Chapter 14: Chapter 14

Before getting out of her car, Inez took the time to polish her lips with lipstick, sprinkle thick powder on her face, and powder her eyelashes with eyeshadow. Then, after feeling that her makeup looked okay, Inez immediately got out of her car.

Inez walked out of the parking lot looking confident. Her uniform looked tight, revealing her sexy curves, making the boys who saw her immediately stand still as if hypnotized.

Inez is used to things like this. She doesn't feel uncomfortable, in fact, she's happy, especially if she's praised, Inez likes it when other people judge how good she looks.

This time, while carrying a fairly large tote bag, Inez did not go to her class, but to the science building to visit Cakra's class. She would give him new Converse shoes and a new shirt instead.

Last night, accompanied by her mommy, Inez went to the mall and washed her eyes to see the eye-catching items in that place.

When she was almost at her destination, Inez was surprised by Cakra, who was sitting on the long bench in front of her class. Inez stopped on the ledge, her eyes squinting, trying to see what Cakra was doing.

Only then did Inez realize that he was glueing his shoes with peeling soles. Inez was rooted to the spot while thinking about Cakra.

The boy went to school by bicycle, and now Inez saw that Cakra was wearing shoes that were no longer fit to wear. Did Cakra come from a poor family? Inez didn't know, but some of the evidence was enough to prove it, even though she didn't fully know.

No wonder Cakra always insisted on getting his shoes back as soon as possible, apparently he was wearing shoes that had already been thrown away. Doesn't Cakra have any other shoes? She doesn't know...

Inez exhaled a long breath, looked at the tote bag in her hand for a while, then she walked closer to Cakra. The boy seemed focused and unaware of Inez's presence.

When she was near the boy, who was currently wearing sportswear, Inez immediately grabbed the shoes that were still being treated by Cakra.

"Shoes that aren't fit to wear should belong here, not on your feet." Inez quipped while throwing Cakra's bad shoes towards the trash can that was not far away.

Cakra, who was surprised because his shoes flew off and ended up in the trash can, of course immediately protested. The boy even stood up, glaring at Inez. While Inez just folded her hands in front of her chest while putting on a defiant face, as if she were not afraid of Cakra.

"What, are you angry with me because I threw away the shoes?" Inez demanded before Cakra had a chance to grumble.

"How come you're the one who's fierce? I should be the one angry, those are my shoes, why did you throw them away?" Cakra defended himself. His gaze turned even sharper. "You have no right to throw my shoes in the trash."

With a long snort, Cakra rushed to the trash can where Inez had thrown her only shoe. Before he could touch it, Inez kicked the trash can until it was moved a few meters away. The contents were now scattered everywhere.

Cakra gasped, and his head immediately turned to Inez, he couldn't believe that Inez would do something like that.

Cakra's jaw hardened. "You ..."

"What, you don't accept me kicking that trash can?" challenged Inez again with a lopsided smile.

Cakra tried to be calm and not get emotional. He closed his eyes and breathed out slowly.

He then stared at Inez for a long time, still not understanding what she meant by coming out of nowhere, and then bothering him after that.

Inez sneered, "Why are you staring at me like that? Are you telling me to pick up the trash?"

"I didn't say anything!" said Cakra.

"But you want to say that."

"I haven't said anything yet."

"You haven't, but you want to."

Cakra chose to give in. The boy was silent for a moment while digesting more deeply and trying to explore the meaning of why Inez did this. He looked at the girl in front of him again. "What's wrong with you?"

Inez moved closer to Cakra. "Don't wear those shoes again," she said while showing the shoes that Cakra had previously worn. Inez then handed over the tote bag in her hand.

Cakra did not immediately take Inez's gift, he was confused for a few seconds. He looked at the tote bag in Inez's hand and looked at Inez's face in turn.

Inez chuckled exasperatedly, her eyeballs rolling lazily. "Why are you staring? Hurry up and take it!" she said anxiously as she shook the tote bag in her hand.

Although initially hesitant, Cakra still obeyed what Inez said. The boy immediately opened the tote bag and looked at the contents.

"You better use that," said Inez.

"What's inside?"

"Why are you even asking? You're the one holding the item. Try opening it."

Cakra was already suspicious of Inez. After she told him to open it, he didn't immediately comply. Instead, he squinted one eye.

"What's inside? It's not a bomb, right?" he asked with an innocent look on his face.

Inez widened her eyes. "How could you think that? It's impossible. What a joke you are."

"Next time," said Cakra.

After opening the contents, Cakra found Converse shoes and a shirt. Both looked similar to his own, what made them different was that the items in his hand were new. Cakra immediately looked back at Inez.

"Where are my original shoes and shirt?" Cakra asked.

Inez grimaced for a moment. "They're not in my house, so I bought new ones."

"I don't want to wear this," Cakra said quickly, cutting Inez off. He put the shoes and shirt back into the tote bag, then placed it beside himself.

"This is not mine." Cakra continued. "I want my original ones back, the original shoes and shirt, not the new ones."

Shit, apparently Inez was wrong about this. Instead of liking it, Cakra was angry with her. This was a little strange and made Inez a little confused. He should be happy to get his stuff back with the new version. Most people wouldn't be, right?

Inez cleared her throat. "But now it's yours."

"It's not mine, it's yours."

"This is my apology for losing yours," said Inez. Actually, only her shoes were already in someone else's hands because of her mother's actions, while Cakra's shirt was still in her closet. Inez deliberately wanted to keep it.

Cakra answered sharply. "Why did you lose it? You don't know how to thank me, do you?" At the end of his sentence, Cakra smiled wryly.

"Who would you want to help that night? I can walk by myself. You gave yourself up to help me, right?"

"Oh, yeah?" Cakra was now standing in front of Inez. He took a step closer to her while focusing his gaze on Inez's eyes. "If I hadn't been there that night, you wouldn't be here right now."

"Do you feel like a hero for helping me?" asked Inez while pushing Cakra's chest back a little. Not too hard, just to create some distance.

"No," replied Cakra, "I did it because it was my duty to help you."

"Well, why are you prolonging the problem? I bought a new one for you, you should be happy. You shouldn't be angry like this."

"Happy?" Cakra shook his head. "Not at all, I like my old shoes better."

"But you don't have any shoes anymore, just accept it. Don't be so pretentious, I know you don't have any more shoes. You wouldn't want to exercise in shoes that are already peeling, right?"

"You can take them home." Cakra handed the tote bag back to Inez. But Inez didn't immediately accept it, she just stayed silent. Making Cakra forcibly open Inez's hand.

"You better wear my old shoes," said Cakra. "I don't want to be pitied by anyone. Including you."

The boy stared at Inez for a while before moving to the trash can that Inez had kicked a few minutes ago. Cakra collected some of the trash scattered on the floor and put it in the trash can again. Inez shuddered at the sight of Cakra, who disdainfully picked it all up.

After finishing, Cakra picked up his shoes and walked past Inez to go to his class. However, Cakra stopped when he reached the doorway of the classroom. The boy looked back.

"Thank you for bothering to buy those for me," he said with a flat face. "I can accept your gift, but not the memories."