Aluna flopped onto her bed. It was already nine o’clock at night.
She rolled onto her right side, then her left.
Now it wasn’t just Arka’s smile that lingered in her mind. The sound of his voice calling her name seemed to keep echoing in her ears.
Aluna stared at the ceiling, one hand resting on her chest.
Her heart was beating faster.
Lun. Luna. Aluna.
It was as if she could hear Arka’s voice all over again.
“Ugh!”
Aluna immediately buried her face in her pillow.
“I think I really do have a crush on Arka.” She lifted her head.
“What am I supposed to do?”
Aluna sat up, grabbed her little mirror, and stared at her reflection.
For some reason, her mind pictured Arka sitting beside her.
Aluna tossed her mirror aside. “Why am I acting like this?”
She bit her pillow for a moment, then tossed it aside.
“Argh.” She was absolutely sure now. She had a crush on Arka. ---
Morning came.
Aluna left for school earlier than usual. The place still looked quiet, even though she’d arrived.
She reached up to touch her head. A red butterfly-shaped clip adorned her hair. “I’ve never worn this before.”
Aluna walked slowly toward her classroom.
Oh, someone was already here.
It was Arka. He was the only one there.
Aluna nervously made her way to her seat. She didn’t even understand why her steps felt different.
“Morning, Aluna.”
Aluna cleared her throat, startled. Arka had greeted her.
“Goo ... d morning, Arka.” Even Aluna couldn’t understand why she was stumbling over her words.
Arka walked over. “Sorry I had something to take care of yesterday, so you had to bring the assignment to the office.”
“Oh, yeah, it’s okay,” Aluna answered quickly.
“Thanks for bringing it in.” Arka gave her a faint smile.
Aluna nodded quickly. “Yeah.”
She didn’t know what else to say. Arka’s smile was still replaying in her mind.
Finally, Aluna hurried out of the classroom.
Nervous, flustered—it was all too much at once.
Aluna caught herself bouncing on her toes, trying to steady her pounding heart.
“Hey, Lun, what’s with you?” Sekar’s voice stopped Aluna mid-bounce.
Sekar had just arrived.
Aluna jumped, then shook her head.
“Your face is red.” Sekar studied her. “Come on, what’s going on?”
Aluna shook her head again. “Just a little exercise. Oh, yeah, I’m stretching.”
Sekar laughed. “Something’s different about you, Lun. You never wear hair clips.”
Aluna gave her a crooked grin.
“Lun, I actually want to keep talking, but there’s something I need to do in my classroom. Bye, Lun. You have to tell me about it later, okay?” Sekar ran off toward her classroom.
Aluna watched Sekar’s retreating back, then started walking again.
A smile crept onto her face before she realized it. The image of Arka appeared in her mind again.
Thump.
Her head hit something hard.
“Ah, sorry,” Aluna said quickly, gently rubbing her head.
“It’s okay. I don’t mind.”
Aluna looked up. “Galang?”
Galang grinned casually. His eyes flicked over Aluna’s face.
“Are you that happy to bump into me?”
“Huh? No way.” Aluna gaped at him.
“Your eyes are sparkling.”
“They always look like this.”
“They weren’t this sparkly yesterday.”
“Weirdo.” Aluna immediately turned and went into the classroom.
Galang chuckled.
“Aluna. You’re here early for once.” Kirana smiled broadly, set down her bag, and sat at her desk.
“Yeah, I want to get used to coming in early.” Aluna smiled brightly.
“And you’re wearing a hair clip for once. You never wear one.”
“I just felt like wearing it. I felt bad for the clip, since I never use it,” Aluna answered casually.
Kirana gave her a searching look. “Really? Seems like there’s another reason.”
Aluna chuckled. The truth was, she knew she was wearing the clip because of Arka. She wanted to look more attractive to him, at least so he’d notice her.
“Lun, have you done number eight on the physics homework? I don’t know how to do it.”
Aluna shook her head.
“It’s still early. Should we ask one of our classmates?” Kirana looked around the room.
Aside from them, Arka and Galang were there.
“I’ll ask.” Aluna opened her bag and took out her physics notebook.
“Ask who? You’re not gonna ask Galang, are you? Or...”
Kirana stopped mid-sentence, her mouth falling open.
Aluna headed over to Arka’s desk.
“Wow, Aluna...” Kirana clicked her tongue, shaking her head in amazement.
“Arka,” Aluna said softly, making him turn around.
Arka set down his pen, surprised, and looked at Aluna, who was standing with her head slightly bowed.
Aluna knew her heart was beating faster than it had yesterday. She had no idea where she’d found the courage to approach Arka.
All she knew was that she wanted Arka to notice her.
“What is it?” Arka cleared his throat, trying to keep his nerves in check. He hadn’t expected Aluna to come over to his desk.
“I don’t know how to do number eight on the physics homework. Could you help me with it...”
“Sure,” Arka answered quickly.
Aluna was a little surprised. She hurriedly handed him her notebook and pointed out the part she didn’t understand.
Arka shifted the notebook slightly. “Use this formula, then work out this part first. That’ll make it easier. After that, find...”
Aluna listened to everything Arka explained, nodding along as she understood.
Plop.
Aluna’s red butterfly clip fell onto Arka’s hand as he explained how to solve the equation.
“Ah, s-sorry.” Aluna panicked and quickly picked up her clip.
By accident, her fingertip brushed the tip of Arka’s finger, the one holding his pen.
It felt like an electric shock. Aluna’s heart started beating even faster. She quickly pulled her hand away.
“I get it now. Thanks, Arka.”
Aluna turned around in a hurry. Before she’d taken even two steps, Arka’s voice reached her.
“Your notebook, Lun.”
Aluna closed her eyes for a second, then turned back and picked up the notebook she’d left on Arka’s desk before hurrying back to her seat.
Arka stared at his hand for a moment.
For some reason, his fingertip still felt warm.
He lowered his head, hiding the small smile that had appeared without him realizing it.
Aluna had come to ask me for help.
His gaze fell on the finger that had accidentally touched Aluna’s.
For some reason, this morning felt more enjoyable than usual.
Break had started two minutes ago.
“Is what Kirana told me true?! You seriously asked Arka to help you?” Sekar exclaimed, staring intently into Aluna’s eyes.
Aluna gave a small nod and a slight grin.
“Do you like him, Lun?” Sekar whispered, asking again.
“Is it that obvious?”
Kirana and Sekar nodded quickly. “You’ve seemed different all morning.”
“So you really do like him, Lun?”
Kirana leaned forward, and Sekar did too, both eagerly waiting for Aluna’s answer.
Aluna smiled faintly. “A little.”
Sekar and Kirana exchanged a look.
“A little will turn into a lot.”
“See? I told you one of us was bound to like Arka.”
“You used to like him too.”
“I didn’t like him. I just admired him.”
“Same thing, Kar.”
“No, it’s different, Kirana. You can admire lots of people. But you can’t like lots of people.”
“Where’d you get that theory?”
“I came up with it myself.”
“Oh, but what did Arka say when he turned you down?” Aluna asked.
Sekar turned toward her and whispered, “He said, ‘I don’t like you as more than a friend. I don’t have any feelings for you at all.’”
Kirana clicked her tongue. “Wow, he was really blunt.”
“In tenth grade, he was known for doing nothing but studying. A few girls confessed to him, and he turned them all down.”
“Including you.”
“Ugh, Kirana. I was the exception because I was just messing around.”
“Even if you were messing around, if he’d said yes, you still would’ve dated him, right?”
“Yeah, it would’ve been good for my popularity.”
Sekar pulled out her phone and typed something. “I just sent you his number, Lun.”
“Ooh!” Kirana nudged Aluna’s shoulder.
Aluna chuckled. “I’m not sure. He could turn me down too.”
Kirana folded her arms. “Hmm. He does seem to study all the time. But you should try anyway, Lun.”
Sekar nodded. “I can give you the inside scoop on him. I used to run his secret fan page, after all.”
Kirana burst out laughing. “If Arka finds out, you might be done for.”
“But it’s useful now, isn’t it?” Sekar shot back. Kirana laughed again, wrapping an arm around each of them.
Aluna smiled again. My first love. Her heart seemed to say it.
For the first time, Aluna didn’t want to deny her own feelings.
She liked Arka. And somehow, she wanted him to start seeing her as more than just a classmate.