29 February 2024
School bell is ringing. The final exam for their high school phase. Raka feels lightly after finished his last paper. Finally, he can say goodbye to everyone except one women who he really admired since he was 16, now he was 18 since the final biggest exam was delayed because of the covid-19. After the last paper ended, he planned to confess his feelings to her but over think that the answer might be no. So he canceled the plan. Then his friend came to him, asking "How's the exam?"
Raka didn't say anything. "Are you thinking about her?" asked his friend, Ken. Raka without hesitate change the topic back. "The exam was okay for me." said Raka. Ken shocked after hearing what Raka said. "What do you mean by okay, it was hard for me." said Ken.Â
Suddenly, his crush walk beside him. Raka act like nothing is happen. "Raka, isn't that is your crush?" asked Ken. He quickly close Ken's mouth. Then his crush looking at them, seeing Raka shake his head while shut Ken's mouth. She continue her walk. "Are you crazy or what?" said Raka.
Ken smirked, pulling Raka's hand away from his mouth. "You're such a coward, man." Raka sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I just... I don't want to ruin things, okay?" Ken crossed his arms. "Ruin what? You barely even talk to her." Raka didn't respond. His heart was still racing from that brief moment when she glanced at him.
He had spent two years admiring her from afar, stealing quick glances in the hallway, listening intently whenever she spoke in class, and now, this was supposed to be the moment. The perfect chance to finally tell her how he felt. But instead, fear took over. "You know, you'll regret it if you don't say something," Ken said, nudging Raka with his elbow.
Raka let out a dry laugh. "Or I'll regret it if I do and she rejects me." Ken rolled his eyes. "Dude, at least you'll know. Otherwise, you'll always be stuck wondering 'what if.'" Raka opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, a soft voice interrupted him.
"Hey, Raka."
His heart nearly stopped. He turned to see her standing there, looking straight at him. She smiled slightly. "Can we talk for a second?" Ken grinned and patted Raka on the back. "Well, looks like my job here is done." He walked away, leaving Raka frozen in place. His crush tilted her head, waiting for him to respond.
"Uh… yeah, sure," Raka finally managed to say, swallowing the lump in his throat. As they stepped away from the crowd, his mind raced with possibilities. Was she going to reject him before he even confessed? Or… was there a chance she felt the same? He took a deep breath, preparing himself for whatever was coming next.
Raka followed her a few steps away from the crowd, his heart pounding. He tried to calm himself down, but the way she looked at him made it impossible. Was this it? Was she going to confess first? She reached into her bag and pulled out a neatly wrapped small box. "Here," she said with a gentle smile. "I wanted to give you this." Raka blinked, staring at the box in confusion. His mind was a mess. Was this some kind of secret message? A hidden meaning? Was she giving him something special?
With slightly shaky hands, he took it from her. "Uh… what is this, Dia?" She chuckled. "Just a little gift. Since it's our last day, I thought it'd be nice to give something to my friends." His heart, which had been soaring just moments ago, suddenly dropped. Friends. That word stung more than he expected. Still, he forced a smile. "Oh… thanks. That's really thoughtful of you."
"Yeah, I gave one to Ken, too, and a few others," she said casually, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I just wanted everyone to have a small memory before we all go our separate ways." Raka nodded, gripping the small box tightly. "That's… really nice of you." She smiled warmly. "Anyway, I should go now. I still have a few more to give out."
"Right. Of course, thank you for this" Raka said, trying to sound normal.
"See you around, Raka" she said before turning and walking away.
He stood there, staring at the box in his hand, feeling like the biggest fool in the world. Ken walked up beside him, having seen everything from a distance. "So… how'd it go?" Ken asked, trying to hold back a grin. Raka let out a dry chuckle, shaking his head. "I overthought everything for nothing." Ken patted him on the back. "Well, at least you got a free gift."
Raka sighed, stuffing the box into his pocket. "Yeah. A perfect reminder of how much of a coward I am." Ken laughed. "Hey, at least now you know. And who knows? Maybe this isn't the end of your story with her." Raka scoffed. "Yeah, right." But as he watched her from afar, smiling and laughing with her friends, a part of him couldn't help but wonder… What if?