"Are you serious?! He is injured." Sam stared at the now blank screen.

"Don't worry. We have the best doctors in our infirmaries. He will be fine!" Haruko exclaimed as he dangled his walking stick.

"I don't know what is wrong with you all," Sam muttered.

At that moment, there was an announcement on the P.A system:

"One student from each candidate pair please move forward." The instruction was short and stern.

At that moment, the hexagonal rotatory box was brought in and Haruko picked out two pieces of paper at random. He laid them out and picked up the papers two at a time. He opened the chits and read out:

"Students please arrange according to the pairs that I announce now."

"What is he talking about?"

"What pairs?"

These were some of the questions asked by the crowd that required answers but got none.

"Bond and Spence, Pin and Sam, Alejandro and Anh, Sebastien and Binh... You get it right, switch one of your partners with the pair on right." Haruko picked up his walking stick and pointed at them.

"Now why does it have to be this?" Spence gritted his teeth as he glared at the person on his right. It was Bond.

"I think we can exchange." Sam moved backwards and stood next to Bond. Spence stood with Pin.

"Okay, boys. You can all head back to the dorms now." Haruko led them outside the door and locked the room.

All students headed to their dorm rooms and found something different. The flag on their temporary nameplates had been replaced by flags of two countries and closer inspection revealed that the engraved names on the nameplates were also changed.

'Seems like all this was planned.'

Sam entered the dorm and sat down on his bed. He removed his stiff cotton jacket and proceeded to remove his t-shirt like he usually did. He realised something. Their roommates changed and Spence was no longer with him. He was replaced by the arrogant Bond, who was gaping in horror at him. He had become pale.

"Uh... I am sorry!" Sam put his t-shirt on.

Bond was staring at him . Sam could see that he was trying to control his laughter. His face was red and the veins had become visible.

"Did I do something wrong?" Sam wondered if Bond was angry.

"No. Your t-shirt is inside out." He said in his stoic voice.

"Oh! I see. Thanks a lot for informing." Sam wore his t-shirt, this time correctly.

He headed over to the washroom and bent down to wash his face. He looked up in the mirror and besides the zombie-like face of his, he noticed that Bond was pushing their beds and placing it next to each other in the middle of the room.

"What are you doing?!" He questioned Bond.

"I and Pin always sleep like this. If you have any problem, you can deal with it." He replied with a straight face.

"Look, I don't care about you and your Pin. I have a habit of sleeping alone and I will continue to do so." Sam pushed his bed back to its original place.

"What are you doing?" Bond grabbed him by his wrist and stared him square in the eyes. Sam began to panic but maintained a calm demeanor on the outside.

"Please listen. I don't know why you are doing all this, but I am feeling uncomfortable. I hope you understand." He headed to his bed and lied on it. Bond sat on his bed half-upright and put on his headphones. He turned away from Sam.

Sam began to get restless. Deep down he knew that he was wrong and had to repent for it. He sat upright and looked at Bond, who seemed to be lost in his little world of music. His headphones were noise cancelling, as they covered half of his head beside his blond hair. The expression his face manifested was something not explainable. It was a mixture of stopped tears and hope rolled into one.

"Bond, I am sorry." He said in a low tone of voice. There was no reply from the other side. "BOND, I AM SORRY!" He yelled.

"What the heck is your problem?!" Bond screamed as he removed his headphones.

"I AM SORRY!" Sam yelled again and went back to his bed.

"No problem." He said in his placid voice before he turned back and fell asleep.

***********************************************************

Spence was having a hard time believing that he had been separated from Sam. They had been friends for a long time and the separation anxiety was driving him crazy. All he wanted to do was get up and leave the room. Their hearts were tied to each other and breaking the knot would result in a catastrophe. Besides, his new roommate was not helping at all. It had not been long and he had already broken two lampshades and a mirror.

At that moment, he heard another crashing sound.

'Seems like this guy is clumsy after all.'