[TLS#1] Senior
SENIOR 20

Middle-aged man—with a formal suit attached to him—sitting in his big chair with his busy hands dancing on the laptop keyboard with the logo of the apple bite.

His face looked calm and dignified.

Shortly afterwards there was a knock from the door of his room.

"Lake in!" his orders from within.

Cklek!

Door opens. Featuring men of mature age and also in official settings. Juna—his own secretary—bows respect to him.

"What's up, Jun?" he asked, without taking his eyes off the laptop.

"Someone wants to meet you, sir," replied Juna, politely.

"Send him in."

Juna nodded and turned his body. Calling someone who 'said' wants to meet Mr. Hadi Mahardika.

"I'm sorry, sir," said Juna, after the person who wanted to meet Hadi had entered the room.

Hadi nodded at a glance.

"What do you want to meet me?" ask Hadi to the person, but still with a glance at the screen of his laptop that is wrong to show what.

"Papa busy?"

The voice instantly stopped Hadi's finger busy dancing on the Keyboard. His face was on the person who had just spoken. Their smiles rose on his lips.

In front of him, Alka was now standing in a white-gray uniform attached to the boy's body. As well as a thin black backpack on the back.

"Alka?" Hadi stood up from his seat of greatness and hugged Alka typical of a child and father.

"How are you, hm? Healthy? How's your mom?" tanya Hadi, tussling.

Alka smiled faintly. "Alka good. Mama too" replied Alka.

Hadi smiled happily. "Thank God. You sit on that couch." Hadi intended to lead Alka to a sofa in her room. However, Alka refused.

"No need, Pa. Alka just wants to give something to Papa." Alka seemed to take something from inside her thin black backpack.

Milk brown thick envelope. That's what Hadi sees now.

Alka thrust the envelope and was greeted by a wrinkle of eyebrows by Hadi.

"This what?" ask Hadi, confused.

"This is the payment money for Mr. Grace's debts." Alka answered calmly.

The furrow of Hadi's eyebrows is increasingly visible. "You know Mr Grace?"

Alka nodded twice. "He's Alka's father's friend."

"And you want to pay her debt?" Hadi asked in wonder.

Again, Alka nodded. Walked to his oversized Papa's desk and placed the envelope next to the laptop. For a moment Alka stopped, her eyes captured a photo of two boys sitting on a garden chair embracing and ice cream in each hand, not forgetting their smiles. The photo was beautifully framed on that table.

In Alka's heart was screeching cynically. He used to love that moment, but now, every moment he ever passed with his brother, Alka hated.

"Alka keep it here." Alka turned towards the door. And Hadi was still confused by his son.

When Alka opened the door. The man from the outside opened it first, and Samuel appeared in the same gray white uniform as Alka, only with a different school symbol. The guy's hand is no longer in motion.

"What are you doing here?" ask Samuel, flat. The guy walks into Hadi's room and sits on the sofa.

Alka looked at Samuel flatly. And move on. However,

"Your race prize isn't enough for that moron's debt?" Samuel crossed his legs and opened the phone.

Hadi herself just sat on her desk. Watching with a confused look on his two sons who cast hostile gazes and words.

Alka stop. He looked at Samuel calmly.

"Do you need to know?" reply Alka.

Samuel nodded his shoulders. "You know that. The reward is not enough because you corruption for care nyokap lo who will soon die."

"SAMUEL!!" nope. It was not Alka who shouted. Except for Hadi, the middle-aged man's gaze was nagging to Samuel.

Samuel rolled his eyes lazily. Alka herself looked still calm, looking at Samuel with an indefinable cold gaze.

"Why talk to Sam again?"

Hadi breathed a heavy sigh. He took his foot to sit with Samuel on the sofa.

"So, talk to you Sam. Dad doesn't like you talking like that. She's your mother's jug--"

"Sam, don't have a mother who is a married man's mistress!"

Plaque!

That's not a slap. But the sound of a thick brown envelope with Samuel's cheek. The culprit was none other than Alka. The man stood right beside Samuel with a sharp look of his.

Alka pulled Samuel's collar until he looked up. "Lo can say I'm dying. But don't try to make my nyokab nyokab with your dirty mouth, that's! You don't know anything about my Papa and nyokab, so you don't have to be pretentious!" Alka fizzed sharply right on Samuel's face.

It needs to be recorded, or down the line! This sentence was the longest sentence Alka had ever uttered. And it's all because of one woman. Soraya, her real mother.

***

Haciws!

Haciws!

Meira unceasingly rubbed her already flushed nose. Since then, the girl has just been lying on Uks with a box of tissue and a garbage basket. The white paper filled the trash.

"Kok, I got the flu, anyway?" he murmured, asking himself.

"What's my pleasure, well, all day long the road with Sister Alka yesterday?"

"But yes, it can make the flu."

Meira clucked and took out her snot on the two pieces of tissue she had just taken. The white paper landed back in the trash.

Meira got off the gurney and stepped out of Uks. Just as he exited the door, his eyes caught Alka walking towards him with a focused gaze to the phone and her left hand sank in the pocket.

Meira smiled broadly. "Where is the fool, yeah, hihi." Meira tidied her hair and uniform first and walked over to Alka.

Alka looked at it. "Eh, lo. Hay too," Alka replied, looking at Meira at a glance then returning with a straight look to the phone.

Meira's hand reflexes that pulled Alka's arm apart. Looking at Alka who kept walking with her mouth gaping in disbelief.

"For what? Brother Alka say hello to me? The seriuuss?! I'm not dreaming?!" inner Meira screamed. His hand was raised slapping his own cheek.

"Aw!" the screech was heard as it felt the heat on its own cheek.

"That's not a dream?!" Meira's eyes sparkled. He quickly chased after Alka who started to turn towards the back of the school cafeteria.

"Sir Alka! Waitamin!"

Alka stop. Look back and find Meira chasing him.

"Lo why?" alka asked, as Meira was already standing beside her with a slightly severed breath.

Meira shook her head for a moment. Neutralizing his breath then started to stare at Alka with a smile and twinkle cheerful eyes.

Alka furrowed her brows looking at Meira.

"Lo why, anyway?" reset Alka.

"Sir Alka said hello to me?" meira asked, ignoring Alka's question just now.

Alka nodded at a glance then stepped back.

"So, isn't Alka cool with Meira anymore?" Meira continued to follow Alka's steps. Trying to align his steps with the broad steps of the guy.

"What I've ever been so funny about, lo?" Alka put her phone in her pants pocket.

Meira seemed to think. "Never, anyway. But often!" the girl showed me a row of her neat teeth at the end of the sentence.

"When?" Alka's feet began to enter the never-quiet canteen. Despite being behind the school, the canteen is much more crowded than the school canteen itself.

"Every day. That, too, is good if not snapped."

Alka sat in a chair not far from Devan and Bagus. Followed by Meira who sat in front of him.

"Hi Brother Good, Brother Devan!" Meira gave a big smile to Bagus and Devan who was held. "Son Devan is his hand better?" he continued on Devan.

"Hay too!" reply to both at the same time. "As you can see, it's better" Devan continued.

"Kok, just got here again, Cil?" it's good asking.

Meira scoffed at the fried tempe in front of her a little then replied. "Again kangen aja Capar," Meira replied, still busy with tempe fry. Alka herself prefers to play games on her phone.

"Happy? There's no Capar here, Mei." Devan took a sip of his sodas and brought his chair closer to Meira.

Meira chuckles for a moment. "Hunger that's Kak Devan's future girlfriend. How, anyway." Meira cleans her mouth with tissue.

"Good boy, get some water, dong."

Nice glaring his eyes at Meira. "Your son ranted, I."

Meira grinning. "Once upon a time, Brother Bagus. My mouth is oiled, nih, abis eat fried tempe."

Nice rolling his eyeballs lazy. Go get the bottled mineral water in the refrigerator and hand it to Meira. "You don't want his mouth to drink, well, eat tempeh cook. Life don't make hard Mei." Good to sit back.

Meira turned the bottle cap and gulped it three times. "Emang is?" meira asked, clearing the remaining water on the edge of her lips.

"What?" tanya Good.

"The cook that Kak Bagus said earlier."

It was good to get up from his chair. "Van, I unplug, yeah. I'm going to see Dita."

Devan stood up. "Gue also wants to play chess with Ezra."

Good and Devan left. Leaving Meira wondering, why was she just left behind?

Sighs. Meira switched to Alka. Staring at the busy guy with the slanted phone with a frown. Her pretty hand was raised taking the phone. Alka suddenly stopped not accepting.

"What, anyway, lo!"

Meira keeps Alka's phone away from the master.

"Sister don't play games doang, dong. Temenin Mei chat cake, what, cake. Let's not be bosen, that's."

Alka rolled her eyes lazily. "What do you want to talk about?" asked Alka, starting to puff.

Meira smiled happily. "Just what's the story of the future for both of us, how?"

Alka grunting. "Whatever, lo."

Meira quickly shifted her seat to get closer to Alka. Started to chatter about her imagination with Alka in the future. Forgetting the time that keeps turning.

Alka also responded well to Meira's chatter. Unlike usual, they will choose silence. I don't know what's wrong with that guy, Meira doesn't care. With this attitude Alka has made Meira happy. His determination to get Alka was getting more intense.

But, there was one thing that Meira did not notice. The scorpion tattoo was on the back of Alka's left hand.

***

"Lo when you wake up, Lang. We all miss the same thing." Devan patted Gilang's arm slowly, which was still asleep with some medical devices on his body.

Gilang Abraham's. Friends of Alka since long ago. Gilang who has always been a role model of Alka and her friends and also the savior of Alka in the past. Gilang fell into a coma as Alka was about to ascend to XI class, and had not regained consciousness until now due to a gunshot wound that nearly penetrated her heart.

Good who was standing beside Alka, came down like Devan. It seems, Gilang condition that is in a coma and has not passed the critical period is the weakest time in the history of Alka's life.

"Gue did not expect that the incident could be fatal to Gilang." Good to start arguing. His eyes glanced straight at the weakly stretched Glang.

Flashes of past events before Gilang's seconds of coma, spinning in Good's memory. His jaw began to harden, his hands clenched.

"If I had been with each other on time. Maybe Gilang is still with us. Joking, eating together, playing together, even brawling together."

Alka patted Good's shoulder once. "It's not your fault, Gus. It's all because of me" said Alka. His expression was flat but his chest was tight considering the incident.

"Try that time I did not ask for your help, surely you will be on time to help Gilang."

Good shaking slowly. "Lo feels too much guilt Al. Even your life is filled with guilt. I'm not going to keep going like this. So this is my fault." Nice looking.

Alka sighed. He began to bow his face right beside Gilang's ears.

"Gue and the others, will return all this to them. With a worse response. That's the Lion promise to you, Man."