The two sat down on a bench next to an ashtray engaging in small talk as they finished their cigarettes. A mix between the late hour, jet-lag delirium and the building anticipation of the hours to come created an arbitrary yet blasé platform for Chris and Jenny to become acquainted.

Twenty minutes passed by. Chris dozed off in sitting position as Jenny studied his features.
He was a handsome mixture of East and West—long eyelashes, golden brown hair with black eyebrows, a straight medium sized nose, fair tanned skin, and some golden fuzz sprouting round his chin and upper lip after perhaps a week since his last shave. The longer she examined, the more interested she became.

A new dark blue 5-series BMW pulled up in between the lines of taxis. As the tinted window rolled down, a creamy skinned, Thai Chinese girl’s face appeared. There were small bags under her eyes. Mascara was effective in enhancing almond shaped, spell casting eyes.
“Hey Jenny dear, you’ve been waiting long?” The girl sitting next to a husky man in the driver’s seat, got out of the car to hug her friend. Jenny shook Chris’s shoulder pulling him out of a blurred dream state—blurred visions of his dying mother in her hospital bed.

“Chris, I’d like you to meet my roommate Jun.” Chris rubbed his eyes standing up from the bench. He squinted before his pupils focused on the slim beauty in front of him. She wore a blue tank top and tight white slacks. Such an outfit exemplified a perfect petite and curved figure.

Chris reached out his hand but instead of receiving a handshake, the girl bobbed her head in a wai, the Thai greeting of respect. “Sah-wut-dee ka. Kor Toht na ka, khun cheu arai eek tii na ka?”
Chris’s mouth dropped, partly in confusion of what was said, but also stung speechless by the stunning beauty before his eyes.
“He can’t speak Thai, hun,” Jenny cut in, “He doesn’t have a clue what you are saying. His name is Chris. He came on the same flight as me.”
“Oh so sorry,” Jun looked at Jenny and then back at Chris “I thought you are Thai people. Your face look same same Asia.” Jun smiled, stroking her hair with both hands, putting more effort into this first encounter than previously.
Chris was about to speak but Jenny beat him to it. “He is half Thai, but grew up in America. He plans to study at BUIC too.” Jenny sounded as if she had known Chris a lot longer than she really had.
The man from inside the BMW said something in Thai to Jun. and the trunk door made a snapping sound as it half opened. Jun explained “We go now, ok. My boy friend say we can’t stay here long. We block off other car.”
Jenny explained to Jun that she had invited Chris to stay at their room for the night as they loaded their luggage into the trunk. Just as Jenny had predicted, Jun was staying with her boyfriend, Chaang for the evening.
With all the space they had to work with, it still took a considerate effort in rearranging to fit the entire bulk of luggage, mostly belonging to Chris, in the trunk. Soon, they were off. The new car smell of leather seats tickled an upcoming sneeze in Chris. Seeing Jun’s glare in the rear view mirror, he resisted the nasal forces, which were appeased converting into a yawn. So many things began to flood Chris’s mind as he got his first impressions of a massive city:
Just as Chris was about to doze off again, Jenny nudged his shoulder. “Welcome to Bangkok, or as it’s known locally, Krungthep.”

***

1 Comment

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  By Klaus, July 17, 2009 @ 10:48 am

  Even something as mundane as arriving at an airport captures the reader’s imagination and hold it. Marvelous characters.

  Finish it and sell it. It is 1000 percent better than what is on the shelves in Thailand.

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