babybraeths

Ali datang ke kelas sambil membawa 2 buah canvas berukuran 20 x 20, satu untuknya dan satu lagi untuk— you know who.

Okay, I know you all think Ali is that type of guy who sleeps in every class. But he doesn’t really sleep in every class, probably just several classes. Art’s his favorite subject, karena dia dan Cher hanya mendapat satu jadwal kelas yang sama yaitu Art.

And he never sleeps at Art Class, you know the reason why.

So they both make use of Art Class for, you know, be together.

Their favorite spot in the Art Room is the back of the class. The room is medium-sized, plus there are lots of art pieces hung on the sides of the wall.

“Everyone take your seats, please.” Sir Isaiah, their Italian art teacher began the class.

“I’m not gonna be teaching today since I have another agenda, but I’ll be giving you all assignments.”

“A painting on a canvas, 20 x 20, acrylics only, and the theme is— expressing feelings.”

“Any questions? I don’t think so, okay. It’s an individual project, by the way, good luck. See you soon kids don’t do unwanted things.”

Iya, gitu doang. Perlu diingatkan kalau hanya Sir Isaiah yang melakukan hal-hal seperti ini. Guru-guru lain mereka— tidak seperti ini. Lalu kelas kembali chaos. Ada yang keluar untuk bertemu dengan temannya yang dikelas lain, ada yang tidur, ada yang membuka laptopnya untuk menonton, atau bahkan ada yang langsung mengerjakan tugas.

Cher dan Ali— mereka memilih untuk duduk dan bingung mau melakukan apa.

“Al,” panggilnya.

“Hm?” Jawabnya sambil mengeluarkan earphonesnya dari dalam tas.

“Kok kamu bisa udah ngambil canvas duluan padahal belom dikasih tau tugasnya.”

“I told you, Cher, I have this Einstein blood inside my veins.”

“Blah.”

“Hahah,” ketawanya. Mereka berdua tidak terlalu suka jadi pusat perhatian. Biasanya anak-anak pacaran di kantin atau dekat lapangan. Tapi kata Ali, “enakkan di music room, dingin, watching me play guitar. Fun right?”

“Oh ya Al, what’s your idea for today’s date schedule?”

Ali tidak menjawab, tangannya terangkat menunjuk dua buah canvas yang ada diatas meja.

“Sir Isaiah said the painting's theme is about expressing feelings. I can stare at your face and express how I feel through a painting, Cher. That’s the plan.”

“Hmm good idea, you’re actually pretty smart, Al.”

“I told you I have—”

“Yes, Ali I know you have that Einstein blood inside your veins, I know I know.”

“That’s right,” he said as he plugged in the right side of his earphone to her left ear and the left side on his right ear.

Ali played their playlist. Cher & Ali Guide to Rainy Days or Bored Hours. A playlist contains his and her favorite songs. Cher named the playlist, obviously.

And all I am is a man I want the world in my hands I hate the beach But I stand in California with my toes in the sand

Sweater weather played first when he shuffled the playlist.

Okay okay, I get it. Sitting at the back of the class on a rainy afternoon, wearing his grey hoodie, with his right hand caressing her hair— sharing an earphone for two.

“Head in the clouds but my gravity centered. Touch my neck and I'll touch yours,” he hummed.

“Nanti mau ngerjain dimana?” Cher asked, referring to the Art painting Sir Isaiah assigned.

“Rumah aku, ya? Just texted Ibu she said she cooked some food for us.” He answered.

Ali was born without a mother. He was raised by his father and Ibu, his grandmother.

Ali loves his grandmother more than anything. He has Ibu's picture on his wallet along with his mother's. And Cher's name was written in cursive on his favorite guitar.

Ali Ezekiel— would do anything for his loved ones.

Ali Ezekiel, that one guy who always has headphones around his neck, the one who always sits at the very back at music class to sleep—yet still managed to be his teacher’s best student.

He gives people intimidating looks when they stare but she’s the only exception. He always has his black (or mint) hoodie above his uniform. His grey school shirt is always untucked when he’s not wearing any hoodies.

Ali’s hair—is black, a little bit long and part of his forehead is shown. It sometimes gets messy cause he sleeps at class with his hood covering his head and when he wakes up he would comb it with his right hand.

Cher Archambault, the drama queen. No, not literally a ‘drama queen.’ She takes drama classes. She’s that one girl everybody likes, the one who gives free candies or gifts random presents to random people in her class.

Cher’s grandmother is French. So she looks kinda—French. Not really, probably just some parts of her face look like her Mamé. She has beautiful fox eyes, making some girls looks at her with envy.

Cher & Ali.

“How did they end up together?” “Why did Cher decided to be with Ali, and vice versa?”

And questions began to run inside your thoughts, right?

The reason is actually quite simple. Mutual feelings.

Ali thinks it’s cute how Cher talks about her day when her mouth is full of food and her eyes sparkle as she walks through the empty hallways, or when she spread her arms widely to receive her daily hug.

And Cher feels comfortable when she’s around him, Ali. He’s not like most of the guys in her school who threw flirty gazes and chats 13 different girls in a week.

Ali Ezekiel—he would casually walk to her history class with his coffee and sat beside her at the back of the class.

She would be like, “Al do you remember Mr. Grey’s explanation yesterday?”

Then he would answer, “no I slept during his class,” then get a perfect score for the subject.

Ali has a wide backyard in his house. And when it rains, he would pull her hands and dance together in the rain. Cher likes to imagine they’re Troy and Gabriella—dancing in the rain on their school’s rooftop.

Cher loves the early 2000s movies like The Princess Diaries, Clueless, Mean Girls, 10 Things I Hate About You, and High School Musical. During free hours, she would watch them at the back of the class.

She would laugh over Mia Thermopolis and Ali would just stare at her watching—admiring her beautiful smile.

Prom's about 83 days left. Their high school years are almost over. No more listening to “Cher & Ali's Guide to Rainy Days or Bored Hours” aka a playlist consist of their favorite songs at the back of the class.

No more running through the empty hallways near the theatre with naked feet, or stopping by to Sushi Hiro before going to Cher's house for their art project.

83 days left. 83 days before prom.

Will their relationship last for the next 83 days?

Ali Ezekiel, that one guy who always has headphones around his neck, the one who always sits at the very back at music class to sleep—yet still managed to be his teacher’s best student.

He gives people intimidating looks when they stare but she’s the only exception. He always has his black (or mint) hoodie above his uniform. His grey school shirt is always untucked when he’s not wearing any hoodies.

Ali’s hair—is black, a little bit long and part of his forehead is shown. It sometimes gets messy cause he sleeps at class with his hood covering his head and when he wakes up he would comb it with his right hand.

Cher Archambault, the drama queen. No, not literally a ‘drama queen.’ She takes drama classes. She’s that one girl everybody likes, the one who gives free candies or gifts random presents to random people in her class.

Cher’s grandmother is French. So she looks kinda—French. Not really, probably just some parts of her face look like her Mamé. She has beautiful fox eyes, making some girls looks at her with envy.

Cher & Ali.

“How did they end up together?” “Why did Cher decided to be with Ali, and vice versa?”

And questions began to run inside your thoughts, right?

The reason is actually quite simple. Mutual feelings.

Ali thinks it’s cute how Cher talks about her day when her mouth is full of food and her eyes sparkle as she walks through the empty hallways, or when she spread her arms widely to receive her daily hug.

And Cher feels comfortable when she’s around him, Ali. He’s not like most of the guys in her school who threw flirty gazes and chats 13 different girls in a week.

Ali Ezekiel—he would casually walk to her history class with his coffee and sat beside her at the back of the class.

She would be like, “Al do you remember Mr. Grey’s explanation yesterday?”

Then he would answer, “no I slept during his class,” then get a perfect score for the subject.

Ali has a wide backyard in his house. And when it rains, he would pull her hands and dance together in the rain. Cher likes to imagine they’re Troy and Gabriella— dancing in the rain on their school’s rooftop.

Cher loves the early 2000s movies like The Princess Diaries, Clueless, Mean Girls, 10 Things I Hate About You, and High School Musical. During free hours, she would watch them at the back of the class.

She would laugh at Mia Thermopolis and Ali would just stare at her watching—admiring her beautiful smile.

Prom's about 83 days left. Their high school years are almost over. No more listening to Chase Atlantic or High School Musical soundtracks from Cher's playlist at the back of the class.

No more running through the empty hallways near the theatre with naked feet, or stopping by to Sushi Hiro before going to Cher's house for their art project.

83 days left. 83 days before prom.

Will their relationship last for another 83 days?

naje sudah di dalam rumah mika sejak 13 menit yang lalu. mika lagi sibuk nonton grey’s anatomy di dalam kamarnya. sedangkan naje di depan pintu kamarnya karena sejak tadi pintunya belum dibuka oleh pemilik kamarnya.

“mikaaa buka doong.”

“aku bawa ice cream loh, mint ice cream, your favorite.”

“knock knock, who’s there? jaemin. jaemin who? jaemin pacar mika.”

“why are you ignoring me kemarin aku udah minta maaf loh.”

“aku malu banget diliatin sama mba kamu daritadi.”

akhirnya ia berhenti.

mika, yang tadi lagi nonton melirik kearah pintu kamarnya. mika kira jaemin udah pulang atau pergi, jadi ia membuka pintunya untuk mengambil minum.

ternyata jaemin masih di depan, memainkan hp nya. ketika ia melihat mika membuka pintunya, ia langsung berdiri tegap dan tersenyum kearahnya.

“hello mika i’m here to apologize for what i did yesterday i know i was wrong for ignoring you the whole day please accept my apology.”

“dumb yet cute at the same time,” kata mika. “kangen gak?”

“kangen laaah, i miss your hugs.”

“lebay banget kemaren kan ketemu, makanya jangan cuekin aku.”

“heey i said i’m sorry about that, makanya sekarang aku kangen hehe.”

“hh fine masuk aja.”

mika kembali duduk di meja belajarnya. bukan, bukan buat belajar tapi buat lanjut nonton. sedangkan jaemin tidur di tempat tidurnya mika.

“mikaa sini dong.”

“bentar, sedikit lagi selesai.”

“i’m here to be with you not playing with your bunch of plushies.” katanya, sambil memukul salah satu boneka yang ada diatas kasur mika.

“kemarin aku juga ke rumah kamu buat sama kamu bukan liatin kamu main game.”

“heeey i thought udah case closed kok masih di bahas.”

“mikaaaa.”

karena merasa terganggu, akhirnya mika memutuskan untuk duduk disamping jaemin.

pas mika baru duduk di kasur, jaemin langsung memeluk pinggangnya. “wangiiii.”

“kita libur berapa lama lagi si je?”

“around two more weeks, why?”

“mau belajar materi for the next semester hehe.”

“take a break, mika. you deserve a break.” katanya. mika tau pasti dia akan bilang hal-hal seperti ini kalau ia mau belajar saat liburan. tangannya bergerak ke pipi kurus jaemin, kadang mika suka bingung kok bisa ya belajar tapi lupa makan?

“kita minggu depan mau ga cullinaire gitu? i’ll search for good food places kalo mau.”

“sure.” jawabnya lalu kembali mengeratkan pelukannya. “mika mika.”

“yaaaa?”

daripada menjawab, ia malah tersenyum. “hehe.”

“kenapasih.”

“i will always love youu how i dooo,” nyanyinya. lagu godspeed nya frank ocean selalu menjadi salah satu lagu favorit mereka.

“mika,” panggilnya lagi.

“kenapa lagii.”

“what’s your favorite thing about me?”

“hmm.. your smile?”

“why?”

“causeee you’ve got a smile that can light up this whole town.” katanya sambil menyanyikan salah satu bagian dari lagu taylor swift.

“i haven’t seen it in a while since she brought you down,” lanjutnya.

“who’s the she?”

“tugasss kamu.”

“hahah not really i’m fine.” katanya lalu mengelus pelan rambut panjang mika.

“i like the smell of your hair, also your scent. every single details, i like it.”

“can we just cuddle till we fall asleep?” tanyanya.

“sure,” kata mika lalu membetulkan posisi mereka dan menata kembali bantal-bantal yang berantakan akibat ditendangin jaemin.

“tidur yang nyenyaaak,” katanya lalu menepuk pelan kepala jaemin. dan ternyata ia sudah tertidur. “hiii capek banget ya?”

“sleep well,” katanya sambil menariknya lebih dekat dan meletakkan kepalanya pelan-pelan dekat lehernya yang hangat.

7.17 PM

Jaemin was always on time. In fact, he was always at least 10 minutes earlier than the appointment time.

Waiting for her in front of her dorm door, he decided to text her instead. But before even sending the message, the girl opened the door and popped her head out of it.

“Je udah nunggu lama?”

“No I just arrived,” he answered.

“Okay, tunggu bentar yeah aku mau cari parfum dulu tadi ilang.”

“Okay, take your time.”

Mika, on the other way around, always took so long to get ready and made Jaemin wait for her for at least 15 minutes. But he doesn’t mind, actually, he used those 15 minutes to look for cute date places or date ideas.

“Hello, Naje, I’m ready!” Mika said as she suddenly appeared and opened her dorm door.

“Okay, pretty, let’s go.”

“Did you just call me.. Pretty?”

“Sorry, can’t hold to not say that.”

“..Okay,” she said then walked beside him.

No intertwined fingers, no side hugging, no physical touches. Just a regular guy and a girl walking side by side.

“Where are we actually going?” She asked.

“Walk,” he said then stop for a while to look at her, “and talk.”

“Have you ate?” He asked.

“Udah tadi I bought some chips from the canteen.”

“Chips aren’t for dinner, Mika.”

“I mean fish and chips hehe. Have you?”

He nodded, “udah tadi.”

“Why are you dressing up so neat,” she asked, cause Jaemin was wearing a white shirt with 2 unbuttoned buttons and long black trousers.

But he only chuckled and said, “kamu pasti kebiasaan liat aku pake kaos item oblong sama celana training Adidas.”

“Iya emang! Terus pake sepatu Vans item slip on terus diinjek soalnya kamu gak pernah mau pake sepatu yang bener.” She said, frowning.

“I mean it’s okay too, you look just a little bit umm... Mature? I guess.”

“Makin ganteng gak?”

“Iyala– Since when are you so narcissistic?!”

Again, he didn’t answer. Instead, he threw another chuckle.

“Are you in a break or something? Kayaknya gabut banget.”

“Iya lagi libur, masuk lagi kapan ya lupa.”

Melbourne’s a bit cold tonight. Mika seems to tighten her cardigan as she felt the wind pressed towards her body.

As they arrived near a children’s playground, she stops and sat on one of the swings.

So he stopped too, and sat on the swing beside her. “Kenapa malah kesini.”

“Aku aja gak tau kita aslinya mau kemana.”

“Emang gak ada tujuan.”

“Terus mau ngapain?”

“Mau ngomong aja,” he said then faced her, “sama kamu.”

Both stayed silent for about 3 minutes then he started talking again.

“Do you remember that lost kid we met,” he asked. “Liam.”

“Inget, I played with him,” she said, “in this swing too.”

“I’ve met him before in an orphanage, when he was just 2 weeks old.” He explained, “I named him too.”

She listened, not wanting to bother his story so she stayed silent.

“Met lots of kids at the orphanage, but I’ve met this one girl. She’s about 15 months old when I met her, now she’s three. She has long brown hair, almond eyes, and pink cheeks. She talks a lot. Her favorite Disney princess is Merida. She loved to receive and give hugs.”

“I named her Mikaela,” he said.

Mika, who was facing the other way, faced back to him. She kept silent, not knowing what to answer. Jaemin’s words muted her in 18 languages.

“She reminded me of you very much. Every time I miss you, I go to the orphanage and meet little Mikaela. And I visit her almost every week.”

“Jaemin.”

“Hm?”

“Then why’d you left me in the first place?”

“I never wanted to graduate early, never wanted a bachelor’s degree at a young age and all that. I just wanted a normal life, graduating in 3 years, spending my teenage years well.”

“My dad, somehow, hated me because I was having too much fun back then. Inget gak pas aku cerita papa marahin aku sampe sebulan gak mau ngomong? High school was my favorite year. Futsal menang mulu, pelajaran juga gak ada beban, having supportive friends and a loving girlfriend.”

“So he got really mad at me and gave me two options; moving back to my school in Korea and stay there for the rest of my life or moving to Australia and get back to Indo when I graduated.”

“Why’d you choose the second option?”

“Because if I chose the first one, I could never see you again.”

Without even realizing it, a tear dropped from her eye.

“Hey, why are you crying?” He said as he stood up from the swing and kneeled down in front of her. He grabs her hands, it was freezing, so he held them tighter and caress them softly.

She couldn’t say another word so she kept silent, trying to hold those tears falling down her cheeks. Jaemin, who was still caressing her hand giving her tiny kisses on her palm.

“Je,” she called, finally having the guts to speak.

“Hm?”

“Why did you risk so much because I feel like I don’t deserve all this I don’t deserve you. I hated you so much when you left I curse your name every day wishing you were dead and all those stuff. I felt bad-”

“Shhh. Mika, udah. It’s fine now, okay? Here,” he said as he opened his arms widely to give her a hug. She stood up and accepted his arms.

They always like these— warm hugs, his hands around her neck, and her’s on both sides of his hips, whispering calming words as he caresses her hair a little.

“Everything is fine now.” “We’re fine.” “It’s all fine,” he whispers.

I’ve visited several homes to replace your presence when you were gone, turns out home is wherever I’m with you.

7.17 PM

Jaemin was always on time. In fact, he was always at least 10 minutes earlier than the appointment time.

Waiting for her in front of her dorm door, he decided to text her instead. But before even sending the message, the girl opened the door and popped her head out of it.

“Je udah nunggu lama?”

“No I just arrived,” he answered.

“Okay, tunggu bentar yeah aku mau cari parfum dulu tadi ilang.”

“Okay, take your time.”

Mika, on the other way around, always took so long to get ready and made Jaemin wait for her for at least 15 minutes. But he doesn’t mind, actually, he used those 15 minutes to look for cute date places or date ideas.

“Hello, Naje, I’m ready!” Mika said as she suddenly appeared and opened her dorm door.

“Okay, pretty, let’s go.”

“Did you just call me.. Pretty?”

“Sorry, can’t hold to not say that.”

“..Okay,” she said then walked beside him.

No intertwined fingers, no side hugging, no physical touches. Just a regular guy and a girl walking side by side.

“Where are we actually going?” She asked.

“Walk,” he said then stop for a while to look at her, “and talk.”

“Have you ate?” He asked.

“Udah tadi I bought some chips from the canteen.”

“Chips aren’t for dinner, Mika.”

“I mean fish and chips hehe. Have you?”

He nodded, “udah tadi.”

“Why are you dressing up so neat,” she asked, cause Jaemin was wearing a white shirt with 2 unbuttoned buttons and long black trousers.

But he only chuckled and said, “kamu pasti kebiasaan liat aku pake kaos item oblong sama celana training Adidas.”

“Iya emang! Terus pake sepatu Vans item slip on terus diinjek soalnya kamu gak pernah mau pake sepatu yang bener.” She said, frowning.

“I mean it’s okay too, you look just a little bit umm... Mature? I guess.”

“Makin ganteng gak?”

“Iyala– Since when are you so narcissistic?!”

Again, he didn’t answer. Instead, he threw another chuckle.

“Are you in a break or something? Kayaknya gabut banget.”

“Iya lagi libur, masuk lagi kapan ya lupa.”

Melbourne’s a bit cold tonight. Mika seems to tighten her cardigan as she felt the wind pressed towards her body.

As they arrived near a children’s playground, she stops and sat on one of the swings.

So he stopped too, and sat on the swing beside her. “Kenapa malah kesini.”

“Aku aja gak tau kita aslinya mau kemana.”

“Emang gak ada tujuan.”

“Terus mau ngapain?”

“Mau ngomong aja,” he said then faced her, “sama kamu.”

Both stayed silent for about 3 minutes then he started talking again.

“Do you remember that lost kid we met,” he asked. “Liam.”

“Inget, I played with him,” she said, “in this swing too.”

“I’ve met him before in an orphanage, when he was just 2 weeks old.” He explained, “I named him too.”

She listened, not wanting to bother his story so she stayed silent.

“Met lots of kids at the orphanage, but I’ve met this one girl. She’s about 15 months old when I met her, now she’s three. She has long brown hair, almond eyes, and pink cheeks. She talks a lot. Her favorite Disney princess is Merida. She loved to receive and give hugs.”

“I named her Mikaela,” he said.

Mika, who was facing the other way, faced back to him. She kept silent, not knowing what to answer. Jaemin’s words muted her in 18 languages.

“She reminded me of you very much. Every time I miss you, I go to the orphanage and meet little Mikaela. And I visit her almost every week.”

“Jaemin.”

“Hm?”

“Then why’d you left me in the first place?”

“I never wanted to graduate early, never wanted a bachelor’s degree at a young age and all that. I just wanted a normal life, graduating in 3 years, spending my teenage years well.”

“My dad, somehow, hated me because I was having too much fun back then. Inget gak pas aku cerita papa marahin aku sampe sebulan gak mau ngomong? High school was my favorite year. Futsal menang mulu, pelajaran juga gak ada beban, having supportive friends and a loving girlfriend.”

“So he got really mad at me and gave me two options; moving back to my school in Korea and stay there for the rest of my life or moving to Australia and get back to Indo when I graduated.”

“Why’d you choose the second option?”

“Because if I chose the first one, I could never see you again.”

Without even realizing it, a tear dropped from her eye.

“Hey, why are you crying?” He said as he stood up from the swing and kneeled down in front of her. He grabs her hands, it was freezing, so he held them tighter and caress them softly.

She couldn’t say another word so she kept silent, trying to hold those tears falling down her cheeks. Jaemin, who was still caressing her hand giving her tiny kisses on her palm.

“Je,” she called, finally having the guts to speak.

“Hm?”

“Why did you risk so much because I feel like I don’t deserve all this I don’t deserve you. I hated you so much when you left I curse your name every day wishing you were dead and all those stuff. I felt bad-”

“Shhh. Mika, udah. It’s fine now, okay? Here,” he said as he opened his arms widely to give her a hug. She stood up and accepted his arms.

They always like these— warm hugs, his hands around her neck, and her’s on both sides of his hips, whispering calming words as he caresses her hair a little.

“Everything is fine now.” “We’re fine.” “It’s all fine,” he whispers.

7.17 PM

Jaemin was always on time. In fact, he was always at least 10 minutes earlier than the appointment time.

Waiting for her in front of her dorm door, he decided to text her instead. But before even sending the message, the girl opened the door and popped her head out of it.

“Je udah nunggu lama?”

“No I just arrived,” he answered.

“Okay, tunggu bentar yeah aku mau cari parfum dulu tadi ilang.”

“Okay, take your time.”

Mika, on the other way around, always took so long to get ready and made Jaemin wait for her for at least 15 minutes. But he doesn’t mind, actually, he used those 15 minutes to look for cute date places or date ideas.

“Hello, Naje, I’m ready!” Mika said as she suddenly appeared and opened her dorm door.

“Okay, pretty, let’s go.”

“Did you just call me.. Pretty?”

“Sorry, can’t hold to not say that.”

“..Okay,” she said then walked beside him.

No intertwined fingers, no side hugging, no physical touches. Just a regular guy and a girl walking side by side.

“Where are we actually going?” She asked.

“Walk,” he said then stop for a while to look at her, “and talk.”

“Have you ate?” He asked.

“Udah tadi I bought some chips from the canteen.”

“Chips aren’t for dinner, Mika.”

“I mean fish and chips hehe. Have you?”

He nodded, “udah tadi.”

“Why are you dressing up so neat,” she asked, cause Jaemin was wearing a white shirt with 2 unbuttoned buttons and long black trousers.

But he only chuckled and said, “kamu pasti kebiasaan liat aku pake kaos item oblong sama celana training Adidas.”

“Iya emang! Terus pake sepatu Vans item slip on terus diinjek soalnya kamu gak pernah mau pake sepatu yang bener.” She said, frowning.

“I mean it’s okay too, you look just a little bit umm... Mature? I guess.”

“Makin ganteng gak?”

“Iyala– Since when are you so narcissistic?!”

Again, he didn’t answer. Instead, he threw another chuckle.

“Are you in a break or something? Kayaknya gabut banget.”

“Iya lagi libur, masuk lagi kapan ya lupa.”

Melbourne’s a bit cold tonight. Mika seems to tighten her cardigan as she felt the wind pressed towards her body.

As they arrived near a children’s playground, she stops and sat on one of the swings.

So he stopped too, and sat on the swing beside her. “Kenapa malah kesini.”

“Aku aja gak tau kita aslinya mau kemana.”

“Emang gak ada tujuan.”

“Terus mau ngapain?”

“Mau ngomong aja,” he said then faced her, “sama kamu.”

Both stayed silent for about 3 minutes then he started talking again.

“Do you remember that lost kid we met,” he asked. “Liam.”

“Inget, I played with him,” she said, “in this swing too.”

“I’ve met him before in an orphanage, when he was just 2 weeks old.” He explained, “I named him too.”

She listened, not wanting to bother his story so she stayed silent.

“Met lots of kids at the orphanage, but I’ve met this one girl. She’s about 15 months old when I met her, now she’s three. She has long brown hair, almond eyes, and pink cheeks. She talks a lot. Her favorite Disney princess is Merida. She loved to receive and give hugs.”

“I named her Mikaela,” he said.

Mika, who was facing the other way, faced back to him. She kept silent, not knowing what to answer. Jaemin’s words muted her in 18 languages.

“She reminded me of you very much. Every time I miss you, I go to the orphanage and meet little Mikaela. And I visit her almost every week.”

“Jaemin.”

“Hm?”

“Then why’d you left me in the first place?”

“I never wanted to graduate early, never wanted a bachelor’s degree at a young age and all that. I just wanted a normal life, graduating in 3 years, spending my teenage years well.”

“My dad, somehow, hated me because I was having too much fun back then. Inget gak pas aku cerita papa marahin aku sampe sebulan gak mau ngomong? High school was my favorite year. Futsal menang mulu, pelajaran juga gak ada beban, having supportive friends and a loving girlfriend.”

“So he got really mad at me and gave me two options; moving back to my school in Korea and stay there for the rest of my life or moving to Australia and get back to Indo when I graduated.”

“Why’d you choose the second option?”

“Because if I chose the first one, I could never see you again.”

Without even realizing it, a tear dropped from her eye.

“Hey, why are you crying?” He said as he stood up from the swing and kneeled down in front of her. He grabs her hands, it was freezing, so he held them tighter and caress them softly.

She couldn’t say another word so she kept silent, trying to hold those tears falling down her cheeks. Jaemin, who was still caressing her hand giving her tiny kisses on her palm.

“Je,” she called, finally having the guts to speak.

“Hm?”

“Why did you risk so much because I feel like I don’t deserve all this I don’t deserve you. I hated you so much when you left I curse your name every day wishing you were dead and all those stuff. I felt bad-”

“Shhh. Mika, udah. It’s fine now, okay? Here,” he said as he opened his arms widely to give her a hug. She stood up and accepted his arms.

They always like these— warm hugs, his hands around her neck, and her’s on both sides of his hips, whispering calming words as he caresses her hair a little.

“Everything is fine now.” “We’re fine.” “It’s all fine,” he whispers.

7.17 PM

Jaemin was always on time. In fact, he was always at least 10 minutes earlier than the appointment time.

Waiting for her in front of her dorm door, he decided to text her instead. But before even sending the message, the girl opened the door and popped her head out of it.

“Je udah nunggu lama?”

“No I just arrived,” he answered.

“Okay, tunggu bentar yeah aku mau cari parfum dulu tadi ilang.”

“Okay, take your time.”

Mika, on the other way around, always took so long to get ready and made Jaemin wait for her for at least 15 minutes. But he doesn’t mind, actually, he used those 15 minutes to look for cute date places or date ideas.

“Hello, Naje, I’m ready!” Mika said as she suddenly appeared and opened her dorm door.

“Okay, pretty, let’s go.”

“Did you just call me.. Pretty?”

“Sorry, can’t hold to not say that.”

“..Okay,” she said then walked beside him.

No intertwined fingers, no side hugging, no physical touches. Just a regular guy and a girl walking side by side.

“Where are we actually going?” She asked.

“Walk,” he said then stop for a while to look at her, “and talk.”

“Have you ate?” He asked.

“Udah tadi I bought some chips from the canteen.”

“Chips aren’t for dinner, Mika.”

“I mean fish and chips hehe. Have you?”

He nodded, “udah tadi.”

“Why are you dressing up so neat,” she asked, cause Jaemin was wearing a white shirt with 2 unbuttoned buttons and long black trousers.

But he only chuckled and said, “kamu pasti kebiasaan liat aku pake kaos item oblong sama celana training Adidas.”

“Iya emang! Terus pake sepatu Vans item slip on terus diinjek soalnya kamu gak pernah mau pake sepatu yang bener.” She said, frowning.

“I mean it’s okay too, you look just a little bit umm... Mature? I guess.”

“Makin ganteng gak?”

“Iyala– Since when are you so narcissistic?!”

Again, he didn’t answer. Instead, he threw another chuckle.

“Are you in a break or something? Kayaknya gabut banget.”

“Iya lagi libur, masuk lagi kapan ya lupa.”

Melbourne’s a bit cold tonight. Mika seems to tighten her cardigan as she felt the wind pressed towards her body.

As they arrived near a children’s playground, she stops and sat on one of the swings.

So he stopped too, and sat on the swing beside her. “Kenapa malah kesini.”

“Aku aja gak tau kita aslinya mau kemana.”

“Emang gak ada tujuan.”

“Terus mau ngapain?”

“Mau ngomong aja,” he said then faced her, “sama kamu.”

Both stayed silent for about 3 minutes then he started talking again.

“Do you remember that lost kid we met,” he asked. “Liam.”

“Inget, I played with him,” she said, “in this swing too.”

“I’ve met him before in an orphanage, when he was just 2 weeks old.” He explained, “I named him too.”

She listened, not wanting to bother his story so she stayed silent.

“Met lots of kids at the orphanage, but I’ve met this one girl. She’s about 15 months old when I met her, now she’s three. She has long brown hair, almond eyes, and pink cheeks. She talks a lot. Her favorite Disney princess is Merida. She loved to receive and give hugs.”

“I named her Mikaela,” he said.

Mika, who was facing the other way, faced back to him. She kept silent, not knowing what to answer. Jaemin’s words muted her in 18 languages.

“She reminded me of you very much. Every time I miss you, I go to the orphanage and meet little Mikaela. And I visit her almost every week.”

“Jaemin.”

“Hm?”

“Then why’d you left me in the first place?”

“I never wanted to graduate early, never wanted a bachelor’s degree at a young age and all that. I just wanted a normal life, graduating in 3 years, spending my teenage years well.”

“My dad, somehow, hated me because I was having too much fun back then. Inget gak pas aku cerita papa marahin aku sampe sebulan gak mau ngomong? High school was my favorite year. Futsal menang mulu, pelajaran juga gak ada beban, having supportive friends and a loving girlfriend.”

“So he got really mad at me and gave me two options; moving back to my school in Korea and stay there for the rest of my life or moving to Australia and get back to Indo when I graduated.”

“Why’d you choose the second option?”

“Because if I chose the first one, I could never see you again.”

Without even realizing it, a tear dropped from her eye.

“Hey, why are you crying?” He said as he stood up from the swing and kneeled down in front of her. He grabs her hands, it was freezing, so he held them tighter and caress them softly.

She couldn’t say another word so she kept silent, trying to hold those tears falling down her cheeks. Jaemin, who was still caressing her hand giving her tiny kisses on her palm.

“Je,” she called, finally having the guts to speak.

“Hm?”

“Why did you risk so much because I feel like I don’t deserve all this I don’t deserve you. I hated you so much when you left I curse your name every day wishing you were dead and all those stuff. I felt bad-”

“Shhh. Mika, udah. It’s fine now, okay? Here,” he said as he opened his arms widely to give her a hug. She stood up and accepted his arms.

They always like these— warm hugs, his hands around her neck, and her’s on both sides of his hips, whispering calming words as he caresses her hair a little.

“Everything is fine now.” “We’re fine.” “It’s all fine,” he whispers.

Today is the day, the day he’s been waiting for. Even if there a so many more steps he has to take, but graduation is all he ever wanted for now.

He, Jaemin, smiled a little seeing his mom waving at him in the middle of the crowd. But, where is she?

Did she changed her mind and decided not to come? Or did she refused to give him a second chance?

Thoughts began to fill Jaemin’s head. ‘Twas until he realizes it was his turn to deliver his speech.

“Please welcome our youngest graduate of the year, Na Jaemin, from Indonesia.”

“Good morning family, friends, faculty, and fellow graduates.” He greeted, facing the audience with a sincere smile on his face.

“Well, we did it. We all accomplished one of the major early milestones of our lives; college graduation. This is a major step in the journey of our lives, one that should be organized for its immense significance. It is an act not only of personal commitment, but also one of pride. We all worked hard to get to this day, and our work did not go to waste.” He said.

“But graduation is not an end of goal in itself; it is instead a part of the larger journey in life. Wherever your future takes you, let it take you somewhere. Life is a journey, and all accomplishments we achieve during its course should be taken as a launching point, projecting us to wherever our future is meant to take us.”

Right after that sentence, he again faced the audience, but there’s this one girl he’s been waiting for to see stared at him in the eyes. As if it’s talking to him saying, I’m beyond proud of you.

That one girl, out of eight hundred and sixty-seven people in the room, he chooses to stop and look at her. Beautiful than ever, with those sparks on her eyes. He stopped for a while then smile, a smile that can light up the whole room.

He continued, “But before we can begin to reach for the stars, there is one more personal milestone that e all need to reach. Most people who graduate from college experience only one graduation, that from college. But we all have one more shortly ahead of us. We’ve already shown our commitment to personal growth by making it to this ceremony today, but soon, all of us will experience another ceremony when we graduate from our other programs ahead of us. As I said before, life is a journey, we don’t stop growing once we get what we want to achieve. Life is about growing, and being in our programs gives each of us new opportunities to continue growing and to learn new skills that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives.”

“And we don’t have to stop there! This graduation has already shown us how capable we all are of accomplishing our goals when we commit ourselves to them. I hope all of us here today can take this personal accomplishment as an example of how anything is truly possible when we put our minds to it. As we all continue on in our lives, let us take each new problem on with confidence, knowing that we have achieved great heights and are equipped with the necessary tools to tackle our futures.” He said.

Mika thought that was the end of the speech, but then he continued to talk again.

“Lastly, I want to thank everyone that has supported and believed me. I also want to thank each of the instructors I have had the privilege of learning from; which increased my confidence and self worth. I thank the Course Directors that awarded me this honor. Thank you mom, dad for supporting me from the start.”

Then he pointed his finger at her, with a bright smile. “And I want to thank her, that girl sitting at the tribune with her sage green dress, thank you, Mikaela.”

“As I leave a noteworthy quotation from the famous philosopher Confucius ‘Our great glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall’ as the end of my speech. Once again, congratulations graduates!” He closed his speech, then everyone started to stand and gave him a standing applause.

The plane landed safely at Melbourne’s Airport at around 4 AM midnight. Busy aircrews and passengers filled the airport. Mika, who just arrived from Jakarta after a long 9-hour flight, was a little bit weary and sleepy due to turbulence during the flight so she couldn’t have a proper sleep.

Good thing she didn’t struggle to find her luggage so she directly ordered a taxi, not thinking about the fee ‘cause she couldn’t feel her legs anymore, and went to her dorm.

Livia wasn’t home yet, she said she’ll be back in another 2 more days, so the dorm was empty.

Mika took off her shoes and place her luggage next to her nightstand as she threw herself on her bed. She was asleep for around 8 minutes until she realized she hasn’t done the nighttime routine that she never would skip.

It was until she noticed there was something above her bed— it was a medium-sized white box. She stood up, fixing her messy hair a little bit, then carefully opened the box.

She frowned a little, it was a dress. “Dari siapa dah.” She took the dress out of the box and a note fell onto her lap.

A beautiful girl needs her beautiful dress, right? My graduation will be in two weeks, and I was hoping you can attend. Just a few more steps, Mika. Please wait for me. -NJ