Atthera's hand shook violently with the cell phone still clutched in her hand. Her beautiful eyes glazed over at the photo that seemed to have been deliberately sent by the unlisted number in her contacts. The girl caught her breath because of the tightness in her chest that she could not control. She knew exactly who was in the photo. Even though the guy was facing backward, she could still guess.
"Damn it," she cursed.
Her heart ached to see Kafka embracing Thea in a bookstore. Especially with the happy expression on the parasite girl's face that made her sick to death. How could Kafka play with her like this?
Not wanting to stay silent, Atthera immediately rushed out of the house without removing her school uniform first. This could not be left unchecked. Her pride was at stake right now. She didn't care who sent her the photo. What she wanted now was how to make Thea disappear from the face of this earth.
*****
"Att," someone interrupted as he was just about to walk into the bookstore where his girlfriend was having an affair. His eyebrows knitted in surprise at the sight of Sankara who was suddenly standing in front of him now. How did that guy know his current position?
"Are you following me?" Atthera asked coldly.
Instead of answering, Sankara pulled her away from the shop. That made Atthera rebel but unfortunately, Sankara's grip was stronger than what she had left.
"Don't be crazy! You're only embarrassing yourself if you run into Thea in there. You know what? That girl is a snake. She can turn things around in the blink of an eye. I don't want you to get hurt in there. Do you understand what I mean?" Sankara said firmly but calmly.
Atthera, who initially wanted to get angry and punch Sankara's handsome face, now backed away slowly with her head down. She didn't dare to look into her best friend's eyes.
"Where are you going?" Sankara asked softly.
"Home," Atthera replied softly.
She was resigned to her relationship this time.
"I know this is hard for you. But when will it continue like this? Okay. You love that asshole. But don't you feel sorry for yourself? You're so pathetic Atthera," Sankara said piercingly.
Atthera's steps stopped. She looked at Sankara right in the eyeballs.
"So what should I do?! I never had a choice Sankara. Even if there was, the only way for my relationship with Kafka to be okay is for Thea to die. Do you want me to do that? YES!" snapped Atthera passionately.
The cynical laughter that came out of Sankara's mouth added to Atthera's frustration.
"Now I ask you. Why maintain a relationship that is only you here?"
For once Atthera had no reason to deny it.
"Okay. I'll prove to you that my relationship with Kafka will be fine."
The grin on the girl's lips suddenly made Sankara wary.
"In what way?"
"Sending Amalthea Raguna to God."
After the girl left, Sankara stayed where he was. To be honest, he did not expect Kafka and Thea to be in the bookstore. He just happened to want to read the free comic books inside, and when he was going home his eyes accidentally saw Atthera who was walking hurriedly. Especially with the girl's sharp gaze.
Sankara knew something was wrong here.
Meanwhile, on the other side quite far away from where Sankara was standing, Sena laughed with satisfaction at his plan.
Well, it looked like this was going to be a very interesting game.
"So all this time you were close to the school frontman, Atthera? Unexpected bitch..." he said with a lopsided smile, not forgetting to step on the phone card he used to contact the girl earlier.
********
"Do you know Kaf, that in relationships one of the keys to lasting is about trust and honesty with each other?" Kafka looked at Atthera fully before his head nodded in agreement.
"Yes, dear. What's the matter? Something's bothering you, isn't it?" Kafka asked gently as he rubbed his girlfriend's head attentively. She had no idea that Atthera was looking at her with a bitter smile.
"No, no. I just wanted to ask you a question." Kafka straightened his back seriously looking at Atthera.
"What?" she asked in surprise.
"Do you go out with her often?" hearing the question made Kafka's brow furrow in confusion.
"Her? Who is she?" he asked back, but Atthera did not answer her question. A few seconds later, Kafka let out a small laugh. His hand even stroked his lover's cheek gently, "So you're jealous of Thea?" somehow the sentence Kafka said just now sounded like a mockery in Atthera's ears.
"I-"
"You already know that my relationship with Thea is just friends. There are no feelings between the two of us. As for your question, yes, I do hangout with her a lot. But it's just a normal walk, okay? Nothing special. I-"
Before Kafka could continue, Atthera quickly cut in, "Yes, I know but-"
"But what?" Atthera was unable to continue what she wanted to say, and Atthera just smiled as if indicating she was okay with all of this. Kafka was just confused by the meaning of Atthera's smile, he didn't understand what his girlfriend was thinking right now. A few minutes after the conversation took place, an awkward atmosphere enveloped the two of them.
Feeling there was nothing more to talk about at the moment, without another word Atthera decided to leave Kafka's presence. But before she left, unfortunately, the girl who Atthera most wanted to destroy from the earth suddenly came up to Kafka.
"It turns out you're here. I've been looking for you," Thea said with a wide smile.
Thea's greeting made Atthera want to get angry, but she tried to calm down because she didn't want to look like a stupid girl who got angry for no reason, "Yesterday at the bookstore, you bought me a book, Kaf. Then I forgot to take it from you, right? Can I come to your house after school? I miss your mom too," Thea asked while holding Kafka's hand with a hopeful expression.
Atthera, who previously wanted to leave, chose to open her voice to answer Thea's question, "Do you often go to Kafka's house?" she asked with questioning eyes.
"Ra-" Kafka cut in quickly as he held his lover's hand, but Atthera dismissed the man's hand unceremoniously.
"Kaf, is that okay?" interrupted Thea.
"Yes, it's up to you, Thea," said Kafka quickly but there was a gentle tone in it. Atthera, who felt very annoyed with Kafka's attitude, decided to leave.
"Ra-" said Kafka who saw Atthera leave just like that. Without Kafka realizing it, Thea smiled slyly. The girl was satisfied with the events that took place in front of her.
*******
"Are you okay?" asked Sankara who felt strange about the attitude of the girl in front of him. Atthera was even seen exhaling heavily several times.
"Not on your business," she replied in a dull tone not forgetting the face that showed a lazy expression. Sankara already knew what answer he would get if he asked about the girl's condition. However, there was a sense of satisfaction when he showed his concern through a question.
Although still in a state of confusion about what happened to Atthera, Sankara chose not to open his voice further. He wanted to ask again, but it felt like he would get the same answer as before. The man silently looked at his friend's face from the side with a small smile on his lips. Although Atthera did not tell him what she was going through, Sankara knew that the crazy girl was not well.
Atthera who was still daydreaming, was surprised by Sankara who suddenly put earphones in her ears which made her startled, "What are you doing?" asked Atthera confused, to which Sankara replied with eyes that leered ignorantly at her.
"Stay still. Just listen to this song, and don't nag," he said which made the girl can only surrender. The atmosphere was silent between them with the wind occasionally caressing the girl's hair. There was only the sound of music from a famous male singer whose appearance was above average. Beliebers must know. Yups! Justin Bieber - Stuck In The Moment. A song that people often listen to and may sound very familiar among the failed move on.
I wish we had another time
I wish we had another place
But everything we have is stuck at the moment
And there's nothing my heart can do
To fight with time and space
Cause I'm still stuck at the moment with you
Sankara smiled at Atthera who seemed to be enjoying the song he was playing. For that man, there was nothing happier than being able to make the girl he loved smile without any burden. The moment with Atthera was very precious and very pleasant even if only for her.
'I like you, Att, if only he could say that sentence easily with his mouth, not just in his heart.'
"I like you," hearing Atthera's words made Sankara's eyes widen instantly. Where was the girl smiling sweetly too with her eyes sparkling at him? There was no way Atthera was psychic, right?
Sankara cleared his throat briefly to try and neutralize his nerves, "Like?"
Head Atthera nodded enthusiastically, "Yes! I like it," but the rest of the girl's sentence made her fall off the rooftop of the school they were currently in, "the song," Atthera continued with a smiling expression.
"Ah, the song, huh?" Sankara smiled wryly as he almost misunderstood what had just happened.
Seeing the suspicious behavior of the man in front of her, Atthera's eyes narrowed, "Yeah, you idiot! Who do you expect me to like, huh? With the school security guard?"
"Well, if you like me, that's not possible," said Sankara self-consciously.
"Why is it impossible?" asked Atthera, who only meant to joke, but managed to make the hopes of the man beside her rise again.