"Indeed. Just like you were thinking before: animals that have
insight into the fact that they are nothing but ambulatory meat; only
you are the meat of the richer classes. Your life will be consumed at
work for their pleasure."

The girl friend handed her sun burnt Siamese a key to the room and
excoriated him for not believing her about the distance of the
apartment building from the department store. She snubbed encountering
extensive numbers of the underclass even though her father owned the
building. She stood aloof and contracted the muscles of her face even
before the evaporation of urinary molecules from the façade of the
building attacked her nostrils. She disheveled Jatupon's hair and then
maternally combed it back again with her fingers. She told Kumpee that
she would take a taxi back to the department store and wait for him at
McDonald's. Then she left them in repugnance.
Within a glance each of them saw all there was of their apartment
burrowed under the building and became sullen. Kumpee lied that he
would leave his bag in the apartment and then see his girlfriend back
to her home. Jatupon lay on the floor. Suthep unpacked and put the
headphones of a Walkman around his ears. Kazem took a shower. The
subject of his departure was forgotten. Kumpee sat on his case for a
half hour eating his durian. Then when there seemed an inconspicuous
exit he picked up his bag and went away. They felt his missing
presence prod the vacuous air an hour later when they noticed that the
suitcase was gone.



Chapter 4