Rain

He was tired. He felt wrung out and depressed. If this was the condition in the first year of college, how was he going to survive the remaining four? But he knew that this devastating feeling in his chest was not because he had been ridiculed every step of the day today. It was bad because he could see his world slipping away from him. He was tired and fed of being treated like dirt by P'Som. He had proved his worth every step of the way. The scholarship programme he was getting was proof enough of his hard work and determination. And yet, he was to prove himself more? And when Ple had come running about Phayu coming in, Rain had taken to his heels. If Som noticed Phayu speaking to him, there would be hell to pay, and Rain could not afford any attention on him at that point. Ple had told him, and so had Por, that Som was there only for a few months. He would soon be off to an internship, and he would get the hell out of Rain's life.

But there was another truth that no one knew. On Sunday evening, he had received a call from P'Mhok, one of their seniors and P'Phayu's direct boss. He had asked to meet Rain as soon as possible, maybe on Monday itself, if he had time. They had worked it out and Rain would leave immediately after his last class. He nodded to his friends and took a motorcycle taxi to the Architecture offices. "I am here to see P'Mhok," he said to the lady at the reception. "Ah Varain!" he turned around at the voice. "P'Mhok, swasdi khap," Rain said, politely waiing. "Ah Tan, I will take Varain from here," Mhok said. The receptionist nodded, smiling at Rain. He waiied to her and followed Mhok. "Please be seated Varain. So, let me get straight to the point. I heard about the scholarship that you received. So, I asked the University to give me your portfolio. I got it from them Saturday morning, and I went through in great detail," Mhok said.

Rain nodded, shocked. "Varain, I must say, I am highly impressed. Are you sure you are in the first year?" Rain smiled faintly. "Outside of Phayu's work, this is by far the best work I have seen. And even he didn't have this in the first year. So I will cut to the chase. Join us. As an intern under Phayu for now, and on a permanent basis after 5 years." Mhok's words turned Rain speechless. "P'Mhok..," he trailed off. "Varain, I refuse to lose a talent like yours to a bigger company by not doing what I did at the right time. So there you go. What do you think?" "Phi, that day you were there at the mixer and you heard what everyone had to say about me. Are you sure you want someone like me in your company?" Rain asked, his pain flowing out in his words. "Varain, I don't care what people say about others. I judge a person by their work. And I will tell you that I asked for both your and Sky's work. But it was your work my team wanted," Mhok said. "Does that team include P'Phayu?" Rain asked. "No, myself and my partner, and one of the senior interior designers of the firm. We were the first to start this business together," Mhok said.

"I can see that you are overwhelmed. How about I give you some time to think?" Mhok asked. Rain nodded once again. He was overwhelmed. He couldn't believe that this was actually happening. "P'Mhok, just one thing. Can it not be P'Phayu? My senior?" Rain asked. Mhok threw back his head and laughed, "Okay. Does that mean you will come work with us Varain?" he asked. "Yes Phi. I would love to. But I am still in..," Rain trailed off. "I know that you are studying and doing other part time jobs, right?" "Khap," Rain said. "How much do you earn with your part-time jobs?" Mhok asked. "Enough to pay rent and buy groceries Phi. But on Saturday nights, I work at P'Yok's bar. I am a performer there. These are things that you will have to consider if you plan to hire me Phi," Rain said, already seeing the opportunity slip away. "I know that bar. I love going there. If you are a performer, I must come see it," Mhok smiled as Rain looked flabbergasted. "Okay, I will give you a stipend that will cover your weekday jobs. Sunday will be off, and Saturday, you can continue to work there. How does that sound?" Mhok said. He was shocked when Rain started crying. "Varain! Is everything okay?" Mhok asked. "I am sorry Phi. I just can't believe I am being given such a wonderful opportunity," Rain sniffled as he wiped his tears. "So? You will join us?" Mhok asked, smiling. Rain nodded eagerly.

Mhok

As he watched Rain leave the room, Mhok was surprised. After everything that he had heard about Varain during the faculty mixer, he had been prepared to see something totally different from what he had actually seen. When he had shown the work to his partners, Aroon, the financial genius and Pensri, the head of the interior designing part of the firm, they had marvelled at the boy's work, and immediately agreed that it was not an opportunity that could be missed. Mhok sat back and looked again at Varain's portfolio. Something about the boy had triggered a protective instinct in him, not love, but something else. Like a concern that an elder brother would have. He had noticed how shy the boy had been, yet he had put forward his thoughts and concerns forward clearly. He picked up his phone when it suddenly pinged. "You are with me and Pensri," Aroon's voice came over the line. "Hey guys!" Mhok said. "So? How did it go?" Pensri asked.

"You know, that faculty and how they admit people leaves much to be desired." "What do you mean? Was he no good?" Aroon asked, the frown clear in his voice. "Quite the contrary. He is brilliant. Reserved, yet very, very, eloquent. He was able to put his thoughts very clearly to me. And he was overwhelmed and thankful," Mhok said thoughtfully. "Then why are you cursing the faculty?" Pensri asked. Mhok told them everything that had happened on Friday night. They were appalled. "I swear Mhok. This is the worst case of trash talk. Poor boy," Pensri said. "Did you say he is an orphan?" Aroon asked. "Yeah. Someone called him a bastard, but a girl, I think her name was Ple, she said that he was not a bastard, but an orphan and that no one should say slurs like these," Mhok said. "I can't believe it you know?" Aroon said. "Believe what?" Mhok asked. "That people can trash talk someone so much. I don't get it even when it's deserved, but when it is not, it feels worse," Aroon said. "I agree. Okay, I want to know what demands he put forward," Pensri said. "Well, for one, he doesn't want to work under Phayu," Mhok said. "What? Are you sure?" Aroon asked, sounding shocked. "Yeah, I mean. C'mon, aren't you all from the same university? And isn't Phayu like the God or something of the campus?" Pensri sounded the same.

"I would have thought that kids from that college would jump at the chance to work with Phayu," Aroon said, sounding droll. "I am glad somebody is not like that," he added, sounding more amused than not. "And what were the other things?" Pensri asked. "Well, he requested a work around his schedule. So I asked him to send it to me. We can definitely adjust a bit. And plus, he can't work of us on Saturday evenings. He works at Yok's Bar as a performer," Mhok said. "Saturday evening at P'Yok's? Wow! The Drag Queens?" Pensri asked. "What? What did you say?" Mhok asked, now being the one who was shocked. "Did you forget when we went there couple of weeks back? That was the performance, right?" Pensri said, sounding a bit confused. "Oh my God! I did not put two and two together. Jesus!" Mhok laughed.

"Does that make you want to change your mind about hiring him?" he added. "No way! Those performances are incredible, creative, and decent. Plus it shows how good his work ethics are. He is honest and upfront. Moreover, he is doing honest work to support himself. I admire such people," Pensri scoffed. "True. Then he stays on board," Mhok said. "But, make sure no one gets to know about him working there. Not everyone will take it same the way as we did Mhok," Aroon said. "Okay. He will start the 1st of next month. Either I will mentor him or ask Kiat to take over when I am not here," Mhok said. The three friends talked for a while more, and promised to catch up on Saturday, now that they knew one of the performers.

Rain

He was officially shocked. He had no idea what he had thought would happen, but this? This he had not expected at all! It was like the culminations of all his dreams coming true. And on his own merit. He was thrilled. He wanted to call up Sky and just talk to him. But everyone had a life, except him. He had to start work from 1st, which means he had around 4 days to plan everything and get things under control. His supermarket job was almost dead-end, the owner having hinted that he was looking for a full time employee, so saying goodbye there would not be a major problem. And the café, that could be an issue, but P'Jeed was definitely a very sweet person, so Rain could easily talk to her. And as he had predicted, the owner of the supermarket gave him his due salary, plus some extra money, to keep him going for a while. At the café, P'Jeed did the same thing. "I am so proud of you Rain, and I am so sorry to see you go. I will miss you," she said. "The office where I got the internship is close by Phi! I will come in for my coffee every day," he said, hugging her close. "Don't hoard this money, okay? Go buy something nice for yourself to wear at that new company of yours," she told him. He laughed and nodded, and then left, hugging her again.

On his way home, he saw the small thrift shop tucked away between another café and a florist. He had always like the clothes there. In fact, the first time he had tried drag style make-up, he had bought the long orange dress, it's matching hat and boa feathers from this store. And look where that had gotten him! Now feeling a little frisky and excited, he entered the store again. The clerk who had served him before seemed to recognise him as he bustled over, smiling broadly. "Nong! How can I help you?" he asked, brimming over in enthusiasm. Rain waiied to him. "Phi, the last time I bought something from here, got me a great job. And now, I have got another. Can you help me buy something that I can wear there as my good luck from you?" he asked. The clerk was so elated that Rain considered his shop lucky, that he quickly dragged off. "See these pretty shirts now. You can wear them with jeans and with regular pants for those more formal meetings," he smiled again. Rain liked a couple of them and put them aside. But it did not give him satisfaction.

"Nong, have you found your personal style yet?" the clerk asked. "What is that Phi?" Rain asked, confused. "Nong, do you like wearing jeans and t-shirts and shirts?" he asked, a knowing smile on his face. Rain shook his, biting his lower lip, as he looked a bit ashamed. "No need to feel ashamed Nong. Not everyone is the same. Give me a minute," the clerk said and went to another section of the store. He came back and handed something to Rain. "Try this on sweetie," he said, pushing some clothes into Rain's hands and pushing him towards the trial room. Rain checked the clothes. He was shocked to see that the clerk had given him a soft, pleated short black skirt, with a white tube top and a white and black checked jacket that was almost as long as the skirt. The clerk also pushed in a pair of short heeled black boots from below the curtain. At first Rain hesitated, but then, he thought, why not. He quickly donned everything and slipped on the boots. He then turned and looked at himself in the mirror.

He gasped in surprise. He had no idea he could look like that. And the level of confidence he was feeling skyrocketed. He felt powerful and something else, something he could not clearly put in words. But he needed this. He wanted this. And not just this, but more like what he was wearing. He decided to pick stuff he would need for work, as well as a couple of more things like what he was wearing. He would present it in his vlog and see how that went. If it worked, then maybe it was time to make changes to himself. He really didn't want to change. He wanted to go out like that. But did he dare to? Just then his phone rang. "Sky?" he answered. "Rain? Where are you? You ran out right after classes and didn't even tell me where you are going. Now P'Jeed is saying that you already quit your job at the café. Where the hell are you babe?" Sky sounded a bit panicked. While Rain was happy to see that Sky was still concerned about him, he had no intention to worry him. "I am at the shop that I bought the orange gown from. I will call you back in a while, okay?" he said and cut the call. He quickly changed. He needed to do a vlog today, so he was going to have to hurry home. He went out and talked a bit to the clerk, who was called P'Nat, telling him about his vlog and what he wanted to do. P'Nat was very helpful and suggested some more styles for Rain, which he loved. Rain also bought a few t-shirts and couple of shirts that he could wear to work. He thanked P'Nat, promised to send him pictures and gave him his vlog link. He also promised to return soon if the styles turned out to be great.

Back in his tiny apartment, he set up his equipment, a blank screen at the back so that the location of the place would not be visible. He set up the link and saw that P'Nat was almost the first to join. He also saw Sky and some other members of the Theerpanayakul family, including Uncle Khun. There were some new names, which made him excited. He started off by telling them about a possibility of a new job, which meant that his vlog days would change or reduce. But he promised them exciting stuff for today. He told everyone about P'Nat's shop, sharing the location. He also mentioned that P'Nat was a genius in picking out the best outfits for the person according to their style. He then went off-camera for a while and came back, showing off his new dress. The positive response he received overwhelmed him. Uncle Khun made him promise that that's what he would wear when he came for dinner next time, which would be tomorrow. Rain laughed at that but promised readily. All his fans were thrilled with his styling and the make-up that went with it. They encouraged him to try stuff like this more often and said they would wait for his next look with a lot of excitement. Rain went to bed completely happy and feeling blessed.

He carried the mood the next day and was teased by his gang on his super sexy costume change. But they were all quick to reassure him that he had done a fantastic job and that they were with him if he ever wanted to experiment and try out new styles in public. He nodded gratefully, happy that he had such amazing friends. He managed to ignore P'Som for most part of the day but was cornered by him and his friends when he was waiting for Sky outside the restroom. "Hello slut boy!" Som said, as he pushed Rain against the wall. Rain was shocked. "So? Dressing like a slut now too? Showing off your body through videos as well? Isn't it enough that you strip for other people in clubs, now you are doing actual vlogs on it?" Som asked, as he and his friends moved in closer. "Want to spread your legs for us boy?" P'Bank asked. "You can wear that tiny skirt and ride me anytime," P'Jack leered.

Rain kept quiet, wanting to spew. But he knew better. These were P'Phayu's boys. As in, members of his fan club. He could see the girls there too, standing a little back, but smirking yet. He stood no chance if he spewed and they complained. So, he just shrugged his shoulder and turned his face away, as if he was least bothered by their venom. It was killing him inside, but he would never show his fear in front of them. Plus, it was not that he couldn't walkaway, leaving a trail of bodies behind, but he was more than them. "Are you ignoring us you asshole?" Som asked, pushing him again. Rain's shoulder hit the metal frame of the door jamb and pain shot up his arm, the metal cutting into the skin. But Rain didn't flinch. He was used to worse. They left as soon as they heard someone coming, like the cowards they were.