Money and a Trip to Mountain
A month passed since their trip to Bandung. When Adrian and Elsa returned from school, "Ding!" a message popped up on Adrian's smartphone. It was from Benny, saying that a portion of the house sale money had been transferred to Adrian's account, the one Adrian had given him when they talked via message.
Adrian suggested they make a quick stop at the ATM not far from school. Once they arrived,
"Want to come in?" Adrian asked.
"It's hard with the wheelchair, I'll just wait outside, it's fine," Elsa replied.
"Alright, just a moment," Adrian said.
"Yeah, take your time, don't press the wrong button!" Elsa replied cheerfully.
Adrian went inside. "Ding!" A message popped up on Elsa's smartphone. She immediately pulled out her phone and opened it. The message was from Mr. RT, forwarding a message from the local government to Elsa, stating that the down payment for taking over Elsa's house had been deposited into her account. "Click!" Adrian came out of the ATM.
"Let's go home, the money's in," Adrian said.
"Hold on, Adri, can you please lift me inside?" Elsa asked.
"Oh, what's up?" Adrian asked.
"Mr. Neighbor Association just messaged, said the down payment for taking over the house in Bandung is in. I just want to check," Elsa replied.
"Oh, okay, let's go," Adrian said.
Adrian immediately lifted Elsa and went back inside. After checking her account and confirming the money was there, they came back out.
"How come it happened at the same time?" Adrian asked, settling Elsa back into her wheelchair.
"Yeah, what a coincidence," Elsa replied, typing a reply message to Mr. RT.
"Do you want to eat before we go home?" Adrian asked.
"Sure, but let's get takeout, okay? Don't eat at the restaurant," Elsa replied.
Adrian understood. Elsa was still thinking about her house in Bandung, and with the money in, it meant everything was finalized.
"Okay, I get it," Adrian said.
"Thanks, honey," Elsa replied.
Adrian continued pushing Elsa towards the school gate to hail a taxi, but when they arrived, "Oi!" someone tapped Adrian's shoulder from behind. Adrian turned around.
"Oh, hey Mon, what's up?" Adrian asked.
"Do you two wanna come along? We're off until New Year's start tomorrow, Sinta, Erik, Toni, and one more person are going to Puncak. Yuni hasn't replied to my invite yet, but she'll definitely want to come," Monic said.
"Hmm, what do you think, Sa?" Adrian asked.
"Puncak, huh? What do you do there?" Elsa asked.
"To Toni's villa, in the Mega Mendung area. The view's great, and it's spacious too. Want to come?" Monic asked.
"Hmm, okay. Do you want to, Adri?" Elsa asked.
"Sure, leaving tomorrow?" Adrian asked.
"Yep, if you two are in, tomorrow we'll meet at your apartment. Easier to find parking, how about that?" Monic suggested.
"Alright, that works. And who's the other person?" Elsa asked.
"The other one is named Danu, Toni's friend. We were in junior high together, but he's moved now. You know him, right, Sa?" Monic asked.
"Hmm, Danu, the slightly short one with glasses?" Elsa asked.
"That's him, exactly! He has a crush on Sinta. As soon as he knew Sinta was coming, he immediately wanted to join, haha," Monic replied.
"Hehe, you're right, but wasn't it unrequited love back then?" Elsa remarked.
"Yeah, you know who Sinta has a crush on," Monic said.
"Hehe, Toni, I know," Elsa replied.
"There you go. Just let it be unrequited," Monic responded.
"Wait, isn't Toni close with you, Mon? Doesn't he like you?" Elsa asked.
"Hush, shut up! Sinta will be mad," Monic replied.
"This is complicated," Adrian muttered.
"Haha, sorry, Adri, just typical girl stuff," Monic said.
"So Yuni's safe now, then," Elsa stated.
"Yeah, totally safe! You're out of the game because of Adri, haha," Monic replied.
"Oh, you're right, hehe," Elsa said.
"What game?" Adrian asked.
"Hehe, sorry, this one's a secret," Elsa replied.
"Speaking of which, what are we taking tomorrow?" Adrian asked.
"Toni's car. He has a driver," Monic answered.
"What time are we meeting?" Adrian asked.
"I'll let you know tonight. We're still discussing it. You two join the group chat, I'll invite you, accept it, okay?" Monic said, adding them both to a group specifically created for tomorrow's plan.
"Ding... ding!" As soon as they joined, everyone immediately started chatting. Not long after, Monic also invited Yuni, and the group became even livelier. That night, Adrian and Elsa started packing their belongings and went to the other world for a bit to get some vegetables. After returning,
"Hmm, if there's cheap land in Puncak, maybe we should buy it," Adrian mused.
"Oh, you! Can we even buy and sell land? We're not old enough, honey. Who would we ask for help?" Elsa asked.
"Haaah... you're right, honey. I'm feeling deflated now," Adrian said.
"Don't tell me you wanted to go tomorrow because of that," Elsa teased.
"Well, it crossed my mind... no, actually, that is the reason I wanted to go, hahaha. To find a cold area suitable for farming, as a disguise," Adrian confessed.
"Just relax for a bit, there's still time," Elsa said.
"Yeah, you're right. Now, where are we sleeping? My room? Your room? Or the living room?" Adrian asked.
"The living room, hehe," Elsa replied.
After changing their clothes, the two lay on Elsa's bed, which was in the living room of Adrian's unit.
"It's nice to be our friends, isn't it? They seem so relaxed, not stressing about money and the future yet," Adrian said.
"They have people they can rely on. They still have parents. We don't have anyone. It's understandable, I think, why they're still relaxed," Elsa commented.
"Honestly, I'd like to be as relaxed as them too, especially since I haven't really experienced anything yet. But for some reason, I just can't. I keep thinking about what we'll eat if we run out of money," Adrian replied.
"Hehe, that means you're already mature, you know? Only your body is still a teenager. We both were forced to grow up early. That's why I'm grateful we have all this, so it's not too hard," Elsa said.
"Yeah, that's true. If we didn't have all this, we might be like Meri and Remon," Adrian acknowledged.
"Exactly. So, while we can, let's enjoy it. Don't think too far ahead, and don't be afraid of running out," Elsa advised.
"Huh, says the person who made me keep thinking about it until now," Adrian retorted.
"Hehe, sorry, honey. Come here, come here," Elsa said.
Elsa turned and hugged Adrian beside her. Adrian also turned to see Elsa smiling and holding his cheek. They hugged again and slept soundly until morning. The next day, early in the morning, Adrian and Elsa went downstairs. Their friends were already waiting in the parking lot, and they set off for Puncak.