Returning to that day, which was Sunday, kan was at home clearing weeds and had an appointment at the market with Siv Siv to buy grains. After returning from the market, Siv Siv and kan prepared materials for some planting. Hana also joined them. Siv Siv appeared to be very skilled, making kan and Hana give her a "medal" of satisfaction. The soil at kan's house was good in some spots, but they also went to search for soil in some hilly areas. Siv Siv, being the one to inspect the soil, knew which soil was good for crops. These three friends cooperated very well. Searching for good soil in the hilly area made kan and Hana remember the time they brought that packet of medicinal powder to bury on a hill; they sighed a bit because that story had been hidden and never dug up again. Returning home, after helping each other complete the preparation of soil and fertilizer, they soaked seeds with sponges. In another box, they did not soak the seeds but planted them directly in the soil and watered them.
"Yay! Done!" The sound of the three of them clapping erupted as if they had accomplished a major task. Afterward, kan let them sit and watch TV after washing their hands. Kan also washed her hands and then prepared some food, such as fried eggs with carrots. She put in three eggs, stirred them well, sliced the carrots thinly and small, added them, and began frying. It was very interesting. Hana remembered a book she had bought and also knew how to cook some new dishes. Without waiting long, she told kan there was a new dish she knew; did they want to eat it?
"Huh? Really? Make it, make it!" Siv Siv, who did not know how to cook, sounded eager to know, as did kan. Hana opened the refrigerator to think for a moment and then asked if, recently, your aunt and uncle (referring to kan's father, though Hana and Siv Siv called him uncle) came often?
"Oh… they are busy and don't come often, but last week they came and bought everything to put in the fridge. Is something missing?" "No, it's just that the dish is Amok."
"Amok?" Siv Siv exclaimed, her eyes showing her craving as she recalled its appearance. Amok is a dish representing Khmer Cambodia, a special ancient food. Nowadays, it is mostly in restaurants where it is made and decorated beautifully to be appetizing. Today, people do not often make Amok at home; it is made only once in a while. There is fish Amok, chicken Amok, and others, but Hana wanted to make chicken Amok. However, the fridge lacked chicken and some ingredients. So, she asked them to wait a moment, grabbed her bicycle to return home for a moment to get some ingredients and chicken. When she came to kan's house, she rode her bicycle; she rode that bike occasionally to school, but she hadn't ridden it for a long time. It seemed Hana really wanted to make it and show off her skills to Kan and Siv Siv. She let kan continue her cooking while she went for just a moment, speaking hurriedly while acting fast, until kan, who was holding a spatula, and Siv Siv, who was leaning her chin watching kan fry eggs, turned to look at Hana, who was acting so fast. They didn't expect Hana to be so determined about making Amok; they laughed a bit. Kan also stir-fried bell peppers, blanched dry noodles, and stir-fried Khmer-style glass noodles; kan seemed quite skilled too. Hana returned with a bag containing ingredients and banana leaves she had asked from a neighbor. She hurried to fold them into "Kandtong" (leaf cups) to put the Amok in. Right, Amok is placed in folded banana leaf cups with decorative styles to make them even more beautiful, but if you want it simple, just folding the corners is enough .Amok is steamed; the aroma was fragrant, making Siv Siv salivate. Siv Siv also pulled out her phone to film Hana cooking. Hana, focused on the task, said nothing, but Siv Siv saw her focusing too hard. Kan told Hana to smile a bit. Right, Hana forgot to smile; she said sorry while laughing a bit and suddenly remembered to say, "Don't post this on Facebook!"
"I know, I know!" Before long, they succeeded and ate together happily. Siv Siv then asked, "Between you and Yin, what is happening?" Her question was like a lethal one. Kan almost choked, but Hana gave her water just in time. "I've wondered for a long time; usually, you and Yin have nothing, and Yin doesn't talk much with the girls in class. But suddenly, over the past few months, I see Yin and you appearing so close, even riding a bicycle together."
"Oh, it's because Yin and I work together." Siv Siv never knew about her working outside, and today kan decided to tell her. She continued, "Yin and I have nothing; it's just normal, we don't get along sometimes. He's always a cruel person." The sound of Siv Siv's laughter erupted. "Cruel? How?" Siv Siv asked as if she were forgetting that kan had hidden her part-time work. Seeing this, kan thought Siv Siv didn't realize, so she answered with a smile, prepared to know she was indeed wrong as friends, yet Siv Siv knew nothing. But Siv Siv was not a person to hold many grudges; she was just disappointed for a moment and brushed it off with laughter and a fake angry face. "Oh… it's because Yin actually has feelings for another co-worker, and that co-worker is closer to me, making him jealous of me! But it's not bad; he just jokes in a scary way. However, because the fact that I was working reached two teachers, he was very angry with me, but he's not angry anymore, that's all." kan spoke with a smile. Seeing Siv Siv staring at her face, Siv siv then returned to eating normally.
"Oh, okay. I'm sorry for not telling you before… haha, stop being angry." kan picked up some blanched noodles for Siv Siv. Siv Siv then turned to Hana, who seemed to cooperate with kan and continued eating normally. Hana said, "I don't know, no one asked me!" Siv Siv was so annoyed she wanted to pinch both of their cheeks. Anyway, it was afternoon and they went back. A while later, after finishing the dishes and sleeping a bit, a voice erupted from outside. "Senior! Senior!" kan hurried to wake up and see. It was Sina. She went out to open the door for her. That very day, they talked about the water bottle that was not just water. She had brought the bottle with her. They sat on the sofa talking. This time, Sina did not hide anything.
"What's your problem with this water bottle?" "Do you remember, Senior? I once told you about my physics score dropping, and I've dropped rankings for a few months because my physics score dropped a lot."
"Oh…" kan thought for a bit and then nodded. "I think it's Sara's work," Sina spoke without hesitation; she wanted to test kan's heart to see if she believed her or not. If she didn't believe her, it was okay; there would be nothing more to tell. But if kan believed, she would tell more. "There's a problem with this water bottle. Usually, I didn't know, and my habit is always to take my own water bottle and drink during the exam. Because as you know, exams take a long time, so I am a person who gets thirsty quickly. I always drank without noticing. It is unusual only during the physics hour, and the physics hour is always the last one. So, during the first exam hours, the water is normal. But during the break, I drink a lot of water, so I go to the restroom a bit. At first, I didn't notice. It's Kana."
"Kana? Who is that?" kan asked while in her heart she seemed to think Sina was a person afraid of losing scores and could not accept it, to the point of thinking someone did something to her water. Moreover, she thought that if the water really had a problem, a normal student in school shouldn't have such a cruel idea; it was impossible. Kan thought Sina was thinking alone, but she paid attention and continued listening without saying anything yet. "Right, Kana. She's my classmate. But as you know, I don't have much of a relationship or talk much with my classmates, just acting as class president. When I went to the restroom that time, I didn't notice. I had taken the water bottle with me."
"Why did you take the water bottle with you?" kan asked. This question made Sina think for a bit because she didn't know either why she took the water bottle with her, or was it because she was a person with a habit of holding something? But if it's a habit of holding something, why go to the restroom and carelessly let someone hold it for her? "I don't know," Sina lowered her voice a bit and continued, "It was probably my habit." Seeing Sina's face not looking like before, kan thought for a bit whether it was true or not, but said, "Maybe you have a habit of holding things close so you have something with you and don't need anyone to talk to, right?" Sina looked at kan's face immediately, as if kan had solved the puzzle she was wondering about. Sina nodded. She continued, "But when I went to the restroom, since there weren't many people, especially not many of my classmates, I coincidentally met Kana, who was washing her hands. Kana was very friendly; she's not like the girls who fought with me. She just walked with them, and when they fought, she seemed to dislike that behavior and stopped some of them; she did not participate in the fight. In class, she is gentle and friendly, and she seems to have no relationship with Sara. But who knows? She greeted me. It was like when it's quiet, she can greet me easily, understanding that I might feel a bit relieved when it's quiet. Right, at that time it was before the incident of the fight between me and her group. I also smiled and nodded a bit, and she then asked if I was going into the stall; just leave the water bottle there and she'd watch it for me. At that time, I didn't feel any objection because there were no other classmates. I nodded, left the water bottle on the sink, and she smiled at me. It was probably then that she put that medicinal powder in. The first month of the start of their plan was February. I only dropped a few physics points because I felt a little dizzy slow, so I didn't notice. The second month, it dropped more than before but not a lot, but even a little bit made me drop to second place for two months because I didn't notice, so I thought maybe it was my mistake."
"Was there really a mistake on the exam paper?" This question made Sina quiet for a bit, then she nodded and said, "Senior, you probably don't believe me." "It's okay, keep talking." "The third month, because Sara had other scores slightly lower than mine by a fair amount, only the physics score if I dropped hard, maybe Sara could be in the first place rank. I didn't think of it, but after the third time, I suspected some, then a lot, but didn't know what to do except experiment during the exam a few days ago. I also saw clearly, so I kept the water in this bottle as it was, and I didn't make her suspect that I knew. I will try to let her continue doing it again on the next exam day," Sina spoke without blinking, as if she were very angry but did not show it. But kan could see it in her eyes; she just didn't say anything, waiting to listen further. But Sina probably didn't know that when she acted normally, thinking she made Kana believe Sina didn't suspect she was wrong; but Sina don't know that Sara already knew Sina suspected.
"How was that third time?" kan asked. "Right, that third time I dropped my physics score hard, like I told you when we went to Sangkran in Siem Reap. I know my own ability; it's not to the point of leaving time wasted and not doing the exercises. I did only two exercises; there was one I didn't finish. I didn't believe it. Even those in the class couldn't imagine it either, but as you know, there's nothing for them to care about me, and I don't need their care either. At that time, I had no one. Even if I protested, the work sheet wasn't wrong; it really was my mistake. But what I suspected was the water bottle, and I've been waiting for the exam days until now," speaking of this, Sina laughed in disbelief a bit. She then told the story of Kana's actions. Listening, kan could only sigh. But she seemed to hesitate to believe a little, though her face did not show hesitation; however, Sina knew clearly that kan probably hesitated to believe. She said, "This water bottle because I don't know what kind of medicine it is, I don't know how the story would go if I gave it to someone to inspect, so I won't give it to be inspected." Sina then drank it. Kan was very stunned. Even though she didn't know if that was normal water and Sina might be acting, or if there really was medicine in it or not knowing what kind of medicine it was, why would Sina risk drinking it like this? "Senior! You probably think I might put medicine in myself and then try to persuade the Senior to believe me. If the Senior thinks like that, I have nothing more to say. Just now, Senior, wait and see the effect of this medicine." Then she drank more. Kan stopped her, but Sina kept drinking. She said, "In a while, the effect will come out. It doesn't come out quickly, which is why it could deceive me." At this point, Sina decided to tell her; she wanted to know what kind of person kan was. Would she believe her without evidence? Sina wanted kan to believe her now, even though during the previous incident where Sina and kan cooperated on that matter about ree, there were some things Sina used kan for and lied to her a bit, but those lies had no bad influence on kan. And now, even if kan hesitated to believe, she would decide to help to test if it was the truth or not. About half an hour later, the medicine took effect. She took out a practice subject to do to show that scene she sat normally, it didn't make her dizzy to the point of falling, it made her mind and eyes messy, her actions unusually slow, sweating, and her hands slow. She did three or four exercises but wrong and left some undone because she couldn't finish in time. Also, when it was time to collect, Sina handed over the paper normally, just with slow movements. Kan pretended to ask, "Why did you do so little?" Sina looked at her face normally and could only smile, then walked out of the room normally. Sina had kan film all those activities. And she felt sleepy afterward. After waking up, she would be clear again, but it was like being normally exhausted. Until 4:30 PM, Sina woke up again; her body was sweating, but she had no fever. Kan had seen it, and her mind was confused. Is it the truth? Anyway, she helped as Sina asked. When Sina woke up, kan made warm ginger and honey water for Sina to drink. Her hair was damp with sweat. She then said, "It's like this. If I hadn't seen Kana's actions, I would have thought this was just an unusual natural occurrence. But seeing Kana's actions, then I became certain." "Then why not film Kana's actions?" kan asked. "Kana works very meticulously; I didn't expect her to be this smart and meticulous, as I described to you." kan nodded and asked what she could do to help. Sina nodded and told her about how she had monitored Kana without her knowing, only then knowing that Kana used to sneak a look at the physics teacher's exam subjects too! And she seemed to have been caught and threatened by Sara. But Sina didn't know about the matter between Kana and the physics teacher.
"The physics teacher! The physics teacher! Why is that teacher whom everyone respects and likes everywhere like this?" kan said.Even though kan hesitated to believe Sina, she also felt suspicious of the physics teacher. Sina confirmed, "Right now, Kana knows I suspect and mentioned her involvement in sneaking a look at the subjects. She seems to wonder who filmed that photo and sent it to Sara and the teacher! But she is also afraid and denied it, even though I talked about that evidence, but because I haven't found it yet, she continues to deny it, saying nothing happened. At that time, I didn't mention the water bottle; I just acted as if I were worried about a classmate, mentioning strange things about her in case she had a threat." That was Sina's method of starting to move but acting without a direct target not mentioning the water bottle directly, choosing instead to mention her being threatened. Even though Kana didn't know how Sina knew, she felt that Sina might be hinting for her to surrender or something, but according to Sina's character, she doesn't care about others' personal business. But why this time did she act nicely and ask about a classmate's well-being? Her questioning of Kana was done by Sina without letting Sara or her group friends know. Even though Sina didn't tell Kana directly her intention of not letting anyone know, Kana seemed to drop a few hints with Sara wanting to know if Sara knew about this questioning. But Sara really didn't know. She was a bit relieved, even though Sara asked, "Recently have you seen any of Sina's activities? Did she ask anything?" Kana shook her head, saying "No." What was Kana thinking? Right, the method Sina was using was making Kana believe her a bit keeping the questioning secret. Even though Sina didn't say it out loud, Kana could know for herself even more clearly that Sina would not let Sara know. She also wondered what Sina knew to make her do this. Because what Sina showed was as if she had no suspicions at all, just showing concern for a classmate over a certain threat. Therefore, kan and Sina had to confirm the evidence of Kana sneaking a look at the subjects first, so they could put it in front of Kana and threaten to question her, because Kana was also careful; she wouldn't just answer, and she also didn't tell Sara about the questioning. Kana also didn't want it found; if found, she feared everything would break out she'd rather die if it were found. Therefore, she would wait to see what Sina would do if she found it. If she found it and took it to question and expose her, she wouldn't know what else to do; she'd be very ashamed. But she could only think and wait to see how Sina proceeded. Therefore, she was not on Sina's side, nor was she in the middle; she just didn't tell Sara anything, acting normally. But the problem was, was Sara really staying quiet and not knowing anything?