Long Time No VC

Sunday, July 7. 9:31 pm.

‘Yo. Long time no see.’

‘Yooooo… It’s tanuki man.’

‘Look who’s finally here.’

‘Sup, bois?’

Yan sits in front of his computer, his earphones plugged in, ignoring all ruckus around him. It’s been a while since he hopped on Harmony VC to chill with his friends, but with tonight’s family gathering cancelled, he can properly spend some time with them again. Especially when he’s this bored.

He looks at his Harmony tag. Oh, how I missed you, Tanuki#9121.

‘No family gathering today, Yan?’ a person by the name of Spain without the S speaks.

‘I literally told you guys in the Whatsup gc at lunch time,’ Yan replies. ‘And you read it, Herman.’

‘Bro, I was playing BS the entire afternoon,’ Herman protests.

‘As I said, you read it.’

‘Aw, shut the fuck up.’

‘No you,’ a third person with the name ur mum gae interjects.

‘You shut the fuck up as well, Jayden,’ Herman shoots back.

‘Hermaaaaan…’ Jayden whines overdramatically.

‘So what has everyone been up to recently?’ Yet another person speaks, this time by the name of XYZ.

‘The usual. You know, rotting in my home, eating, sleeping, the usual, yeah,’ Yan says. ‘How bout you, Larry?’

‘Been grinding maths,’ Larry answers.

‘Bruh, still?’

‘Bro, do you do anything else other than that?’ Herman teases. ‘Imagine not having a life.’

‘Imagine having a life,’ Jayden responds.

‘That comeback sucks ass, bro.’

‘Hermaaaan…’

Yan chuckles at the familiar sounds of his friends. Although it’s only been a few weeks since summer started, it almost feels like an eternity since he’s heard their voices. Herman the tech-savvy gamer, Jayden the awkward joker, Larry the math nerd… and of course, himself, Yan the weeb (or as Herman sometimes might say, ‘fucking weeb’). Together, they form the Four Un-Heavenly Kings, clearly reflected in their Whatsup and Harmony group chats’ names. Except Herman or Jayden had changed the name from FUHK to FUCK a while back.

It’s hard to imagine they’ve already known each other for three years, too used to each other’s mannerisms, habits and personalities. He still remembers following Jayden around on the first day of secondary school, getting lost in the hallways like idiots. He remembers trying out different games on Herman’s phone, only to get laughed at every other second. He remembers sword fighting with Larry using their rulers during maths class and getting in trouble five minutes in. In these years, so many memories have already formed with this bunch.

‘Oh yeah, since Yan is here, we might as well talk about when we wanna meet up,’ Larry says.

‘I’m free pretty much, uh, every day for the upcoming week,’ Jayden reports. ‘Just need to visit my sister this Saturday.’

‘I can’t do tomorrow,’ Herman adds. ‘And you all already know I’m not free on Wednesdays.’

‘Summer tutoring rip,’ Larry says.

‘Shut up, nerd. You’re the one doing voluntary maths work every day.’

‘I don’t do it every day.’

‘Close enough,’ Jayden comments.

‘Uh, I’m same as Jayden, free every day except for Saturday,’ Yan finally speaks up. ‘What’re we gonna do, by the way?’

‘Doing your mum,’ Jayden immediately responds.

‘Bruh.’

‘Jesus christ… Anyway, a movie or something?’ Herman suggests. ‘We could meet up at Festies and eat there first as well.’

‘I’m fine with that,’ Larry agrees. ‘Though it’s a bit far for me.’

‘I’m good with that too,’ Jayden finally answers in a relatively serious manner.

‘I don’t mind,’ Yan says. Festies is quite a good location considering where they all live, after all.

‘Alright, bois, so we got the location,’ Herman concludes. ‘Now as for time…’

‘Thursday? It’s the closest date everyone’s available,’ Larry proposes. ‘As for the exact time, maybe we can try 12:30, waiting at the station C exit?’

‘Yeah, sure.’

‘Sure.’

‘Mm, I don’t mind.’

‘Alright, Thursday, station C exit, 12:30…’ Jayden mutters as he types on his keyboard. ‘I’ll put the information in general in case we forget.’

‘Thanks, man,’ Larry says.

‘You better actually read it, Herman,’ Yan reminds.

‘Ok, ok, ni—’

‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA,’ Jayden interrupts. ‘Calm down, CALM DOWN.’

‘And this is the guy who wants to go to America for uni,’ Larry laughs.

‘Plus, I’m actually whiter,’ Yan jabs.

‘That’s cos you don’t touch grass,’ Herman counterattacks.

‘What do you mean? I touch grass every Saturday and Sunday.’

‘That’s only like two days a week.’

‘... Bruh.’

‘L,’ Jayden pronounces.

‘Shut the fuck up, Jayden,’ Yan hisses.

It’s nights like these when they can remove their masks, their filters, letting the words flow as freely as they desire. Despite jabbing at each other in practically every other sentence, it’s times like these when Yan can go a little crazy, laughing and simply having fun with his friends. Sure, his parents and siblings may pick up a word or two of what he says here, but at this moment, who cares?

He might be uncomfortable with calls or communication in general on a usual basis, but everything changes when he’s with the homies.

‘Hey, Yan,’ Larry says, interrupting his thoughts. ‘You still go to that bookstore right?’

‘Not yesterday, but usually yeah. What about it?’

‘Have you seen Crystal Chung there?’

Wait. ‘Huh?’

‘Our classmate. I went there yesterday for the first time cos you said books there are relatively cheaper, and I saw her.’

‘Uh, ok? She’s hanging around there over the summer cos her uncle owns the store. Nothing special about that.’

‘Are you friends with her or something?’ Jayden asks. ‘Cos the way you said it makes it seem like you’ve known her for a while. And I have never seen you talk to her in school at all.’

Welp, that’s the homies for you. Even Jayden picked it up.

‘I guess?’ Yan answers.

‘No way, no fucking way,’ Herman joins in. ‘You? Friends with Crystal Chung? The quiet kid who barely speaks up in class somehow befriends the local loudmouth? Nahhh bro, what?’

‘What’s wrong with that?’

‘Bro sounded defensive there,’ Herman notices.

‘No I didn’t,’ Yan retorts.

‘Nah, you did,’ Larry says.

‘Defensive as hell,’ Jayden supports.

‘I— What?’ Yan sputters.

‘Are you going to the bookstore this upcoming Saturday then?’ Herman asks.

‘Yeah?’

‘Prepare a funeral for my man. He’s gonna be ditching us soon for a girl.’

What is he smoking? The amount of logical leaps needed to make that statement are just too much. It’s not as if they don’t have their own female friends.

‘I’d be going to the bookstore regardless if she’s there or not.’

‘Just remember: bros over hoes,’ Jayden reminds.

‘You guys are making zero sense. Besides, as you guys all know, we’re literally opposites. I don’t even know how we got to being friends in the first place.’

That, unfortunately, is a lie. Yan remembers every bit of their first proper encounter, the midnight call, that Friday with the home visit, the arguments, the laughs, the embarrassing moments… all of them. And that will not be something he can afford telling the homies about. At least not now.

‘Whatever you say, man,’ Larry shrugs.

‘You’re coping. I know you are,’ Jayden presses.

‘Bro betrayed us man,’ Herman complains.

‘Bruh, I…’ Yan tries to argue back, but there is nothing on his mind. If he turns back on his words and reveals his friendship, they’ll only exaggerate the situation further, leading to embarrassment, not only to him, but possibly even to Crystal. If he stands his ground and lies further, being the terrible liar he believes himself to be, he’ll just crack later.

Jesus, they’re persistent—

Pak Yin, you forgot to do the laundry! In the distance, Yan’s mother calls for him. Usually, that would’ve been the last thing he wanted to hear, but right now, her voice is that of an angel rescuing him from his predicament.

Perfect timing. Just perfect.

Ma, I love you.

‘Hey guys, my mother’s calling me to do the laundry so I have to go now, bye,’ he quickly announces. ‘See you Thursday.’

‘Wait, you didn’t—’ The audio cuts off as Yan leaves the call.

‘Pak Yin, did you hear what I say?’ Yan’s mother shouts.

‘Gimme a bit!’ he shouts back, more relieved than irritated as his mother’s words.

Yan shuts down his computer and leaves his desk, ignoring the storm of notifications sent by his friends. He doesn’t have to read what they sent. He can already guess.

That’s what three years of friendship does to a person. Even as he walks to the bathroom to grab the laundry basket, his phone continues to vibrate from the notifications.