Diandra approached Vita, who was sitting on the grass in the park, looking annoyed.
Vita closed the novel she was reading and turned toward her. “What’s wrong, Dian?”
“I’m mad at that cold guy. He’s so annoying, you know!” Diandra grumbled.
“What did he do this time?” Vita asked, propping her chin on her hand as she looked at Diandra.
“I wanted to talk to him about those shoes earlier, but he acted all indifferent. It was so annoying! Anyway, until I can pay him back, I don’t want anything to do with him,” Diandra explained, folding her arms across her chest.
Vita let out a soft sigh. “Whatever you want, Dian! Oh, speaking of which, how are you planning to pay Senior Rafa back? You said you didn’t want to ask your mom for money.”
Diandra had already told Vita about her family situation, since Vita had shared hers first. Their circumstances weren’t all that different, except that Vita’s parents were both still around and she had a younger brother.
“I’m still thinking about it. I might just look for a part-time job. I don’t want to burden Mom. She and I live off Dad’s pension, and even that’s only enough for food and our daily needs.”
“Then where are you going to look for work?”
“I don’t know. I’ll figure it out later. Maybe I’ll search online. Miss Google might have something.”
“Okay, I’ll help you look later!”
“Thanks!”
“There’s no such thing as ‘thanks’ between friends,” Vita replied, draping an arm around Diandra’s shoulders with a smile.
Seven hours passed, and finally, the dismissal bell rang. Vita had already gone home. As usual, her boyfriend had picked her up. His name was Dani, a senior at Bintang High School in twelfth-grade social studies. He was incredibly romantic and drove her to and from school every day. As for single girls like Diandra, all she could do was pat her chest and lament being alone for yet another day.
Someone’s throat-clearing broke the silence. Diandra turned around, and her expression instantly turned sour. She quickly turned her back again.
Ugh, the cold guy again. I can’t be bothered. I’d better get out of here, she thought.
Diandra was about to walk away, but Rafa grabbed her bag first, forcing her to stop.
“Where do you think you’re going? Can’t you see someone wants to talk to you?”
Diandra turned around irritably. “I don’t remember hearing anyone asking to talk to Dian.” She glanced left and right, deliberately ignoring Rafa as he watched her antics.
“The person is standing right in front of you! Don’t pretend you don’t see me!” he snapped.
“Who?”
“Me!”
“The one asking!” Diandra arched one eyebrow.
Rafa’s face turned red, whether from embarrassment or anger, Diandra couldn’t tell. His expression gave nothing away.
“Sorry, Senior, Dian’s in a hurry to go home. If you want to talk, just do it tomorrow. It’s already dismissal time,” Diandra said before turning around and walking away.
“What did you just say, hey, Dian...” His words trailed off when he saw Diandra approach Gibran, who was smiling as he watched her.
Rafa raked a hand through his hair in frustration. Kevin had been watching him the whole time. He walked over and stood beside Rafa.
“You’re that mad?!”
Rafa turned in surprise. He quickly composed his expression. Radit had just arrived and looked at them in confusion.
“What happened? Did I miss something?” he asked, putting on an innocent expression.
Rafa immediately walked away, leaving the two of them behind. Kevin followed Rafa, while Radit, wearing a blank look, ran after them.
Rafa had already gotten into the car. Kevin climbed in next, followed by Radit. Rafa fell silent for a moment, looking as if he were thinking something over.
“If you like someone, don’t keep it bottled up, or someone else will swoop in first. It hurts like hell!” Kevin said.
There was no answer. Rafa started the car and sped away.