It was a calm atmosphere at Caius Ballad Private High School. With his usual steps, Aldy walked down the hall to his class.
The thing that was quite different for Aldy was the gazes from everyone who looked at him. Rumors about Aldy having defeated many of the strongest people from other schools who incidentally are enemies of Caius Ballad High School spread so quickly.
It was as if an unwritten rule, namely that no one should provoke Rizaldy Pradipta. Even though it was allowed, no one dared to seek trouble with Aldy.
Enough with the aura of its existence is enough to intimidate anyone who sees it. Even though what Aldy did, nothing has changed. He was still Aldy, the man who rarely spoke, complete with an expressionless face.
Although it is undeniable that Aldy's expressionless face is too handsome to not to be enjoyed by the girls at school.
Now Aldy is sitting in his chair, staring blankly at the sky outside the classroom window. In his mind, it's still the same. His head was still filled with questions that had been stuck in his mind for almost a year.
The question of when Maureen will wake up from her coma.
Although lying on the bed is what Aldy thinks is the most comfortable activity to do in the world. But he himself might not be able to stand it if he has to stay in bed for a whole year, especially with the condition of his eyes being closed and unable to move. Even though from several articles he had read, people who were in a coma were actually aware of what was happening around them, even though they could only hear and think.
Remembering Maureen's condition made Aldy's heart feel sad again. Aldy always imagined that if he were in Maureen's position, all he could do was listen and think. It would be the same as being trapped in his own mind.
"Okay, kids. I'm going to start today's lesson. Please take your seats."
Lessons started as usual.
And Aldy's mind was also filled with Maureen, as usual.
***
"Dy, have you heard of it?"
"What?" Aldy asked without taking his eyes off the Biology textbook. To others, Aldy looks very diligent in studying the book. But what Aldy did was not read the material in the book. Aldy is scratching a pencil on the image of a human body skeleton.
At first, it was just a picture of the skeleton of the body. Aldy conjured him into a skeleton soldier holding a sword in his right hand and a shield in his left, complete with iron armor and a helmet in the style of ancient Roman troops.
"Sentosa Vocational High School, the first school gang we beat. There's word that they're coming here to challenge our school in a rematch."
"Oh."
Hearing Aldy's overly relaxed answer made Marsel a little annoyed. "Just oh? Can you hear me?"
"I heard you. They want to attack our school, right? So what?"
"Y-Yea ... They want to attack us. We did defeat them once, and there is no longer any grudge between us too. However, according to the information I heard, they have hired some thugs who will disguise themselves in their school uniforms."
"Okay."
Marsel is getting annoyed with Aldy's attitude. "Okay you said? They're thugs who've been in and out of jail many times! Can you listen to me for a--!"
Slammm!~ ...
"Marsel, if you don't like my class, you better get out!" said the Biology teacher in front of the class loudly.
Marshall nodded his head and kept his mouth shut. The lesson was resumed, as was Aldy, who was still busy scribbling on his Biology textbook.
Marsel looked back at Aldy after a while and finally decided to give in to Aldy's overly relaxed attitude. All he could do was take a deep breath and go back to the lesson.
At least, Marsel had told Aldy what he needed to know. He can think about the rest later.
And time seems to go by so fast. The bell signaling the last class had rung, signaling the end of today's lessons.
Edwin and Zico entered Aldy's class and sat on the nearest bench. Now, Aldy, Marsel, Edwin, and Zico, the four most feared people in school, especially Aldy, who was at the top, were sitting together.
"Looks like I don't need to re-explain the current situation, do I?" Marsel asked. It's actually a rhetorical question that doesn't need to be answered.
Zico let out an exasperated sigh. "Today, I really can't fight with you guys. My father was in the hospital due to a minor stroke. So, I couldn't help but go home early."
"Is that so? I hope your father is okay."
Zico bumped his fist with Aldy, Marsel, and Edwin before walking out of the classroom.
Edwin crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the back of the chair where he was sitting. "If they did hire some thugs to help them, I guess we can still handle it."
Edwin continued his words. "I'm sure that our school gang is strong enough to take on them. And even if we lose, I can call a friend of mine. He's a member of a motorcycle gang that controls some areas around here."
Aldy and Marsel were still silent.
"But the problem is, I just heard that not only Sentosa Vocational High School is going to attack us, but '42' National High School also wants to attack us at the same time."
Marshall frowned. "I don't think we ever got into trouble with them. Why so suddenly?"
"Do you think there is another reason that other school gangs want to attack us? It's all because of Aldy. Aldy's name has been spread among other school gang leaders who have never even had a history of fighting with our school."
Marsel turned to Aldy and nodded his head, agreeing with what Edwin said.
"It's natural for them to be curious about Aldy, the person who runs Caius Ballad Private High School and has beaten all school gangs in his own region," said Edwin.
"So they all joined?"
"Apparently not. They didn't join forces Sentosa. However, it's still troublesome to face two school gangs at once. We can't underestimate '42' National High School. They've long ruled the school gangs around their school."
Marsel and Edwin set their sights on Aldy.
Aldy looked back at them. "What?"
"Woah, I can't stand your fucking attitude anymore. Did you hear what I was talking about with Marsel earlier?"
"I heard it. Then, why?"
"You bastard! Do you think the situation we're in right now is just a fucking joke?" now Edwin began to get angry with Aldy's attitude.
Suddenly, Aldy showed an expression full of seriousness, making Edwin feel his throat dry for no apparent reason. "Why are you two panicking? Afraid of them? You pussies just think too much about useless shits. All you have to do is just fight. You are free to choose which gang you want to fight. I'll take care of the rest."
"Alright. It's useless to argue with you. I'll choose to fight the '42'. I also want to know how big their combat power is." said Marsel, who immediately took his cellphone and contacted all his gang members to get ready.
Edwin also relented because he knew Aldy was always that simple. "Okay. My gang will fight Sentosa Vocational School."
They both walked out of the classroom. Although Marsel and Edwin were unsure whether they could win this battle or not, there was one thing they were sure of.
Aldy, as a person at the top of Caius Ballad Private High School, was not a person who would let his school gang be defeated by another school gang. Aldy must have a plan that he doesn't want to tell Marsel and Edwin yet. In fact, Aldy didn't think anything of it.
To be more precise, his mind was already filled with Maureen, so he was lazy to think about anything other than his cute little sister, who was still lying in a coma in a hospital bed.
Because to him, whatever it was, a battle was just a battle.
In a battle, winning is not something based on ability but will.
Winning is not a matter of whether you can or not, but whether you want to or not.
That's the fighting principle that Aldy has held so far. And that principle has brought Aldy this far. Even though Aldy has no plans to fight the two school gangs at once, he will just do what he always does.
That is fight ... and win.