HOME - THURSDAY, AFTERNOON, 3:45 PM
(The day after the chocolate giving)
Bang!
I stormed into the house and threw my backpack onto the sofa with all my strength.
"ARGH! SO ANNOYING!" I screamed in frustration.
Mom, who was enjoying her tea in the living room, turned in surprise. Papa, who was reading work reports, also looked up.
Click. Mom set her cup down with a soft clink.
"Oh my, Kirana. What's wrong?" Her eyes narrowed, scanning my face which was probably already bright red.
"Uh..." I suddenly felt awkward, just realizing they were there. "Th-that guy, Mom... Nico. He's so annoying." I dropped down next to Mom, pulled a sofa cushion into my lap, and squeezed it.
"New drama? Weren't you all starry-eyed yesterday telling stories about him?"
"Huff. Mom won't believe it. Earlier I... I..." My sentence hung in the air. My tongue nearly revealed my stupidity to them. "Never mind, Mom. Forget it."
Mom scooted closer, her hand starting to rub my shoulder in an exaggerated motion. "What happened? Go on, tell us. Papa wants to hear too, don't you, Papa?"
"Of course. Sounds more interesting than Papa's office reports." Papa lowered his glasses to the tip of his nose, then closed the report in his lap.
I brought my face close to Mom's ear, whispering behind my palm. "Earlier, I approached Nico."
Mom pulled my wrist away. "You did what, Kirana? APPROACHED NICO?"
"Ssh, Mom!" I lightly hit Mom's shoulder, who was laughing behind her hand, followed by Papa who now joined in laughing.
I took a breath. "Mom, after giving me chocolate yesterday, he should have started a conversation or at least said 'hi,' right? But earlier when he walked past my desk, he just strolled by. So I thought... why don't I take the initiative."
"I remember clearly what happened in class. I kept stealing glances at Nico, who was busy chatting with Victor. While occasionally grumbling to myself, why doesn't he just say hi to me?"
"My eyes accidentally examined his appearance from afar. Untucked uniform, messy hair—but not the wild kind like the bad boys in the Chaos faction. He looked more like a model on a magazine cover. And... ahem. As the disciplinary officer, isn't it my duty to scold an anti-order icon like him?"
"I had a legitimate reason to say hi without looking aggressive, right? Ehehe."
When class was free and Victor had disappeared somewhere, I walked over, putting on the sweetest smile I had. "Hi, Nico. You remember me, right? Kirana, the one you gave snacks to yesterday. But sorry, today I'm here as the disciplinary officer."
He was flipping through the pages of his book, not really reading, just killing boredom.
I pointed at his uniform. "Could you please fix your uniform? It's against the rules, you know. And maybe... comb your 'artistic' hair too."
He didn't look up. His fingers kept flipping pages, completely ignoring me.
"Come on, a little discipline. Image is important, you know. It's how people judge you."
Still silent. The book pages in front of him turned again.
I raised an eyebrow. "Or I'll fine you later," I threatened half-jokingly. While opening the disciplinary officer's notebook, I scribbled random notes to look busy.
The corner of Nico's lip finally moved. "Discipline?" He glanced at me briefly, giving a sly, unreadable smile. "Bossy girl... are YOU even disciplined?"
"Huh?" Reflexively, I looked down to check myself; clean shoes, straight tie, neatly combed hair. Nothing wrong.
I tilted my head. "What do you mean?"
Nico closed his book slowly, then turned to me. "You're busy telling everyone to follow rules. But guess who always skips cleaning duty every Thursday?"
I froze. Skip cleaning duty? Thursday? Who? When I realized, my pupils widened... Uh, wait. Th-that's me!
He laughed softly, mockingly. "Bossy girl, what's more important? Your stupid image, or actual substance?"
The room around me felt like it was spinning. I wanted to explain, but my words got stuck in my throat. All I could do was turn and walk away on trembling knees.
Clap!
Mom snapped her fingers in front of my face. "Well! You got caught by your own trap, Kirana! Mom didn't think you'd dare skip duty. Even though you always said you're the most anti-mess."
I looked down, squeezing my suddenly cold fingers. "I was wrong, Mom... Actually Thursday is my choir club schedule. If I do cleaning duty, the timing is really tight," I defended in a squeaky voice. Papa just stayed quiet, with a hint of disappointment on his face.
"But! But! I immediately did cleaning duty afterward! I did it even though I ended up being eight minutes late to choir," I added quickly.
Papa's stern expression seemed to soften. Meanwhile Mom nodded and stroked my hair. "That's my girl. Then what?"
I sighed in relief and continued the story more softly.
"That afternoon, the classroom still felt alive under the scorching sun. Dust danced in the light and the lingering scent of whiteboard markers filled the room. When I entered, I saw Nico sweeping the floor.
Oh. I thought. So this is why he knew I was skipping, because we're on the same duty schedule. Makes sense. I grabbed a broom from the corner until I realized... The classroom was empty, just the two of us, accompanied by the swish-swish sound of his broom as background noise.
"Where is everyone? Still in the biology lab?"
He just gave me that look. The look that makes you feel stupid for not seeing the obvious.
"No way! They all bailed?"
"Every Thursday, they all bail. Including you. I do it alone." There was no anger in his tone. More like he was stating the most normal thing in the world.
My body went limp. I felt like absolute trash. Without another word, I immediately helped. In that silent classroom, we did the work of six people. Without talking, just... working. Sweeping the floor, gathering trash, tidying books.
Once done, we walked out of the classroom together.
"Um, Nico..." I gathered my courage to extend the conversation. "I've done my cleaning duty. Now it's your turn to fix your uniform. Even, right?"
He glanced over his shoulder. "If I don't, what will you do? Skip duty again? Fine, go ahead. I won't stop you." Then he walked away without looking back.
"Aaargh!" I punched Mom's shoulder in frustration. "I was just bluffing, Mom! Why can't he tell that I just wanted to talk longer? Such a stupid guy!"
Papa laughed out loud, having to set his report down on the table. "Your approach was wrong, Kirana. For someone like him, your offer sounded like a transaction. He doesn't like being forced just for the sake of image." Papa smiled. "Hmm, Papa is getting interested in this guy named Nico."
Mom, whose laughter hadn't subsided, rubbed my shoulder. "Seems like you need a new, more sincere strategy, Kirana."
"More sincere, huh, Mom?" I paused for a moment.
Suddenly, a mischievous idea crossed my mind. I leaned toward Mom with a sly smile. "Hey, Mom. How did you approach Papa back in the day? Or... did Papa approach you first?"
Cough!
Mom seemed to choke on air. Her cheeks suddenly flushed.
"Kirana," Mom cut in with a hoarse voice, "you're tired, right? You should eat and then rest."
Papa suddenly became very focused on examining his report again, even though the paper in his hands was upside down. "Yes, Kirana. Mom's right. Go take a shower."
I got more excited. "Come on, tell me! Who made the first move?"
"Kirana." Papa's voice deepened, trying to sound stern.
But I saw it! Papa was hiding a smile while glancing at a photo on the wall. I followed his gaze.
Wow, wow. That's a photo of Mom when she was young, isn't it? White outfit, black hat... Wait. Why does Mom look so cool there? Ugh, not fair.