The days after that nighttime conversation unfolded differently for Raka. Nothing seemed to have changed much from the outside, but inside his mind, a lot was beginning to shift.
Usually, Raka went through his school days casually, without thinking too much about anything. Now, every time he arrived in class, he unconsciously looked for Sinta first.
Not because he wanted to look suspicious.
He just wanted to make sure she was okay.
That morning, Raka had just sat down when Dimas arrived carrying two packages of bread from the cafeteria.
"This is for you," Dimas said, setting one package on the desk.
Raka looked at the bread in surprise.
"Since when were you nice?"
Dimas immediately sat in the chair beside him.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I just feel like being friends with someone who's in love."
Raka nearly choked on his drink.
"What do you mean?"
Dimas laughed.
"Still pretending?"
"I'm not pretending."
"Do you realize you always smile to yourself whenever you look at your phone now?"
Raka quickly put his phone in his bag.
"I was just reading a message."
"A message from who?"
Raka fell silent.
Dimas raised both hands.
"See? Silence means I'm right."
Raka shook his head with a small smile.
"You pay too much attention."
"Because I'm your friend. A friend's job is to bother you whenever there's an opportunity."
They laughed together.
Not long afterward, Sinta entered the classroom. She was carrying several sheets of paper and headed straight for Raka's desk.
"Raka."
"Yeah?"
"I need to ask for your help again."
Raka immediately turned toward her.
"Sure. What do you need?"
"I need to check some data for the class event. I'm worried something might be wrong."
Dimas, who had heard her, immediately stood up.
"Why is Raka always the one you choose?"
Sinta laughed.
"Because he's thorough."
Dimas looked at Raka incredulously.
"Thorough? The guy who once forgot to bring his own book?"
Raka pointed at Dimas.
"That happened once."
"And you still remember the date?"
"Because you keep bringing it up."
Sinta smiled as she watched them argue.
"I'll go first. We'll check it together during break, okay?"
Raka nodded.
"Okay."
After Sinta left, Dimas looked at Raka with a knowing smile.
"You realize it, right?"
"Realize what?"
"She's comfortable with you."
Raka was silent for a moment.
"I feel that way too."
"And then?"
Raka looked toward Sinta's desk.
"I'm afraid of ruining everything."
Dimas, who usually liked to joke around, spoke more seriously this time.
"Rak, sometimes things change not because we try, but because we're too afraid to try."
Those words made Raka think.
He knew Dimas was right, but the fear was still there.
What if all of Sinta's attention up to now was nothing more than friendship to her?
What if, after he told her how he felt, their relationship would never be the same again?
When break time arrived, Raka and Sinta sat in the library to check the data for the class event. It was fairly quiet there. A few students were reading in the corners of the room, while the soft hum of a fan drifted down from above.
"Raka."
"Hmm?"
"You've been daydreaming a lot lately."
Raka stopped writing.
"Is it that obvious?"
"Very."
Raka smiled faintly.
"I thought I was hiding it."
Sinta shook her head.
"You're not very good at hiding things."
"Why does everyone say that?"
"Because your face is honest."
Raka chuckled softly.
"You think so too?"
"Yeah."
They went back to looking over the papers on the desk.
Several minutes passed without conversation. Yet the silence didn't feel awkward.
To Raka, something that simple had become precious.
He didn't need to do anything grand.
He just needed to be near Sinta.
When they finished checking the data, Sinta closed her notebook.
"Rak."
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For always being willing to help."
Raka shrugged.
"I want to help."
"But not everyone does that."
Raka smiled.
"You help me a lot too."
Sinta looked confused.
"I do?"
"Yeah. You make me more confident."
Sinta fell silent at his answer.
"I never thought I did anything like that."
"Maybe it's because you're just a good person."
Sinta stared at Raka for a few seconds.
"Sometimes you say things I don't expect."
"What do you mean?"
"You seem laid-back, but it turns out you notice a lot."
Raka didn't know how to respond.
Before things could get too serious, the school bell rang.
They quickly gathered their things and returned to class.
That afternoon, after school, Raka walked alone toward the bus stop. The evening breeze was pleasantly cool. He opened his phone and saw a message from Sinta.
"Are you home yet?"
Raka smiled.
"Not yet. I'm still on the way."
"Be careful."
"Okay."
Raka paused for a moment before typing his next message.
"Sin."
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad I got to know you."
The message was sent.
Raka immediately felt a little nervous when he saw the sent notification.
A few seconds later, a reply appeared.
"I'm glad I got to know you too, Rak."
Raka read the message over and over.
It was simple.
But it was enough to make his heart feel warm.
That night, Raka sat at his study desk, gazing at the sky through his bedroom window.
He was beginning to understand something.
Maybe their relationship didn't have a name yet.
Maybe he still wasn't brave enough to say what he truly felt.
But every day they spent together brought them closer.
And little by little, Raka was learning that courage wasn't always about saying something right away.
Sometimes courage meant holding on, continuing to care, and continuing to show sincerity even when you didn't know how things would end.
Somewhere else, Sinta was also looking at their conversation on her phone.
She smiled faintly.
There was something about Raka that made her feel comfortable.
Not because Raka always did grand things.
Not because he tried to be perfect.
But because Raka was always himself.
And without realizing it, the two people who had initially gotten to know each other because of a math note were beginning to collect so many little stories that someday, they might remember them as the beginning of something bigger.