Kyle stopped the car somewhere I didn't know. It took less than ten minutes to get there. Kyle, Meredith, and I got out of the car and walked toward a place called Asian Noodles. I pondered why they'd brought me here.
I followed them into the restaurant. It did look like they'd used Asian decoration and it reminded me of where I lived. Actually, it looked more like China than Indonesia but we had places like this in Indonesia too. Kind of miss home now. We took our seats in the corner where there was nobody else sitting around and we ordered the foods I'd recommended to them.
We talked about school and the upcoming Halloween party, that I definitely wouldn't attend, but they were excited about it. We also talked about what had became so popular that morning. Yeah, what else but the videos of me and Gee Kay? I explained to them what happened. They complimented me for my decision to help Gee Kay, by going along with their suggestion and pretending to be Gee Kay's girlfriend. I told them I'd run out of options to get rid of Hellena other than doing that, and it made them laugh in satisfaction.
"Hey, what'd I miss?" Somebody suddenly sat down in the seat next to me and made a thud sound. When I turned my head to see, it was Gee Kay. "You guys seem so excited over something."
"Why are you here?" I asked him, but without waiting for him to reply I turned to Meredith and Kyle and asked, "Why is he here? I thought it was just the three of us."
Meredith gave a wide smile. "Don't you see? This looks like a double date," she said. "We want to celebrate our new couple." She smirked while she looked at Kyle, who was chuckling, then she turned to me again.
"You see, Gee, they are excited over our suffering," I rubbed my forehead slightly. "What nice friends we have!" I cheered in annoyance.
Gee Kay only responded with a smile, then he changed the subject. "You said you found my IPad?" he asked me.
"As far as I remember, I didn't say I'd found it," I denied.
"But you have it with you, right?"
"Well, yeah," I shrugged my right shoulder.
"Give it to me," he opened his left palm to me.
I took his IPad out of my bag, but I held it and said, "You remember your promise, don't you?"
"I do. Now give it to me," he ordered gently.
I handed him his IPad. Gee Kay took it and directly opened it. He checked something inside his IPad and rushed to close it.
"And what's wrong?" I asked. I'd been waiting for this, to know what was inside his IPad, which had been called 'everything' by the girl back at the university park.
He put both his hands on the IPad and gave it some pressure as if there was something he didn't want to see or didn't want me to see.
"What's that?" I insisted that he tell me.
"I thought this would happen," he shook his head in disbelief.
"And what is happening?" I became really curious.
He gazed at me. "Someone has replaced all photos in my gallery with-" He paused for a while, as if he couldn't release what he should say, but then he managed to say it, "Dirty photos here."
I frowned. "Like what?" I asked.
"Oh Cynthia, should I tell you?" he looked annoyed.
I sighed silently. "Okay, don't tell me. I think I know," I gave up. I had a guess in my mind. Nudity. Yuck. The last time I saw something related to that on a certain application on my cellphone, it was such a trap. It showed me a male's private thing, which made me delete the application right away without hesitation. "Well, that at least answers my question about something."
"What's that?" asked Gee Kay.
"Everything," I said briefly.
"What kind of a question is that?"
I told Gee Kay about what had happened at the park. About how some group of girls and guys had brought his IPad and how one of the girls told me to look at what's inside it. I also boasted a little about my decision not to open it, though I believed it had been God who'd stopped me from doing it. He laughed about my boasting, which turned out to be a joke to him.
"Kyle, do you think we still exist?" I heard Meredith speaking and I looked at her and Kyle, who then responded.
"I don't know. In their world I think we disappear," Kyle added, then they both chortled.
I raised my elbow when I turned my sight to Gee Kay, "They seem to be planning something," I whispered loud enough so Meredith and Kyle could hear, and then I slightly glanced at them.
"Well, you guys are meant to be together," Kyle said. "Just change the status from pretend to real."
I couldn't respond to what he'd said. I glanced at Gee Kay and he seemed not to be responding to Kyle's statement too. However, the waitress who came with the food we'd ordered saved both Gee Kay and I from the situation. The food was all on the table and ready to eat. We prayed and enjoyed our food. Sometimes we laughed while we ate and Kyle choked because he laughed too hard over the same topic, about changing our status from 'pretend' to 'real'.
It was wonderful to enjoy some quality time with someone who used to be the one I suspected as an annoying guy, but now he'd become a good friend and so had those who'd hated me before because of this guy I mentioned before. Such a complicated story, but it was the thing that'd happened in my life.
"Well, it's almost six now, so I think it's about time to go home," I said for a moment after all of us finished eating.
"Can't you stay longer?" asked Meredith.
I bit my lip. "I don't think I-,"
"Why?" She cut me off.
"I'm used to taking a bath twice a day, you know, so I need to go home," I answered, but Meredith responded with laughter. Because of her, Kyle and Gee Kay laughed too. I frowned. "Well, I guess it's funny to you, isn't it?"
Meredith nodded in confirmation. "The temperature is low enough that we don't sweat, so I think most of us don't really take a bath twice a day," she said.
I shrugged it off. "Maybe I'm too clean? I don't know," I wryly chuckled at myself. It sounded just like a participating chuckle.
Meredith hissed in annoyance -but not in a bad way. "Oh come on. Genesis, make her stay longer," she asked. "I don't know, I want to hang out with you guys."
Gee Kay hummed. He looked like he was thinking. "I'm not sure," he finally said.
"And what's the reason?" Meredith sounded curious.
"Because," Gee Kay paused for a while, "she needs to help me with something."
That 'something' word made Meredith and Kyle widen their eyes. "You have to say it very clearly, Gee," I told him. "See now, their eyes are popping out of their heads."
Gee Kay giggled upon hearing what I said.
Meredith was about to say something but I cut her off before she could even say a word. "Don't talk. Let me tell you," I opened both my palms and swung them, hinting that they shouldn't say a word. "It's Brenda. She has a movie project and she wants to have an actor that speaks the Indonesian language. However, there is no guy around that speaks Indonesian. That's why Gee Kay wants to help her. He has been practicing pronouncing Indonesian words a lot, with my help. Is it all clear now?"
Meredith sighed loudly so we could all hear. "Then I won't disrupt. Seems like you guys will have fun together," she teased me. Again. Kyle laughed when he heard his girlfriend teasing me as usual. Gee Kay- I didn't know how he reacted. To be exact, I didn't understand. He just looked like he was fine with all that Meredith said. Duh.
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever you say," I made a melodic utterance and a nonchalant look. "Let's go, Gee." I pushed my seat backward and made a slight creaking sound so that I could stand up. I took my bag and carried it on my back. Gee Kay moved and he stood up too.
"See you guys around," said Gee Kay.
"See you," I chimed in.
I saw Meredith and Kyle smile at us while they waved. I waved back at them and left with Gee Kay.
I went back to Argenta and took a shower right away. It didn't take a long time to do it, because Gee Kay said he wanted to come again at seven, which would be less than an hour. Besides, I was used to taking a bath within a short amount of time, so it wasn't a big deal for me. When I had myself tidied up, I came out of the bathroom. There I saw Cassie was lying on her bed and Julie was doing something with her IPad. Julie didn't have any class today. I assumed it was because once she'd told me that her lecturer, from her only Tuesday class, was pregnant. She might not have been feeling well today.
"Hey, I didn't see you when I came in. Where were you?" I asked and made both of my roommates pay attention to me.
"You're so neat," Julie commented.
I squinted my eyes. "You didn't answer my question," I said.
"Because you impressed me," she chuckled.
Cassie sat up on her bed. "You're going to meet someone?" she asked.
"Wait up," I wiggled my forefinger and stopped it. I looked at myself all around as best as I could. "I don't think I look any different than before. I just have my casual and normal clothes on. How could you say that I'm neat?" I looked up and turned my gaze toward Julie.
She shrugged. "I don't know. Let's forget what I said," she laughed at herself. Then I laughed too.
"But you're going to meet someone, right?" Cassie repeated her unanswered question to me. I gazed at her and she moved closer to me on her bed while I was still standing.
"Well, yeah,"
"Genesis?" Cassie cut in.
"Don't think anything of it," I wiggled my forefinger again. "I'm helping him help his sister." I sat on Julie's bed, which was closer to where I was standing.
Cassie hummed. "Let's talk about something else," she said.
"Yes, right!" Julie chimed in. She moved a little bit closer to me and her body was leaning toward me. "This morning you said you would tell me about the video."
Ah! She reminded me of that again. I didn't know if I could tell her because I didn't feel like saying anything. Again. Nevertheless, Julie insisted that I tell her what had happened. I inevitably told her everything. Yes, everything that had happened. She looked so surprised yet excited when she was listening to me. I emphasized the words 'fake relationship' to end my story.
My cellphone buzzed. It was on my desk. I got up from Julie's bed to walk toward my desk, but Cassie stopped me because she said she would pass it to me. Not doing what she said, my cellphone never made it past her hands. She looked at the home screen and cried out Genesis' name. I hissed in annoyance and snatched my cellphone out of her hands.
I didn't go back to sit down again after I took back my cellphone. I stood beside Cassie and opened Gee Kay's message. It said that he was already downstairs. I tucked my cellphone into my jean pocket and told my roommates, who seemed to be so curious when I told them I would be back no later than ten, then I left the room.
I made my way downstairs and met up with Gee Kay. He was wearing a sweet green T-shirt that made his skin shine. I admitted he really was good looking. No wonder those girls, especially Hellena who had chased after him, adored him so much. Wow.
"Where will we be studying?" that's what he said to open the conversation.
"We? It's only you," I corrected him and chortled. He only smiled and shook his head. "I'm kidding. I think we need to find a place that's quiet enough." I looked around while I was looking for somebody to ask. I didn't know many people living in Argenta. That's why it was hard to look for someone I knew on this first floor.
I almost gave in, but then Kiarra showed up with her friend that I assumed was her roommate. I asked her which floor her room was on, and it was the seventh floor. Without being asked, she said it was too quiet for her and her roommate so they preferred going out to staying in their room. I thanked her and then she and her roommate left to go somewhere.
I took Gee Kay to the elevator and went up to the seventh floor. When we arrived there, we found what Kiarra said to be true. It was so quiet that I could even hear a needle fall to the floor. We chose to sit down on the brown couch with red and blue stripes to make us feel more comfortable.
Gee Kay took a compiled paper out of his bag, which was the script of Brenda's movie project. He opened the first page and handed it to me.
"I'm wondering now, why didn't you just make a copy so that I could see what you were reading while you read aloud?" I just realized it. I should've told Gee Kay before.
"You're right, but I think you've taught me before how to pronounce Bahasa Indonesia words so," he took the paper back and it made my eyebrows knitted because I wanted to know what he was going to do with it. Then he continued, "I will read. You listen and correct me."
I crossed my arms over my chest. "Are you sure about this? Because you have to say it correctly, or at least I have to understand what you're saying," I said.
"You dare me?" Gee Kay raised his left eyebrow like he was making his accepting-a-challenge-from-an-enemy look.
"Prove it," I put a small smile on the edge of my lips as if I were his enemy and then chuckled. "Just start it."
He began to read the sentences in Brenda's script. He was good for the moment, even in the beginning. While I was listening to him, I pondered over how hard he had been practicing this. I believed he really wanted to help his sister.
He read more and more and more. Sometimes I corrected his wrong pronunciation but there were only a few mistakes he made. He never repeated his mistakes so that they would decrease significantly. I was amazed at his effort. Listening to him made me drowsy. Yes, I admitted it. I'd had a long day that day- hanging out with Meredith and Kyle played a pretty big role in making me tired.
I rested my left elbow on the top of the couch back while my head rested on my palm. I told Gee Kay to keep on reading, though I closed my eyes. I lied to him that I would feel more comfortable listening to him if I closed my eyes. I'm sorry Gee, I don't mean to be a bad teacher but I'm really tired, I thought inside my heart. I still corrected him when I found his pronunciation wrong. I guessed I could make it until Gee Kay finished reading the script, because there weren't as many Indonesian parts in the script.
Gee Kay made great progress. I'd been making sure he'd be a great actor when speaking in Bahasa Indonesia for his sister's movie project. I was so excited that I hugged him tightly. Wait a minute. Hug him? I must be dreaming!
My eyes felt painful, not literally but it was hard to open them. I yawned and twisted my body. I rubbed my eyes and tried to see everything around me, which was blurry at first. However, when I realized I was on my bed, in no time my eyes were open wide. I was startled to know where I was. What did I do? I looked at the wall clock, which had a dim light in it so that it glowed in the dark. It was five in the morning. Oh goodness, I didn't remember I'd said goodbye to Gee Kay last night or even that I'd finished our meeting.
I sat up on my bed and prayed for some time, like fifteen minutes or so. When I'd finished praying, I saw Cassie and Julie were still sleeping safe and sound. I read some chapters in my Bible before I got up from bed.
I really couldn't go back to sleep like I always did when I woke up too early. My eyes were wide open. I was still thinking about what'd happened last night. No matter how hard I tried, I still couldn't remember anything except listening to Gee Kay's reading. It was the last thing I remembered.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
