Seeing the reply, Roihan immediately threw his phone onto the bed because he was so happy.
Roihan: "WOOHOO! I got her WhatsApp number, dude!"
Roihan then hugged his pillow, grinning to himself. He even picked up his phone several times just to look back at their conversation.
Even though the conversation had been very short.
But to Roihan, getting Salma's number felt like a huge accomplishment.
Roihan: "Why am I so happy just because I asked for her number?"
He shook his head and put his phone away.
The following days went by as usual. Roihan and Pendi continued joking around in class, doing assignments together, and occasionally annoying their teachers by talking too much.
Meanwhile, Roihan and Salma's relationship also began to feel closer. Every now and then, they replied to each other's WhatsApp statuses or talked about group assignments.
However, neither of them was really brave enough to start a long conversation.
Until finally, a week passed.
The school felt fairly hot that day. After several hours of lessons, the recess bell finally rang.
Ding... Ding... Ding...
As soon as they heard the bell, nearly all the students stood up from their seats.
Some went to the cafeteria, some stayed in the classroom, and others went outside just to get some fresh air.
Roihan and Pendi chose to remain seated in the back row.
They were discussing an anime they had just watched.
Pendi: "I told you that character definitely wasn't dead yet."
Roihan: "What do you mean? He was obviously dead. Didn't you see the scene?"
Pendi: "That doesn't necessarily mean anything."
Roihan: "Then where do you think he went?"
Pendi: "Maybe someone rescued him."
Roihan: "Who rescued him?"
Pendi: "Well... that's the part I don't know."
Roihan immediately burst out laughing.
Roihan: "Your theory is completely ridiculous."
Pendi: "It's called a theory for a reason."
Roihan: "A theory, my ass."
They laughed again.
Their conversation grew longer. Starting with one anime, they moved on to discussing their favorite characters, the stories they thought were the best, and even comparing older anime with the one they were currently watching.
Without realizing it, someone was standing not far from their desks.
Salma.
She watched Roihan and Pendi chatting enthusiastically.
After a few seconds, Salma finally worked up the courage to approach them.
Salma: "Hey..."
Roihan and Pendi immediately stopped talking.
Roihan: "Oh, hey, Salma."
Salma smiled.
Salma: "Can I join you guys?"
Roihan immediately shifted over a little.
Roihan: "Sure."
Pendi: "Yeah, sure."
Salma then sat down not far from them.
Salma: "What have you guys been talking about?"
Roihan: "Anime."
Salma: "Oh... you guys like anime?"
Pendi: "Roihan doesn't just like it."
Pendi pointed at Roihan.
Pendi: "He's gone way past that."
Roihan: "What are you talking about?"
Pendi: "If someone asks him about any anime at all, he acts like he knows everything."
Roihan: "That's because I do know everything."
Pendi: "See?"
Salma giggled.
Salma: "You know a lot about anime?"
Roihan: "A decent amount."
Salma: "I don't really know much about it, actually."
Roihan: "If you want, I can give you some recommendations later."
Salma: "Sure."
Pendi, who had been watching them all this time, began to realize something.
He saw Salma ask Roihan several questions and seemed quite interested in the stories Roihan was telling.
Pendi grew suspicious.
Pendi (thinking): "Hmm... Salma seems really curious about Roihan."
Pendi then got an idea.
He stood up from his seat.
Roihan: "Where are you going?"
Pendi: "The cafeteria."
Roihan: "Didn't you say you weren't hungry?"
Pendi: "I suddenly got hungry."
Roihan: "That's weird."
Pendi: "Want me to get you something?"
Roihan: "No."
Pendi: "All right, then."
Pendi immediately left them behind.
But before he actually left the classroom, he glanced back at Roihan and flashed him a mischievous grin.
Roihan only furrowed his brow.
Roihan (thinking): "What's with that guy?"
Meanwhile, Salma continued the conversation.
Salma: "Which character were you guys talking about earlier?"
Roihan: "This one."
Roihan began explaining one of the anime characters they had been discussing.
Salma listened intently.
Salma: "Oh... so that's what happened?"
Roihan: "Yeah. That's why I think that character actually..."
Their conversation continued.
At first, they only talked about anime.
But little by little, their conversation expanded to all sorts of things.
They talked about their favorite foods, subjects they disliked, the teacher they were most afraid of, and funny things that had happened to them at school.
Salma: "Do you always sit in the back of the class?"
Roihan: "Yeah."
Salma: "Why?"
Roihan: "It's comfortable."
Salma: "Or so no one will notice when you're sleepy?"
Roihan laughed.
Roihan: "That too."
Salma laughed along with him.
Salma: "That figures."
Roihan: "What figures?"
Salma: "I don't know. It just seems to suit you."
Roihan: "Suit me how?"
Salma only smiled.
Salma: "Never mind."
Roihan scratched his head.
Roihan: "You're weird."
Without realizing it, time continued to pass.
While the other students had already started returning to class, Roihan and Salma were still absorbed in conversation.
Pendi, who had just returned from the cafeteria, saw them from the doorway.
He smiled to himself.
Pendi (thinking): "Wow, it worked."
Pendi deliberately didn't approach them right away. Instead, he stood there for a while, eating the food he had just bought.
Not long afterward...
Ding... Ding... Ding...
The bell rang to signal the start of class.
Roihan only just realized it.
Roihan: "Wait, class is starting already?"
Salma checked the time.
Salma: "Yeah. We've apparently been talking this whole time."
Roihan: "I didn't even notice."
Pendi finally came over.
Pendi: "You two seem to be having a great time."
Roihan shot him a sharp look.
Roihan: "Where have you been all this time?"
Pendi: "The cafeteria."
Roihan: "You took forever."
Pendi: "There was a line."
Roihan didn't suspect at all that Pendi had deliberately left them alone.
They returned to their respective seats because the teacher would be coming in soon.
However, throughout the lesson, Roihan kept thinking back to his conversation with Salma.
He only realized then that the two of them really clicked when they talked.
The school day finally ended.
After arriving home, Roihan set down his bag and sat on his bed.
He picked up his phone and opened WhatsApp.
There were no new messages.
Roihan then checked a few of his friends' statuses.
A few minutes later, a notification suddenly appeared.
Salma had sent him a message.
Roihan immediately froze.
His eyes widened.
Roihan: "Holy crap..."
He quickly opened the message.
It turned out Salma had sent a simple message.
Salma: "Hi."
Roihan stared at the screen for a few seconds.
Then he broke into a huge grin.
Roihan: "Holy crap... a girl texted me first."
He immediately sat up straight.
His hand hesitated as he tried to reply because he didn't know what to say.
Finally, he typed:
Roihan: "Hi to you too."
A short while later, Salma replied.
Salma: "What are you doing?"
Roihan: "Just lying around."
Salma: "Oh, I thought you were studying."
Roihan: "Like I'd be studying at this hour."
Salma: "Haha."
Roihan: "What about you?"
Salma: "Same. Just relaxing."
Their simple conversation continued.
At first, they only talked about school.
Then it turned into a conversation about their hobbies.
Then food.
Then anime again.
They even sent each other memes and stickers several times.
Roihan didn't realize that quite a lot of time had passed.
He just kept staring at his phone's screen with a smile.
Roihan (thinking): "Why is it so easy to talk to her?"
There was none of the awkwardness they had felt when they first met.
As time went on, Roihan and Salma began texting each other more and more often.
That day marked the beginning of a new habit.
Whenever they had free time, they looked for each other.
And without either of them realizing it, the simple conversations that had started with nothing more than school slowly became part of their everyday lives.