Daniel narrowed his eyes when he saw Michael sitting on the sofa in his house. Not believing what he saw, the man took off his glasses and wiped them on his shirt. Daniel put on his glasses again and still saw Michael sitting on the sofa in his house.
"What are you doing here?" Daniel asked in a cold tone.
Seeing Daniel in the same room with him made Michael stand and lowered his head, "Good evening."
Agnes came and brought a tray of hot tea. The woman glared at her husband and said, "Isn't he allowed to come here?" Agnes put the tea on the table, "Michael, don't mind him. You hurry up and go to Gabby's room."
"Thank you Auntie." Michael drank a little of his tea and then hurried up the stairs.
"Hey! Michael wait a minute!" Daniel shouted from below.
"Oh shut up!" Agnes put her hand on her waist, "Gabby and Michael aren't kids anymore!"
Arriving on the second floor, Michael saw the only closed door. The man braced himself and pushed gently on the door. When the door was slightly ajar, Michael could see Gabby at her desk.
"Ok, so later when you find a problem like this..." The girl muttered.
Michael saw Nara sitting next to her looking bored. Every now and then the dog closed her eyes and then opened it when she heard Gabby's voice.
Michael pushed the door to Gabby's bedroom wider and went inside. It wasn't long before Gabby turned and saw Michael's face. She straightened her hair and asked, "Michael? What are you doing here?"
"I'm bored at home." Michael walked over to Gabby's desk. He put his right hand on Gabby's desk, looking at her book, "Aww, you're seriously studying."
Nara barked loudly when she saw Michael. The dog had been bored since earlier so she immediately jumped on Michael's leg and pulled out her tongue. The boy lifted his feet trying to get Nara away from him.
Gabby smiled as he saw Michael frightened and patted his leg. Nara excitedly approached him and put her nose on his leg.
"Of course I'm studying for tomorrow's test. I want the chocolate." Gabby stroked Nara's head, "And I told her to accompany me."
"I will keep you company." Michael replied, the boy then sat on Gabby's bed.
Gabby paused for a moment then nodded her head, "Alright!" She looked at Nara, "Your job is done, come down."
Without saying anything, Nara immediately ran towards the door leaving the two teenagers alone. Michael looked at Gabby and leaned his chin forward, "Study there, I'm sitting here."
"But I get noisy when I study." Gabby looked back at the book.
Michael frowned, "Aren't you always being loud?"
Gabby picked up the eraser and threw at Michael without looking, "The door is over there, hurry out."
"Hahaha." Michael put Gabby's eraser on top of her desk, "Alright, study seriously now."
Gabby swallowed, "The second logarithmic function is a log b per c ..."
Michael looked at Gabby from behind. The girl looked serious. Her back was bent slightly and her right leg was raised onto the chair. Over time, Gabby's voice grew lower.
It wasn't long before Gabby almost fell asleep on the table. Michael walked over and picked up Gabby's textbook. The boy closed the book and took it away from Gabby's face.
"Hey, you can sleep now. You've been studying for quite a while." Michael whispered, his hand running through Gabby's hair.
"I can't sleep!" Gabby looked up and opened her book again, "Two log four plus three log eight one is..."
Gabby blinked a few times and then opened her exercise book, "If you get a question like that we have to ..." The girl fell back asleep on the table.
Michael smiled a little and then went back to get Gabby's textbook. But just as he was about to close the book, Gabby's hand stopped him, "No! Tomorrow I have a test."
Michael shook his head and then let go of Gabby's hand, "I'll help you do it."
The boy sighed when he didn't receive a reply from Gabby. He then closed the book and got ready to lift Gabby's body. As Michael put his hand on Gabby's shoulder, he heard the door open.
"Hey! Let her be, I will help her." Gabby's dad whispered.
Michael turned and saw Gabby's father who was walking towards him. The boy removed his grip and lowered his head, "Ah, yes. Then I'll go home first."
Without waiting for a reply, Michael hurried out of Gabby's room.
-
The next day, Gabby's test was satisfactory. She got 85.
After Gabby left the staff room, the girl rushed back to her class. She dashed a little to her desk, pulled her chair, sat down, then faced Michael.
"Michael look! I got chocolate." Gabby said, waving the chocolate in Michael's face.
Michael smiled then nodded his head, he took the chocolate from under his desk, "I got chocolate too..."
"Huh!" Gabby put the chocolate on the table and folded her arms, "Can't you be happy with me?"
"Yes yes, I'm sorry." Michael chuckled.
-
Time flew and the month changed, but it didn't feel like it was December. They still looked the same, nothing had changed. It's just that now Michael and Gabby were getting closer. Gabby had many friends at school while Michael only had her.
About a month ago, Elizabeth confessed to Michael. But the boy flatly refused. Feeling ashamed, the girl ran out crying and left school the next day.
Knowing his sister left the school made Felix furious. The day before the end of semester break, Felix dragged Michael by his arm and led him to the school's corridor. When he got there, Felix grabbed Michael by the collar and threatened him.
"What are you doing?!" Gabby shouted from a distance.
After hearing a shout from Gabby, Felix released his grip on Michael's collar. He turned around and forced a smile.
"I'm not doing anything. I just said goodbye, this will be the last day I see him." Felix stuck his hand in the pocket of his pants.
"Oh, yeah?" Gabby walked over, her hands folded over her chest.
"Of course!" Felix turned to Michael, his eyes were fixed on him, "Say something or I'll finish you!" He threatened.
Michael nodded his head quickly, "Yes, he just said goodbye."
"Hmm." Gabby narrowed her eyes, feeling that something was off, "Alright, are you done saying goodbye?"
Felix nodded his head, "Yes. Now I want to go." Not waiting for an answer from them, the man walked away.
"He's not bothering you, right?" Gabby asked when she felt Felix had walked away from them. The girl was standing in front of Michael.
Michael's face, which had looked cold and stiff, finally showed a warm smile, "No. Take it easy."
After he finished saying that, the school bell rang. Since it was their last day at school, they didn't get lessons. Because of this, many chose not to attend school.
"Let's go home." Michael took Gabby's hand and then held it.
"Hmm." Gabby gripped Michael's hand tightly.
Since the weather was pretty cold that day, Michael and Gabby wore thick jackets. And today Michael didn't bring his car, so they walked home from school. While holding hands, the boy wore the gloves Gabby had given him.
As they walked down the sidewalk not far from her school, Gabby felt something wet on her hands. She raised her other hand that Michael was not holding.
"Why must it rain now?" She grumbled.
Gabby looked up and looked at the gray sky. Raindrops fell on the woman's face. Not long after that, Michael also looked up. He turned and wiped Gabby's wet face with his gloves. The woman's face flushed red, not sure if it was from the cold or shame.
Even though the rain was getting heavier, the two teenagers continued walking casually. Suddenly, Michael remembered something that had made him quiet. The man listened to Gabby's story in silence, responding only when necessary.
"Michael, it's the year end holiday. Any plans for vacation?" Gabby asked, swinging their handrails.
Gabby's question made Michael lower his head, but he still held tight to Gabby's warm hand. Michael was afraid that if he let go of Gabby's hand he would lose his balance.
"My mom and dad can't return to Indonesia, they're very busy." Michael stroked Gabby's hand, "So they asked me to go to America."
"America?!" Gabby paused, "When?"
"My flight is in three days." Michael replied, not daring to see Gabby's face.
Hearing this made Gabby's heart feel empty. Feeling uncomfortable, the girl let go of Michael's hand. She corrected her wet hair.
"When are you coming back here?" Gabby continued on her path, leaving Michael behind.
Michael rushed after her and took Gabby's hand, "Don't be angry, I..."
"Who said that I'm angry?!" Gabby pushed Michael's hand, "Why didn't you tell me first?" The girl softly asked.
Gabby shook her head and then looked at Michael's face, "Oh yeah, I'm just nobody to you. Just go, it's none of my business."