It was hot again. It is always hot in Thailand. Sun was standing in the dining room next to the big dining room table. There were more than thirty hand-carved chairs, but they never used more than three. One for Sun, one for his mom, and one for his dad, which was the person yelling at him right now.
Sun had just brought home his report card. He thought it would make his dad happy. He did better in four of his subjects. He didn’t do poorly in any subject, but that’s not what his dad thought.
His dad wanted him to be in the top ten. “I spend thousands every week on extra classes, I buy you the best books and study materials, and I even buy your teachers gifts; but you’re still —“
Sun didn’t like what his dad said next. His dad said it a lot, and it was always the same, so Sun stopped listening. He kept staring at his feet and nodding every time his dad paused. The more his father yelled at him about his grades, the less he wanted to go to school or do his homework.
A few minutes later it went quiet. His dad had left, and his mom kept silently looking at him. Sun wondered if she was going to take her turn to yell at him, but this time she didn’t say anything.
Sun wasn’t sad. He used to be sad, but it didn’t work. Nothing changed when he cried. He was angry. He marched out the door. He wanted to escape. He knew just where to do that: his secret river. It wasn’t actually a river, it was too small to be a river. It was a stream. But it was a river to him.
On the way there, he had to pass his best friend’s house. “I hope he doesn’t notice me,” Sun thought. He didn’t want to talk to anyone. He wanted to be alone, even though it was his best friend.
He passed the little house, well, it was actually just a hut, and he didn’t see anyone. “Phew,” he sighed.
Just as he turned the corner, though, he heard his name being called, “Sun! Wait for me!”
It was a gentle, innocent voice. The kind of voice that puts a smile on your face when you hear it, even if it’s someone you don’t know. But Sun didn’t smile this time. “Go away, Lamai.”
But Lamai didn’t listen. Soon he caught up to Sun, wearing his cone-shaped farmer’s hat, with his fishing basket slung over his shoulder, and his father’s pitchfork in hand. Sun didn’t have any of these because his family bought fish from the new supermarket in town. Lamai caught the fish for his family. They were farmers, and they didn’t have a fishing spear. Lamai didn’t mind using a pitchfork, though. He always called it a spear as if it was one of those expensive fishing spears you could get at the market.
“Are you going to our secret river, Sun? Can I go with you?”
“No, I’m not. And no you can’t.”
“Well that’s where I’m going, so if you want to, you can come with me. I’m going to catch some fish for dinner. My teacher gave my parents my report card and I got an 82 average for all of my subjects! My parents want to celebrate with a feast tonight!”
What?!? This made Sun very angry. His heart was pounding. He averaged 89 this year. He was 12th in the whole school. How could Lamai’s parents be happy? With 82, he must be somewhere around 50th in the school!
Sun felt his throat get stiff and his eyes become blurry from tears, but he choked them back when he thought about being angry. He didn’t want to be with Lamai, but he couldn’t go back home. He walked faster, as if to walk away from Lamai, but Lamai just walked faster, too.
“Why are you so red Sun? Are you hot? Here is my hat.” Lamai put his hat on Sun’s head. Sun didn’t say thank you. He wasn’t hot. He was angry. Why couldn’t Lamai see that he was angry and go away?
Soon they arrived at a tiny path next to the road. If you didn’t know it was there you would miss it. Sun followed the path down to a small stream in the forest. The trees reached over the whole stream. The air was thick with a gray mist. The stream was too deep to walk in, but there were boulders along the side of the stream, and parts of them had broken off and rolled into the stream, sticking out of the water. Sun and Lamai could step on them and look down into the stream and see the fish. Fish don’t normally live in streams this small, but because it is deep, and nobody knows about this spot, the fish lived a long time and became very big. If the other boys in school knew about this spot, they would come and catch all of the fish and there would be nothing left. That’s why Sun and Lamai kept it a secret.
“Here, Sun. Take my spear. You can catch the first fish!”
To catch the fish with a spear, you have to be strong and fast. If you don’t thrust with the spear fast enough, the fish will see it and swim away. Sun was very good at fishing when he was angry. Sun was always good at fishing.
Sun fixed his eyes on the water. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the darkness.
There! A fish just in front of him. It wasn’t big, but it would do. Sun lifted his spear slowly and leaned forward. He waited for the fish to stop moving. Just as the fish slowed down, Sun thrust his spear down into the water. He felt a satisfying thud as it sank into the big fish.
“Yoooo! Look at that one! Great job, Sun! It’s a big one! I knew you could get a fish for us! You always are so good at fishing! Here, put it in my basket and get another one.”
Sun was confused. He didn’t know why Lamai was always so positive. He didn’t get good grades. He couldn’t afford a fishing spear. He lived in a tiny mud hut. And this fish wasn’t big at all! If his dad were here, we would be disappointed with this fish.
Sun got back into his fishing stance, arm raised back, body leaning forward. His fixed his eyes again on another fish. He felt his heart pounding. Splash! His pitchfork sunk into another fish. Soon, they had enough for two meals.
“Wow, Sun! You caught enough fish for our feast! I didn’t even get a turn today, hahaha. Thanks, my friend!” Lamai pat him on the back.
Lamai was feeling better now. They started heading back. He was secretly hoping that Lamai would invite him to dinner, but he wasn’t willing to admit it too himself. He always liked going to his house. His parents were nice to him. But his parents didn’t like it when he went there. They said Lamai’s family was too low.
“I wish you could eat some of this fish with us tonight, but I’m sure your family is celebrating tonight, too! I saw you are the 12th in the school this year. Great job, Sun! Your parents must be so happy for you!”
“Yeah, we do have a feast,” Sun said. But he knew there wasn’t going to be a feast. “My parents are very happy.”
Soon they were back on the road, and then they were walking by Lamai’s house. Sun didn’t want Lamai to leave.
“Bye bye, Sun. Enjoy the celebrations!”
“Bye, bye, Lamai! You, too.” Sun replied as he gave Lamai his hat and pitchfork back.
Sun felt his throat become stiff, and his eyes became blurry again. He walked on in silence. When he came near to his home he thought about his grades and his dad again. He became angry again. He didn’t understand why he was angry. Whenever he thought about Lamai’s parents he had mixed feelings. He felt like he wanted to spend time with them and he felt like he didn’t’ want to ever see them again, both at the same time.
Soon he would be home. He was hungry now, but he didn’t want to sit at that big empty table. He snuck into his house quietly. Maybe his dad was in the library at the back of the house. Maybe his mom was out walking in their garden. He went in the side door, through the dining room, up the staircase, down the hallway, past the music room and the servants’ quarters, and into his room. He closed the door and locked it, his parents never came looking for him, but locking the door made him feel like they normally did. He opened the windows, pulled back the curtains, and opened the door to the deck so the cool night air could come in. He climbed onto his bed. It was too hot for his feather quilt. His stomach growled from hunger, but he ignored it.
Going to bed was bitter sweet for Sun. When he slept he forget everything, but he always knew that he had to wake up in the morning. As he laid in bed, he wondered if things would ever change.