Vibrating Thing

September 25th, 2017

It was a typical Monday lunch break.

Ray, Yunyun, and I were sitting squished together on a two-person couch at school. I was in the middle, and there was so little space between us that the phone in my pocket was pressed against Ray’s thigh.

My phone vibrated. Ray declared, “Oh, I felt that.”

“You’re welcome,” I replied.

I was still feeling emotionally and physically exhausted from that call with Kenzie that lasted until 4 AM, so I didn’t check my phone immediately.

I let out a big yawn and a sigh.

Yunyun asked, “You okay, dude? You seem tired.”

Ray, who I’d been keeping in the loop about everything relating to Kenzie, already knew that I was tired. Yunyun noticing it was another thing.

“Ehhhh…is it that obvious?” I muttered.

“Arguing with Kenzie?” He jested.

“I was not arguing with Kenzie,” which was technically true because the call was more like her having a breakdown than us having an argument, “but yes, I am drained.”

“Huh.” Yunyun leaned over a little to whisper, “Yo, put your phone down next time Ray gets up.”

I understood immediately and shot a smirk back at Yunyun. Maybe it’s because both of us are asses. “You got your phone?”

Yunyun nodded.

Somehow, Ray didn’t notice our stifled cackling when he got up to get tissues from his bag.

I took my phone out as if I were checking a message, then put it back down on Ray’s seat.

Ray sat back down without noticing my phone.

Then Yunyun called me. I looked at Ray, and my phone started vibrating under his ass. In Ray’s words, the experience was “HOLY–”

Maybe the butt vibrator incident was Yunyun’s way of noticing I was down and trying to cheer me up. I hadn’t really noticed it before, or maybe I didn’t want to notice, but Yunyun’s a person that can tell when someone else is feeling down, and tries to act on it. Beyond the jealousy issues, he was a good guy. And he’d already put those issues behind him.

That was nice of him.

[Kenzie]: How was school?

I learned something new

[Kenzie]: Congrats! You’re not wasting school fees

Yunyun told me to put my phone on Ray’s seat

[Kenzie]: Okay…?
[Kenzie]: Is this related

So I obliged and did so
Then Ray sat on my phone without noticing
Then Yunyun called me
Ray learned what a vibrator under his butt feels like

[Kenzie]: Nvm you’re wasting your school fees

It was a good day

[Ray]: Did you tell Kenzie that I did not derive pleasure from having a vibrator under my ass?

October 18th, 2017

Academically, October was an extremely busy month for everyone. Although we still called from time to time, Kenzie and I didn't expect to meet up during October. She had an onslaught of mid-term exams, while I had a lot of important coursework and university applications to handle.

I was also participating in a school-organized service trip to Myanmar for a week. The night before, I met up with Sachi and Wing to get dinner.

After ordering our food and stowing the menus, Sachi started chatting with me. “Rob, are you going to Myanmar this year?”

“Yup! I’m honestly thinking about whether to bring some past papers with me, though. I’m behind on my revision schedule and there’s a math test soon after we get back.”

"If you're going on the trip, you might as well enjoy it as much as you can. I wouldn't wanna do math on a trip. Yuck." She winced.

I wanted to complain that I really did have a ton of work to do, but since Sachi was probably under the same kind of stress that I was, her words did have weight to them. “Sounds fair. What about you? Did you choose to go on any service trips, or are you staying?”

“I’m not going anywhere. I chose to stay and work on uni apps.”

“Ah, deadlines for British universities are pretty soon, right?”

Sachi sighed and rested her hands on her cheeks. “Yeah. I just want to get it over with.”

“I could proofread your personal statement?”

Her eyes lit up a bit. “I mean, if you don’t mind? That would be nice. Thanks!”

While Sachi took out her phone to forward her personal statement to me, I noticed Wing was being rather quiet. I worried about whether we were leaving her out of the conversation.

“Wing, do you have any particular plans or goals for next week?”

“Hm? Nah, just preparing for uni apps. Nothing much.”

“I see.”

I decided to leave her be after that, since she didn’t seem like she was in a talking mood.

Later on, when we finished our dinner and left, Wing and I waved bye to Sachi and went home in the same direction since we lived close to each other. As we exited our station together and walked out, Wing opened up.

“I didn’t feel right.”

I cocked my head and looked at her, inviting her to go on.

"I feel like I'm not really able to enjoy the moment with my friends right now.”

We passed by a bench. I sat down on it, looked at Wing, and patted the empty spot next to me. “Let’s sit for a bit.”

“I really like you and Sachi. I always want to enjoy my time with you guys. But…I don’t know. I’m just not feeling it.”

“Is it the stress getting to you?”

“Maybe. And I know my friends like me, but…”

“Do you just feel a little isolated?”

“That’s…kind of a way to put it? It’s like I’m too busy thinking about uni apps, and grades, and coursework, and I’m not really on the same wavelength as everyone else.”

“Sorry for not trying to include you in the conversation more.”

“It’s okay. That wasn’t your fault.”

I wasn’t really sure what else to say, but Wing spoke again.

"Enough about me. How's you and Kenzie??" She asked with a nudge.

She was the type of friend who I would notify about important things once in a while, but I didn't constantly update her about everything.

"We have our ups and downs. It's like I know what it's like to argue with a girlfriend even though we aren't even in an 'official' relationship."

"Oh. Did you have a fight?"

I got up from the bench, so Wing followed suit and we continued walking. "We're good. We're fine right now. But, I mean...eh. I don't even fully understand it myself. Women are kind of complicated."

Wing giggled a bit. "I won't deny that. And guys can be complicated too. But good to know you're fine."

"We haven't been able to meet up since September 15th. It's getting really busy for her at uni too."

"Aw."

"And we're planning to call tonight, since I probably can't text during the trip."

"Sounds like you're trying your best."

"I hope I am."

We were finally approaching a fork where we'd have to go separate ways to get home.

Just before going, Wing turned and said, "Thanks for listening to me. Have fun in Myanmar. Send pics. Make me jealous, okay?"

"All good. Thanks."

I gave Wing a hug before going back home. She hugged back, patting my shoulders.

October 19th, 2017

Once I got home, showered, and packed, I called Kenzie. It was around 1 AM.

Kenzie picked up. “Hey. Thanks for making the time.”

“You are welcome,” I said semi-smugly.

“Let’s not call for too long. You have to wake up early and go to the airport, right?”

“The flight’s at 6 AM.”

We updated each other about what had been happening around us. At some point, I brought up how long it had been since we last met.

"It's been over four weeks since we last met. I guess I’m starting to miss you more.”

She sighed a bit. "Well...we're both busy."

She was right, but I wish she said something a bit more satisfying for me to hear.

Oh well.

That we could just call and update each other about our lives without having any drama or crying was already something for me to appreciate.

"I'll write you a post card from Myanmar. And then I can give it to you next time I see you. Deal?"

"Sure. Give me something to look forward to other than my midterms."

“And sorry if I don’t reply to your texts over the next week.”

“Well, that’s why we’re calling tonight, right?”

“I guess.”

We kept talking until about 2 AM, then decided to end the call so that I could get some sleep.

I drifted off, excited for my trip, but also trying to think of the next time I'd be able to meet up with Kenzie.