Afternoon with the fatigue of each student in the school corridor. They are waiting for a guardian or helper to invite them. The basketball court looks deserted. The teachers were busy chatting in the office, while Metta sat on a long, lonely bench. The place is usually used by the children to hang out talking about the teacher in class which is considered boring, she was once the perpetrator for that, but it is more often used to gossip about handsome man, both upperclassmen and underclassmen. It's just that that second he was alone, Fury, her only brother had not come to pick him up. He said there were still many activities on campus, so waiting was annoying for Metta.
She put the cellphone that Metta used to contact Fury in his backpack, worried that the teacher's eyes might catch him. It is a school rule that every student is prohibited from bringing cell phones for any reason. Imagine if he didn't bring that sophisticated item, how would he know if Fury had picked him up or not? Telepathy and precise clocks are not enough! Fury's campus activities are unpredictable.
"Want to go home with me?" offered an unknown young man, and Metta didn't need to know.
"I'm not a poor girl who can only rely on other people's rides. I have a car that will pick me up soon," she said in a curt tone without paying attention to the young man. Instead of looking at her face, she just focused on the mound of dirt in front of the shoe. The young man's shadow fell in to her body.
"Metta, I'm offering you a ride out of pity. Didn't mean to underestimate you as a poor girl, don't get me wrong," said the young man trying to be patient. His tone was as peaceful as the gurgling of a pool shower that pooled a few feet in front of him. Some of the ketapang leaves fall and are blown by the wind and fall to the surface of the pond water.
"Whatever, just go home alone! I want to wait for my brother!" she frowned still without looking at the young man's face.
"Don't you know me? Our house is in the same direction!"
Obviously he was wearing pants similar to the color of Metta's skirt, gray, and his shirt was as white as the clouds in the sky. His voice was firm and friendly, as if he wanted to get to know Metta better. Actually, all this time, he had been watching her from a distance, but Metta never paid attention, didn't care, and of course she didn't care.
"Fine, I'm go to home, but first you need to know, I'm Davin." The young man was ready to turn around, his shadow moving his back to Metta. "Oh yeah, don't be like that to other friends or seniors, then no one will want to be friends with you, Metta."
The sun was so hot, welcoming the activities of Adam's children, being a friend for consolation, tired of half a day earning a living. Outside the school gates vehicles lined up waiting for their respective passengers, and Metta was still stuck on the back of the school, on a long bench, surrounded by thick ketapang plants and paper flowers with colorful petals falling.
"You're beautiful, but pathetic!" Then Davin left, suddenly squatting down, looking under the bench. The mound of moist soil with green moss gives a warm impression to the insects that live in the soil.
Only then did Metta notice the back of his body moving away. She hadn't had time to pay attention to her appearance, but the figure of the young man—a boy wearing a watch on her left arm had left him.
Metta's hands moved forward to claw at the mound of earth, looking for something like something valuable was missing from the bag. The pens given by Fury, perhaps they were valuable, or the empty books that she often used as knowledge packs—er she meant cockroaches and spiders.
Taking notes from the teacher becomes a boring thing that makes him dizzy, so in class she uses it to explore the roof world, looking for gaps in life, if there is a cobweb during recess, she will destroy the nest and then wrap the spider to be transported home . Metta also likes to check the corners of the classroom floor, check the back of the door or window hoping for a cockroach that is lost looking for a way home, she is carrying an empty book and then he is torn wholeheartedly without any burden to be used as clothes for the cockroach.
So now, are there cockroaches in the mound? Of course not, what are you looking for Metta? The wind hissed at his eardrums, tore apart the strands of hair that you didn't tie, the ribbon headbands that were perched on the crown like the color of twilight tired of banging against the surface under the bench. Makes her head dirty and she doesn't care.
Two boneless creatures sticking out of the ground, it squirmed as its fingers touched its outer body. Metta pulled the soft yellow noodle-like animal and placed it on the bench. The scorching sun made him flounder as if she was going to lose his life, she needed moist soil and air temperatures that were lower than the surface. If only Metta knew, actually that sinless being was suffering tormentedly. Her hands moved swiftly to open the bag she was carrying, then he took a small jar that was usually used as a place for fried onions by Mrs. Onah.
In the morning before leaving for school, Metta executed the kitchen, as usual, spilling all kinds of contents of the jar including the salt, sugar, coffee, and even oil. Then he moved the creature that some of the girls found disgusting into the jar. Don't forget to bring some moist soil along with the moss as a cashier.
"Hello Neo, welcome to your new home. I'll make you a palace, will you feel good?" she said, twirling the jar. The worm he named Neo.
Metta smirked then moved out of the area behind the school, about to wait for an invite like other friends. The worm and her new home she put in a bag. At the same time, Fury honked the horn at the security guard.
***
The car runs slowly when the asphalt is uphill. The impatient motorbike went first. The sound of the engine roared. The driver's face looks tense due to the ignorance of nature which actually causes sweat to flow on the foreheads of Adam's son. Metta's backpack zipped open to remove a clear jar filled with earth and worms.
"Want to cook a cake?" guessed Fury. He glanced at the jar without noticing a creature being held hostage.
"Your glasses ask to be fired," said Metta's voice and then Fury turned his head back. As soon as the steering wheel went out of control, he was shocked to see a worm stuck in the jar. Feeling disgusted even displaying a nauseous expression. Fury pulled the car a side, telling Metta to throw the innocent worm away.
The sun is getting hotter, the trees that shade the road are losing the fight with the ultraviolet rays that bounce off the glass of the building. Sweat was dripping from the forehead of the workers who were building the project of a large mall on the outskirts of the city. The uphill road stretches out before our eyes, but the car just pulls out of the way near the public trash can which, when it's full, will be picked up by foul-smelling trucks carrying disgusting dirty goods.
"Get rid of the worms!" said Fury with a glare. He displays an aura of disdain for Metta's actions, who like to put the worm presumptuously in to the jar.
The piled up garbage looks a stark contrast next to a luxury car that looks like it's still new, yes, it's only been five months since their Papa bought this private vehicle for Fury so he can pick it up without getting rained on and avoiding road dust pollution. The acacia trees along the road looked at Fury's annoyance, they even highlighted the doubts by dropping their dry leaves which were then dragged by the wind and fell to the surface of the car roof.
"Brother, you know we shouldn't respect other people's efforts, no matter how small it is?" Metta began to quibble. "These beautiful smooth fingers of mine are willing to reach into a mound of earth to pick up these worms, then you lightly tell me to throw them away? Can an educated student like you appreciate my efforts, Fury?" Metta plays with social facts as a form of resistance. It doesn't matter that Fury is much smarter than Metta thinks.
His Adam's apple moved up and down before starting to talk to Metta. He took a deep breath so as not to get caught up in the false emotions that made his mood worse. As long as Metta knew he was too lazy to argue, the campus affairs seemed to be enough to make his mind dizzy.
"Every living thing has the basic right to determine where to live and its habitat, if you take it from its ecosystem, you are the same as depriving it of its rights! Do you want your right to live comfortably like that? The world of worms and the world of cakes are different, Metta. food in a jar!"
"My handsome brother, Fury, there is no cake today, besides being sweet it will only make my teeth hurt. Don't bother with this worm with cake or anything. I just like this cute animal," said Metta while kissing the surface of the jar.
Fury could not stand Metta's attitude, he took the object without asking his sister's approval. Immediately thrown into the trash, the lid of the jar was removed, the moist soil was scattered in the air, followed by the body of the worm, then within a few seconds the worm was lying on a pile of baby press.
"Yes! I love that worm! And that's my right! Don't forbid what I like, or I'll forbid your relationship with the woman you love!" Metta's threat did not scare Fury, as evidenced by he actions in driving the car again.
"Metta, you're already in high school, you're not a kindergartner anymore, so act a little mature."
"I'm going down! Stop the car!" Metta crackle.
"We'll go home and take a nap."
"I'm going down! Quick stop or do I jump?"
"What do you want? I don't agree with you caring for those disgusting animals in our house! If Papa and Mama found out they could throw up!"
"That's better than feeling alone, isn't it? After all, Papa and Mama are busy abroad, there's no time to take care of my hobbies," said Metta starting in a lower tone.
"Poor worm, let him live in his world!" Fury doesn't want to give in, still insists, actually defending the worm's survival.
"Do you really think I want to eat him raw? Want me to roast? Want me to mutilate? I want him to live too—at home—in my room!" Metta said she really didn't want to let the worms get stuck in the trash, even though it was a nice place, moist and warm, even though the function of the worms to fertilize the soil would retire if stuck there.
"Your logic doesn't make sense, Metta. Let's go home and have lunch then rest, forget about the worms!"
"Stop or do I jump?" Metta's threat this time was more terrifying. Finally the car stopped.
Metta opened the door, slammed it violently, then sprinted towards the trash can. The fingers that he praised as beautiful took the jar that had cracked the wall, then looked for the worms that had slipped into the crevices of the trash. Pampers opened, the smell of urine and smell pierced the nostrils. Her hands were dirty, some flies swarmed the skin of her palms, and she still didn't care.
"Oh my little friend, the cute Neo, come and play in my castle. I will give you a delicious meal." Metta's sentence was carried whole heartedly without any burden. While Fury endured nausea.