The next day, Raka arrived at school feeling different. For some reason, ever since he woke up, he had felt more energized than usual. Before he even opened his curtains, the first thing he did was check his phone.
There was one message from Sinta, sent at six in the morning.
"Don't forget to eat breakfast."
Raka gave a small smile when he saw the message.
He didn't know why such a simple gesture of concern could improve his mood so much. To someone else, the message might have seemed completely ordinary, but to Raka, it felt like a sign that she cared—a reminder that someone was thinking about him.
After getting ready, Raka headed straight to school. On the way, he ran into Ardi, his classmate who had transferred a few weeks earlier.
"Rak, wait," Ardi called, jogging over.
Raka stopped.
"What is it, Di?"
"We're going the same way, right? Let's walk together."
Raka nodded.
Ardi was easy to get along with. Unlike Dimas, who liked to joke around a little too much, Ardi spent more time observing what was happening around him. Even though he had only recently met Raka, they had already talked fairly often.
"You've been smiling to yourself a lot lately," Ardi suddenly said.
Raka turned to him.
"Why is everyone saying that?"
"Because it's obvious."
"Have I really changed?"
Ardi chuckled.
"You used to look straight ahead whenever you walked. Now you walk around staring at your phone."
Raka slipped his phone into his pocket.
"Don't tell me Dimas already told you."
"Nope. I can see it for myself."
Raka merely chuckled.
By the time they reached class, the room was already fairly noisy. Dimas was telling a few friends about yesterday's soccer game. When he saw Raka come in, he immediately grinned.
"Well, look who finally showed up. Mr. Busy."
Raka set down his bag.
"What is it this time?"
Dimas pointed at Raka's phone.
"How's your phone credit doing?"
Several friends who heard him immediately burst out laughing.
"Seriously? We're still talking about that?" Raka asked.
"Of course. It's a historic event."
Raka shook his head with a smile.
Not long afterward, Sinta entered the classroom. She was carrying several books. As soon as she saw Raka, she walked over to him.
"Here are the physics notes from yesterday."
Raka took the book from her.
"Thanks, Sin. You really helped me out."
"Did you finish the assignment?"
"Yeah."
"Really?"
Raka fell silent.
Sinta opened the assignment book on Raka's desk.
"This is only half done."
Raka laughed sheepishly.
"I was just about to keep working on it."
Sinta shook her head with a smile.
"You always have an excuse."
"The important thing is that it'll get done."
"What if the teacher says something?"
"Then I'll apologize."
Sinta chuckled.
Watching them talk, Dimas immediately nudged Ardi's shoulder.
"What do you think?"
Ardi looked over at Raka and Sinta.
"Looks pretty obvious to me."
"What's obvious?"
"Raka likes Sinta."
Dimas smiled in satisfaction.
"Finally, someone admits it."
But Nisa, who happened to be walking by, overheard them.
"Are you two talking about Raka and Sinta again?"
Dimas immediately fell silent.
"How did you know?"
"Because you two are always so loud when you talk about them."
Ardi laughed.
Nisa glanced toward Raka, who was still talking with Sinta.
"If you ask me, Sinta feels comfortable around Raka too."
Dimas raised an eyebrow.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. Sinta usually doesn't get that close to new people."
Hearing that, Dimas smiled.
"Then all that's left is for Raka to find the courage."
Meanwhile, Raka and Sinta were discussing plans for next week's school event.
"I'm joining the class event," Sinta said.
"You're on the committee?"
"Yeah. I'm helping with decorations."
"Wow, it'll definitely look great."
"Are you joining too?"
Raka shook his head.
"I'm not sure yet."
"Why not?"
"I'm afraid I won't be able to help."
Sinta looked at him.
"Don't think that way. Everyone can help in their own way."
Her words left Raka silent.
Sinta often said simple things, but they always managed to make him think.
"How do you always manage to cheer people up?" Raka asked.
Sinta looked a little confused.
"I don't feel like I do."
"But you really do."
Sinta smiled.
"Maybe because I've felt insecure before too."
Raka grew curious.
"When?"
"When I first transferred schools. I was afraid I wouldn't have any friends."
"But you have lots of friends now."
"Yeah, because some people were willing to talk to me."
Raka smiled.
"So I was one of those people?"
Sinta nodded.
"You were."
Her answer made Raka happy.
After school, Raka stopped by a small store near his house. He wanted to buy more phone credit because his internet package was almost used up.
As he chose the amount of phone credit to buy, he noticed that he had very little money left in his wallet.
"If I buy phone credit now, I'll have less money for lunch tomorrow," he muttered.
He thought about it for a while.
In the end, he still bought a small amount of phone credit.
After he got home, Dimas sent him a message.
"Don't tell me you bought phone credit again."
Raka was startled.
"How did you know?"
"Because of course you did."
Raka laughed.
"I need it to communicate."
Dimas replied.
"Communicate, or talk to Sinta?"
Raka didn't answer right away.
A few seconds later, he typed:
"Both."
Dimas sent back a flood of laughing emojis.
That night, Raka talked with Sinta as usual. But this time, Sinta seemed a little different.
"Have you ever liked someone before?" Sinta asked.
The question made Raka stop typing.
"No."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"It's nothing. I was just curious."
"What about you?"
Sinta didn't answer right away.
"Me neither."
Raka looked at his phone screen with a smile.
"Then we're the same."
"Maybe."
"Maybe again?"
"Yeah, I like answering that way."
Raka laughed.
They kept talking as the night grew later and later. This time, Raka wasn't just talking about school or assignments. He was beginning to learn another side of Sinta.
He learned about Sinta's favorite foods, the dreams she wanted to achieve, and why she always tried to make other people smile.
Without realizing it, they were growing closer.
But in the middle of that happiness, Raka began thinking about one thing.
How long could he keep his feelings to himself?
He wanted to tell Sinta the truth, but fear still held him back.
He was afraid everything would change.
Afraid that the closeness that had made him so happy would suddenly disappear.
That night, before going to sleep, Raka saw one last message from Sinta.
"Thanks for being such a fun friend."
Raka read the sentence over and over.
He smiled, but he also felt curious.
Was he nothing more than a friend to Sinta?
Or was there some other feeling neither of them had dared to admit yet?
Raka still hadn't found the answer.
But he was sure of one thing.
The little story between him and Sinta had only just begun.