Flashback
That Saturday afternoon, the sky was brilliantly clear, and the blazing sun shone down on the earth. Little Alina was sitting at the edge of the field with a girl named Siska, her desk mate. They chatted and laughed, occasionally glancing toward the field. Class 5B, the class next to Alina’s, was practicing for Monday’s flag ceremony. In between joking around with her friend, Alina accidentally locked eyes with a choir conductor named Marsha. She was a transfer student from out of town. She was tall and pretty, with a soft voice that everyone loved. Alina only smiled at Marsha, who returned it with a faint smile. Alina then continued talking with Siska. Several other classmates came over after buying snacks at the cafeteria and joined them in talking and joking around.
Riiing... Riiing...
The school bell rang, signaling that the students had to go to class. As it happened, Alina’s class had a free period. The Indonesian language teacher who was supposed to teach them had called in sick, so the class had only been given a substitute assignment. But they were still just kids, and not a single student from Alina’s class went inside. Her friends were still playing along the side of the field that wasn’t being used for the ceremony practice. Alina was still sitting at the edge of the field too.
Little Alina loved to laugh and talk, which was why she had so many friends. She felt as if someone was staring at her nonstop. You’ve probably often felt like someone was watching you from far away too, right? That was what Alina was feeling. She looked around, trying to figure out who was watching her.
Marsha
She saw Marsha looking at her again, with an expression and look in her eyes that Alina couldn’t understand. “Why does she keep looking at me?” Alina wondered.
The problem was, Marsha hadn’t just looked at Alina once or twice. She had done it over and over again. This time, Alina didn’t smile at Marsha anymore. Marsha isn’t smiling at me either, Alina thought.
Not long afterward, the school counselor approached them and told all the students who weren’t practicing for the ceremony to go to their respective classrooms. Alina and her friends hurried inside. They were afraid the strict counselor would scold them.
In class, Alina sat at her desk and played with her own stationery. She played with dolls made from pencils and colorful pens while talking to herself. “Rani, let’s have some tea. I made some really fragrant tea for you.” Alina arranged the bottom cap of a pen as a cup on top of her large eraser. “Wow, thanks, Vita. I brought you some cake.” Alina also arranged a piece of paper she had torn off beside the pen cap.
Siska simply watched Alina play, occasionally moving Alina’s colorful pens along with her.
Bang!
Suddenly, the classroom door was thrown open. Class 5A, which had been as noisy as a marketplace, fell completely silent. The students immediately looked toward the door, where two teachers stood: the same strict school counselor from earlier and another teacher who looked unfamiliar to Alina.
Tap... tap... tap...
The teacher’s footsteps echoed throughout the classroom, making all the students slowly return to their seats. Her angry, intimidating stare made them sit with their heads bowed, afraid of being scolded. Even so, they couldn’t help wondering why she looked so furious. What had they done?
“Which student in this class is named Alina Capriny?” the teacher asked in a booming voice that shattered the silence.