?"
Khaley looked at her mom with confusion. Nothing was wrong with her; at least that's what she thought. She started to think she was feeling sick, but in all honesty, she was feeling something; however, she couldn't figure out what it was.
"Why are you asking? Do I look ill or somewhat?" Khaley asked with a confused face. Her mom looked at her and just stirred her head. Khaley drank her orange juice, took a piece of toast and ran up to her room.
Varieties of colors filled her room: pink, green, white, blue, orange, and all the colors of the rainbow. Her walls were filled with posters and pictures of friends. Strings that were in beautiful shades of spring colors hung from the ceiling, assorted kinds of stars were stuck onto the ceilings and walls as well. She sat on her pure white bed and ate her toast. The crumbs fell on her colorful square patterned rug; she picked them up and threw them in her polka dotted trashcan. A hot summer breeze came from the open window that was facing her. The wind brushed against her face, she closed the window and fixed her curtain. She looked at a picture of her best friend and herself together and then clutched her purse. She had a last glimpse of her lively bedroom, and closed the door behind her.
A new chapter in both Utt's and Khaley's life was going to be written…it was now time for college.
*
It's been a few years since Khaley and Utt had seen each other. College was over and done, and it was time to go back home. It was time to face the past and confront what had been left open and hanging.
Utt's mobile phone rang and he hoped it was her, Tara.
"Utt?" asked Tara, it was her, "I 'm all finished packing hun. Pick me up around ten-thirty okay?" Tara walked around her pink and lavender furnished apartment. It was almost time to leave it. Leave and move to Los Angeles.
"Hey Tara, well uh…I'm not sure if I can get there on time, but I'll try," said Utt as he cleaned out his old oak desk. His friend Adrian sprang through the door and startled Utt, making him drop everything that he had cleaned up. The small room became filled with candy wrappers, and crushed papers once more. Adrian cackled, grabbed Utt's suitcase, and went back outside. It was exactly nine-thirty in the morning and it was only several hours until Utt goes back to his hometown and old life. This trip back home was different from other trips he made before, because this time he was brining along tow other people.
Khaley drove her new black Honda Element down Sunset Boulevard, with her new friend, Andrea on the passenger seat. The tinted windows were set down, the cold morning breeze stroked their hair and fair faces. The streets weren't as busy, and once again, Khaley raced through the streets of Los Angeles. Both girls laughed as each said countless jokes; they also talked about how they were excited about God's plans for their lives ahead. The only thing Khaley didn't know was that not only the future was ahead of her, but her concealed past as well.
It was time to finish writing the chapter that they left undone.
Khaley and Utt tried to get over the past, but they never had a chance to explain and say the things that were needed to be said, and now all was lost; the friendship and what started to grow in between the closeness of the two. The specific event never left the backs of Khaley and Utt's head, and it's been there ever since. The time apart grew them distant from each other, and it would be difficult and challenging for Utt and Khaley if both just showed up one day and acted as if nothing happened. Opportunely, that day was just about to come…