Bogor, 2008.
11 years later...
Hot weather. Aahhh... weather like this really makes people reluctant to leave the house. The air from Dina's bedroom window barely moved, and the fan only turned slowly, squeaking in protest. Who says Bogor is cold?Very, very hot, she thought. Luckily, today was a holiday because the 12th graders were taking the Pre-National Exam, so she wouldn't have to sweat outside.
Her plan was simple: sleep, read a comic, snacking, sleep some more. Ah, what a beautiful life.
She lay down on her bed, staring at the ceiling, its white paint starting to yellow in the corners. The center was plastered with glow-in-the-dark stars, some of which were no longer lit. In her hand, she had just finished reading a teen comic.
"It's the same story again. Boring!" she muttered, annoyed.
The story was a cliché—about a girl chasing after the popular boy at her school.
"No variation at all. It's always the girl chasing the boy. It's just demeaning to girls," she grumbled, placing the comic on the bed.
Well, that's the way it is these days. Girls have no shame anymore. If they like a boy, they just go for it. Emancipation, they say. Dina—still a bit old-fashioned—actually disagreed with that opinion. Therefore, she resolved that no matter how much she liked a boy, she wouldn't pursue him. Especially no confess. God forbid, she thought to herself.
Just as she was about to move on to the next comic, her phone suddenly rang loudly.
Suara… dengarkanlah aku. Apa kabarnya pujaan hatiku…
The song "Suara" by Hijau Daun—a current popular song—was her ringtone. Dina reflexively glanced at the screen: Icha.
"Hello, Cha," she greeted casually, which was immediately greeted by screams from the other end. She nearly dropped her Nokia N70—which she had recently purchased with her holiday allowance.
"Oh my gosh, where are you?!"
Dina automatically pulled the phone away from her ear. "Huh? What's wrong?"
"We already agreed to watch Kung Fu Panda! You forgot, right?"
Astaghfirullah. Dina patted her own forehead. "Ouch, Cha, sorry, I really forgot."
"You're senile!" Icha screamed again. "Nia and I are already at Botani Square. Hurry up and come here. In five minutes the film will start, you know!"
Dina glanced at the wall clock. 13.25. Her face immediately panicked. "Well, I'm not going to come along. I don't have enough time. I'm still at home." And it's really hot outside, she added to herself.
There was a grumble on the other side.
"Din!" another voice suddenly sounded—Nia. Her voice was firmer but also sweeter. "You promised to treat us because you won the essay competition! Don't run away, okay? After the movie, we'll go straight to our favorite Japanese restaurant. You have to be there when we arrive. If you don't, we'll both be angry. That's it."
Tut... tut... tut...
Before Dina could reply, Nia's sentence ended abruptly, followed by the disconnection. Dina could only stare blankly at her phone screen, which had gone silent again.
She got out of bed and walked to the mirror. Her long hair was still messy, her shirt slightly wrinkled. After a few seconds of hesitation, she finally took a deep breath and headed for the closet.
"Okay, Din, a promise is a promise."
She picked out a white short-sleeved shirt with a cat print and light blue jeans. Simple, but neat enough.
Once ready, she said goodbye to her mother and stepped out of the house. The hot air immediately hit her face.
"Well, I'll cool off at the restaurant later," she muttered to herself, comforting herself.
A few minutes later, she was standing on the side of the road, waiting for a public minivan, fanning herself with her hand. The sun was intense, but strangely, Dina smiled a little.
Perhaps because she was secretly happy to be out with her friends.