Nine months later.
The first day of eleventh grade.
The school courtyard was crowded again.
Students clustered in front of the announcement board. Some were busy looking for their names, while others were already cheering because they'd ended up in the same class as their friends.
“Lun!”
Kirana grabbed Aluna's hand.
“Come on, let's see our class assignments!”
“Wait.”
Aluna stopped walking.
She was still holding her phone.
“Sekar's looking for us.”
“Sekar again?”
“Yeah. She said she got here first.”
Kirana sighed. “Why does she always show up so early?”
“Because she's diligent.”
“Not diligent. She just has too much free time.” Kirana spoke without thinking.
Aluna giggled.
They had just started to walk when a voice rang out from a distance.
“ALUNA! KIRANA!”
They both turned.
A girl with long hair tied back in a ponytail was running toward them.
Sekar.
As soon as she reached them, Sekar bent over, trying to catch her breath.
“I... have been... looking for you two... forever.”
Kirana gave her a flat look.
“That’s why you shouldn’t come so early.”
“I thought you’d already gotten here.”
“Well, we just got here.”
Sekar straightened up, then put on a disappointed expression.
“I have bad news.”
Aluna immediately frowned.
“What?”
“We’re not in the same class.”
Kirana went silent.
“Huh?”
“I’m in XI-B. You two are in XI-A.”
Sekar pointed at the announcement board.
“My name’s there. Yours are there too. But we’re in different classes.”
Aluna looked at the announcement board again.
It was true.
She let out a small sigh.
“Aww...”
Kirana put on a disappointed face too.
Sekar grew even gloomier.
“Why do they have to reshuffle us every time we move up a grade? I don’t want to meet new people.”
Aluna smiled and patted her shoulder.
“Relax. Our classrooms are next to each other.”
“Different classes are still different classes.”
“We can still see each other during break.”
Sekar snorted.
“You’d better not leave me behind.”
Kirana laughed.
“Who would want to leave you behind?”
Sekar finally smiled too.
The three of them left the announcement board and headed toward the classroom building.
“I’m actually not that sad,” Sekar suddenly said.
Kirana turned to her.
“Wait, what?”
Sekar smiled knowingly.
“I hear there are going to be lots of new guys in my class.”
Kirana rolled her eyes.
“You’ve only been sad for five minutes.”
“I’m just being realistic.”
Aluna giggled at her two friends.
“Are any of them interesting?” Kirana asked casually.
“Apparently. They’re all supposed to be handsome.”
Sekar stopped walking.
“There’s even one guy who’ll be in your class.”
Kirana raised an eyebrow.
“Who?”
“He was in my class back in tenth grade.”
“So?”
“He’s popular.”
“So?”
“He used to have a fanbase.”
Kirana immediately turned to her, suddenly interested.
“A fanbase?”
Sekar nodded.
“A secret fanbase.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“Who was the admin?”
Sekar fell silent.
Then she flashed a wide grin.
“Me.”
Kirana stared at her for a few seconds.
“You’re insane.”
Aluna laughed.
“No wonder you know so much.”
“Don’t insult me. That was in the past.”
Sekar then raised her index finger. “Besides, I don’t even like him.”
“Then why did you make a fanbase?” Kirana asked.
“Because I like gossip.”
“Oh my God.”
“I was just gathering information.”
“That’s called stalking.”
“Different.”
Aluna giggled as she watched them argue.
“So what’s his name?” Aluna finally asked.
Sekar immediately leaned closer to them.
She lowered her voice as if she were sharing a huge secret.
“Arka.”
Aluna furrowed her brow.
“I might’ve heard of him.”
“You definitely have. He’s pretty well-known.”
Kirana shrugged.
“Nothing special.”
Sekar immediately chimed in.
“I hear that if a girl messages Arka about anything unrelated to schoolwork, she shouldn’t expect a quick reply.”
“Why not?”
“They say he’s aloof.”
“They say?”
“Well, it’s gossip.”
Kirana laughed.
“Then what?”
“Apparently, one girl didn’t get a reply until a week later.”
“A week?”
Sekar nodded.
“That’s why you shouldn’t get your hopes up.”
Sekar then pointed at the two of them.
“Just wait and see. One of you might end up liking him.”
“Does that include you?” Kirana teased.
Sekar immediately pointed at her.
“Don’t slander me. If I liked him, I would’ve made my move back in tenth grade.”
Kirana laughed.
Aluna only smiled faintly.
“Okay, I’m heading to class,” Sekar said. “Come find me during break.”
“Okay,” Aluna replied.
Sekar jogged toward her classroom.
Kirana sighed.
“I don’t get her.”
“Why?”
“They’re barely putting us in different classes, and she’s already looking for something to gossip about.”
Aluna laughed.
“Come on, let’s go.”
The two of them entered their new classroom.
Unaware that a few hours later, one name they had just been talking about would come up between them again.