Aster Veren
Episode 130's

- Esther

"Wait Carel! Did you forget we were engaged? You should treat me well." Lusy surprised me again.

"What's that empty? Since when did I become your fiancee?" Carel's voice sounded extremely cold and intimidating.

Doesn't Carel know? Or is she unwilling to accept the fact that she is engaged to Lusy?

"You–"

"What's this?" The voice of the UKS officer's mother cuts off Lusy's speech.

"He was injured during the practicum." Carel.

"Ah right, the wound is quite severe. Let me help you, you can go back to the practicum room. Sit here" he said as he opened the P3K box, visible from the gap of the curtain blown by the wind. I could also see the figure of Carel preparing to leave.

"Ah–Aster, I forgot to tell him–" He continued to be cut when Carel turned his body in front of the officer's mother, undoing his intention to leave the UKS

"Aster?" Ask.

Ah, why did the officer's mother have to mention my name? My mind was pretending to sleep. It's nothing, it's just that I don't want to be mistaken for eavesdropping on his conversation with Lusy when they think the UKS room is nobody.

"He was lying there in pain." The attendant's mother answered along with the sound of footsteps approaching, then I heard the sound of the curtains being shifted violently. Is that Carel?

"What happened to him? Why is his face so pale?" Carel sounded panicked.

"So morning she was ushered in by her senior, she said she felt pain in her stomach. Probably because of menstruation. Is he sleeping?"

"Mens–ya she's asleep,"

"Then I'll drive her to the dorm after she wakes up."

... Why did the officer's mother tell this child that I had a stomachache due to menstruation? Why not just say regular stomach pain? My grunts in my heart, I somehow feel ashamed of myself. Moreover, I used to make a fuss when Kalea experienced her first menstruation. I also told Carel to make his face blush.

"It's over, you can go back to continuing the lesson now."

"Thank you very much." Lusy.

Quickly leave! My mind wishes that Carel would leave in front of me.

"Let's Carel, we have to finish practicum!" Lusy.

"Ah you guys are taking practice scores for the exam huh?"

"Yes right."

"Time goes by fast, right? School holidays are this close."

"Mother's right."

"I'll be back later." Carel whispered while stroking the top of my head, making me slightly gasp with the touch given by him.

***

The break bell rang so loud that it made me wake up from my sleep, "when I intended to pretend to be asleep, but ... who would have thought I was going to sleep for real?" My murmur felt better, even my stomach pain was not as severe as before.

"Ugh, shhhhh ..," I continued grimacing as I got up from my lying position along with the sound of the UKS door shifting.

Srak!

The sound of the curtains open displayed the figure of Carel who was already standing with a glare of eyes that I could not explain. Looked worried too upset?

"Carel?" Tanyaku later.

"How are you doing now?" He said back asking while putting a bag of food on the nightstand.

"Better than before, not too–sick." My answer made him sigh in relief.

"I'll get you some warm water." He said as he left before me, before long he returned with a glass of warm water in his hand.

"Drink!" He continued, giving me the glass in his hand, I lazily received the glass and drank the warm water in it.

Somehow I felt awkward, was it because I accidentally heard Carel and Lusy talk this morning? And it seems Carel doesn't like Lusy to think of him as his fiancee.

Ah I want to ask her, but I can't just ask. What if this kid gets distracted by my question? Ocehku in heart.

"What are you thinking?" Carel asked surprised me, especially when his index finger pressed against my forehead quite firmly.

"It's nothing,"

"What the hell?"

"I've said it over and over again, right? Your face is very easy to read. So if there's anything you want to ask me, ask me."

"Ti–no tuh!" My sangkal immediately turned my eyes to the bag of food that Carel had brought.

"Give up, I won't be harmed. At best you'll be curious yourself." He said as he sat in front of me and grabbed the bag of food he was carrying.

I saw that his hands had grabbed a bottle of yogurt and opened it, "drink!" He continued while thrusting a bottle of yogurt at me, making me frown confused.

"Drink!" His words again gave me the reflex to accept the yogurt.

"You–quite greedy too huh?" I murmured before I drank the yogurt in my hand.

"What? I bought all these snacks for you, where there I'm greedy." His grunts made me shocked

"For me?"

"Hmm ..," he murmured as he opened the lid of the pudding in his hand and gave me a cup of the pudding.

"You even bought ice cream too?" I muttered after eating a spoonful of pudding and saw the ice cream cup in the bag.

"I also bought some chocolate." He said while showing his thin smile that looks tempting.

"You want to make me fat?" My grunts went back to eating the pudding in my hand.

"If all this food can make you fat, I'll give it to you every day." He said with a sarcastic smile, making me even more upset.

"Shut your mouth!" I immediately put a spoonful of pudding into his mouth when he was about to speak again. I saw Carel was already glaring annoyed at my act of feeding him the pudding.

"... hooo~ so you guys have lunch here secretly huh?" Teo's voice caught my and Carel's attention. I saw that he had walked up to me followed by Kalea behind him.

"Not so, I–" Obviously I was cut off.

"Don't listen to this kid! How are you Aster? I heard you were sick," Kalea said as she grabbed my forehead with her right palm, "Warm." He almost whispered.

"Well better than this morning." I answered while showing my big smile.

"For dong!" Teo exclaimed with his right hand ready to pick up apples in the bag of food in Carel's lap. But Carel quickly brushed off her roommate's hand and looked at her sharply.

"Can't!" His words made Teo cluck in annoyance.

"Marrel!"

"Bodo!"

"You–"

"What's? Wanna fight?"

"Based on stupid people." Kalea muttered after sighing harshly when she saw the behavior of the two men before her.

"What are you sick of?" He continued asking with his anxious expression.

"That ...," I murmured as I pulled her right hand and made Kalea slightly bow before I whispered my answer to her, "today's my first day of menstruation." Continue whispering.

I saw that Kalea had turned to me and smiled with relief as I felt embarrassed by what I just whispered. "Thank God, congratulations" he said with a sweet smile.

Looks like Kalea was very happy when she found out I was menstruating. When she first started menstruating, I was not happy. I didn't even congratulate him like Nadin and Tia did.

Is menstruation something extraordinary? Until it has to be observed? Inner wondering.

"Back you Teo!" Carel cried when he saw Teo running out of the UKS with a red apple in his hand.

"Relieve it!" Teo's voice echoed in the hallway.

"You know, how dare you steal the food I bought for Aster." Carel is annoyed that Teo is carrying a red apple that he is carrying.

"Su–already, I don't mind kok–"

"I object!" His words with a terrifying aura made me shudder in horror, not even Kalea dared to say anything. Though usually he is the one who can most reply to the words of Carel without fear.

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Thanks for reading...