Saka POV
Classes had been underway for two months, and I had already found a job at a restaurant. I was a part-time worker, only helping out on weekends. Saturdays from three in the afternoon until ten at night, and Sundays from nine in the morning until ten at night. I was paid by the day, which was enough to cover computer rental fees and buy books during this first semester. I saved the rest for unexpected expenses, and if I was lucky, I might be able to buy a new laptop someday—though I had no idea which semester that would be.
“Saka, it looks like someone has a crush on you,” Arjuna said from my right. “A crush? On me? Who?” “Look...” Arjuna nodded in their direction.
I followed his gaze. Three female classmates immediately looked away, trying to hide their smiles. I knew who they were, even though we weren’t close. We had to have made small talk at some point since we were in the same major. But a crush? I didn’t think I was that lucky.
“You’re imagining things. Who would have a crush on me?” “Why don’t you believe me? They’ve been looking your way this whole time.” “Maybe they’re looking at you.” Yes, it was easier to believe they had a crush on Arjuna than on me. Arjuna was more handsome, friendlier, and cooler—more boyfriend material.
“I’ve talked to them plenty of times. If they had a crush on me, I’d know. Besides, I already have a girlfriend.” “Oh yeah? Who?” “You don’t know her. She’s an art student. I’ll introduce you sometime.”
I couldn’t see any benefit to meeting his girlfriend, but I nodded anyway.
“You’re really not interested in any of the girls here?”
I looked around us. By accident, my eyes met Erika’s—one of the three girls Arjuna had pointed out. Did she really like me? I just smiled at her, then continued sweeping my gaze across the crowd of female classmates before turning back to Arjuna and shaking my head.
“Hmm... it’s not your fault. The girls here aren’t that interesting. You should meet my girlfriend’s friends. A lot of art students are beautiful.” “I’m not cut out for dating.” “Why not? We’re still young. Don’t take it so seriously.” “I don’t have time.” And money, of course. I could imagine what girls expected when they were in a relationship.
“You’ll find the time once you find the right person.” I shook my head. “Seriously, Saka, we’re only in our first semester. We don’t have many assignments yet, and there’s always the weekend if you don’t go home.” “I work on weekends.” “Oh yeah?” Arjuna looked at me more seriously now. “Where?”
I told him the name of the restaurant where I had worked for the past two weekends.
“I didn’t know you worked,” he continued. “Now you do. I really don’t have time for anything else.” “Why do you work? Sorry, I’m not trying to pry into your personal life, but there are plenty of reasons college students work these days. First, because of their family’s financial situation. Second, to fill their free time and, of course, earn some extra money. Third, for the experience. Some students have already interned at publishing companies just to sharpen their skills.”
I thought for a moment. “Maybe I’m all three.” I didn’t want to explain any further.
“I get it. If there’s anything I can do to help, just tell me.” “Thanks.” “Do you also work after class?” “No.” “Good. I’ll take you out sometime. Don’t worry about anything else. I just don’t want my friend to know nothing but campus, his boarding house, and his workplace. This is a big city, Saka. There are lots of places we should visit while we’re here.” Arjuna chattered on as he nudged my arm.
“Whatever you say. But don’t make plans at the last minute. I have to manage my time so I can do my assignments at the computer rental shop. I hate staying up late there. It smells like cigarette smoke.” The cigarette smell that sometimes drifted in from Edo’s room at the boarding house was more than enough already.
“You can use my laptop for now if you want to work on your assignments. They’re due next week, right? Use it for now.” Arjuna immediately turned around and grabbed the bag beneath his desk.
“No, it’s fine. You need it too.”
Without listening to me, he held out his laptop. “Just use it for now. I’m not completely brain-dead, you know. I don’t need a whole week to do that assignment. Bring it every morning so we can use it for class, then take it home again. I won’t need it until... Thursday, or Friday. Relax.” He held out the laptop again. I took it.
“Thanks.”
“Oh, right... There are also a few movie files and some game apps on it. You can open them if you want. There aren’t any secret files.” He winked and smiled. I shook my head with a smile, understanding what he meant. “Just kidding, buddy. But I really do like movies. If I don’t become a financial auditor, I’ll become a filmmaker. Seeing how a work is made from behind the scenes must be a lot of fun. Do you like watching movies, Saka?” “Yeah... I like them well enough.” “What do you actually do for fun?” “I like mountain climbing.” “Wow... a mountaineer. That’s impressive. I’ve never done it before. Take me sometime.” “Sure.”
The sound of Ms. Rumanti, our lecturer, approaching made Arjuna sit up straight in his chair again.
I took Arjuna’s laptop out of my backpack. I had seen it plenty of times before. On campus, Arjuna let me copy digital files onto my flash drive, which I would then open at the computer rental shop as reference material for my assignments or studying. But this was the first time I had used the laptop itself. I opened it and turned it on carefully. It was a luxury item to me.
My eyes were already tired from staring at the screen when I lowered my gaze to the time displayed on the device. 8:12 p.m. It wasn’t that late yet, but as Arjuna had said, I didn’t need to rush to return it. I would work on my assignments again tomorrow night. I saved my work and made sure to copy it to my flash drive. Just as I was about to close the laptop, I glanced at the files on the D drive, where I had saved my work. Arjuna wasn’t a tidy person. There were lots of files on the D drive that he hadn’t put into folders. Most of them were class notes. I remembered what he had said about movies. There was no harm in watching one. I usually used the restaurant’s Wi-Fi to watch movies during the day, when there still weren’t many customers. I searched for Arjuna’s movie files. It was a little strange to me that people our age had movie files when all we needed was the internet to watch Netflix or other sites. But this was Arjuna. He liked movies. People tended to collect the things they liked.
I opened a folder titled Media, but instead of movie files, I found a collection of photos. Without realizing it, I had already opened the photos one by one. They were pictures of a beautiful girl—the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. She wasn’t as beautiful as an actress, of course, but her beauty looked more natural. If she became an actress, she would outshine all the others. There were also pictures of Arjuna with her, and they looked intimate. Was this Arjuna’s girlfriend?
I had already looked at several photos by the time my senses returned. I quickly closed the folder. Why had I started opening someone else’s private files like a person with no manners? Even though Arjuna had said there were no secret files, I wasn’t proud of what I had done. It would be better to shut the laptop down.
Even after I was in bed, my mind refused to rest. I estimated the price of a mid-range laptop that would at least be reliable until I finished college, something that would make studying and doing assignments easier. Maybe seven million? If I kept working three shifts every weekend, I might be able to buy one next semester—if I didn’t have to spend the money on anything else. Hopefully Sita wouldn’t whine and ask for anything strange again like she had last week.
A message alert sounded from the study table.
“Don’t bring the laptop to campus tomorrow. After class, you’re coming with me. Okay?” Arjuna’s message. What was going on in that friend of mine’s head?
For these past two months, I had gotten along well with everyone. But only a few names could be considered close friends. Of those few, Arjuna was the one who spent the most time with me. Who knew what made that popular kid want to be friends with me, a country boy?
“All right,” I replied.