I headed out with my backpack. Although my aunt did have a motorbike, I was not able to ride it. The only vehicle that I could use is her old bicycle. Hopefully, I could find a cybercafé somewhere nearby. Honestly, even though I grew up around these parts, I rarely go out. Even if I did, I only visited Aunt Rosi's bakery and that was it.
"Uncle, do you know if there is a cybercafé somewhere around here?" I pulled over to ask a ketoprak seller, he rolled his head.
It appeared that he knew as much as I was. I was confused as to where to look for it this late. Clouds gathered over the night sky. I hope it won't be raining anytime soon. But it seemed that the sky just could not wait and had to pour down right now. I tried to find shelter by a closed store.
What should I do now? I had no idea what to do now, all the path I tread on seemed to meet a dead end. Should I just give up and let my grades be ruined for this semester?
Wait, did my eyes deceive me? Did I see Ricky soaking wet approaching me with an umbrella? He was even still in his white-gray uniform! Where did he come from? How did he know that, at this very moment, I was here? This could not be a coincidence. This was not a coincidence, right?
I ignored his presence beside me. It would be better for me to just pretend to not know him. Besides, that was how he acted toward me lately.
Rain, please subsides.
It has been half an hour since the rain began pouring down. He sat still there with his own thoughts and I just did nothing but wait for the rain to subside.
I must immediately get away as far as possible from him. That would be the best for me. He was the boy who wanted to live undisturbed. He was the weirdest boy that I have ever met.
"You want to work on your paper, right?" He suddenly asked. I just stopped for a moment before I picked up my bike. He held me, so that I could not go anywhere.
"I brought my laptop." It was as if he knew what I needed. He shoved me aside and get on my bike like he owned it.
"Hop on." he told me while giving his umbrella to me.
*TL note: Ketoprak is a vegan dish commonly found in Jakarta, Indonesia
I did not get it.
I just could not get a hold of his ever-changing trait. One moment, he cared about me as if I meant the whole world to me. The next, he acted like he never knew me, nor had seen me; as if my existence was unknown to him. Which one was his real personality? Was he a person with two personalities?
I did just like he said, I sat on the passenger seat of my bike. He started pedaling this small bike. I knew that his feet would hurt in a moment because he was sitting for half an hour with me.
We were like a couple of lovey-dovey young teenagers, together on a bike under a light spray. I could imagine how comfortable it would be to rest my head on his broad back, how comforting it would be to embrace his flat midriff. Wait, what was I thinking? We were nothing to each other, there was no special relationship between us, right? He was just trying to be nice to me, that was nothing special, as in no ulterior motive behind it.
"We're here."
He got off my bike then I caught up with him. It appeared that he gave me a ride to a cafe which I have never seen before. I saw a lot of youngsters hanging out in that cafe. Was it really appropriate for me to enter this cafe? I wore nothing but pajamas and a worn out jacket. My feet were only covered with bear slippers that had lost most of their fur. I did not want to talk about my face and hairdo. I looked down but Ricky pulled my hand in and told me to have a seat.
"Why do we go here?" I asked in confusion. He did not answer me, he only pulled out his laptop. I did nothing but to looked at him with my dumb face.
"Ricky, what can I get for you today?" The waiter asked. When he saw me, I somehow could tell that he was about to burst into laughter but he did his best to hold that in. "A new one, eh?" He asked again. I knew Ricky often brought his girlfriends here. I was certain that the waiter thought that I was one of his girlfriends. There was no way Ricky would want to have an ugly duckling as his girlfriend, let alone brought one here.
"A hot milk if you have one, avocado juice, two burgers, and two fried rice," He ordered, then looked at me while wrinkling his forehead.
"The laptop is there to help you finish your assignment, not to be stared at all night." He said, I grabbed it and got to work immediately so that I could get out of this horrible situation as soon as possible.
"What if it takes too long? Can I bring it home?" I asked. This assignment might take more than two hours to finish.
"No, you'll break it. Work it here until you're done. I'll be waiting."
I nodded again. That was so rude of me, to ask for more than he gave me. He must be tired, he has not even changed his uniform, and now he has to wait for me to finish this boring assignment.
"How do you know that I needed a computer to work?" I asked. He looked the other way while resting his chin on his hand. Was I talking to a rock or what?
"Imma smoke outside." He said. I nodded. I let him do whatever he wanted rather than being bored to death here.
It was 11.30 PM when I arrived at home after I finished my assignment. Ricky gave me a ride home with my bike. There was no way I offered him to stay for a while, I knew full well how late it was.
"Thanks."
"That's new," He said. I stared at him in confusion as he pulled out another cigarette and placed it between his lips. "Usually, all that you said was 'sorry' but now you said 'thanks'. You're not afraid of me anymore?" He asked. I smiled. I could not tell what was funny about that, but I smiled nonetheless.
"Why do you smoke so much? It's bad for your health, you know."
He remained silent for a moment. He puffed out his smoke high into the air like an old train locomotive.
"Because the cigarette is a friend that will not betray."
That ambiguous answer he gave me before he left has revealed a glimpse of his other side that looked so bleak. I presumed that it was loneliness. Behind his laughter, there was sorrow. He was hanging out with his friends on the outside, but lonely on the inside. Ricky needed a friend unlike the people who would hang around him when he was happy; he needed someone who understood him. That was Ricky for you, like the earth that has a bright side and a dark side within each cycle of the day. There was a less-visible side of him that, obviously, not many people knew about.
@@@
"Auntie, I'm going to school now."
"Nilam, wait. I forgot something. Yesterday, when you went to find a cybercafé, someone looking for you in the bakery."
"Who?" I asked. Aunt Rosi must have known about Lala and Genta.
"A boy, handsome, like a celebrity. What's his name? I forgot. His eyes were brown. Oh, he is so charming."
"Ricky?" I guessed. From all the boys that I knew of, he was the one with brown eyes of distinctive characteristic. A delinquent with a soft expression on his face.
"Ah yes! Ricky! I think that was the name on his uniform shirt, he was one of my regular customers lately. He was looking for you, but I told him that you're not looking after the store at that moment. You went out looking for a cybercafé to work on your assignment."
I knew it, Ricky's arrival at that time was not a coincidence. But still, why would he go out of his way to do that? Did he do all of that just to help a friend? I did not say anything to Aunt Rosi, I just smiled at her and went on my way. I should not be late, the first session of the day is Teacher Marita's session.
@@@
"Alright, students. Are you ready?" All of the group prepared themselves to present their essay. Hopefully, my group could do just well now.
The first group to present their essay was Lala, Genta, and Rian. My group happened to be the last group to present.
"Okay, so..how are we going to do this?" Salma asked while brushing my elbow.
How? I have given her a copy of the paper, could not she just read it for a moment?
"What's the content of this paper? My brain just can't handle it." Echa said. Maybe they would need a dictionary or something.
"I already highlighted the important parts there."
"But I don't get it! It isn't written in Indonesian!"
Why would she get all riled up?
"Salma was right, you should have translated it for us."
Why was it my fault?
I ignored them, I knew talking to them would be useless. It would be better for me to just focus on the group that was presenting their essay now. This time, it was time for Ricky's group. He explained his essay remarkably well, I had no idea that he was that smart, he could explain every single bit of his essay clearly. Everyone who heard him would surely understand what he had to say in one go. I admitted that he was way above me when it comes to this.
"Two weeks of self-restraining from school fights had changed Ricky the delinquent into Ricky the excellent student, eh? If you manage to keep this up, I'm sure that you will pass with flying colors, Rick."
"Hopefully, ma'am." Ricky answered lazily. Well, Teacher Marita could not expect much from Ricky anyway, especially when it comes to enthusiasm in study.