"We"re engaged."Robin and Akira announced together, with a grin. Min told himself he should stop being too surprised. His new friends had too many surprises rolled up their sleeves.
"I"m sure there"s more," Min said softly.
Robin and Akira stared at each other, demanding the other explain. It was Robin who gave in, in the end.
"Our families are neighbours. Our parents dear friends. We were born at almost the same time. In neighbouring rooms at the same hospital. Our parents were muddled enough to believe this was a sign. We weren"t even an hour old when our parents decided to have us married. We"re engaged ever since."
"Doesn"t mean we"re okay with it." Akira took over. "We grew up together. Since we were engaged, our parents had no reservations about us being a boy and a girl, and let us share a room, a closet and a bed even. So, we know every thing about each other. A little difficult falling in love in such a case."
Robin nodded earnestly. Both had such conviction in their eyes, Min was convinced too. Min nodded in understanding.
"Love is such a pain," Robin and Akira said in unison.
It was too much. Min burst out laughing. They were truly a beautiful couple.
Akira sat herself on the bed, directing Robin in unpacking and arranging the dorm. Min sat unmoving on his bed, as if watching a play. Robin and Akira noticed, but said nothing. When they were done, they looked at Min who was looking back with a pleading look.
"You want my help?" Akira asked.
Min nodded. Robin was stunned and left his mouth hanging wide open. Akira was immeasurably pleased. Overwhelmed with excitement, she began directing Min who was far more receptive than Robin.
It was evening when they were done. The dorm was incomparable to the empty room it was until a few hours ago. It was almost like home now. Akira announced that the dorm felt more hers than the boys", and so she would be spending a lot of time here. Min a.s.sured that he had no reservations. It was the right answer. And Akira loved him for it.
"Anyone hungry?" Akira asked.
They were all so excited all day long that they felt no hunger, even though they missed lunch. They would probably have remained in the dorm if Akira hadn"t asked. Now that she had, the three could suddenly hear their stomachs rumbling.
"Yeah," Robin said, as Min nodded.
"Our first day deserves a celebration," Akira decided. "We"ll skip the hostel canteen for tonight. Let"s discover our favourite restaurant."
Robin was smiling so wide, all of his teeth showed. He knew this was what Akira would say. Min had already made it clear that he was willing to follow Akira. And so, the trio headed out. Akira closed the dorm"s door and kept the key.
The hostel was as could be expected. Boys were running in and out of the dorms and along the hallways in various states of undress. None were expecting to see a girl. The reactions were mostly the same. First, they froze. Their heads needed a couple of seconds to process the situation. And then, they rushed into the nearest dorm. They couldn"t even complain. The rules were clear that boys weren"t allowed to enter the girls" hostels, but there were no such restrictions for the girls about entering boys" hostels. The boys were to blame for their being unable to expect Akira"s presence. They would be embarra.s.sed for a while, but it was a lesson they wouldn"t forget. Never again would they take the hallways of the hostel for granted.
Akira remained unabashed throughout. Almost as if the nakedness of the boys didn"t enter her eyes. Probably, the boys themselves didn"t enter her eyes. Robin was amused. He was no stranger to Akira"s thick skin. Maybe he was to blame. All the time she spent with him had probably desensitised her. Min was surprised at first, but quickly accepted it. He was thoroughly impressed with his new friends.
It was a moderately long walk from the hostel to the gate. The campus grounds were a splitting image of the hostel hallways, minus the nakedness. Everybody was moving about, making acquaintances and exchanging greetings. The start of a new year was always an exciting period. Akira led the way without hesitation.
"We"ve visited a few times," Robin explained.
Akira scoffed. "A few dozen times to be precise. Maybe even a hundred. But who"s keeping count."
Robin laughed embarra.s.sedly and explained. "Our parents decided we were to attend the National university quite early. Its somewhat a family tradition. So, they brought us over a few times."
"You mean everyone from your family went here," Min asked, a touch of disbelief mixed in with the curiosity.
Robin and Akira nodded. Min was surprised once again. It made sense that the two of them had visited the university many times. It was almost like another home to them. Min snickered as he told his friends of his thought. Robin was amused. Akira surprised. There was a subtle change in the way the two looked at Min. Most would have missed it, but not Min. It was almost like Robin and Akira pulled Min in closer.
They walked out the second gate and headed to a small stand about thirty metres away. An old woman ran the tiny shop. And she only sold momos. Akira smiled fondly as she greeted the old woman.
"Grandma, three plates please."
The old woman smiled back in recognition. Her voice was trembling as she spoke.
"Oh, so the little ones finally made it. I"ve been waiting."
"Sorry it took so long," Robin joked, and the three broke out laughing.
"Grandma here has been feeding our family for generations," Akira explained to Min humorously. "Every time we visited, we would have a plate of momos. Its like an appetiser. And don"t let the size fool you. Grandma makes the most money out of all the places around. Even more than some of the restaurants. That"s how popular her momos are."
The old woman listened on with a patient and loving smile without refuting any word. She placed four momos into each of the three paper plates, poured a little red sauce on the side and handed out the plates to her three customers.
"A new friend?"
Robin nodded. He answered the old woman"s question before he started eating. "Yes. We share a dorm. He"ll be coming with us from now on. He"s Min."
Following Akira"s actions, Min dipped the piping hot momos in the sauce and put it in his mouth entirely. He began sucking in air to cool his burning tongue from the hot momos and the spicy sauce, but the taste was remarkable. He agreed with Robin. He would definitely be coming here regularly.
Though he started later, Robin was the first to finish. He paid while the other two finished. Wishing the old woman goodnight, the trio left. Immediately after, they were replaced by a large group of students. With such a steady stream of customers Min could see how the old woman made the most money.
The momos could truly only suffice as an appetiser. Akira led them to a restaurant not too far away. It was a rather large place, and the majority of the customers were students of the university.
Akira and Robin walked in with a gleam in their eyes. Min realised dinner was going to quite fun.