Mornings at Nusantara High School always began with a kind of organized noise. The roar of motor vehicles from the main road in front of the gate, the laughter of students who had just gotten off public transit, and the hurried footsteps of those who were almost late because the gate would close precisely at 7:00 a.m. Western Indonesia Time. Amid the commotion stood a teenage boy dressed in a gray-and-white school uniform that had been ironed to perfection, complete with a tie knotted flawlessly at his collar and a gleaming Student Council President badge on the left side of his chest.
His name was Reyhan Arkananta. To everyone at Nusantara High School, Reyhan represented perfection in human form. He was disciplined, cold, almost never smiled in the school corridors, and possessed a firmness that made anyone think twice before daring to break even the smallest rule. In his hand, he always gripped a small black notebook, ready to write down the name of anyone bold enough to mar the beauty of the school code of conduct.
Reyhan walked slowly toward the school radio room on the second floor, right beside the teachers' lounge. Today was the first day of the School Environment Orientation, an annual tradition that always forced Reyhan to work twice as hard to ensure none of the new students caused trouble. But this morning, something else had been disturbing his peace since he opened his eyes before dawn: a bad-weather forecast and a report from the cleaning staff about a leaking water faucet in the east hallway.
“Rey, have you checked the group list for this afternoon’s school tour?” Dimas asked, the Student Council Vice President and Reyhan’s close friend, suddenly appearing from behind the radio room door with slightly labored breaths.
Reyhan did not answer immediately. He set his backpack on the long wooden table, then straightened several sheets containing the event schedule in front of him. His long fingers moved deftly, aligning the edges of the papers until they formed perfectly precise angles. Only then did he look up and stare at Dimas with a flat expression behind his thin-rimmed glasses.
“Yes. I divided them according to registration numbers to keep things fair and avoid any suspicion of discrimination between groups. The list has been posted on the main bulletin board since six this morning,” Reyhan replied in a calm, firm voice almost devoid of emotion.
Dimas let out a long sigh and slowly shook his head. “Sometimes I wonder about your brain, Yan. You live like a robot that’s already been programmed. There isn’t even the slightest room to relax. It’s the first day of school orientation. These new students still need time to adjust, not to be thrown straight onto a military-style battlefield of discipline.”
“Discipline is established from the first day, Dimas. If we tolerate lateness or incomplete uniforms today, they’ll take the school rules lightly for the next three years,” Reyhan countered without the slightest hesitation. He picked up the main microphone from the table, preparing to address all the new students through the school loudspeakers.
Just as Reyhan was about to press the on-air button, the radio room door suddenly flew open with considerable force—not opened, but shoved from the outside, producing a heavy thud that made Dimas jump.
“Good grief! My heart nearly jumped out of my chest!” Dimas cried, rubbing his chest.
The figure standing in the doorway was neither a teacher nor a late Student Council member. The girl wore a gray-and-white school uniform that differed slightly from the standard regulations: her gray skirt had been altered to keep it from being too long, her long black hair was carelessly tied high with a wooden pencil, and a small earbud sat in her left ear, its cable trailing into her shirt pocket. Her face was clean and free of makeup, yet radiated an unmistakably prickly aura.
Kirana Paramitha. Her name immediately flashed through Reyhan’s mind, because she was the girl whose name had appeared most often on the middle school counseling office desk—and who had now managed to get into Nusantara High School through the fine arts achievement track.
“Hey, you guys in there! Could you please turn off that lullaby music that’s been playing since this morning? It’s giving me a headache, you know? It sounds more like a funeral procession than a welcome for new students,” Kirana said without the slightest hint of remorse. She walked right in without knocking, then casually leaned against the edge of the table.
Reyhan immediately rose from his chair. At nearly six feet tall, he towered over Kirana. With a sharp, icy stare, he looked directly into the eyes of the girl standing before him.
“First, this door has a handle, which means it should be opened by pulling or pushing it politely, not by slamming it. Second, the music played over the school radio is classical music selected by the student affairs department to create a calm and conducive atmosphere for the new students. Third, who are you, and how did you enter the Student Council’s restricted radio room without permission?” Reyhan demanded one question after another, his voice rising as he made his displeasure at the interruption clear.
Kirana gave a soft snort and lazily rolled her eyes. She removed one earbud and wound its cable around her index finger. “Oh, please, Your Honorable Student Council President. I’ve only been at this school for half an hour, and my ears have already been tortured by slow violin music that makes me sleepy. If you want to get the new kids excited, you should play alternative rock or at least some upbeat pop—not music from the dinosaur age like that.”
She approached the table, then deliberately pointed at the volume control on the audio mixer console. “Besides, I didn’t ask permission to come in because the door wasn’t locked. And as for who I am? Nice to meet you. I’m Kirana Paramitha, a new student who’s guaranteed to make your peaceful days at this school a little more… colorful.”
The atmosphere inside the room suddenly grew much hotter. Dimas, standing in the corner, could only swallow hard as he watched a new student openly challenge Reyhan Arkananta’s authority—the only person in the school feared and respected by the entire student body.
Reyhan did not immediately explode in anger. Instead, his jaw tightened, and his hand curled into a fist at his side against his black slacks. In his two years as a core Student Council officer, not a single student had ever dared to act this brazenly insolent and provocative in front of him.
“Kirana Paramitha,” Reyhan called in a low voice that sounded dangerous. He stepped closer until only a short distance separated them. “At this school, there are rules that everyone must obey, without exception. What you just did violated three rules at once: entering a restricted room without permission, damaging public property by slamming the door, and behaving disrespectfully toward school officers carrying out official duties.”
Kirana did not back down or show the slightest fear. Instead, she lifted her chin and stared sharply into Reyhan’s eyes behind his glasses without blinking. A thin smile curved across her lips, openly challenging him.
“Rules are made to be broken, or at least… reconsidered when they’ve become outdated and boring,” Kirana replied casually, deliberately provoking the Student Council President. “If you want to write my name in that little black book of yours, go ahead. Whatever page you choose, write it in the thickest ink you’ve got. I’m not afraid at all.”
Before Reyhan could open his mouth to hand down a firm punishment—morning suspension or cleaning duty on the assembly field—the bell signaling the start of morning assembly rang loudly throughout the school. The electronic chime shattered the tension that had frozen between them.
Reyhan drew a deep breath, trying to suppress the surge of emotion that had nearly broken through his professional composure. He gave Kirana one last sharp look before reaching for the microphone.
“Morning assembly is about to begin. We’re not finished, Kirana Paramitha. After this event, make sure you report to the counseling office to answer for your actions,” Reyhan said coldly. He then pressed the microphone button and began speaking in a deep, authoritative voice through every school speaker. “All tenth-grade new students, please line up on the assembly field immediately.”
Kirana snorted softly as she straightened her own collar. “Go ahead and throw your weight around, President. We’ll see who makes it to the end of the school year.”
With an easy stride and not the slightest hint of remorse, Kirana turned and walked out of the radio room, leaving Reyhan standing motionless, his fingers gripping the broadcast table tightly. That first meeting, filled with sparks of hostility, became the first sign that the new school year would not be peaceful for Reyhan Arkananta—and, in turn, that Kirana’s life at Nusantara High School would certainly not be as smooth as she had imagined.
Outside the room, the morning sky stretched bright above the school building’s roof. Yet in the second-floor hallway, a new chapter in the bitter feud between the rigid Student Council President and the rebellious new student had officially begun.