Carissa went to an open field near a café called Love Café. There was indeed a soccer field near the café that the neighborhood kids usually used to play soccer or simply look for something to do. As soon as she stood at the edge of the wide field, she smiled while watching the little kids, around eight to ten years old, laughing and playing soccer. Without hesitation or a second thought, she walked onto the field and greeted all the children.
"Hi!" Carissa waved. "Can I join the game?"
The children seemed to know Carissa well, judging by the warm, happy smiles on their faces when they saw the eighteen-year-old girl. They were close because Carissa often played soccer there with the same children.
"Miss Carissa," one of the children greeted her. "Can I still join?" Carissa asked again. "I have college this afternoon, so I could only come here now."
"Sure, Miss." One of the children held the ball up to his head. "Come on, let's play."
Carissa's face lit up. She already felt happy in her own way. "All right, I'll put my bag down first, okay?" She ran to the edge of the field.
Elsewhere, on a certain street, a car cruised at a moderate speed. A curly-haired man was driving the convertible, while a handsome man beside him was busy playing a game on his phone. Every time he lost, he immediately started ranting and yanked his curly-haired friend's hair.
"Hey, can you stop yanking my hair every time?" Abe, the curly-haired man, immediately protested when his friend tugged his hair.
"Reflex, Bro," Rangga replied casually as he continued playing, going back to the start.
"What kind of reflex does that every day?" Abe was extremely annoyed as he stroked his beloved curly hair. "That's called doing it on purpose, you know."
Rangga ignored Abe's rambling.
"Hey, Ngga. You're still coming with me today, right?" Abe's previously annoyed face suddenly lit up.
"Where?"
"The women's dorm on our campus." Abe spoke in a conspiratorial half-whisper, even though no one but them would hear him if he spoke loudly.
Rangga shot Abe a skeptical look, his expression full of suspicion. "What are you going to do at the women's dorm this time? Haven't you had enough of getting beaten up after you were caught spying on a girl while she was showering yesterday?"
Abe smacked Rangga on the head. "Oh, come on... don't pretend you're not interested. I know you want to see a girl while she's showering too, right? Check out her drop-dead gorgeous figure."
"You're crazy," Rangga cursed.
"Whatever you say. The point is, that's not why we're going to the women's dorm this time."
"Then what? What else are you planning to do?" Rangga was actually too lazy to respond, but he seemed curious about what his weird friend was planning this time.
Abe gave him a mischievous smile. "It's a secret. You'll see for yourself later."
"No way!" Rangga exclaimed. "I'm not going anywhere with you. Watch me end up dealing with the fallout again."
Abe let out a clear, ringing laugh.
Abe's car passed the soccer field where Carissa had been about to play. Rangga's gaze turned toward the field, where many children were playing soccer, and he seemed to want to join in for some fun too.
"Be, Be." Rangga patted Abe's shoulder while continuing to stare at the soccer field. "Let's play soccer first."
"Oh, what is wrong with you? I don't want to. I don't want another ball getting stuck in my hair." Abe looked annoyed.
Rangga laughed at Abe's answer. "You still remember that, Be. Your memory really is amazing when it comes to stuff like that."
Abe sneered. "You're making fun of me. Hey, even with hair this curly, plenty of girls are into me. Don't forget that."
Rangga nodded repeatedly. "Yeah, yeah. Mr. Playboy."
In the end, Rangga gave up on his desire to play soccer because Abe refused to stop the car.
As Abe's car moved away from the field, Carissa emerged from behind a tree and got ready to play soccer, tying up her long hair.
"Let's get started!" Carissa ran excitedly toward her young friends, and they began playing soccer.