"I think we have a misunderstanding here…" Nathan said. Dinda actually heard that but decided to ignore him anyway. "This morning, at those two places. I think you misunderstood me. I deeply apologize for causing you discomfort."
"Why are you marking me?" Dinda eventually said something.
Her voice sounded hoarse and weak, Nathan perceived them as the noise of his prey. Nathan raised his eyebrow and placed the book that he was holding down to the table. He stared at Dinda's eyes for a moment. He paused, looked back at his book, then back at Dinda.
"It was you who gave me two red cards, right?" Dinda asked again.
Nathan seemed confused, he saw a wrinkled red card and a torn red card.
"Two?" He asked. "The one on your desk was mine." He answered.
"The one in the locker was yours as well, isn't it? Because the red cards are yours. Why are you marking me? I do not want to be involved with anyone here. Including you!" Dinda seemed upset. Her rage exploded whenever she saw a boy like Nathan trying to do weird things. Encountering a jerk like Panji was enough for her, she did not need any other jerk to mess up her life.
"Don't you understand what was written on those cards?" Nathan said.
Dinda paid good attention to that relaxed boy. She took a closer look at him. Those grey eyes, those black eyebrows, really disturbed her.
She choses to get out of that library while taking all the books she had on the table. She went to register the books for borrowing.
Dinda headed straight toward the librarian, a man around 25 years old. He received the books from Dinda.
"You wish to borrow these books?" He asked while checking the serial number of each book.
"Yes, sir."
"You carry your library card with you?" Mr. Edo asked.
Dinda remained silent for a moment. She completely forgot that she needed her library card before she could borrow anything from the library.
"Let her borrow those books under my name, sir." Nathan said. He was standing beside Dinda while smiling. "It will take you a lot of time to get your hands on that card. You need to visit the school's office and it will take at least 30 minutes to process. You will be late at that rate. So, use my card instead." He offered.
Dinda despised him even more. She really hated this kind of boy. Acting like he was the most handsome boy on earth, pretending to know her well, simply detestable.
"Sir, I don't want to borrow these books anymore. Thank you." Dinda said. She immediately left them both.
*****
After she got home from school, she started studying several books and training herself on a few subjects right away. Dinda glanced at Nadya as she returned home as well, about two hours after Dinda arrived. But Dinda did not greet her right away, she still pretended that she did not know Nadya.
"How was your school today?" Nadya asked as she took a seat beside Dinda. She offered her roommate some snacks that she brought from school.
"Are you in a different classroom than me?" Dinda asked before she managed to answer Nadya.
Nadya nodded. "Yes, it is next to your classroom." She answered, "So how was your school?" she asked again.
Dinda took a seat beside Nadya and picked up her snack. "Messed up, downright awful. The morning had not passed yet when I saw a boy kissing two different girls. Then I met Rendra, babbling like a broken radio. Just when the class started, Sasa and Giselle mocked me. The worst of all, this boy Nathan keeps following me around all day." She gruntled.
"Well you have been marked by Nathan so following you around was something to be expected. He'll keep chasing you until he gets what he wants."
"What is he looking for?" Dinda asked seriously. "Selly said that anyone marked by him will leave the school within a week. Is that true?"
Nadya nodded. "Well, most of them do. But not for being bullied, take it easy."
"Then?"
"Broken hearted…" Nadya answered "Those kids were chosen by Nathan at random. Maybe their birthdate, their attendance list, or just…wager." Nadya stood up, glanced at Dinda then took off her uniform and picked up other clothes from her closet. "Well, I believe that you know that Nathan is some kind of libertine. He just can't stop laying his hands on as many girls as possible. Fooling around, bringing a girl to her knees, then left off whenever he likes to. Rinse and repeat. So far, no girl has ever slipped out of his hands."
Dinda's guess was right, Nathan is just another form of Panji. The kind of boy who treats girls' hearts frivolously. The kind of boy who manipulates girls with his handsome face and his parents' money. Dinda was silent for a moment, not because she was afraid that she would fall into Nathan's grasp, but she was afraid that he would keep following her around.
"Nadya, do you know some people from around these parts? Like some young childrens who need some after school lessons?" Dinda changed the subject.
Nadya raised her eyebrows, this was the first time a schoolmate asked her something like that.
"What?"
"Well I need to make some money. My allowance this month has dried out after I bought all these books." Dinda answered, but it confuses Nadya even more.
Nadya understood her school pretty well. Scholarship was not a thing there as most of the students came from a well-off family. Her school has a difficult entrance exam as well, so there was no way a less-capable student could study there. Besides, if Dinda was coming from a wealthy family too, the money she would get from giving an after school lesson wouldn't be too much of a value, right? Or, was Dinda a kind of girl that hid her identity as a rich girl by working for her own needs?
"Yes, I know. There is a residential area across the street. Some parents there do need someone to give their child an after school lesson. See them for yourself." Nadya answered. She then laid down to get some rest before hanging out with her friends later today.