Chapter 24: Chapter 24

"What are you doing here?" With her super fierce gaze, Inez lifted her chin, glaring sarcastically at Rian, who was standing in front of her, more precisely blocking her way out of the classroom.

Rian chuckled softly. "Why are you even asking? Isn't it obvious that I want to meet you?" he said.

"Get out of my way, I'm going home!" Inez shouted right in front of Rian's face, making him immediately close his eyes tightly. Not only that, Inez pushed Rian's chest backward in a sarcastic gesture. But unfortunately, Rian did not move from his position at all, the boy was still holding on. What Inez did really didn't mean anything. Instead, Rian put on a big smile.

"Move aside, will you?!" Inez glared angrily. She held back her anger, her lips already clenched tightly with a hardened jaw. Her teeth chattered with annoyance.

"Hold on, I have something to say to you," Rian interrupted. He looked deeply at Inez.

"I don't have time to talk about things that aren't important at all, especially with you. Do you understand me?"

Rian exhaled slowly, trying to be patient. He didn't need to be angry because he already knew Inez's nature. That girl was prone to emotional outbursts.

"I just want to give you this," said Rian, a second later thrusting two chocolate bars towards Inez. He hoped Inez would accept them gladly, at least this once, so he could calm down and feel like he still had hope.

Looking down quickly, Inez's eyeballs blinked a few times. Then her gaze returned to Rian. Rian began to smile, the fierce face that Inez had shown a few moments ago had begun to recede, and was now replaced by a slightly smiling face. Would Inez accept this gift? If she did, Rian would appreciate it.

"Are you sure this is for me?" asked Inez, her voice now sounding soft. She looked at Rian with her eyebrows almost drawn together.

"Yes, for you. Let's hurry up and get it." Rian's face looked really enthusiastic. He was so happy, this was the first time Inez was willing to accept his gift. How could Rian not be happy? When Inez didn't take it, Rian shook the chocolate bar that he had bought.

Slowly, Inez's hand stretched forward, taking the chocolate bar hesitantly. Rian smiled even wider, as did Inez.

"If I knew you liked chocolate like this, I'd keep giving it to you, Nez. If it's still not enough, you can ask me anytime."

Inez raised her face, then she walked past Rian, who was no longer in her way. Once outside the classroom, Inez turned around to face Rian.

Inez smiled widely. "Thanks for the chocolate," she said while shaking the chocolate bar given by Rian.

Rian chuckled and shook his head. "Yes, but—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Rian immediately stopped talking when he saw Inez throwing the chocolate towards the trash can that was not far from his place. Rian was flabbergasted and shocked at what Inez had done.

Meanwhile, Inez immediately rounded her mouth wide, as if she didn't realize what she had done. The girl covered her mouth. "Oops. Not on purpose."

A second after that, Inez's laughter sounded so loud that some students who happened to be passing by looked at her with hard-to-interpret stares.

Rian's face immediately turned bright red, and he fell silent with a shattered feeling. The boy turned his face away and let out a rough sigh, before he finally stepped away from her without saying a word. Along with Rian's departure, Inez's laughter stopped. The girl immediately stared at Rian's fast-paced departure.

Inez immediately turned her face towards the trash can where the chocolate was lying. Inez swallowed. She looked back at Rian's back, but he was nowhere to be seen.

For the first time, Inez felt a pang of guilt in her heart.

***

Having not worked as a waiter in a restaurant for quite some time, Cakra was really excited today. He was ready for the activity. He also seemed to miss the place a little. Today, he was allowed to work.

Cakra didn't want to make a bad impression on his first day of work after taking a few days off, so he arrived fifteen minutes early.

Parking his bike in the usual spot, he went straight into the restaurant's kitchen through the back door.

"Cakra? How did you come so early?"

Cakra immediately turned his head around at the question, he was quite surprised and immediately smiled at Ani, the cook at the restaurant who worked from morning until nightfall. Ani is a permanent employee here, unlike Cakra, who can only be part-time or an apprentice. Understandably, he was still in school.

"Yes, just to make the boss happy so I don't get angry all the time," Cakra replied a little jokingly, he chuckled softly.

Ani smiled. "That's good then."

Cakra nodded. "Then I'll change my clothes first, okay?" he said. After Ani said yes, Cakra immediately went to the toilet and changed his uniform into decent clothes. The restaurant where he worked was not so formal that every server had to wear a suit and bow tie. Although it was not uncommon for this restaurant to be visited by officials and office bosses.

Coming out of the bathroom, Cakra took the apron and put it on. He returned to Ani, who was slicing potatoes.

"Is it still quiet?" he asked casually.

"At this hour, it's normal, it's not really crowded yet, it'll be more crowded at night," replied Ani with a warm smile.

Ani is a friendly woman who is a pleasure to chat with. It's not difficult to get along with her. Cakra is also closer to this coworker than the others, but that doesn't mean Cakra closes himself off to other employees.

"How was yesterday's leave?" asked Ani again.

Cakra immediately replied. "Yes, that's how it was. I'm still tired because I came back from school in the afternoon, but it's a bit better and I can rest," he answered honestly. "How about yourself?"

"I get bored if I don't work, I don't know what to do. Better to get tired," he said. "Oh yes, you just rest first. Sit there, it's still quiet. You must be tired from riding your bike here."

Cakra chuckled and shook his head. "No, the boss will see me relaxing, and I'll get sprayed. I'll clean up the table first, okay?"

"Yes, whatever you want."

Cakra immediately moved from there. He walked over to the empty table and sprayed some cleaning solution on the surface, before he wiped it carefully.

After he had cleaned three tables, Cakra saw a customer coming in. The boy immediately made a small run to the kitchen. Then he returned to the newcomer with a small note.

"Hello, welcome to our restaurant. How can I help you?"

***

After putting on her face mask, Inez laid down on the bed. She took a long breath and blinked her eyes while staring at the ceiling of her room. And at the same time, Cakra's face immediately rang in her brain.

Inez wondered if Cakra had come home from where he worked at this hour. Inez glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand, the hands still showed eight o'clock in the evening.

Inez moved to sleep on her side. She wondered if he didn't feel tired and exhausted. Not to mention that at home, Cakra must also be doing other activities, considering that the boy takes care of his grandmother.

Damn, Inez didn't have the boy's cell phone number. For some reason, Inez wanted to know what Cakra was doing. Sighing in disappointment, Inez immediately got up to sit on the bed.

Wondering what to do, Inez got up, put on her furry slippers, and walked to the nightstand drawer. She remembered that after school, she put the letter given by the teacher to her parents there.

Previously, Inez wanted to ignore this matter and stop worrying about it. However, her intention suddenly disappeared, replaced by a feeling of regret. Inez would have gotten into even more trouble if she hadn't told her father or mother. Surely the school would call her home directly.

No, Inez shook her head slowly. She did not want to get angry. Especially getting a hard slap from her father. In the past, Inez had indeed been slapped, causing a reddish mark there because, at two in the morning, she had just arrived home. Yes, at that time, Inez had just returned from a nightclub drunk.

Inez, who was still drunk at the time, of course showed no resistance at all.

But when she returned from the same place and was escorted by Cakra that night, her position was still safe because her father was out of town.

Inez pressed her lips together as she took a breath, before finally getting up and walking out of the room. It was better to be honest, it was better.

Closing the door, Inez walked down the stairs, then turned towards the kitchen. There was no mama there. Inez decided to go to the living room.

Sure enough, her mama was there, sitting on the sofa, staring intently at the television screen in front of her. Inez looked down, noticing the brown envelope in her hand. She considered her decision for a moment before finally deciding to be honest.

"What are you watching, mom?" It's very serious." Inez spoke quite loudly as she took a seat next to her mom.

Her mother gave Inez a glance, then turned her gaze back to the front. "The usual soap opera," her mom replied.

Inez nodded without interest as she also turned her face to the big screen in front of her. She tucked her hair behind her ear.

"You're a real person, bothering people's husbands," Inez's mom growled, clenching her hands into fists. "You little bitch!"

Inez immediately turned her face away, blinking her eyes at her mom in astonishment. "What the hell, Mom, it's just acting. It's not really that bad, you don't need to be too upset," Inez said, rolling her eyes lazily. She was a little annoyed with the response her mom had just shown.

"Yes, I know it's just an act, but it's still wrong! It's like there's no one else." Inez's mom snorted harshly.

"Whatever you say," Inez broke off, choosing to give in. She didn't want to take her mom's words anymore because they were useless, and her mom would keep nagging her.

There was a long pause after that because they focused on watching the actors who were acting. Actually, only Inez's mom was too focused, while Inez was very lazy. She only respects her mom's time to finish watching the movie, before Inez launches her own action.

Inez yawed repeatedly, looking very bored sitting here. After all, she already knew the storyline, like the one her mom was watching now. Classic plot, very cliché. Even without watching, Inez would know what the ending would be.

"What's with the commercial?" her mom said annoyed. While Inez smiled, this was her time.

Before Inez opened her mouth to say something, her mom turned to her first, her eyes squinting suspiciously.

"What have you been doing here? You don't like watching television." The middle-aged woman beside Inez asked. She then continued before Inez interrupted. "There must be something you want. Confess?"

Inez chuckled, "What the hell, mom!" She said she was annoyed. "It was my good intention to accompany you to the movie so you wouldn't be lonely."

"You don't have to lie to your mom, there's something you want. What do you want?There's no need to talk anymore," her mom said quickly, making Inez stutter. "I've known you since you were a baby, so there's no need to hide it. What are you hiding behind?"

Inez was getting dead on the spot. Her eyes blinked repeatedly, and she continued to move restlessly, uncomfortable with her sitting position. Sihit, apparently this mom knew from the start that Inez was in the mood. The girl finally let out a long sigh, choosing not to be evasive. Already caught red-handed, just need to soak longer in the hole.

"Why are you quiet? Do you have a problem?" Her mother asked again when she realized her daughter was silent. The middle-aged woman smiled a little, moved slowly closer to Inez, and then rubbed the back of her only daughter's hand. "What's wrong? Tell me now," she continued.

Inez was caught off guard for a moment. "You won't get mad, right?" Inez asked, just to make sure. There was no harm in asking that, right? Inez pressed her lips together.

"I won't get angry," her mom replied, "as long as you're honest with me and don't cover up your problems. Understand?"

"Promise?" said Inez, her little finger pointing forward. She waited for her mom to hook her little finger.

"Yes, promise, I won't get angry," said her mom, linking her little finger with Inez's little finger. For a moment, Inez could breathe a sigh of relief and smile.

Without any hesitation, Inez took out the brown envelope from behind her back. Inez saw the look of confusion on her mother's face, her forehead was furrowed with both eyebrows almost together.

"I'm in the counseling room, mom," she said.

"WHAT?!" Her mom immediately shouted loudly.

Inez's eyeballs grew wide. "Mom, you said you wouldn't be mad, how come you just started yelling!" Inez spread her cheeks, annoyed with her mom. Her lips quirked forward.

The middle-aged woman immediately grabbed the envelope in Inez's hand. She opened it impatiently and read the paper with a serious face, ignoring the soap opera that had returned.

"You lied, you said you weren't angry!"

Ignoring Inez's words, her mother asked another question. "Why are you in counseling?"

"I brought my make up."

"Are you in school or do you want to make up? Everywhere you go to school, you bring books, you're the only one like this." Her mother gave Inez an accusing look.

"I bring books too."

Her mother snorted harshly, shaking her head. "I brought them, but I brought fewer books. Do you have to go there tomorrow?"

Inez nodded. "Yes, you're angry, aren't you?"

"Yes, i'm angry!"

"Liar!" Inez gritted her teeth in annoyance. Then Inez threw an annoyed look at her mom, before she got up from her seat. "I'll just go back to my room then."