That morning, Ical woke up feeling unusually excited.
Not because there was a competition.
Not because there was a special event.
But because his school was holding a community cleanup that day.
For some kids, a community cleanup might sound boring.
But for Ical, activities like that were pretty interesting because he got to spend time with his friends outside the classroom.
After taking a shower, Ical immediately left his room.
Mom, who was preparing breakfast, even looked at the wall clock.
“Wow, you’re up really early today.”
Ical picked up a plate.
“Why is everyone surprised that I got up early?”
“Because usually I have to call you.”
Dodi cut in right away.
“Sometimes I’m even ready before he is.”
Ical looked at his little brother.
“Don’t start first thing in the morning.”
Dodi smiled.
“I’m just stating a fact.”
Ical scooped up some rice.
“Your version of a fact.”
Mom chuckled.
Lately, Ical had been holding himself back more often. Even though he still liked talking back to Dodi, at least he didn’t immediately blow up like he used to.
After breakfast, Ical left with Raka.
On the way, Raka carried a small broom he had prepared at home.
“What are you carrying?” Ical asked.
“A broom.”
“Why are you bringing a broom?”
“Because of the community cleanup.”
“Oh, right.”
Raka looked at Ical.
“You forgot?”
“No.”
“But you look like you just remembered.”
Ical fell silent.
Raka immediately laughed.
“Right?”
“I kind of forgot.”
They arrived at school.
The school grounds were already crowded. Lots of students were carrying their own cleaning supplies.
Some had brooms, rags, buckets, and various other tools.
Mrs. Lina stood in front of the classroom.
“Kids, today we’re going to clean up the school grounds. You’ll be divided into several groups.”
Ical immediately looked at his friends.
Please let me be in the same group as Raka.
Please let me be in the same group as Beni.
But when the groups were announced, Ical ended up in a different one.
“Group Three consists of Ical, Ardi, Sinta, and Dimas.”
Ical looked around.
“Dimas?”
A boy sitting in the corner of the classroom raised his hand.
“Yeah, me.”
Dimas was a boy who rarely spoke. He had actually been Ical’s classmate for a long time, but they didn’t often play together.
Ical walked over.
“Hi.”
Dimas nodded.
“Hi.”
Sinta smiled.
“Let’s clean the garden in back.”
The four of them headed to the school garden.
That area was definitely the one that got cleaned the least. Lots of dry leaves had piled up, and some weeds were beginning to grow.
Ical looked at the mess.
“Wow, there’s a ton.”
Dimas picked up a broom.
“That’s why we need to work together.”
Ical nodded.
They got to work.
At first, everything went smoothly.
Sinta gathered leaves.
Ardi pulled up small weeds.
Dimas swept.
Ical carried the trash to the disposal area.
But a few minutes later, Ical felt like his job was getting heavier.
“Why am I the one who keeps carrying everything?”
Dimas stopped sweeping.
“Do you want to switch?”
Ical fell silent.
Dimas hadn’t meant anything by it.
But Ical was starting to get annoyed.
“I’m just saying.”
Sinta looked at them.
“Cal, maybe we should redistribute the jobs.”
Ical nodded.
“Yeah.”
They divided up the tasks again.
This time, it was more balanced.
While they were working, Ardi found something behind a bush.
“Hey, look!”
They moved closer.
It turned out to be a small, dirty box.
“What’s that?” Ical asked.
Dimas picked it up carefully.
“No idea.”
They cleaned off the box.
Inside were several old photographs.
Sinta was startled.
“Are these school pictures?”
Ardi took a closer look.
“They look pretty old.”
Ical picked up one of the photos.
It showed their school grounds from long ago.
“That’s kind of funny.”
Dimas smiled faintly.
“I think it belonged to a teacher.”
Ical looked at the box.
“We should return it.”
Ardi nodded.
They took the box to the teachers’ room.
Mrs. Lina looked shocked when she saw it.
“Where did you find this?”
“In the back garden, Mrs. Lina,” Sinta answered.
Mrs. Lina opened the box.
Her expression immediately changed.
“Wow…”
“What is it, Mrs. Lina?” Ical asked.
“These are old pictures of the school.”
“Whose were they?”
“They used to belong to the former principal.”
Mrs. Lina smiled.
“You helped find something important.”
Ical felt happy.
But when they returned to the garden, a small problem happened.
Dimas accidentally bumped into a bucket full of water.
The water spilled right onto Ical’s shoes.
“Ah!”
Ical looked at his wet shoes.
Everyone immediately fell silent.
Ardi looked at Ical’s face.
Sinta stopped moving too.
They knew what Ical was usually like.
Dimas immediately panicked.
“Sorry, Cal. I didn’t mean to.”
Ical looked at his dirty shoes.
Annoyance began to rise inside him.
These were his school shoes.
And now they were wet.
A complaint was almost out of his mouth.
But he stopped.
He looked at Dimas, who clearly felt truly sorry.
It hadn’t been on purpose.
It wasn’t because Dimas had been careless.
It was just an accident.
Ical took a breath.
“It’s okay.”
Dimas looked surprised.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
“I thought you’d be mad.”
Ical smiled faintly.
“Maybe I would have before.”
Ardi laughed.
“Look at you, making progress.”
Ical pointed at Ardi.
“Don’t get involved.”
They continued the cleanup.
When they finished, the school grounds looked much cleaner.
Mrs. Lina praised all the students.
“Thank you for working together today.”
Ical looked at the garden, which had been covered in leaves earlier.
Now it looked neat and tidy.
He felt satisfied.
Raka came over.
“How was it with your new group?”
“It was fun.”
“Even though you got annoyed earlier.”
Ical nodded.
“Yeah.”
“And then?”
“I learned something.”
“What?”
Ical looked at his friends.
“Sometimes a problem doesn’t happen because someone else did something wrong.”
Raka smiled.
“And then?”
“Sometimes we’re just too quick to get annoyed.”
Raka laughed.
“Wow, Ical’s getting smarter.”
Ical immediately put on a neutral expression.
“Don’t overdo it.”
“But it’s true.”
That afternoon, on the way home, Ical walked with Dodi.
Dodi listened to his older brother’s story about the cleanup.
“Bro.”
“What?”
“You’re different now.”
Ical turned to him.
“Different how?”
“Back then, if water got on your shoes, you probably would’ve gotten mad at the whole neighborhood.”
Ical laughed.
“Drama queen.”
“But it’s true.”
Ical looked at the road ahead.
Maybe Dodi was right.
He hadn’t completely changed.
He still felt annoyed.
He still wanted to complain.
But now he was beginning to know when to stop.
And for Ical, that was already a huge step.
Even though something else might happen tomorrow to test his patience all over again.
Because Ical’s life was never far from little things that made him want to sulk.