Chapter 28: Chapter 28

Inez cursed the always congested streets of the capital city, she hated being stuck in traffic like this. She repeatedly swore and exhaled tiredly. She had a cramped mind, a traffic jam, a hot body, and Rian sitting next to her. She swears that she felt really unlucky this afternoon.

In contrast to Inez, Rian actually smiled happily. When else would he be able to be alone with Inez for a long time? Yes, even though it's not in a nice and comfortable place, but still Rian will make the most of this time. The goddess Fortuna seems to be on his side at the moment.

"Ouch, when is the road?" Inez chuckled in exasperation. "I'm already so hot, I want to go home and take a shower. I can't stand it!" Inez repeatedly moved uncomfortably.

Rian smiled a little at Inez. "Patience, Nez, there must be something ahead. Besides, the air conditioner is also on, how come you're so hot? I'm fine too."

Inez returned Rian's gaze sarcastically. "Yes, the AC is on, but it's you who made my car so hot." Inez glared. "Why should I be stuck in traffic with you anyway?"

"A soul mate maybe?" Rian replied casually while shrugging his shoulders. She chuckled a little.

Inez clicked her tongue. "You're so confident." Inez shuddered while turning her face away.

Rian shook his head. "Take it easy, Nez, sit tight. The traffic jam will be over soon."

"How can I relax?" Inez said. "You're here," he said without feeling guilty.

Rian never took Inez's hurtful words to heart, instead of feeling offended and bitter, the boy chuckled. "What's wrong with me, Nez?"

"You're the bearer of traffic!" Inez joked a little about shouting. "I never get stuck when I go home alone, or even with Ghea. This is the first time I've ever been stuck on my way home from school, with you too!"

"Why are you so cynical with me?" Rian glanced at Inez.

"Because I don't like you."

"Do you hate me that much, Nez? To the point that I don't have a chance to win you over?" Rian asked, making Inez fall silent while looking deeply at Rian.

Inez let out a long sigh. "There's no need to talk weird, you just focus on the road ahead, later, anything in my car will be hit."

"It's jammed, Nez, there's no way I'm going to hit it. The car's not moving," Rian replied, trying to be patient with Inez, who wanted to get out of the traffic quickly.

"Yes, you honk your horn loudly to get out of the way, I'm tired of being here all the time."

Rian chuckled. "You know what? This road doesn't belong to your family or your ancestors, which you can organize as you please, Nez. Do you want to get slapped by other road users, hm?"

"Yes, but..." Inez paused, then let out a long breath. "I've got a headache," she continued as she leaned back in her chair. She was tired.

"Just be patient, Nez, it'll be over soon."

"Whatever you say!"

"Oh yeah." Rian suddenly remembered something, and Inez immediately looked at the guy, wondering what Rian was going to say. "Before you walked to your car, I saw you talking to Cakra."

Inez nodded without interest. "Yes, then?"

Rian scratched his temple, a little confused about where to start. "If I may know what you said to her, I think it's really serious."

"You're really curious about people's businesses," Inez said with a lopsided smile.

"I just want to know, if you don't want to answer, that's up to you," said Rian.

"I'm not saying anything, and it's not important either."

Rian nodded his head. "You've been close to him lately, I've seen you with Cakra several times."

"Why am I getting close to him?" Inez turned the question around. "It's none of your business, is it? If I want to get close to anyone, there's no written permission that I have to report to you first."

"I'm afraid you like him, Nez," Rian said suddenly while looking at Inez closely. "I've tried to ask you out for a long time, but you keep refusing. I'm afraid you like her."

Inez laughed blandly. "Do you have the right to stop me from dating anyone?"

"Why does it have to be Cakra Nez?"

"I'm not dating him yet," Inez concluded.

Rian exhaled a desperate breath. "Not yet, Nez? That means you'll end up with him one day."

"What's wrong with you?"

"Why does it have to be Cakra, Nez? If you can't be with me, you shouldn't be with Cakra. Find someone else, or you can be with me."

"What's wrong with you and Cakra anyway? Are there any problems between the two of you?" Inez was confused. Isn't it wrong for her to be suspicious? Both Rian and Cakra showed that they didn't like each other. Inez was sure that there was something between them.

Rian looked forward again and started to step on the gas slowly because the traffic jam was slowly easing. "I have no problem with him," he lied. "I just feel like he's not right for you. I've been chasing you for over a year, Nez, I've been waiting for reassurance from you, I closed my heart to other girls. It's all just for you, Nez, I really like you. Are you sure you don't have any feelings for me?"

"Yes, I don't have any feelings for you." Inez answered straight-forwardly.

"Lying Nez," Rian denied. "There's no way you never had feelings for me. Please, Nez, be honest with your feelings. I know you actually love me too, but you try to deny everything."

"What's wrong with you?" Inez asked sarcastically. "You're getting ridiculous. Stop already, let's not talk about this anymore. Feelings can't be forced, I've said this more times than I can imagine. You should understand Rian! I don't like you. Don't get hung up on me, find another girl who's better than me." Inez's breathing quickened, and her eyes sharpened. "Remember, there are many people who want to be your girlfriend. You won't run out, you just need to pick a girl you like."

"But I like you, Nez."

"Not me, Rian!" Inez almost shouted out loud. "Don't fall in love with me! I don't want to be with you. I already like another boy."

Rian chuckled. "And that boy is Cakra. Right?"

Inez was silent.

"Why does it have to be that new student, Nez? There are many others, it doesn't have to be Cakra either."

Inez was tired of dealing with Rian, so she chose to remain silent while staring at the road outside through her car window. Her chest rumbled, Rian had made her emotional.

"What's wrong with you, Nez? I'm trying to be the best, so you can look at me and be sure of me. But unfortunately, you don't consider my struggle at all. I'm human, Nez, and I get tired sometimes. Don't regret it later, Nez. Sometime I can forget about you and find a new one."

Inez closed her eyes, dizzy from Rian's ramblings. The heart cannot be forced. Do you know what that means?

"There's no harm in trying Nez with me first, there's no harm."

***

Throughout the math lesson, Cakra did not pay attention to the blackboard at all when the teacher explained the material for the daily test held next Sunday.

His gaze did not turn to the window, he stared at the leaves swaying in the wind. He didn't blink, his mind kept drifting to Inez. Really, Cakra didn't know why that girl's face always overshadowed his.

Until a light pat landed on his arm, making Cakra laugh and blink his eyes, confused. The boy turned to the right side, where Zidan was sitting. Cakra already knew that Zidan was the culprit, if not his classmate, who else would Cakra accuse?

"Why?" asked Cakra innocently. Meanwhile, Zidan only gave instructions with a glint in his eyes. Cakra frowned briefly, then his gaze followed the direction of Zidan's eyes.

And at that moment, Cakra's body immediately stiffened. He was being stared at by the math teacher. Cakra swallowed his saliva with difficulty.

"Why are you daydreaming? I've noticed you're not focused," said the stocky teacher. His eyes glared sarcastically at Cakra, making the other students in his class stare at him too.

Cakra was silent, not daring to speak out, fearing that his teacher's anger would escalate.

"If you don't like my lessons, you better get out now, I can still teach serious students!"

Cakra was still silent.

"What are you waiting for? Get out now!" The teacher snapped again.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't focused enough earlier," said Cakra, finally having the courage to answer. Although he was actually very afraid, it wasn't just him, whoever the person was, if put in his current position, they would shrivel up.

Letting out a long breath and trying to be patient, the famous killer math teacher pointed at Cakra. "Try to fill in the answers to the questions on the board, if the answers are correct, you can continue to join my lesson."

Cakra looked at the blackboard and read for a moment the problem written there. And luckily, he had already learned about the material. Before the teacher taught, Cakra often studied by himself first.

And fortunately, he could do it. He also glanced at Zidan briefly while nodding firmly.

"Can you do it?" asked Zidan to make sure, of course with a voice volume that only Cakra could hear.

Standing up from his seat, Cakra smiled slightly. "I can," he replied briefly.

With a firm step, Cakra took the marker off the teacher's desk and started working on the problem he had to solve. He wrote down the easiest formula to learn. In no more than five minutes, the boy had finished working on the problem given to him. He filled it in completely, with the appropriate formula.

The math teacher nodded. "Okay, please sit down again," he ordered, pointing to Cakra's seat with his chin. Cakra nodded obediently while saying thank you. After he sat down, he continued his speech. "I don't like it when you're not serious during class, I'm not angry with you, I'm just strict, and I'll do it if you make a mistake. I know that you in this class are selected students, you are already smart. But please pay attention when I explain the material. This is not for me, but for all of you. Understand?"

"Understood." Simultaneously, all students answered, including Cakra, who had become a troublemaker.

"Okay, because your time is running out. This is all the material that I can convey. Don't forget to study for the test that will be held next Sunday. I will end."

All students also answered the greeting concisely.

After the killer teacher left the classroom, all students breathed a sigh of relief.

Zidan stroked his chest. "I swear, the aura was really gripping earlier," he said, dramatizing the situation. Then he turned to Cakra. "What's wrong with you?"

He turned his face back toward the window. "Nothing."

"You have a lot on your mind?" Zidan didn't stop interrogating. However, Cakra only replied with an indifferent shrug of her shoulders, as if she didn't care about anything.

Zidan let out a short breath, and again he said. "If you have a problem, tell me, who knows, I can help you."

"Nothing," Cakra replied briefly.

"You're lying," Zidan snapped. "There's no way you don't have a problem, you've just been daydreaming. What are you thinking about?"

Cakra turned his face. He looked at Zidan with a wavy forehead. "Nothing," he said briefly, with a tired sigh.

"Remember, Kra, the problem won't be solved if you just stay where you are. See what I mean?"

Cakra nodded. "Okay."

"It's break time, want to go to the cafeteria?"

Shaking his head weakly, he replied. "Go ahead, I'm not hungry."

"What's wrong with you? You're so lethargic. It's not wrong if I think you have a problem. Keep your spirits up, I can listen to your story if you have something to tell me. Maybe you need a friend to chat with to calm your mind and heart."

Cakra chuckled. "Not really."

"What's on your mind this time?" Zidan asked.

Cakra shook his head slowly.

"Oh yes, I forgot, I want to tell you." Zidan's face began to light up, and without asking for approval from Cakra, he started telling stories. "My father just came home last night, and I'm really happy."

"Why are you happy?" asked Cakra, responding flatly.

"He bought me a brand new laptop. I swear, Kra, I didn't think my father would buy me that laptop. When I asked my father why he bought a new one when my old one was still usable, he said that if it broke, there was a spare." Zidan sounded so enthusiastic about his father, who loves him so much.

Cakra smiled. He felt happy even though, from the bottom of his heart, he felt jealous. But Cakra realized again that he should not be jealous of others, especially of Zidan, whom Cakra already considered part of his own family.

"I'm so happy to hear that. Your papa is really nice to you, Dan."

"Yes," Zidan continued. "Not only am I good, but my father also really loves me."

Cakra pretended to look fine, he smiled broadly. "Where does your papa work? How come he just came home?" he asked.

"The company my papa works for is out of town, so he can't come home every day. He usually comes home in a week at the earliest. And because he's been working so much lately, he's only been home for a month."

Cakra nodded in understanding.

"Actually, I want to bring my laptop to watch anime here with you. You like anime, right?"

"Not really," I replied.

"You'll come to my house sometime, and I'll come to yours in turn. Let's get closer."

"Yes, I will if I have time," said Cakra.

"Oh, I forgot. Since you were here, I never asked for your cell phone number. Now I'm asking for it so that if there's anything, I'll be on my way.

"I don't have one."

Zidan opened his mouth. "Don't have one? Seriously, you don't have a cell phone?"

Cakra nodded. "What's wrong with it?"

Zidan grimaced while scratching the back of his head. "It's okay, can you live without gadgets?"

"As long as I have my grandmother, I'll be fine."