“Oh, Mom. Did you know? The cartoon ‘Tom and Jerry’ helps relieve stress,” Zizi complained.
“But if you two are still acting like children, I’m the one who’ll get stressed! Now help me buy Nasi Uduk for breakfast!” Mom Maria ordered.
“Buy Nasi Uduk!?” Zizi complained again.
“Yes, get up, quick! Otherwise... I’ll unplug the power cord so you can’t watch anymore,” Mom Maria threatened.
“Okay, okay, Zizi will go. But Big Brother has to come too,” Zizi pleaded.
“Big Brother can’t. I have work to do,” Haziq said, trying to leave.
“No! Big Brother has to come!” Zizi and Mom Maria answered in unison.
Haziq was startled by how well Mom Maria and Zizi had teamed up. “Okay, okay.” He was forced to go with Zizi.
They immediately left in a red Lexus. The car was incredibly clean and shiny. A few minutes later, they finally arrived at Mas Beno’s Nasi Uduk stall. The place was packed with people.
“Zi, there are so many people,” Haziq said as he looked over Mas Beno’s stall.
“It’s always crowded here,” Zizi replied as she opened the car door.
While Haziq and Zizi waited in line, Haziq spotted Anna standing to his right, also waiting in line. “Hi, you’re...” Haziq greeted her, trying to remember Anna’s name.
“Mr. Haziq,” Anna greeted him back. “I’m Anna Raehana, sir.”
“Oh, Anna. Are you here to buy Nasi Uduk too?” Haziq asked.
“Yes.”
“That works out perfectly. My little sister wants to buy Nasi Uduk too. Would you mind keeping an eye on her?” Haziq asked, clearly uncomfortable with the crowd.
“Where are you going, Big Brother?” Zizi asked.
“Sure. I’ll order everything while I’m there,” Anna replied.
“Okay. Thanks,” Haziq said before heading back to his car.
Zizi, standing beside Anna, stared at her seriously before smiling.
“Why are you smiling like that?” Anna asked, confused.
“You’re pretty,” Zizi complimented her.
Anna smiled at Zizi’s boldness in complimenting her beauty. “Thank you,” she said.
After Anna and Zizi bought the Nasi Uduk, Zizi went over to Haziq, who was waiting in the parking lot.
“Big Brother is just relaxing here! Zizi had to wait in that long line!” Zizi complained.
“Poor little sister.” Haziq took the boxes of Nasi Uduk from Zizi’s hands and put them in the car. “Oh, right. Where’s Anna?” he asked.
“Anna?” Zizi thought for a moment. “Oh, the pretty lady from before?”
“Yes.”
“Do you like Anna, Big Brother?” Zizi asked mischievously.
“What are you talking about? I was just asking where she went. I was the one who asked her to look after you,” Haziq said.
“She already left. She said she was in a hurry,” Zizi replied.
“Oh, I see. All right, let’s go home,” Haziq said as he got into the car.
Not far from Mas Beno’s stall, Zizi saw Anna standing by the side of the road. It looked like she was waiting for someone.
“Big Brother, isn’t that the pretty lady from before?” Zizi said, pointing at Anna in the distance.
“Which one?” Haziq asked, glancing in the direction Zizi pointed while driving.
“There.” Zizi pointed to the left.
“Oh, yeah. Why is she walking?” Haziq asked.
“How would Zizi know? Maybe she’s waiting for a taxi to pass by. Just go over to her,” Zizi said.
Haziq drove the car toward Anna. But suddenly, a black van sped past Haziq’s car and stopped in front of Anna.
“Why is that car approaching Anna?” Haziq asked.
“That looks like a suspicious car, Big Brother,” Zizi said.
The van rolled down its window. “Hey, sweetheart! Why don’t you come home with me?” the man inside the van called out. He looked like a thug.
“No, thanks. I’m waiting for my sister to pick me up,” Anna refused.
“Come on, beautiful. It’s okay.” The thug started to get out of the van.
“No, thanks. I can go home by myself,” Anna refused, backing away.