I looked at her and nodded. The four of them sat in front of me and stared intensely, from the edge of my hijab down to my waist.
"Stand up."
I stood, and they continued studying me. She turned me around, then sat me back down.
"Is this really you?"
"Yes, it really is. Come on, how could you forget? It's only been a few months."
"But seriously, Irsh, you look so different."
They were Luchia Ulfya Miftahuljannah, Anissa Kamila Larasati, and Nilna Misda Dewandari. And my old friend from Islamic junior high school, Dewi Quila Hidratul.
"Oh, Ms. Dewi," I said, pointing at her.
"Didn't I tell you before that she was here? What's wrong with you?" Ulfi said.
I scratched the back of my neck, even though it didn't itch.
"I forgot, heh," I said.
"Seriously, Shasa," Anissa said, smacking my forehead.
We all laughed. That's what was so funny about being with them.
"Hey, why are there two drinks?" Nilna asked.
They looked at me curiously.
"That one's for a client. We ran into each other for a bit earlier."
They simply went, "Ohhh." I called the server over and asked her to take the drink in front of me to the back, replacing it with three new meals and drinks.
"So?"
"So what?" I asked, looking at Anissa.
"Come on, Shasa," she whined.
They really hadn't changed. I thought they might have after I hadn't contacted them for eight months, only reaching out again a week ago.
"I took a sewing course and then started a small business. Sorry I couldn't contact you guys. You were probably busy, so instead of bothering you, I figured it was better not to reach out yet."
"All right. Eat your food, then we'll head back to the dorm. You're staying over, right?"
"Of course. As it happens, I also got a job for an entrepreneurship seminar at your college the day after tomorrow."
"WHAT?!"
A moment later, the sound of a spoon and fork hitting the floor rang out.
I looked at each of them in turn.
"Are you serious?"
"Double serious. Why would I lie? Here," I said, showing them the online invitation in my Gmail.
"Wow, wow. That explains why all the BEM members have been so busy these past few days. So that's what it was," Dewi said.
"Did you see Bang Mahe earlier? Oh my God, he's so handsome. What blessing could I possibly deny?" Nilna said, propping her chin on her hand. Then she started grinning to herself.
We all smacked our foreheads at her behavior.
"Hey, finish that," Anissa said.
There were four of us—or five now. But Anissa had always been the one who hated wasting food the most. She said it was wasteful.
"Anissa's jealous, huh? Ahem. Have you finally moved on from that guy?" I asked, nudging her arm.
"Good grief, that's not it, Shasha. There's still food left, so we have to eat it."
"Yeah, right. That's just an excuse, ma'am."
I poked her cheek repeatedly.
"I said it's not like that."
"Jeez, don't be mad. I was just kidding, Nis."
"If you keep sulking, I'll make you pay for my order," I said.
"Okay..." she said.
"Seriously?"
"Yep. Where's your ATM card?" she asked, holding out her hand.
We all laughed at her expression. She was the master of facial expressions and vocal inflections. Sometimes she acted like a little kid, and sometimes like an adult.
But only sometimes.
After paying for our food, we went to the dorm to move my things. Nilna and Dewi couldn't help because they had an extra class.
Anissa was in the same major as Dewi, but her class didn't have an extra session, so she was able to help me.
"Your apartment is pretty big," Anissa said.
"Alhamdulillah, Nis."
I cleaned it, then arranged the things in my bedroom upstairs on the second floor.
Upstairs, there was my bedroom, a library, an exercise room, a bathroom, and a walk-in closet.
Actually, I wanted something ordinary near campus, but Mom picked this apartment. She said that way, whenever they came to visit, they could stay over too.
After arranging my things upstairs, I went back down. I found them asleep.
"Ulfi... Anissa... wake up..."
"Ughhhh..."
"Go wash your faces first. I'm going to the kitchen."
They headed for the guest room while I went to the kitchen.
Looking around, I saw an office, a food-storage area, and a maid's room.
I started taking out the ingredients I needed to make fried rice. While I was slicing onions, they came into the kitchen.
"What are you making?"
"Fried rice. It's easier than anything else."
"Here, let me help."
The two of them helped me cook. When it was done, I served it in the dining room.
"You're staying at my dorm, right?" Anissa asked after we finished eating.
"Yeah. It's still a huge mess here."
"Want to leave now?"
"Sure. Let me grab my bag first."
Anissa nodded, and I went upstairs to fix my appearance. Then I grabbed my bag and came back down.
"Let's go," I said.
We walked from my apartment to her dorm because they really were that close.
"This reminds me of when we were in Jogja. We walked from the parking lot all the way to the kraton. It was pretty far, but we enjoyed ourselves anyway."