Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Cakra's routine on weekends was more tiring than usual. He had to wake up early in the morning to clean his house. Even though his grandmother often did that activity, Cakra didn't have the heart to do it every day.

Cakra went to the bathroom and washed his face. After he was done, he took a towel and wiped his face. The first thing she did after getting out of the bathroom was go to wash the dishes and other kitchen utensils.

After struggling with sponges, soap, and cutlery, Cakra finally managed to finish everything. The boy let out a long sigh, walking towards his grandmother's room.

It was half past six in the morning, and Cakra saw his grandmother still fast asleep. Cakra's smile rose, he moved forward and rubbed his grandmother's hand.

His grandmother's face looks increasingly wrinkled, and Cakra feels sorry if he imagines his grandmother, who is exhausted every day. Cakra had no intention of waking his grandmother. The boy then got up from the bed and left his grandmother's room.

Cakra let out a long breath, wondering what he should do after this. After thinking for a while, he decided to sweep and mop the floor. Then he continued to clean the backyard, which must have been very dirty and full of dry leaves.

Cakra's work was finished at eight in the morning. The boy threw himself on a chair, then downed a glass of water. A heavy sigh escaped his nostrils and mouth simultaneously. Sweat was already pouring out of his forehead and neck. His body also felt sticky.

Intending to take a shower, Cakra was about to lift his buttocks from the chair, but his movement was stopped when his shoulder was rubbed with a slow motion, which for a moment made Cakra feel comfortable.

He looked up, then turned his head back. In that instant, he saw his grandmother, who had just woken up.

"Are you awake yet?" his grandmother asked with a smile. The woman, who was no longer young, pulled the chair next to Cakra and sat there.

"Already grandma," said Cakra politely.

"The floor is clean, did you sweep and mop it?"

"Yes, grandma, just once in a while. I feel sorry for you, you must be tired every day." Cakra chuckled softly while holding his grandmother's hand.

Grandma smiled. "You see, your only job is to study hard. To make me proud, you also work, right? You're more tired than me."

"Well, it's okay." Cakra waved his hand in front of his face. Clearing his throat, he continued. "I'm still young, I still have a lot of energy, and I'm still strong. This kind of work is nothing, Grandma. You, just relax, okay?"

"Are you tired now?"

"A little."

His grandmother rubbed the top of his head while trying to stand up from her seat. The frail old woman now stood behind him.

Confused by her grandmother's movements, Cakra finally asked a question. "What are you doing?" he said curiously.

"I'm going to give you a massage so you won't be sore."

"Grandma, but—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Grandma had already given Cakra a small massage on his shoulder. Cakra squirmed several times while grimacing.

"Ouch, grandma, it's ticklish," said Cakra, feeling uncomfortable. "Stop now, I'm not tired at all."

"Just started, already asking for it to end?" Grandma shook her head.

"Yes, Grandma, I'm just going to take a shower."

The boy immediately stood up from his seat, trying to get out of her reach. Her massage did feel good, but he couldn't stand the tingling he felt.

"I'll go to my room first, Grandma," he said.

"Yes, go take a shower, your body smells sour."

"You haven't bathed yet either, are we both smelly?"

Cakra laughed widely, as did grandma. For a while, they captured the moment of togetherness by laughing at each other. There is no one who knows what the future will be like, so there is nothing wrong if we are happy today, because we may not necessarily experience the same thing tomorrow.

Cakra managed to clean his body, then went out again to have breakfast that his grandmother had prepared. Just like his grandmother taught him, Cakra did not engage his grandmother in conversation while eating. He was silent and only focused on eating rice with stir-fried kale and fried tempeh.

After finishing breakfast, even though it was a little later in the day, Cakra quickly stopped his grandmother from setting the table.

"No, Grandma, I'll take care of it," he said, smiling his usual friendly smile. "You just sit down, okay?"

Knowing that what his grandson said would never be challenged, Grandma just nodded resignedly and let Cakra carry the dirty dishes to the sink. Then wash them right there.

"I'm done, Grandma," said Cakra, who was now standing next to his grandmother after a few minutes of washing plates and spoons, as well as cooking utensils and other things.

"I don't know what to do now that all the work is done," said his grandmother, looking at him intently.

"What are you confused about, Grandma? I just need to rest. Consider this your payment for being tired every day."

Grandma let out a long sigh. Her hand reached out and gently rubbed her grandson's arm. "That's exactly why I feel strange when I stay still and do nothing."

"Grandma, take it easy. You'll get sick if you keep working and never rest." Cakra sat beside his grandmother as he patted her shoulder. He always smiled at his grandmother.

The next thing he didn't expect was his grandmother pulling him into her warm embrace. Cakra was surprised for a few seconds and didn't know what to do, but the next second, he returned his grandmother's hug. She embraced his small body and closed his eyes.

"Thank you, for being a good grandson. I don't know how I would be now if you weren't here. I really love you."

Cakra patted his grandmother's weak back. His eyes suddenly felt hot and teary. His vision was also a bit blurry. Cakra was deeply touched, not expecting the sentence that escaped from his grandmother's pale lips.

Blinking his eyes, a clear liquid came out of his eyes. Cakra took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. He held his grandmother's body tighter.

"I really love you too, and I promise that I will always be by your side. I won't go far from you. I promise to make you happy. I'm sorry if I made a mistake with you, grandma."

"Yes, I trust my grandson. Be a good person, and don't ever let me down. I'll support you all the way, never give up, no matter how hard your problems are. You can definitely face problems. You are strong, you can do it. Forever, I will love you."

And Cakra couldn't hold back his tears any longer, his cries became louder after that. He was both touched and scared—touched because his grandmother always strengthened him and always supported his choices. And he was afraid that someday she would leave him for... Forever.

***

"Can you get out of my sight?" Ruffling her waist, Inez lifted her chin while sharpening her eyes, she stared disgustedly at the boy in front of her. The boy she had rejected more than three times.

Inez rolled her eyes lazily when Rian didn't move at all. It made Inez even more furious and annoyed with that boy.

"Are you blind or pretending not to understand what I'm saying?" Inez asked in a raised tone of voice.

"When are you going to give me a chance, Nez?" Rian turned his gaze to the side as he exhaled tiredly. It was only a few seconds before he finally focused his eyes back on Inez's beautiful face. "What am I missing? Whatever you want, I'll do it as long as you want to be with me."

"I don't like you," Inez said quickly, without another thought. She looked at Rian tiredly. Her arms were now crossed in front of her chest.

Rian still hadn't given up. The boy said again, "There are many who want to be my girlfriend if you know Nez, but why don't you want to?"

Inez's lopsided smile formed. "Oh yeah? So why don't you just go out with a girl who has a crush on you? You said there are many, right? You just have to choose, no need to bother."

"But I want to be with you," Rian replied finally. His gaze became more serious. He took one step forward. "You're the only one I want, Nez, no one else. In my heart, there is only you, there has always been you, and forever it will be like that. Please ... Give me a chance to make you happy. At least try it first, if it's a good fit, we'll continue, if not, it's up to you what you want. The important thing is to just do it first."

"By saying that, do you think I'll feel sorry for you?" Inez chuckled with a shake of her head. "How cheap are you to beg like this?"

"I won't give up on getting you," Rian said, sounding even more confident. "I really love you."

"No!" Inez was angry. Then she smiled wryly, "But unfortunately, I don't like you."

"Why do you dislike me?" asked Rian. "Why do you hate me so much?"

Inez was silent for a while. She looked at Rian's face silently. Then she cleared her throat briefly. "My heart doesn't choose you, so I can't. And I don't hate you, I just don't like you begging me for love like this. Instead of me melting, I'll feel even worse about you, you know?"

And there's one more reason you don't know Rian. Inez said it in her heart.

"So what do you want me to do?"

"You stop acting like this to me. Just so you know, this is all really annoying, you know? I don't like it, you make me sick every time I see you." Inez paused her words for a moment. "So, from now on, you don't have to see me anymore. Got it?"

Rian immediately held Inez's right hand when she turned around and intended to leave his presence.

"Let me go!" said Inez firmly.

"Listen to me first."

"I'm going to class."

"Just two minutes," Rian added.

Inez finally agreed, two minutes was not a lot of time. Inez exhaled tiredly, then turned around. She looked at Rian lazily. "Okay, two minutes."

Rian nodded. "I have a question for you."

"What?"

"Do you like other boys?" Rian asked to the point.

Inez smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, I like another boy. And it's not you."

"Is that why you don't want to date me?" Rian continued.

"Yeah, you guessed right again." Inez nodded her head firmly.

"If I may know, who is the boy you have a crush on? Why did you choose him over me?"

"Unfortunately, it's not your business to know." Inez replied smugly. "And to be honest, I'm more interested in the boy I like than you are, even though materially you have everything. I'll get him no matter what."

"You say I'm begging you for love, but you'd do the same thing yourself."

Checkmate.

Inez immediately fell silent as she looked away. Her cheeks instantly turned bright red. Inez cleared her throat, immediately covering her embarrassment with a big smile.

"At least I'll use a better way than you. You'll see, I'll get him in no time. And I'm telling you again, you don't need to approach me or beg me, because my heart doesn't belong to you. Do you understand crazy boy?"

A lopsided smile played on Inez's lips for a split second before she turned around. Leaving Rian in his place while letting out a long breath.

When Inez's body disappeared behind her classroom door, Rian moved there. After only two steps, Rian turned his head back to look at Inez's class.

Rian's smile formed sarcastically. "You think I'm just going to give up here, Nez?"

Meanwhile, Inez immediately threw her body onto the chair. Making Ghea, who was sitting beside her, frown in confusion.

"Why are you?" Ghea asked curiously. Her gaze focused on Inez's face, which was showing an annoyed expression.

Inez didn't answer, she only glanced at Ghea briefly, before clucking her tongue and staring lazily ahead. Ghea speculated to herself.

"You're really upset," Ghea added. "What's wrong with you? Tell me. Making people curious is five times more sinful."

"You know what you're doing," said Inez.

"That's why you need to tell me what's wrong. Did Cakra return the shoes you gave him? Or what?"

"It's not Cakra, it's Rian," Inez finally replied, followed by a brief snort and an eyeball roll.

Ghea cleared her books and placed them under the table, then refocused on Inez. "What's wrong with that boy? Bothering you again?"

"You know, he's really interested in me."

It was Ghea who let out a rough breath. She shook her head, not knowing what to do. Dizzy, Inez always complained like this. The problem was definitely not far from Rian, who was bothering her.

"Do you need advice from me, Nez?" Ghea asked.

"Do you have any?" Inez focused her gaze on Ghea. One eyebrow dipped slightly upward. "Do you have any ideas on how to keep Rian from trying to beg me for love again?"

"Yes, I have an idea," Ghea said with a firm nod, making Inez's curiosity double.

"What is it?"

"Try accepting Rian's love."

In the instant after Ghea's thoughtless remark, Inez pinned her best friend's head quite hard. "Fuck you! Instead of dodging, you're getting closer and closer!" Inez gritted her teeth while glaring.

Ghea grimaced, her hand rubbing her head, which had just been hit by Inez's no-moral poke. "I'm serious, Nez."

"What the hell are you doing? I don't like Rian!"

"Try it first, Nez, who knows if it fits. Also, don't hate Rian so much. Watch out, you'll get karma. Like in the movies, hate becomes love. It could be that you actually like Rian, but you always deny it. You'll regret it if Rian goes out with someone else, Nez."

Inez covered her ears with her palms. Her eyes closed tightly.

"I'M NOT LISTENING!"