At noon that day, the scorching hot sun shined on the city of Bandung. The wind was blowing strongly that it caused dry leaves on the tree branches to fall on the road. This kind of weather resulted in almost the entire population preferring to stay indoors. But something like that was not for a group of teenagers circling the mango tree.
On top of the tree was a girl named Gabby. Her ponytail was disheveled, the soles of her feet were dirty, and her clothes were soaked in sweat. Gabby's parents always reminded her to be neat and polite, but Gabby never listened to them.
Gabby's behavior was unlike the other girls. She preferred to climb trees rather than go to the mall with her friends. Her parents owned a well-known agrarian company. Since she was born into a rich family, of course Gabby had everything such as the latest cell phone, or even a gaming laptop. Still, that didn't make Gabby like to stay long at home.
"Hey! Watch out where you climb! I won't catch you if you fall!" Exclaimed one of the boys under the tree. Even though Gabby was a girl, almost all of her friends were boys.
"Yes, I know!" Gabby replied, "Don't be noisy or you won't get mango!" The girl smiled wider as she stepped on a branch and reached out for the fruit. She then plucked a mango, and without warning, threw it right at the head of her chattering friend.
"Ouch! It hurts you know!" The teenager rubbed his head. Gabby just grinned at the boy, wiped the sweat off her forehead using the back of her palm and continued picking mangoes.
Suddenly, one of Gabby's friends saw someone coming from a distance and shouted, "Hey! Come down quickly! Your mother is walking this way!" When Gabby looked where her friend was pointing, her dark brown eyes immediately widened in shock.
Gabby quickly jumped from the tree causing her to fall down, "Gabby! Stop right there! You're in very big trouble!" She heard the person yelling from afar.
Gabby grimaced in pain as she rubbed her ass then looked to the side and realized that her friends had run away leaving her, 'You scoundrels!' Gabby thought.
"Gabby!" There was a shrill woman's voice. Shortly after that, a motherly figure with a face similar to Gabby appeared. The woman was wearing a light blue casual outfit and a black skirt. Her brown hair was let loose in the wind.
"Mother!" Gabby said, smiling broadly.
But her mother didn't smile back at her. When she saw Gabby's dirty clothes and messy hair, her mother became furious. Without saying much, her hand went straight to Gabby's right ear.
"Ouch!" Gabby shouted, "It hurts mom! What is my fault?!"
"You never get tired of upsetting me every day, huh?!" Agnes grumbled, pinching her daughter's ear, "Come home quickly! We have important guests!" She ordered as she dragged her daughter away.
On their way home, Gabby could only grimace in pain as she tried to remove her mother's hand from her ear. Seeing Gabby's efforts, her mother twisted her daughter's ear even harder.
"Mother has told you to always look neat and polite." Gabby's mother said.
-
"So you told me that you and Michael returned to live in Bandung, while his parents ..."
Adam paused for a moment then replied, "Yes sir, the young master's parents are still working in America and will return when their work is done."
Daniel felt sorry for the young boy who was sitting across from him. The boy's name was Michael. His parents had been busy with their work since he was a toddler, so Michael spent his childhood with his caregiver, Adam.
When he wanted to ask further, Daniel saw the movement from the entrance and then decided to hold his question. He saw Gabby enter the house grumpily, ignoring the guest sitting opposite him. His daughter then sat on the sofa next to him.
Her hands were folded in front of her chest as she turned to her father, "Daddy! You're the worst! I just climbed the neighbor's tree and mother came and twisted my ear!" Gabby said with a pout in her mouth.
Seeing Gabby's arrival, Nara, their family dog, immediately ran around Gabby's legs and put her nose on Gabby's thigh. The girl greeted Nara with a small smile and stroked her head.
"What are you doing climbing the neighbor's tree, anyway?" Gabby's father frowned, " Anyway, we will discuss it later. We have guests now." Daniel said in a firm tone.
As she recalled the main reason why she was dragged back home by her mother, Gabby's sharp eyes glanced over to the sofa opposite her. There a young boy her age was sitting in the middle of the sofa looking at her.
After looking at the boy for a while, Gabby spent a moment thinking, 'Boy...how come he has a pretty face? He's just like a girl!'
Averting her gaze, Gabby saw the man beside the boy rise from his seat. He was approximately 40 years old, wearing a complete black coat like a waitress in an expensive restaurant. The man met Gabby's gaze. Her stern gaze was sweeping his figure, making the man retreat his gaze from her.
Seeing Gabby's eyes that had been watching him from earlier, Adam chuckled, waved his hand and said, "Mr. Daniel, this is your daughter, right?"
Gabby's father smiled and nodded his head, "Yes, this is my daughter."
Gabby gave Adam a small smile and turned her gaze back to the boy.
The young boy looked almost perfect, like God must have taken a long time to craft such beauty. His skin was white, his lips were red, his face was small like a doll, and his big black eyes trapped everyone that looked into it. The lad had been silent, calmly listening to his surroundings.
'What a sweet boy, I want to make him my son-in-law' Agnes happily thought. For her, the less talkative and polite Michael would suit her daughter whose behavior always made her angry. When Agnes wanted to talk to Michael, her eyebrows suddenly furrowed when she heard Gabby's loud voice.
"Why is your face so beautiful like a girl?" Gabby flat out asked. There was an awkward silence before the sound of a hard slap echoed through the room.
Her mother immediately hit Gabby's arm and told her to apologize, but Gabby just kept quiet and didn't take her gaze off the boy's face.
The living room then fell silent again, losing the lively atmosphere just now. After a few seconds Gabby's mother apologized uncomfortably, "Michael, Adam, I'm sorry for her attitude ..."
Not finished apologizing, the boy sighed loudly, "I'll go home first." Then stood up and walked straight to the exit without looking back.
Adam smiled kindly and then said, "It's okay, young master might want to take a nap. We'll come back first, thank you for having us here." Without waiting for an answer, Adam hurried out to follow Michael from behind.
Gabby's mother shouted, "Please convince our apologies to Michael!" Both of her parents got up and followed Adam out.
Feeling scared and a little guilty, Gabby hurried off the sofa, straightened her back and climbed the stairs to avoid her mother's nagging. Nara slowly barked, wanting to be invited up, causing Gabby to turn around and carry the dog to her room.
When her bare feet had just stepped on the second step Gabby felt someone tug at her back.
"Stop." The voice commanded her in a cold tone.
With a small sigh Gabby stopped and turned around, saw her mother's face, and lowered her head after she saw her mother's expression. Her mother's gaze scared Gabby, as if she was going to skin Gabby alive.
Agnes pointed to the bathroom and yelled, "Clean the bathroom! Just watch what I might do if you don't clean it properly!"
Gabby looked at her father, begging for help. But her father could do nothing and just shrugged his shoulders. Gabby didn't dare go against her mother's orders. She let out a small sigh and walked toward the bathroom.
-
After dinner, Michael stood facing the window in his room. His black eyes did not blink at all, looking at the busy street filled with vehicles.
When Michael was lost in his thoughts, suddenly the door to his room opened. A sound of footsteps approached, "Young master, it's time for practice." Adam said politely.
With a sigh, Michael closed the blinds and went down the stairs. Every seven in the evening, Adam always reminded him to practice piano. Michael's parents wanted their child to follow in their footsteps. Since Michael was little, his parents had called in private tutors to teach him to play various kinds of musical instruments, especially piano.
Michael's staircase was covered with a red carpet that made Michael's feet feel comfortable when he stepped on it. He walked down the corridor accompanied by Adam who walked not far behind him. The walls in the corridors were full of the famous paintings that Michael's parents bought at a painting exhibition in America.
Michael's parents hardly ever set foot in this house in Bandung, therefore almost all the items in their house were all sent by package or hired someone to decorate the house.
Adam hurried past Michael and opened one of the dark brown doors with gold handles. There was a large piano in the middle of the room. The ceiling was decorated with gigantic chandelier lamps which gave a luxurious impression.
Michael walked over to the black piano and sat on the piano's chair, tilted his head from side to side and then put his hand on the piano keys and started playing the ballade pour adeline by Richard Clayderman.
-
The night air was so cold that it caused Gabby's friends sitting on the porch of her house to shiver with cold. In front of them were small cakes and hot tea served by Gabby's mother.
Their purpose in coming to Gabby's house at night was to apologize for what happened last afternoon, but Gabby had been silent from earlier, ignoring them. She preferred to feed Nara with a sullen face.
"Don't get mad!" Said one of the children in a low voice. But Gabby ignored him and continued to feed Nara.
"Do we have to go around your yard screaming sorry so you can forgive us, Gabby?" Asked one of them after Gabby idled without response.
"No! What a shame! My butt and ears still hurt, you guys just shut up!" Gabby snapped irritably.