Monday morning came around again.
After a busy weekend, Ical still wanted to sleep a little longer. Especially since he'd spent almost all day Sunday playing with his friends at the neighborhood event.
But just as he closed his eyes again, Mom's voice came from outside his room.
“Cal, get up. You'll be late.”
Ical slowly opened his eyes.
“Five more minutes, Mom.”
Dodi's voice came from the room next door.
“Big Bro Ical's version of five minutes takes forever.”
Ical immediately sat up.
“Dodi, did you get a new job? You keep waking me up!”
Dodi appeared in the doorway with a mischievous grin.
“It's not a job. I just like watching you panic, Big Bro.”
“You enjoy watching people suffer?”
“A little.”
Ical grabbed a pillow and threw it.
Dodi immediately ran off laughing.
Ical actually wanted to get mad, but he stopped.
He remembered the things that had happened before.
The crackers.
The missing book.
All the little things that used to annoy him.
He took a deep breath.
“I'm not going to take the bait.”
Dodi, who heard him from outside, stopped in his tracks.
“Huh?”
Ical came out of his room.
“What?”
“You're not mad?”
“Why should I be?”
Dodi put on a puzzled face.
“You usually get mad.”
Ical picked up his towel.
“Well, not this time.”
Dodi moved closer to Ical.
“Bro.”
“What?”
“Did you really change, or are you just pretending?”
Ical looked at his little brother.
“Why are you asking so many questions?”
“Because it's weird.”
Ical gave him a small smile.
“You'll see.”
After showering and eating breakfast, Ical headed to school with Raka.
On the way, Raka shared some news.
“Cal, there's a new student today.”
Ical looked at him.
“A new student?”
“Yeah. I heard he transferred here.”
“Is it a boy or a girl?”
“A boy.”
“What's his name?”
“Don't know yet.”
Ical nodded.
“Hopefully he's fun.”
Raka laughed.
“Why?”
“So we'll have one more friend.”
“That's a first. You saying something like that.”
Ical shrugged.
“What? Is that wrong?”
“No. It's just that you usually like being the center of attention.”
Ical was quiet for a moment.
“You still remember that?”
“Because it's true.”
Ical snorted.
But this time, he didn't get upset.
When they reached the classroom, the atmosphere really was different.
The kids were gathered in front of someone's desk.
Ical and Raka were curious.
They walked over.
There was a boy with slightly long hair and a black backpack.
“This is our new classmate,” said Ms. Lina.
“His name is Ardi.”
The boy gave them a shy smile.
“Hi.”
“Hi,” the other kids replied.
Ms. Lina pointed to an empty chair.
“Ardi, you'll sit next to Ical.”
Ical immediately looked at the chair beside him.
“Next to me?”
“Yes.”
Ardi walked over.
“Can I sit here?”
Ical moved his book aside.
“Sure.”
Ardi smiled.
“Thanks.”
Raka, watching from behind, smiled right away.
Usually, Ical would have complained if someone messed with his seat.
But now he was making room instead.
When class began, Ardi seemed to have a little trouble keeping up.
He looked at his classmates' books several times.
Ical noticed.
“You don't have any notes yet?”
Ardi shook his head.
“Not yet. I just transferred here.”
Ical picked up his notebook.
“Here, look at mine.”
Ardi was surprised.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks.”
Raka just smiled when he saw what happened.
During recess, they sat together.
“So, Ardi? Feeling comfortable yet?” Ical asked.
Ardi nodded.
“Pretty much. I still haven't memorized everyone's names.”
“You will.”
“I'm worried it'll be hard to make friends.”
Ical looked at him.
“You just have to join in.”
“Join in what?”
“Soccer.”
Ardi smiled.
“I'm not very good.”
“You don't have to be good.”
“Then what?”
“The important thing is to play.”
Raka quickly added,
“Ical used to get mad whenever he lost, too.”
Ical stared at Raka.
“Why are you telling him about the past?”
“So Ardi knows you changed.”
Ardi laughed.
“Seriously?”
Ical nodded.
“Yeah. I used to get upset easily.”
“And now?”
Ical thought about it.
“Sometimes I still do.”
Raka laughed.
“See? Honesty.”
The three of them laughed.
After school, Ical invited Ardi to play on the field.
Beni, Fajar, and Dodi were already there.
“This is Ardi,” said Ical.
“Our new friend,” Raka added.
The kids greeted him.
“Just play with us,” said Beni.
At first, Ardi looked hesitant.
“I'm afraid I'll make the team lose.”
Ical answered right away.
“Don't think like that.”
“But…”
“Everyone has to start from zero.”
Ardi smiled.
They started playing.
At first, Ardi often passed the ball badly.
Several of his kicks missed.
The ball even went out of bounds once.
In the past, Ical probably would have complained by then.
But now he walked over.
“It's okay.”
Ardi looked at him.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
“But I put your team at a disadvantage.”
“That's what learning is.”
Raka smiled as he watched Ical.
Something had changed.
Ical, who used to always want to be the best, was now starting to help other people.
But that change was put to the test again a few minutes later.
Just as the game was almost over, Ardi accidentally bumped into Ical.
Ical fell down.
The opposing team stole the ball.
“Ha! We lost!”
Dodi shouted immediately.
Ical stood up and dusted off his clothes.
Ardi instantly panicked.
“Sorry, Cal. I didn't mean to.”
Ical looked at Ardi.
He was silent for a few seconds.
Ical could feel his irritation starting to rise.
But then he remembered something.
Ardi hadn't done it on purpose.
He hadn't meant to make Ical fall.
In the end, Ical let out a sigh.
“It's okay.”
Ardi smiled with relief.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Dodi came over right away.
“Bro, I'm proud of you.”
Ical looked at his little brother.
“Why?”
“You fell down and didn't get mad.”
Ical laughed.
“Don't make such a big deal out of it.”
Raka smiled.
“But it is pretty cool.”
The sun began to sink.
They stopped playing and sat together along the edge of the field.
Ardi looked at them.
“I guess I'm lucky I transferred here.”
Ical turned to him.
“Why?”
“Because I made friends so quickly.”
Ical smiled.
“You don't have to look for perfect friends.”
“Then what matters?”
“The important thing is being willing to understand each other.”
Raka immediately pointed at Ical.
“Who are you, and what did you do with Ical?”
Everyone laughed.
Ical picked up a small ball and threw it at Raka.
“Shut up.”
That day, Ical realized something else.
He used to think that everyone else had to understand him.
But now he was beginning to learn how to understand other people.
Even though his sulky side hadn't completely disappeared.
Because being Ical still meant being a kid who was sometimes stubborn.
But at least now he knew this:
You didn't have to change perfectly all at once.
The important thing was to keep trying.