Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Just Another Day ❯ Volume Six, Chapter Thirty-Five: Launch ( Chapter 35 )

Launch

Come to think of it, Soon needed this vacation. The last lecture was a nightmare. Where to begin?

First, Soon was confused on what day it was. He awoke to his phone ringing.

“Hello?” Soon asked.

“Where are you?” a voice asked. “You're supposed to be here at ten.”

“Huh?” the man asked.

“Get down here!” the voice shouted.

“Wait, wait, wait,” the other man said. “Who is this?”

“I'm Suzuki-sensei,” the man on the phone said. “You agreed to give a lecture today. It starts at ten.” The words took a moment to sink in. Soon sat up with a jolt.

“What?!” he shouted.

“Are you coming or should I cancel?” the professor asked.

“No,” the man said. “I'll be there.” Soon looked around for a clock. 8:27? Soon cursed himself under his breath.

“Are you sure?” Suzuki asked.

“Yes!” the other man shouted. “I will be there right away!” He hung up and jumped out of the futon.

This was just the start of a headache of a day for Soon.

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It was another local college. Thank goodness for small wonders. Mai-Pai helped him get dressed.

“Here,” she said, fixing his tie.

“Thank you,” Soon said. He gathered up his notes.

“Are you sure those are the right ones?” Mai-Pai asked.

“Yes!” he shouted. The man grabbed his bag and ran out the door.

“Have a good day,” Mai-Pai said, waving at the door.

Took about thirty minutes to get to campus. Soon found the dean outside waiting for him.

“Are you Gok-san?” he asked.

“Yes,” Soon said, blinking and slowly nodding. The dean grabbed him by the arm.

“Well don't just stand there! You have to get going now!” he yelled. Soon didn't get a chance to talk as he was dragged into the building.

The auditorium looked empty. Soon looked at the chairs.

“Where is everyone?” he asked.

“They will be coming in soon,” the dean said. “Just get ready.”

“Right…” Soon said.

“I'll go let them know you're here,” the dean said. He turned and walked out of the room.

“Okay…” the guest mumbled. He looked at his notes. That's when he hit another problem.

“Oh…” he said. These weren't the right notes.

“Now what?” Soon asked. He looked up when he heard the door open.

“Oh…” he mumbled. They were all starting to come in now. Soon looked down at his notes. Wrong notes and they were out of order. Mai-Pai should've looked at these. Soon started to sweat.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” he heard the dean said over the mic. “We present to you today's lecturer: Gok Soon! He is a survivor of the Exile. Today, he's going to tell us about his life during that time period. Please give him a warm welcome!” The audience applauded. Soon gulped. Too late to get everything straight now. He would just have to wing it. He could do this. This shouldn't be a problem, right?

He took a breath and walked onto the stage.

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Needless to say, that lecture could've gone better. Soon didn't remember what he said. He thought it was okay. No one said a word after that. The dean tried to be polite.

“Thank you for coming,” he said. He wouldn't look Soon in the eye.

“Yeah,” Soon said. He wouldn't be coming back here. Remembering all of that was a motive to enjoy this weekend cruise. He was going to need it.

Disaster Area