"JOGJA, I'M COMING!" shouted Afika as she arrived in the city of Gudeg. Wow! How cool to be able to enjoy a holiday in her favourite city. Jogja!
Diaz watched her from a distance after getting off the bus. He saw Afika already running around as she arrived at the three-star hotel. That girl is so tacky. Diaz wanted to be sarcastic in front of her. However, he didn't have the heart. He was afraid Afika would take offence.
'Doesn't she ever go on holidays out of town? What a bumpkin!' Diaz thought.
"Diaz, come here!" called Afika, waving her hand. Diaz said nothing out of embarrassment. Almost all the tour participants noticed Afika's behaviour.
"Come here!" Afika approached Diaz and held his hand very intimately.
"What the hell?" Diaz released Afika's hand. Already knowing that she was uncomfortable, Afika made Diaz even more embarrassed.
"Here, I want to show you something," Afika said enthusiastically.
"What is it?" Diaz urged.
"Please take a picture of me! In that place!" pointed Afika. "It looks really Instagramable."
Afika asked Diaz for help. However, the one asked for help was reluctant to do so.
That's right! Afika was embarrassed. She told Diaz to take a picture of her. Not only that, her style made the guy frown until it multiplied. After so many shots, Afika was still not satisfied. Change again. Take another photo, she said.
Although Afika's style may seem over-the-top, the girl is always photogenic when photographed. Diaz admits that Afika looks really good in photos. Her unremarkable but natural-looking face with typical teenage expressions makes every photo look aesthetically pleasing. Luckily, Diaz has taken classes and studied photography outside of school hours.
"Look! I want to see the results!" whined Afika. She was impatient to see Diaz's shots. "How come it looks like this?" she was surprised by the result.
"Why, it's ugly, isn't it?" Diaz became prejudiced. Afika shook her head.
"No, it's not. But this is really good. I didn't know you were talented in photography. You could be a professional photographer someday," Afika praised.
"What kind of photographer? Come on, don't overdo it! I don't want everyone to know my photography skills." Diaz has always kept a low profile. He never boasted about his hidden talents.
"For a memento, let's take a photo together!" Afika invited. However, Diaz firmly refused.
"I don't want to. No way!" Diaz hurriedly ran away from Afika. Otherwise, Afika could have forced him to be photographed in his narcissistic style.
"That's fine if you don't want to. I won't force you either. Suck it!"
Afika was so upset that Diaz didn't want to take a selfie with her.
Finally, Afika was photographed by herself. With the background of the hotel they would be staying in during their holiday in Jogja. She didn't realise that Diaz was in the frame of her camera. After she uploaded it on social media, various comments filled her photo post.
"Isn't that Afika? She said she couldn't go on holiday. How come she's in Jogja right now?"
"Yes. That little brat's really on holiday."
"Heh, Afika! You didn't want to go to Bali. You already have plans to go to Jogja, huh?"
"Eh! Eh! Who's at the back? Isn't that the classmate that Afika was encouraging?"
"How come they can go on holiday together? Has it been planned?"
"I wonder if they're dating and then going on holiday together."
So many social media comment notifications filled her mobile phone screen. It's unusual that the comments can be this busy. She is not a celebgram who likes to do vlogs. This oddity that appeared on her social media diverted the attention of all her followers online. After reading it carefully, Afika just realised it. Her photo post ...
"Oh my! No wonder it's so crowded. Why is Diaz staying there anyway? Aish, that senior is really annoying," Afika grumbled. 'If our schoolmates gossip about us, you'll see how I'll get back at them!" she threatened.
The whole school is going to be abuzz about Afika and Diaz holidaying together in Jogja. All her friends have speculated that there is a serious relationship between them. After seeing Afika's instastory appear on her social media homepage.
"My reputation has been ruined," said Afika. She looked weak as she read all the comment notifications that came into her social media account.
In fact, Afika planned to enjoy her school holidays quietly without gossip from her friends at school. Instead, her intention was to have a holiday. Now, the atmosphere has changed. Was this a bad holiday for Afika?
Unlike Afika, Diaz enjoyed every moment of his holiday. The guy still enjoyed himself as if he didn't think about anything other than his trip around the city of Jogja. He doesn't bother with Afika's photo posts on social media. That's because Diaz doesn't have any accounts on social media. So, it's normal.
Diaz also didn't think about his parents back home who were overwhelmed by the search for him. He had always wanted to get back at them. If they could just leave Diaz easily without thinking about his feelings, then Diaz could do the same. Was he deliberately seeking revenge?
You could say that. To let them know how it feels to be ignored and lost. Diaz deliberately deactivated his mobile phone during the holidays. He replaced his number with a new one.
Just then, Afika approached him. She had something she wanted to ask Diaz.
"Your number is off, isn't it?" asked Afika as she confirmed it. Diaz, who was adjusting the settings of his DSLR camera, immediately turned to her.
"What's wrong?" Diaz asked back.
"I tried to call you earlier. But the number was always diverted. You deliberately switched off your mobile phone, didn't you?" Afika said.
"Yes. I turned it off on purpose. To keep the noise down," Diaz said. He photographed the surroundings without looking back at Afika who was talking to him.
"Noisy? Does anyone else call you besides me here?" quipped Afika. She knew that Diaz had no friends. So, where would anyone call or text.
This time Diaz turned round. Then, he spoke to Afika at a close enough distance to almost make her palpitate being around him. Reflexively, Afika arched her body backwards.
"Yes. You're one of them!" Diaz pointed, pressing Afika's forehead. "A noisy girl like you will really annoy me if you keep it up," he warned.
Afika chuckled. She couldn't accept Diaz calling her a 'noisy girl'. She seemed to be very nagging in Diaz's eyes.
"Anyway, why are you calling me? Do you miss me?" Diaz teased. Huh? Miss me? Afika was getting more and more annoyed.
"Who misses you?" denied Afika. She turned her face away. Just then, Diaz reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out his mobile phone.
"I'm using a new number. Do you want to save my new number?" Diaz offered.
"What for, so lazy," Afika snapped. Now she was selling out.
"That's fine then. Who knows, you might need my number if something happens to you during your trip to the tourist spot," Diaz persuaded her.
On second thought, Diaz had a point too. During the tour in Jogja, the only person who was close to Afika was Diaz. In addition, Diaz was also the only person she knew in the tour group.
"Do you really not want to?" Diaz asked once again. He was still waiting for Afika to change her mind.
"Alright, here's the number!" Afika finally relented. She asked Diaz to give her his mobile phone number.
"Earlier you said you didn't want to. Now it's ...." Diaz mocked. His sentence stopped and Afika immediately cut him off.
"Oh my! You really talk a lot. If you want to give, just give. Why are you the one selling it so expensive? You were really pushing me," Afika scolded. Afika's reaction made all of her tour mates turn to her.
Diaz and Afika turned their heads together. When the tour participants turned their eyes towards them. The two high school students were now the centre of attention because of their frequent arguments and disagreements. Perhaps they misunderstood the commotion Afika and Diaz were causing.
"That's right! It's because of you," Afika blamed Diaz.