“Grandma, I’m heading to school now, okay?” said a beautiful shoulder-length-haired girl in a neat school uniform that morning.
“Alright, sweetheart. Be careful, study hard, and may you be blessed,” replied the grandmother known as Eyang.
“Amen, Grandma. Mwah!” she replied, kissing the back of her grandmother’s hand before giving her a quick peck on the cheek.
That morning, the sun shone brightly in mid-August. The birds’ sweet chirping filled the air, giving energy to the people who had already begun their activities. The students of Ibu Pertiwi Public High School Jogja were no different. They chatted with one another as they walked toward their respective classrooms, their faces fresh and bright.
“Nadeera!” called a girl with a cellphone in her right hand. She waved at the person she was calling, then ran over to her.
“Whoa, Rita, you’re really fired up this morning. It’s barely morning and you’re already yelling,” Nadeera said.
“Of course I am! I can’t wait to carry out our plan, you know. Heehee,” she explained with a giggle.
“Heehee, keep your voice down. Someone might hear us!” Nadeera exclaimed, covering Rita’s mouth.
“Oh, right. Where’s Karin? Why isn’t she with you?” she asked.
“She already left. She said she wanted to work on yesterday’s assignment.”
“Oh, I see. Alright, come on, let’s go find her!”
“Let’s go!” they cheered together.
With radiant smiles, the two of them walked through the classroom corridors, chatting and joking around from time to time. Several pairs of male students’ eyes occasionally stole glances at the beautiful shoulder-length-haired girl, admiring her from afar. Still, few dared approach her. Some were too intimidated, while others were afraid she’d reject them, assuming that a girl that beautiful must already have a boyfriend.
The girl herself didn’t realize she had become the center of attention. She simply kept walking forward without caring about her surroundings. Her friend beside her noticed, but couldn’t care less and didn’t make a big deal of it.
“Kariiiiin!” Rita yelled, then threw her arms around Karin the moment they reached their classroom.
“What’s wrong with you, Rit? You scared me!” Karin tried to free herself from Rita’s overly tight hug.
“Ugh, Karin, I seriously can’t wait.”
“Can’t wait for what?”
“See? Rita’s been acting like this since this morning. She suddenly started yelling and running around earlier too, and a ton of people were staring,” Nadeera explained with an exaggerated expression.
“Ugh, I already told you, I can’t wait to carry out our plan,” Rita protested as she released Karin.
“What are you talking about? Yesterday’s plan was for Nadeera to make the first move!” Karin explained.
The day before, after school, they had met with Rangga and worked out a plan. Nadeera, the main character, had come up with what she thought was a brilliant idea. She had immediately shared it with her conspirators.
“I’m completely sure now that I want to steal Rangga from her. And I’ve already got an idea. Heehee,” Nadeera added, letting out a little laugh that sounded like the old witch from a bedtime story they’d heard as children.
“What idea?” Rita and Karin asked at the same time.
“Tomorrow’s gym class, right? Rangga’s definitely going to play futsal on the field. And the field is close to Risa’s classroom, so she’ll automatically keep seeing Rangga, right? But all she can do is watch him—she can’t get close. So I’m just going to provoke Risa and make her jealous, so she gets the wrong idea and ends up fighting with Rangga. Heehee. What do you think? Pretty great, huh?” she explained at length.
“Are you really brave enough, Nad? What if she attacks you instead?” Karin asked, questioning Nadeera’s idea.
“Relax. I’ll just be honest with Risa. Hehehe,” she replied with a grin.
“You’re crazy! Are you going to tell her you want to steal Rangga from her?” Rita asked, half-shouting.
“Of course not. I’m not stupid. I’ll just tell her that Rangga and I have been best friends since we were little,” she said calmly.
“Do you really think Risa’s going to believe that just like that, Nad?” Karin asked.
“If she wants proof, I have pictures of Rangga and me from when we were little,” she explained.
“Then she won’t get jealous,” Rita said, her words unclear because her mouth was full of cilok she’d bought at the cafeteria earlier that afternoon.