Seven Years Earlier
Rot arrived at Morchit bus station in northern Bangkok and
hoped his uncle would be there to meet him.
Not that he was a real uncle; he was only some friend of his mother’s
family. Still he was offering a job and
had somewhere for Rot to stay. Rot
wasn’t sure what the job was, just that his mother had told him to go, work and
send money back for Rit’s education every month. He didn’t mind that too much, but hoped he’d have
enough for some fun. At sixteen, he had
needs.
Bangkok! He’d never
been further than Udon. He was excited,
but scared. He wasn’t even sure if he’d
recognize his uncle, but had a phone number.
He found a payphone and made a call.
At the second attempt, it was answered.
A voice told him to stay where he was.
His ‘uncle’ arrived 5 minutes with a young guy.
“Well Rot, you have grown since I last saw you. This is Oot, you are sharing with him. One month, one thousand, we’ll take it from
your wages. He’ll explain the job; you
are in the same section.”
Rot just nodded. He
was glad to be out of the village, but wondered if he could survive. Still having someone his age would be good. He had worried about where he would stay. Last thing he wanted was to be with his
‘uncle’. He wanted some freedom.
“You can relax today, start work tomorrow. Oot will tell you everything. Let’s get the bus.” An hour, and three buses, later they arrived
at a rundown apartment building.
“Oot, make sure you are both there at six in the
morning. See you Rot.” That was his introduction to his new life. Oot led Rot to a second floor room. Rot looked around. Apart from a mattress on the floor, there was
a small table and a clothes rail. Oot
had a small stove and some cooking stuff on the balcony and there was an old
TV.
“Welcome to your home.
I’ve been here three months. The
guy who was here left last week, you get his job and me. If we cook, we have money for whisky
sometimes. My treat today.” They sat and chatted. Rot was relieved to be living with someone
his own age, even if he’d never shared a mattress before, except with Rit.
It turned out that Oot was a year younger than Rot and that
the work was mainly moving stuff. “It’s
pretty simple, but hard and will give you muscles. And I assume you like girls.”
Rot nodded.
“I’ve a friend from the village who works in the city at a
bar. End of the month I meet with him
and we go out to party. He pays. I save my days off. You can come along as well.”
Rot decided he needed to know a few things. “So we share the mattress, and costs?”
“Yes. The last guy
suggested we each put money in a pot after we are paid to cover expenses. I assume you have to send money home, I send
three thousand. If you do the same, we
have a thousand each for everything. You
have any money now?”
“About eight hundred.”
“Ok, put five in the pot. I was paid yesterday and put five in. We are paid every two weeks. I have a little extra; there are ways of
earning it."
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