It had been a week since Samuel hadn't attended school, and every day, Sandra and Sarah would visit his house to check on him.
"In the school yard, "Sandra, are we visiting Samuel's house again today?" Sarah asked Sandra.
"Yeah, of course. How can I not visit him? He's seriously ill," Sandra replied.
Finally, they both headed to Samuel's house after school.
On the way, they discussed Adi's problem and what would happen to Ivan and Adi after the incident. Sarah felt their behavior had gone too far and violated the law, but Sandra agreed in a way.
Sandra had a different plan for getting back at both of them. In Sandra's mind, Adi and Ivan deserved to face the consequences, while Sarah just wanted the case to be handed over to the authorities.
"Hey, do you know where Adi and Ivan usually hang out?" Sandra asked.
"Uh, why are you suddenly asking about that, Sandra?" Sarah furrowed her brow, surprised.
"It's nothing, just curious," Sandra answered.
"Hey, don't tell me you're planning something foolish, Sandra. Remember, we have laws in our country," Sarah advised. Sandra remained silent and didn't respond.
On the bus to Samuel's uncle's house, Sandra sat in a corner, resting her head against the window. Sarah noticed Sandra but didn't bother her, thinking she might want some alone time and didn't want to be disturbed.
When the bus door opened, they both got off and walked to Samuel's house. It was quite close, just around 200 meters from the bus stop.
"Assalamu'alaikum, Samuel... Samuel," Sandra and Sarah called out Samuel's name in unison.
Soon, the door opened, and they were greeted with a sweet smile from Aunt Hera.
Aunt Hera: "Hey, Sandra and Sarah, come in. Samuel is in the living room, lying down," Aunt Hera said.
"Oh, thank you, Aunt. We'll come in," they replied.
"Oh my, Samuel, why are you standing?" Sandra asked worriedly.
Samuel just smiled upon hearing that and gestured for both of them to sit in front of him.
"Alhamdulillah, Sandra, I'm feeling better now. I can even say I'm healed," Samuel assured Sandra.
"Oh, come on, don't exaggerate. Lie down, let me get your medicine," Sandra said.
"Hey, you stay put, Sandra. Let me get the medicine. Your prince needs you, you know!" Sarah pushed Sandra aside and ran straight to the medicine box.
"Are you sure it's okay, Sam?" Sandra asked.
"Insha Allah, Sandra, I'm already feeling better. Don't believe me? Come here!" Samuel requested.
Sandra approached, and suddenly, Samuel quickly embraced her shoulders, catching Sandra off guard. As a result, Sandra ended up in a position where she was above Samuel's body.
"Ouch! Oh no," Samuel exclaimed. Sandra panicked and stood up. "What were you doing? Don't you know I'm still sick, and you're fooling around?" Sandra blurted out while blushing.
Deep down, Sandra enjoyed Samuel's gesture, but Aunt Hera and Sarah were there, and Sandra was afraid they might get the wrong idea if they witnessed the incident.
Samuel smiled. "I'm sorry, Sandra. I'm just happy to have a girlfriend like you—kind, beautiful, funny, cute, and charming." Sandra blushed even more upon hearing that.
"Ahem, ahem... what are you two doing?" Sarah came over with the medicine and started joking around.
, Sandra and Samuel smiled and answered in unison, "No worries, Sar." Sarah was delighted to see this because it meant that Samuel was indeed healthy and doing well.
"Oh, by the way, could you please tell me which lessons I missed? Can you provide me with the answers?" Samuel asked Sandra and Sarah.
"Come on, cheating is not the way. Put in some effort!" Sarah replied jokingly and chuckled.
"Oh, come on, Sar. I'm sick," Samuel replied.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, Sam. Don't worry, Sandra has taken notes for you. She'll give them to you later," Sarah said.
Samuel looked at Sandra, who was still lost in thought.
"Sandra, what's wrong with you?" Samuel asked.
"Oh, nothing, nothing. It's really nothing," Sandra replied in a panicked tone.
"Have you eaten yet?" Samuel asked both of them.
"Not yet, Sam, but we're planning to buy 'Seblak' from Ibu Wati's stall. It's the one in front of the housing complex," Sarah replied straightforwardly.
"Oh, well, I'll pay for it. Can you grab my wallet from the table near the TV, Sar?" Samuel requested.
"I'll get it," Sandra ran towards the TV table.
Accidentally, Sandra opened Samuel's wallet, and there it was, their photo sitting on a bench in the school garden. The photo was taken by Sarah when they were studying together in the park.
"Samuel, thank you," Sandra said.
"Thank you for what, Sandra?" Samuel asked.
"For this photo. You still want to keep it in your wallet," Sarah answered.
Samuel smiled and winked.
"Oh, now you're being flirtatious," Sandra said, blushing.
Not long after that conversation, Sandra and Sarah asked for permission to buy "Seblak" in front of the complex and left without bringing their school bags.
Initially, Samuel was reluctant to open Sandra's bag in front of him, but his curiosity outweighed his laziness. He unzipped Sandra's bag and was surprised to find many colorful envelopes inside.
But eventually, he dared to open those envelopes and read their contents. Suddenly, Samuel smiled to himself and looked up, exhaling deeply.
Thirty minutes later, Sandra and Sarah returned, carrying a small cup of "Seblak."
"Samuel, do you want some?" Sarah and Sandra asked.
"Nah, I don't like spicy food," Samuel replied.
They continued chatting endlessly, unaware that it was already 5 o'clock in the evening.
"Oh, I have to go home now, Sandra. I promised my mom I'd accompany her for grocery shopping," Sarah said, slightly panicking because she was afraid of being late.
"Well, then I'll go home too, Sam. Maybe my mom needs my help too," Sandra said, stroking Samuel's forehead.
"Yeah, sure, you both can go home. Besides, it's getting late, and your parents might worry," Samuel added.
"Don't worry, we already got permission before coming here. They know we're going to your house, Sam," Sandra replied.
Finally, they said goodbye and left, bidding farewell to Aunt Hera as well.
"Neng Sandra, Neng Sarah, are you leaving? Take care on the way. Oh, if only Uncle was here, maybe he could give you a ride home," Aunt Hera said.
"Don't worry, Aunt, we prefer taking the bus," Sarah said. "Well then, Aunt, we bid farewell, Assalamualaikum." They both said.
They headed home, taking the bus from the stop in front of Samuel's housing complex.
On the way back, Sandra told Sarah that she felt calm and relieved now because she knew that Samuel was doing fine and would be able to go back to school the next day. Sarah was also delighted to see her friend no longer troubled and starting to smile again.