Chapter 13

Samudra could guess that something was wrong with Mentari.

His best friend's voice sounded very far away, weak and like she had been crying. He smiled at his friends and walked away from them. It was lunch time, so Samudra decided to call Mentari to ask how she was doing and tell her the good news.

"Mentari, what's wrong? Looks like you've been crying," asked Samudra. He frowned and waited for an answer from the silent Mentari. "Mentari?"

"Ah, oh... it's nothing." Mentari smiled in her place and laughed softly. "My question has not been answered. Why did you call me?"

"I mss you," replied Samudra, laughing softly. If Mentari didn't want to tell him, then Samudra wouldn't force her. Samudra is sure that Mentari will tell him if she really wants to. "Oh, and I'm going to transfer to your school."

"Seriously?"

Samudra nodded subconsciously and laughed again. "Yes. I will transfer to your school next semester. My father's job was moved to your home area, Mentari. We'll be together again like before."

Meanwhile, Senja, who was drinking his drink, glanced back at Mentari who was laughing again. His annoyance grew. He himself was bewildered by his own weirdness. Seeing Senja's attitude, Awan smirked.

"Hey," Awan called. "You have to control your facial expression. It's okay to be jealous, but please don't be so clearly like that."

Vivi, who was drinking her drink as well, immediately choked and coughed. With her red face, the girl looked at Senja who was staring intently at Awan. "Are you jealous of Samudra, Sir? Do you like Mentari? Romantically?"

"You misunderstood, Vivi," said Senja. "You don't have to listen to what Awan said. He's an asshole."

Vivi nodded and glanced at the sullen Awan. "Yeah, you right, Sir. It's true what Mr. Senja said. This guy really looks like he's a jerk. Surely he likes to play with girls' hearts and throw them away when he's bored. The type of guy who likes to take advantage of the innocence of girls."

"Okay." Awan snorted and cross his arms in front of his chest. He looked at Vivi with a stern look. "Why do you hate me?"

"I don't hate you," Vivi replied briefly.

"Don't lie. Your sentence just now clearly shows your hatred for me. Even from the first time we met, you were always cold to me. It's as if I am a person who has a contagious disease. Why? Have you ever being played with an adult guy? If so, don't compare me to that guy. I am different from other guys.Just because you get hurt by one guy, doesn't mean you have to hate all guys. That's not fair."

"Awan, stop," said Senja. He glared at his best friend when he saw Vivi frozen in her place. "You crossed the line."

"So I'm the bad guy now, huh? The one who is wrong here is your student. She doesn't know me, but acts like I'm the worst person in the world. I can't accept it. I've been nice and friendly all this time to her, but she's being mean to me."

"Okay, Sam. We'll talk later, okay?" Mentari turned off her cell phone and frowned as she approached Senja, Vivi and Awan who were sitting on the sofa. The atmosphere between the three of them was so tense, that Mentari looked at the three of them. "What are you guys doing? Vivi, why is your face so pale? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Vivi replied, smiling a little. She got up from the sofa. "Mentari, I'll go home first, okay? Just take some rest. I'm sure Mr. Senja can find the thief and find your necklace. Mr. Senja, I'll go home first, okay?"

Vivi immediately left without even saying goodbye to Awan who was glancing at her. The girl just walked out and Mentari, who followed her from behind, could see if Vivi immediately stopped a taxi that passed in front of her house. Then, because she was worried about Vivi, Mentari forgot about the theft of her necklace and sat beside Senja.

"Mr. Senja, Awan, why did Vivi suddenly go home? Her face was also pale. Is she sick?"

Senja took a deep breath and looked annoyed at Awan. He shrugged. "I told you, I didn't do anything wrong. She's the one who's looking for trouble with me. She made me angry."

"But, you shouldn't talk rudely like that to Vivi. And you speak rudely to her in front of me, her teacher. One of these days, I will really punch you."

"Speaking rudely?" asked Mentari. "Wait a second. What do you mean by rude, Sir? Awan?"

Senja then told what had happened to Awan and Vivi, making Mentari smile sadly and nod. Seeing Mentari's expression, it made Senja and Awan looked at each other and felt anxious. Especially Awan. He felt guilty now.

"Vivi... had some kind of trauma," explained Mentari. "She has a step brother. A very good step brother since they were both kids. Then, her step brother's attitude changed when we were in middle school. Her step brother likes to bring girls into their house, likes to do things that... well, you know what I mean. Because Vivi's step brother is the same age as Mr. Senja and Awan. Vivi is sad, that's for sure. But what made her even more devastated was that, last year, her step brother tried to… rape her."

Awan and Senja freeze in their respective places. Awan looked down, clenched his fists tightly until his hands turned white.

"So, if Awan asks why Vivi is only cold to you, it's because... Awan behaves similarly like her step brother and she feels scared. To hide her fear, she acted coldly. I'm sorry about Vivi. She didn't do that on purpose."

Awan smiled awkwardly and nodded. Inwardly, he was cursing himself for speaking so harshly to Vivi earlier, even when he didn't know about the girl's problem. Then, Awan looked at Mentari who was talking to Senja.

"Mentari?"

"Yes?"

"May I have Vivi's number as well as her home address?"

###

"So?"

Mentari raised an eyebrow when she is on the front yard with Senja right now. Awan has gone to Vivi's house, wants to apologize of what he said and told Senja to wait for him here.

"So?" repeated Mentari. She did not understand what the meaning of Senja's question just now. "Why are you so angry, anyway?"

"I'm not angry," Senja shook his head. "I just don't want you to abandon your education just for your boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?"

"The person who called you earlier," said Senja. "What's his name? Ah! Samudra!"

"Samudra? My boyfriend?" Mentari laughed and snorted. "It is impossible for Samudra and I to date, Sir. He's just my best friend."

"Why isn't it possible? You're a girl and he's a guy. So, I don't see a problem if you're dating. Is it because of your friendship? Many people are friends first and end up dating, Mentari."

"No, not because of that." Mentari smiled slightly and took a deep breath. "Because I don't want to hurt my other best friends. Her name is Pelangi. And she likes Samudra, and sees me as a threat to her."