Chapter 33: Chapter 33

Embarrassed—that's how Cakra felt right now. He couldn't stop thinking about the incident in the park with Inez a few moments ago. Cakra repeatedly exhaled harshly while scratching his head in frustration, he also occasionally growled in annoyance.

"Cakra, why are you so stupid?!" he swore to himself. The guy felt regret for kissing Inez's forehead without thinking about it first. He doesn't know, at that time, Cakra didn't seem to realize what he had done. Although Inez was not angry, Cakra still felt guilty.

But wait a minute!

Cakra blinked his eyes. It wasn't just her, Inez was doing the same thing. That girl had stolen his first kiss! Cakra immediately touched his lips while glaring.

He almost forgot about it. Suddenly, his heart beat twice as fast. So, who was at fault here? Obviously, Inez was more dominant because she stole a kiss on the lips. But Cakra's own actions can't be said to be right either.

Annoyed with himself, Cakra smashed his head repeatedly against the table. Until Zidan, who had just entered the class while carrying canned drinks, was confused and surprised.

"Cakra, what's wrong with you?" Zidan sat down while putting the two canned drinks on the table. "Where did you get possessed by the devil to smash your head into the table? Doesn't your head hurt?"

Cakra exhaled tiredly. He only glanced at Zidan briefly without any intention of explaining.

Zidan was even more confused. "What's wrong with you?" he asked. Zidan turned his body more towards Cakra. The boy's hand moved, then stopped right on Cakra's forehead. While frowning in confusion, Zidan flipped his palm. "It's not hot."

"I'm not sick!" said Cakra exasperatedly while looking at Zidan sarcastically. At the same time, he dismissed Zidan's hand.

"So what, trance?" Zidan chuckled. The boy bought a canned drink that he bought at the cooperative as well as a pen. "Here, drink it first to make it fresh."

Cakra looked at the cold canned drink that Zidan thrust at him. Without thinking, he grabbed it, opened the lid, and then drank it until it was empty.

Zidan was wide-eyed. "How quickly did you finish it? It's like you haven't drunk water in a century." Zidan shook his head in disbelief. "I haven't even opened the lid yet, you've already run out. You're really bad."

"I'm annoyed with myself, Dan." Finally, Cakra complained. "What should I do now? I'm embarrassed." With a confused look, Cakra looked at Zidan.

"What do you mean?" Zidan asked while downing his own canned drink. "Why are you upset with yourself?"

"I just kissed Inez," Cakra said honestly.

Zidan choked on his own drink. The boy coughed for a moment, then glared in disbelief. "What did you say, Kra?"

"You didn't hear?"

"I just wanted to make sure!" Zidan said it excitedly. "I'm afraid it's my ear that's the problem. Try repeating what you said again. No way, I must have heard it wrong!"

Cakra complied. "I kissed Inez."

"Ha? Kiss? What do you mean?" Zidan stammered.

"Yes, that."

"How come?!" Zidan was excited himself. He shouted so loudly that all the heads in the room turned to him. Zidan grinned and apologized to his classmates. Until finally, he brought his face closer to Cakra. "Explain to me why you can kiss Inez? How dare you? I didn't think you were that bold."

"I'm not," he whispered as he closed his eyes. "I don't know why I kissed Inez. I didn't mean to."

"No way!"

"Yes, Dan."

"You can't help it!" Zidan hit Cakra's arm. "How can you kiss accidentally? What do you think you've nudged her with? This is kissing Kra, it's a different case."

"I don't know Dan," said Cakra.

"What about Inez? Is she mad at you? What if Rian saw you earlier? You'd be finished with him."

"Didn't you see me beat up Rian that time?" Cakra asked. "I'm not afraid of him."

"Yes, yes, back to the topic." Zidan waved his hand in front of his face. "Why did you dare to kiss her, huh?"

"She was crying."

Zidan was wide-eyed. "This kid, instead of calming him down, you kissed her? Looking for your chance?"

"That's not it!" argued Cakra. "You know I'm dizzy, Dan." He let out a long sigh as he shook his head in exasperation.

Zidan hadn't given up yet, he wanted to hear more about Cakra's explanation. "Explain everything to me, Kra, don't be awkward. Is Inez angry?"

"What's the anger? She just kissed me back."

"What?" For the umpteenth time, Zidan was surprised. "She kissed you too? You win a lot, and I want to too. How come Inez isn't angry?"

"I only kissed her forehead, but Inez kissed me on the lips. I was just clinging, but my heart didn't want to stop beating."

"If it stops beating now, you're dead, right?"

It was Cakra who glared. "That's not what I meant. I've never kissed a girl before."

"Is she even happy that you kissed her forehead?" asked Zidan.

"Maybe because Inez likes me?"

Zidan chuckled as he hit the table. "You're really hazy."

"Seriously, Dan, I never lied to you. Inez has asked me out several times. But I didn't want to."

"Can a girl chase a boy like that? That's really rare. Especially Inez, all the boys here want to date her. You know for yourself that she's beautiful. I want to too." Zidan paused for a moment. "You're really lucky, Kra. It's crazy to get Inez's free kiss. She asked you out too. You want to."

"No!"

"What?" said Zidan. "Given the chance, you refuse. You'll regret it later. Rian, who has been chasing her for a long time, didn't even respond. You, who just arrived, are already attracting attention."

"No, Dan, I don't want to date Inez."

"Why? Afraid of Rian?" Zidan teased Cakra.

"I'm not afraid of him."

"So what?" Zidan urged. "Can't you use a reason?"

"I'm just not ready yet."

"Later, Inez goes out with another boy you regret. Watch out for you confiding in me."

Cakra chuckled. "What the hell? You're not clear, Dan."

Zidan shrugged his shoulders. He took another sip of the canned drink that had a little left. He put it down on the table when he finished it. "Then this kissing thing is what you've been thinking about?"

Cakra nodded weakly.

"Why?"

"I get embarrassed when I see Inez."

"Why be shy? Inez just wants you to be her boyfriend. Relax, Kra. You need to calm down, okay?"

"No way!" Cakra shook his head firmly. "I'm so kissing Inez without permission."

"Inez didn't get mad."

"But right—"

"You're so complicated, like a girl." Zidan shook his head in disbelief with an exasperated sigh. "I'm not happy to get a kiss. I'd already cosplay as a crazy person if I got a free kiss from Inez."

***

"Cakra!" Inez grumbled while stomping her foot irritably on the floor. Her face looked red and sullen. She tried to chase after Cakra, who was already walking in front of her.

"Cakra, wait for me!" Inez grumbled again. Instead of obeying, Cakra walked faster. He slightly looked back, watching Inez. However, he hurriedly focused his gaze forward. Inez was still behind him!

"You want to take revenge on me because I annoyed you that time? Is that what you mean, Kra?" Inez asked, but Cakra completely ignored her.

"Cakra, what's wrong with you? My legs are sore from chasing you like this!" she mumbled for the umpteenth time. "Why are your legs so long? I can't keep up like this."

Without looking at Inez, Cakra spoke in a loud voice. "Go home, Nez, I'm going to work too."

"Why are you bossing me around?"

"I don't want to see you for a while, Nez." Cakra ran a little. "Go, Nez, I don't want to stare at you." Yes, he thought this was the right decision. He was too embarrassed to face Inez because of the incident in the park.

Not only was Inez ashamed of herself, but Cakra was also ashamed of himself. Even though he tried to get rid of the memory from his skull, he couldn't. The more he tried to forget, the more he tried to forget. The more he tried to forget, the more he remembered kissing Inez on the forehead.

"What's wrong with you?" Inez asked again. "I want to talk to you for a while."

"I can't."

"Just five minutes!" Inez bargained as she trotted after Cakra, who was still further ahead.

"I can't, Nez."

"Three minutes!" Inez didn't stop, she was eager to talk to the boy. "You stop."

"I'm not negotiable," Cakra replied.

Inez chuckled. Her pace quickened, and beads of sweat were already oozing from her temples and neck. Her chest was moving up and down with her labored breathing.

Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. This was exactly what Inez had needed all along. The girl smiled widely.

"Cakra! Stop now or I'll jump from here!" Inez shouted loudly, and the students who happened to be near her were immediately surprised to hear Inez's stern tone. They glared, but Inez didn't care.

Cakra's footsteps immediately stopped, making Inez cheer in her heart. She felt like victory was on her side. But unfortunately, it seemed like Inez was expecting too much. Cakra did look back at her, but five seconds later he turned around and walked away.

Inez held her breath. She immediately panicked. But it's not Inez if she doesn't have an alternative to her idea.

"Cakra, I'm serious!" Inez shouted. "I'm going to jump from the second floor." To make Cakra believe her words, Inez was already standing on the barrier, she was about to climb up.

And BOOM!

Cakra was consumed by Inez's plan. The boy turned around, and his face looked panicked. Cakra ran towards Inez.

"You're not crazy, Nez!" Cakra commented sharply. "It's not funny to jump like that."

Inez walked up to Cakra while girdling her waist. Her lopsided smile was evident. "If you had stopped earlier, I wouldn't have jumped out of here."

"What are you saying? I'm embarrassed to meet you, Nez. We should understand."

"Embarrassed why?" Inez replied irritably. "I'm tired of chasing you around. My leg hurts. If I can't walk tomorrow and my leg gets swollen, you have to take responsibility!"

"How so?" Cakra glared unhappily.

"You're the one who made me run away. Why are you embarrassed anyway? You're not very clear." Inez rolled her eyes lazily.

"I can't see you for a while, I need to be alone. What do you want to say? I have to go."

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

"I'm going to work," he replied. It wasn't entirely wrong of him to answer like this. He did want to go to the restaurant where he worked. Although the more dominant reason was that he didn't want to meet Inez.

"Don't use work as an excuse, Cakra!"

"I really want to work, Nez."

"You want to try to avoid me. I know that. What's wrong with you? What part of you is embarrassed to meet me, huh? About that kiss?" Inez said it in one breath.

Cakra glared in disbelief. "How did you know?!" he said in surprise.

Inez was equally surprised. "So I guessed right?" Inez chuckled. "Gosh, this guy is really weird, I swear. What the hell are you? Why are you embarrassed?"

Inez shook her head and couldn't stop thinking about Cakra. That boy is weird.

"Yes, I'm embarrassed about that," said Cakra, choosing to confess. There was no reason to deny it. Inez already knew.

"I'm not just ashamed of you, I'm ashamed of myself," Cakra said. "I've never been like that. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"But you enjoyed kissing me, didn't you?" Inez teased with a smile. She raised her eyebrows.

"No."

"I don't want to admit it."

Cakra sighed tiredly. "Yeah, no, who's happy?"

"So when I kissed your lips, how did you feel? Weren't you happy?" Inez didn't stop teasing. "Come on, admit it, there's no need to deny it. You can already tell from your face that you're happy when I kiss you. How's your heart? Does it beat fast?"

"What the hell, Nez?" Cakra moved uncomfortably.

Inez laughed. "You're funny when you're blushing. Want me to kiss you again?"

"No."

"Are you sure you don't want to?"

"Yes."

"It's free."

"Why don't you offer it to other students? It'll sell just as well."

Inez smacked her lips. "You've also been annoying for so long."

"Don't keep stalling, Nez." Cakra chuckled, his eyes getting serious. "What are you going to say? I don't have much time."

"Ask for your cell phone number?" Inez grinned innocently as she thrust her hand in front of Cakra.

"I don't have one."

Inez chuckled softly. "You're not really lying. There's no way you don't have a cell phone."

Cakra shrugged his shoulders indifferently. "That's fine if you don't believe me."

"Uh, are you serious?" Inez blinked. "Don't you have one? This is such a modern era, and you don't have a cell phone? You're really primitive."

Cakra's eyebrows almost came together, and his forehead furrowed in confusion. "What's wrong with that?"

"Yeah, no!" Inez corrected him. "It's weird that you don't have a cellphone. This is the real you, right? Not trying to fool me?"

"It's like you have nothing else to do."

Inez was silent. She had no more ideas to let Cakra stay longer. Besides, Cakra had to go to his workplace soon. Inez had no right to restrain him.

"Why are you quiet? Are you done?"

"Uh, not yet, in a minute."

"What?"

"Do you really not want to date me?" And again, the question escaped Inez's lips.

Cakra himself got tired and bored hearing the same question over and over again. "I'll go first, Nez, once again, sorry about the kiss. Don't think about it anymore, okay?"

How can that be?