Reading Between (the line)

A/n: Few more chapters to go--

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I removed my slippers to feel the fine white sand beneath my feet. "Woah," I uttered in amazement. The sand was so smooth!

"Girls! Let's take a picture!" Pin called out to us, phone in hand. We all gathered towards her, with the sea stretching out behind us.

"Goofy smile! 1... 2... 3. Say cheese!"

"Cheese!"

After our group photo session, everyone scattered to do their own thing, mostly taking pictures and videos. I was no different. I took out my phone and started shooting short clips to be posted on my socials.

The place where we are right now is a private resort located in a province renowned for its beaches. We were gifted a free three-day vacation here by the company as a reward for our months-long hard work, both on the series and the POP Festival.

It was a sudden announcement, but who would say no to a free vacation?

"Praewa!" Bua suddenly called out to me. I was filming the small waves on the shore but paused to turn to her. "Let's do a dance challenge," she invited. With her were Devi and Jenny, who were also beckoning me over.

It seemed fun, so I nodded and joined them. If only I had known it would take us an hour to shoot a less-than-a-minute clip, I might have thought twice. Well, I had fun, so I don't regret it too much.

The four of us entered the guest house together. Some of the girls were already settled in the living area when we joined them.

"Finally!" Pammu exclaimed when she saw us. "Here. Pick one each." She handed us a cup with folded papers inside. "We decided to randomly pick the rooms to make it fair for everyone. There are four rooms, so it will be three people each."

"Room 1 is the only room on the first floor, while the other 3 are upstairs. Oh, Room 1 is already full with me, Pin, and Som. Room 2 is... wait, who picked Room 2 again?" she asked the others.

"Me." / "Me."

Scene and Atom raised their hands simultaneously, answering in unison. They had one spot remaining. I would like to join them.

"For Room 4, there's Anda and Lookkaew. That leaves Noon occupying Room 3 alone."

So, meaning there's a fifty percent chance I'll share the room with her? Damn it! 'Calm down, Praewa. You still have a half chance of avoiding that worst-case scenario. You just have to pick the right room. You can do it!' I told myself silently.

I quickly placed my hand in the cup Pammu was holding and picked up a paper. The other three followed suit. Slowly, I opened the folded paper in my hand. I folded back the paper, not believing what I just read.

It can't be. This is the letter "E," right? Tell me it is!

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Oh great! Just great!

No matter how much I wanted to deny and request a room change, I knew I couldn't. I didn't want to make a scene over a simple room arrangement.

With my small luggage in hand and Bua behind me, we entered Room 3 upstairs. The room was huge, enough to cater to three people. However, my problem lay in the number of beds.

One queen-sized bed and one single bed. As quickly as I could, I went to the single bed and announced, "I call dibs on this one." I announced.

"What? Aww, you beat me to it," Bua pouted. She followed me into the room and placed her luggage on the side.

Feeling tired from our travel and the dancing earlier, I decided to dive onto the bed, face down.

"Oohhh. So smooth... and smells so good too," I muttered, enjoying the fragrance and comfort of the soft mattress. Suddenly, our room's bathroom door clicked open, surprising both me and Bua.

"Noon!"

Bua called out to the person who had just come out of the bathroom. Her face was damp, indicating she had just washed her face.

"So, you two are my roommates?" She asked, ignoring the fact that we were startled by her sudden entrance—or exit? She came from the bathroom, after all.

Well, whatever! That's not the problem at hand!

"Yes," I answered her question. "And since we three are here, I am calling dibs on this bed again! You and Bua can share the bigger one," I confidently told her.

Noon's brow furrowed. "And why are you the one who gets to pick first? I came to this room before you two. You were late, so I should have a say regarding the bed. Isn't that fair, Bua?"

"Huh?"

Bua clearly looked confused. I bet she didn't understand the tension between Noon and me over a simple bed. After thinking about it, she said, "Well, Noon has a point, Praewa."

I sighed. Two against one. How can I win? "Fine. You can take this single bed, then," I told Noon. "Let's share the bed, Bua!" And I happily moved to Bua's side. As long as I don't have to share the bed with her, it's a win for me.

I could feel Noon's stare behind me, but I ignored it. Bua was here. She wouldn't have the guts to press on, or else Bua would notice that we're not on good terms.

Well, I have a feeling that everyone is already aware. They just don't ask questions. And I think, as long as we keep it professional and it doesn't affect our teamwork as a group, there should be no problem.

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First night of our vacation, everyone decided to have a barbecue party beside the pool. Everyone had their respective tasks, and we were enjoying every bit of it.

I took out the charcoal and scattered it on the grill. I was in charge of starting the fire for our barbecue, and since this takes time, I began my preparations. When I thought the amount of charcoal was enough, I took out the butane torch.

Not to brag, but since our family often hosts barbecue parties at home, I've become an expert at this.

"Oh, doesn't our Praewa look so cool with that torch?" Devi, who was in charge of the games later, came to me. I posed with the torch, jokingly showing off.

Devi laughed, not because of my silly poses, but because of the black smudge on my cheeks. I had scratched my face earlier with my charcoal-dirtied hands—that must have been when the dirt got there.

"Help me wipe it off," I pouted at Devi. She was just teasing me instead of helping. She even took a picture of my face.

To my surprise, someone touched my cheek from the side and wiped the black dirt for me. It was Atom. "Tsk. Tsk. How is this cool? More like clumsy," she scolded/teased like a big sister.

I just laughed and thanked her.

"We're almost done here. Has the fire started yet?" I heard Scene's voice ask, so I hurriedly started the fire. "Almost!" I replied as I lit the charcoal with the torch. I did it with full focus, that I did not notice that pair of eyes from the other side of the pool.