Chapter 26: Chapter 26

"Why did he move here anyway? It's just causing trouble, you know? Our class has been fine without any problems. But since he's been here, we've gotten a bad reputation from the teachers. You know that we've never had any problems at all, and we've even been the peaceful class, right?"

It would be a big lie if Cakra didn't hear the words that insinuated him all the way. Cakra did not turn his head to see who the person was who was talking like that. He didn't want to get into trouble here. He sighed, then chose to continue his steps towards his seat.

As much as possible, Cakra did not take offense at the harsh words of his classmates, who considered him a carrier of waste. Because Cakra was in the counseling room, there were not a few teachers who smirked at that. Remembering that their class once earned the nickname "the best" with no problems.

Besides, Cakra was too lazy to serve, and even though he had told the truth, surely none of his classmates would believe it.

"Cakra, I want to talk to you for a moment."

Cakra immediately looked up, watching Ferdy, the class president. Cakra snorted softly, but he did not respond. He could already deduce the discussion of the questions that Ferdy was going to explain.

"Everyone is angry with you, you know?" asked Ferdy while sitting in the chair next to Cakra.

He averted his gaze, now watching the outside world through the window beside him. The boy only mumbled as much as he could.

Ferdi continued. "I don't know if you brought a cigarette or if someone is actually joking with you. But what's certain is that you've disappointed us with your attitude."

Cakra immediately turned his face away. "So?"

Ferdy let out a short breath. "As a lesson, I want you to stop looking for trouble."

Cakra smiled wryly. "I already have a lot of problems of my own," he said, refusing to make eye contact with Ferdy.

"It's not just about the cigarettes, Cakra, the teachers have also started mentioning you fighting with your seniors. I hope you can manage your emotions in the future. You're not the only one who suffers, we all do."

Cakra did not reply, choosing to ignore. Ferdy then stood up from his seat, tapped Cakra's shoulder for a few moments, before finally going back to his seat again. Cakra glanced at the class president briefly, until finally he exhaled deeply.

Zidan, who had just entered the class and saw Ferdy talking to Cakra, was curious. Zidan glanced at Cakra and Ferdy in turn, before finally walking quickly to his seat. right next to Cakra.

When Zidan sat down, Cakra did not turn his head at all and preferred to focus on his book. Zidan tapped Cakra's shoulder, making Cakra immediately turn his head.

"Why?"

Zidan glanced back at Ferdy from his seat. He spoke in a half-whisper. "What did Ferdy discuss with you just now?"

Cakra shrugged his shoulders indifferently, going back to reading his book. "There's no need to discuss it."

Zidan's lips twitched. "What the hell? I'm even more curious."

"Let's not talk about it," replied Cakra, coldly.

Zidan snorted rudely. "If you don't want to answer, I can ask Ferdi too." Zidan stood up from his seat, ready to step out of it, but a hand grabbed his arm. Zidan looked down, then met Cakra's sharp eyes.

Cakra signaled with her eyes for Zidan to return to his seat, which, of course, he immediately obeyed.

"What?" asked Zidan. "He made things with you, huh?"

Cakra shook his head slowly. "No, I was just told not to cause trouble. Do you know about the rokook incident? Not to mention me fighting with Rian."

Understanding Cakra's explanation, Zidan nodded his head. "I don't really bother thinking about our famously good class anyway. "Ferdy mentioned the class too, right?"

"Hmm."

"Just relax," Zidan said. "Don't take it personally if someone says that. They're actually nice, it's just that this class doesn't have any problems. So once there's a problem, it's a big deal. Not to mention that you're new here. See what I mean?"

"It's useless to explain the truth, they won't believe me," Cakra muttered. Then he looked at Zidan's face. "I doubt you'll believe me either. There's no evidence to convince you all. I realize I was wrong here."

"I believe you, take it easy."

Cakra gave a small smile. "If you want to change seats, no problem, I can do it myself."

Zidan looked surprised. "I trust you. I swear, I didn't think that you were carrying a cigarette. I've never seen you smoke anyway."

"Outside of school, do you know?" Cakra challenged. Raising his eyebrows, he looked at Zidan intimidatingly. Zidan looked confused when he answered.

Cakra patted Zidan's shoulder. "I'm not angry, just calm down. You should think first before you really want to be friends with me." Cakra lifted his body from the chair. "I'm saying this before you regret it." Putting on a smile, Cakra walked out of the classroom with his hands in his pockets.

"Where are you going?" asked Zidan, reflexively standing up from his seat.

Cakra did not answer Zidan's question, nor did he turn his head. He continued to walk away from the classroom to calm down. Cakra needed a moment.

But suddenly, his footsteps stopped when he reached the doorway. In front of him, Ferdy stood while looking sharply at him.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Out."

"Where are you going?" Ferdy repeated his question.

Cakra let out a long breath. "Do I really have to tell you where I'm going?"

"I'm the class president here, if you want to go, you have to ask my permission first. You can be a little polite with the class president, right?"

"Where I'm going is none of your business," replied Cakra, not at all afraid. "Can you move a little?"

"The bell will ring soon, you have to stay here. I'll be confused if the teacher asks where you are. Then it's all of us who get hit in the end. You're selfish, aren't you?" Ferdy held back his anger. His eyes were glaring sarcastically at Cakra.

There was silence for a while, neither of them said a word. Just looking at each other with piercing eyes. Until the sound from the school speakers suddenly sounded.

It was announced to all students, because today the teachers and principal held a meeting. You are free from class for the next hour. Thank you.

Cakra's eyebrows went up one. "You can move, right?"

Ferdy was still standing there with his hands clenched. Cakra then immediately nudged Ferdy's shoulder to get out. Isn't it wrong for him to do that? His mood was not good, and for the time being, Cakra did not want to be disturbed by anyone.

Because of the empty hour, all students mostly left the classroom and stormed the canteen. Cakra wanted to go to the library. He was sure that the place would bring comfort because it was free from the noisy atmosphere.

His eyes accidentally wandered to the basketball court. There he saw Rian alone, who was exercising. Rian was good at playing basketball, no doubt if he was appointed to be the basketball captain.

Cakra himself is actually quite good at playing the sport. But he wasn't too interested right now. There was too little time for fun.

Cakra wanted to take another step, but he saw Inez, who was standing in front of Rian. Cakra's forehead wrinkled, and his head wondered what Inez was doing with Rian.

Until finally Cakra saw Inez holding out a bottle of drink. Cakra was surprised, and for some reason, part of him was a little unwilling for Inez to do that.

***

Coming out of the cafeteria alone, Inez took another look at the bottle she was holding. She then stabilized herself, before finally walking towards the court, where Rian was playing basketball.

Yes, that's right, Inez was going to give the cold minimum to Rian. Not without reason, she did this, there was something that pushed her to apologize to Rian. Not because Inez was pressured by Ghea, this was purely her own desire. Honestly, ever since she threw Rian's chocolate into the trash can, Inez had felt uneasy.

She hoped that this method could work well, without giving the boy excessive expectations.

From ten meters away, Inez stopped walking, making sure again that she was sure she would surprise Rian by handing him the bottle. It felt really awkward and unsure. Inez then took a deep breath, gave it to him without further conversation, and then left. Yes, it was that easy. Inez was sure she could do it without any problems. Even though in her heart of hearts she wasn't sure about that.

As her distance from Rian eroded, Inez felt her heart pumping too fast. She was embarrassed, especially now that there were people glancing at her, even staring at her openly.

Rian, who accidentally saw Inez, immediately delayed throwing the ball into the basketball hoop. The boy squinted his eyes, making sure that what he saw was really Inez.

"Inez?" Rian muttered while walking slowly towards Inez, who had now entered the court area. Rian still couldn't believe Inez was coming, it was like a dream.

The boy wearing a sleeveless sports shirt looked confused when Inez was now standing in front of him, looking at him without blinking.

"Inez?"' Rian tried to engage Inez in conversation, but Inez never opened her mouth.

All the students who saw that, simultaneously crowded the field area. They wanted to know what was going to happen. Inez, who had forgotten that it was free time, looked shocked. But she tried to neutralize her face.

"Are you looking for me, Nez? Do you have a problem? Or are you hurt? Which one is hurt?" Rian blurted out endlessly, making Inez sick. The girl let out a long sigh.

"I'm fine," Inez explained.

"So why are you here?" Rian asked again, eager to hear Inez's answer. For a moment, Rian paid attention to his surroundings, but he didn't care about the people watching him, he just needed to hear Inez's answer.

Inez looked at Rian flatly. "Can't I come here?"

"You want to watch me play basketball?" Rian knew he was too confident to ask such a question. It was the only thing that came to his mind. What else would Inez be doing here anyway?

"I'm not interested," Inez said. Then she handed him the bottle of drink she bought at the cafeteria. "For you," she continued with a flat face. Even though her heart was already moving fast, I don't know why Inez felt that way.

There were screams, cheers, and applause from the students who were watching the scene. Inez turned her face away, looking ashamed of herself. Her cheeks were already heating up. It was so painful, even though Inez didn't want to feel this way.

Rian blinked his eyes for a moment. He couldn't believe this. Inez giving him a drink was something Rian had never imagined before. The boy looked happy and confused at the same time, wondering why Inez acted like this.

"For me?" Rian asked, just to make sure that Inez really gave it to him. However, Rian had his doubts.

"Hurry up and get it, my hands are sore," Inez urged, throwing him a dirty look. Rian smiled, then happily accepted Inez's gift.

Again, the cheers were heard. Rian immediately drank the cold mineral water given to him by Inez. Rian's action made the girls who witnessed it immediately melt. The boy's eyes look up and down, adding to the hysterical screams around him. Not only that, Rian spilled the remaining water on his hair and face. The madness of the girls was getting more and more brutal.

Inez shuddered at the sight of the girls around her. She thought they were too much. Inez admitted that Rian's looks were good, but Inez had pressed her heart not to fall in love with that boy.

"Nez, thanks for the drink. I'm really happy and excited to play," said Rian. His face was beaming.

Inez nodded without interest. "Already, right? Then I'll leave first." Inez immediately turned around without waiting for an answer from Rian. But Rian certainly didn't let that go, he wanted to talk to Inez a little longer.

Inez turned back to face Rian when a hand held her back. Her eyebrows knitted. "What?"

"Do you really want to open your heart to me, Nez?" Rian asked, his expression starting to get serious.

Inez smiled a little. This was what she didn't expect, Rian would respond that she had accepted his love.

"Listen to me," said Inez, looking up to see Rian with a chuckle. "I gave you a drink, but that doesn't mean I reciprocated your feelings, right? Do you understand me?"

Rian nodded. "Then what do you mean by giving me this drink?" he asked, raising the empty bottle in his hand. "Can you please tell me why?"

Inez didn't answer, she remained motionless. Shit, Inez had no answer to that question. She wanted to apologize, but her prestige was too great to break through her defenses.

Inez then rolled her eyes. "I want to go," she said. But again, Rian held her back, making Inez stick in place. Inez looked at Rian lazily.

"Explain to me first, Nez, why did you give me this drink? You like me too, right? You already want to accept me, right, Nez?"

Inez was silent.

Rian was getting more and more urgent. "Answer me, Nez! You love me too, right? I know how you feel, Nez, you can't lie to me."

"Don't talk nonsense," Inez replied, already getting annoyed.

"But why are you showing your concern by giving me this drink?"

"It doesn't mean I like you."

"Liar!"

Inez growled in frustration. If she had known it would turn out like this, Inez would have thought twice about doing it.

"I'm leaving," Inez broke off then.

For the third time, Rian grabbed Inez's wrist. However, a boy suddenly came, releasing Rian's hand that had been holding Inez.

"Let her go," said the boy, coldly.

"Cakra?" Inez blinked her eyes, unable to believe what she saw in front of her.

"I have nothing to do with you," Rian said as he looked at Cakra with a challenging look in his eyes.

Rian was about to hold Inez's hand again, but Cakra managed to brush him off. "Now Inez's business is mine too," he said coldly.

Cakra immediately pulled Inez's hand off the basketball court, but Rian managed to hold Inez's other hand.

"I'm not done with Inez yet." Rian shouted angrily while pulling Inez closer to him.

Not to be outdone, Cakra also pulled Inez's hand. "Inez doesn't want to talk to you."

"I'll talk to her first."

"Inez wants to leave here."

"I haven't finished talking yet."

"I need Inez!"

Inez felt dizzy hearing the shouting from Cakra and Rian, not to mention the hands that were being pulled by each other. Whoever it is, please save Inez!