'That dream?! ' She realized. Still looking in the mirror, she put her hands on the sides of the sink and blinked many times.
'Am I scared? Am I don't want this to happen? Why is this so soon? Should I tell Hadyan?
As drying her wet hair with a towel, Tasia stepped out of the bathroom. There was still a lingering feeling of upset in her chest. Meanwhile, Tata was playing with her cellphone on the bed.
"Where's Marya?" Her eyes scanned every corner of the room.
"She left. You're done, have you? I'm going to take a shower now," Tata got up while hanging a towel on her shoulder.
"Left? She hadn't showered, had she? That's so gross." Tasia said as drying her wet towel on the towel rack. Marya was a person who loves cleanliness. She often washed her hands and always took a shower immediately after hanging outside.
Tata shrugged, "She said there are more important things than taking a shower. I don't know what she's looking for out there."
"Maybe she's hungry. I also want to find food outside." Said Tasia.
Tata nodded in the doorway of the bathroom, "Ok. I'm not going to eat anymore. So, I'll just wait for you girls in the room, okay?"
"Okay. I'm out now." She nodded, then put on her flip flops and walked out.
The rooms were located separately and the living room was the main point of gathering. Tasia's room was the one closest to the living room. After arriving there, she found Patra, Mark, and several other students were chatting casually.
"Eh? Tasia! Come here! Come!" Called Mark as the first one who found her coming.
"Where are the others?" Tasia asked as sitting on the large semicircular rattan sofa.
"You mean Hadyan? He said he would join us soon. But he hasn't arrived yet." Patra replied while turning left and right looking for the guy with thick hair.
"I'm also looking for Marya. She came out first of our room. Have you seen her?" Asked Tasia and answered with the shake of their heads.
"Maybe, Marya went straight to the kitchen looking for food. Then, I'll go to the kitchen first, okay? I'll come back here." Tasia said and got nods from her friends.
She walked into the kitchen at the back of the living room, but did not find Marya's figure, but the committee and other students.
'Where is that girl?' She thought.
'Ugh.. Never mind! Instead of looking for her, I'd better eat first before dying of starving.'
Suddenly, someone tapped her shoulder lightly, "Hei.. You're Anastasia, aren't you?"
Tasia immediately turned her head and smiled back at a girl with short hair in a bob style, "I am. May I help you?" she replied as realizing that the girl was one of the committees of the event.
"Looks like you haven't signed the timesheet yet, have you?"
Tasia patted her forehead. She completely forgot and instead went straight to her room even though Tata had reminded her earlier, "Oh! I'm so sorry, I forgot.."
The committee nodded, "It's okay." Then, she glanced at the instant noodle packaging in Tasia's hand. "You may eat first if you are hungry. The committee post is still open until 1 a.m."
"It's okay. I'll go there right now, so it's not too late." She answered.
"That's fine then. I'll get going now. Good evening," said the committee.
"Good Evening. Thank you," Tasia replied.
Without thinking, Tasia immediately walked quickly to the committee post which was at the east door of the villa. Even though she was hungry, but she didn't want to go there too late because she had to pass through the villa's garden which would definitely be very quiet and dark in the middle of the night.
Luckily, it turned out that at this time the villa garden was not too quiet and some kids were still sitting on the park bench there. But among the several groups, she saw a figure familiar to her eyes. The figure was sitting beside a garden lamp and was slightly blocked by a bush that was growing a little taller.
'Marya? There she is! What is she doing offer there? I'd better ask her to have dinner now than later she'll nag because I left her behind.'
Tasia slowly approached the girl in the cat cartoon t-shirt. Until she realized that Marya was not sitting there alone, but was chatting with a guy who was Hadyan. The guy's figure was blocked by the bush behind a park bench he was sitting on. Tasia stopped behind the big bush, thinking whether she should really go to them or not. But without realizing it, she looked more like she was peeking at the two people.
"I've always had a hard time getting a boyfriend. A lot of people think I'm weird." Marya said.
Hadyan frowned, "How come? I don't think you are weird. What is so weird about you?"
Marya chuckled, "They said I behaved like a child. They were annoyed about it. They said it was inappropriate for a girl with a mediocre face like me to act like that."
Hadyan seemed shocked to hear that, "That's not true. They are just rude people who can't respect other people and just like to sneer."
"But.. They actually have a point. An ugly girl like me doesn't deserve to act arbitrarily. Compared to Tasia and Tata, I'm like a parasite whenever I'm walking with them. But.. I really can't control my attitude. I can't cover them up." She said sadly.
Hadyan stroked Marya's back without knowing that his actions immediately triggered the girl's heart to beat hard, "Don't let those cheap words make you feel down. You are the most cheerful and passionate girl I have ever met. And your nature is precisely what makes you beautiful.. and special." He comforted her.
Marya immediately looked at Hadyan with teary eyes, it was rare.. Or it seemed that she had never received such a compliment from a man, not even her own father.
"Beauty doesn't have to be perfect. Every woman has her own beauty. And yours is your cheerful nature and always makes people around you laugh happily." Hadyan smiled warmly.
Without hesitation, Marya immediately landed her arms on Hadyan who was surprised by her sudden action, "Thank you, Hadyan. You are indeed different from the others." she said with almost tears in her eyes.
Hadyan moved awkwardly and lightly patted Marya's back for a while. Slowly, he let go of the hands that wrapped around his neck. Maybe the girl was very sad and needed some support. However, he still had someone in his heart, who is Tasia. Even though she was still a friend, but still.. Marya is a woman. And Prince Hadyan would not allow any woman to touch him at will.
He smiled faintly as a response to Marya who looked at him warmly with teary eyes.
Behind the bushes behind them, Tasia's unconsciously held her chest which felt strange. She felt a throbbing pain that she couldn't explain inside.
'What am I doing here? Shouldn't I have gone to the post? I.. I have to get there soon.'
She turned and walked away hastily. The throbbing in her chest did not go away and instead spread to her legs. It was as if the feeling was telling her to run away as fast as possible from there. Because, if she's still standing behind that bush, it was likely that the pain would only get worse.