"Nilam, how long will you spacing out like that? I'll have no revenue if you don't keep up your work." Aunt Rosi asked me.
What happened that afternoon weighed heavily on my mind. Was that true? I could not tell. I believed that Ricky was just fooling around, he knew full well that I was not one of those popular girls, far from it. I was not a stylish girl like the one who made a move on him. Was that a part of his plan to make me pay for what I did to him?
"I'm sorry, auntie."
"You're thinking about your boyfriend?" Aunt Rosi guessed. I rolled my head. "Study seriously, you can think about a boyfriend later on. What if they cancel your scholarship? How would you continue your study? You know I could not afford to support you." I nodded to her.
"Yes, auntie." I must not think of anything other than studying and helping Aunt Rosi in her bakery. I must not let my grades decline. I must not put an unnecessary burden to her shoulder.
"Welcome to Rose Bakery. What would you like to have today?" That was my activity right after the class all the way to 9 PM. After that, I studied until late at night.
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I felt exhausted, I really wanted to take a break right now. But I have not completed the highlighting assignment from Teacher Marita. Essay assignments on Religion from Teacher Mahmud have yet to be done as well. I have studied almost 24 hours a day and when it comes to assignments, I just could not finish them all at a convenient pace. Did I need more than 24 hours in a day?
I got a few text messages, who else would text me if not my classmates? Most of them were sent by Salma and Bondan. I knew exactly why they texted me when I was in my busiest hours. I believed that they wanted to copy my work. I did not want that to happen.
I could call it some sort of luck, I had no access to the internet this late. All that I have here was just an old computer. I had no money to set up a WiFi connection. I hoped that would be a good reason to deny their request.
"Gotta sleep now!" Once I was done with it all, I went straight to bed. I would have them all printed tomorrow morning.
I wished that I wouldn't be late again and the teachers would accept my submission. That way, I would surely get an A.
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"Morning, Nilam! How was your assignment? You've done that, right? Let me see them, for reference!" I gave my paper to Lala. She does like to compare her paper to others, she was afraid that she got it wrong. That pretty girl was kind of forgetful sometimes.
"Genta, you've done your paper?" Genta, who had just arrived, smiled while giving her a thumb up.
"Of course. How could I, Genta, Lala's strongest candidate for a boyfriend, forget my assignment?" He exclaimed in full confidence. Lala did not really pay attention to him, maybe she already got used to it.
When the three of us walked through the schoolyard, I suddenly stopped my pace. I was so surprised to see him early in the morning. Somehow, that delinquent made it early to the school. He was already hanging around with his gang members early in the morning.
"Let's take a different route, don't pass the schoolyard." I begged the two of them to take another route to the class.
"Why would we? Why would we want to take a longer path? Come on."
Lala and Genta dragged me alongside them, passing by Ricky and his gang members. This time, he ignored me. He was sitting beside Echa, our classmate that was rumored to be Ricky's new girlfriend.
Stop dreaming, Nilam.
I should not have thought about Ricky's prank yesterday. Besides, he said that he had no feelings toward me whatsoever. Oh Nilam, you have turned into a girl who thought highly of yourself. As I warned myself, I started to recognize the feelings that grew inside my heart.
Jealousy…
Did I really have the right to be jealous of him? I smiled bitterly between the two friends that laughed about heavens-knows-what. At least I have them, I believe that they got my back.
"So, where's my paper, Nilam?" Bondan showed up by the door even before I made it to the class.
"What paper?" I was confused. I thought that I already made it clear to him that I could not make one for him.
"My paper, what else am I talking about? I texted you last night. I could not make it because my brother was sick. Can't you help me? Where is my paper?"
"Bondan, you heartless prick, assignments are supposed to be done personally. Why are you asking Nilam to make one for you? You're nuts." Lala interrupted us. I believed that she would not let her good friend be treated that way. I thanked her a lot for that.
"Back off, you sassy bitch! I wasn't talking to you!"
Bondan shoved her off and forcefully took away the papers from my hand. Had Genta not standing behind her, she would fall to the floor for sure.
"How dare you treat a girl like that! I'll have Teacher Mahmud know about this!"
"I dare you, pussy!"
"Stop it, Genta!" I shouted right before Genta landed his fist on Bondan's face. I did not want anyone to make a fuss over me. I would solve all of my problems alone because I did not want to bother anyone.
"Bondan, please give my papers back." I asked, but I was certain that the smug on his face was a sign that something bad was about to happen.
"If I can't submit my paper, then you will not submit yours as well."
RRRRIPP!
My soul shattered into a million pieces as I saw him torn my papers. How could I live around these people? What sort of sin that I have committed in the past that made me deserve this kind of life?
SMACK!
Lala slapped Bondan across his face, but he immediately left. I scrambled to pick up the pieces of my paper from the floor. Everything has been destroyed. Teacher Mahmud was about to enter the class in 15 minutes. Would that incident with Teacher Marita happen again today?
"That's on you, stop being a smartass! Do you think that we really wanted to be your friends? You're lucky because you had a slightly better brain. Were not for that, we hate to be your friends!"
"That's right, Echa. That's what you get for being a weird ass geek!"
"Ugly lion cub! Tsk!"
That was how they rolled. They donned their pretentious masks when they needed me. Other than that, I was nothing but a nuisance, ready to be disposed of anytime they want.