Beautiful Monster
The Girls Day
Neither Ignacia nor Danita, no one starts talking. Though both of them have opened Fitbar packs each since ten minutes ago. Busy with each other's moods, noisier with yourself.
"I was being childish," Danita finally dared to open her mouth, "I acted as if I was strongly against my lover to leave. I don't know what he thinks of me. I don't like it when he says he can't take messages."
Ignacia was silent, listening without any intention of speaking. As much as possible do not want to make Danita feel like she has to cover something she wants to convey without thinking much. After all, the two of them already understood each other because they had the same status.
"I think I've depended a lot on him. He gave me a lot of attention that I never got, took good care of me and even went to the university in the same city as me. Sounds like an exaggeration, but I didn't cook it that way."
Danita bit the snack in her hand, chewed until smooth before then swallowed. Everything goes slow. Give the girl a pause to look back a little.
"Maybe because I'm used to being around me, I feel empty without it. Like something precious was taken from me, not forever" he said after his mouth was empty.
"So this feels like being alone, Ignacia? Alone without someone you can count on?" Danita turned her head, looking at her friend who was now slowly staring back, "it also feels empty for you?" continued Danita.
Ignacia finished her gaze, turning to her intact Fitbar. "If it were me, it would feel like it was empty. People always say that lovers aren't the center of the universe, but I don't think they know what it's like to have someone who can walk with you and then be left behind."
"It may be a moment, but a time accompanied by solitude is not a time that can be forgotten as if it were no big deal" complains Ignacia. Maybe he was drunk from the night wind to speak original.
The dark night sky spread throughout the city. Without a glimmer of light adorning. Everyone seemed to be able to see the void felt by the two new school year students who were sitting in front of the dorm room.
Ignacia has never heard of Danita and her lover other than the fact that the two are studying in the same town. I don't know what these lovers have been through to get to this point.
"Tata, I'm going to spend my day with my girlfriend this month. He said he'd come in a few days after his business was done. Does the double date still apply?" Ignacia tried to divert the conversation.
Tata did not mind, he replied, "of course. If my girlfriend's back, let's do our plan. But you better spend some time together before we go double date. Said you guys were celebrating a late anniversary."
Danita's right. Once Rajendra's affairs are over, the two will have more time together than ever before without any special warning from Ignacia's parents. May it come quickly so that Ignacia does not return feeling empty.
"By the way you're great at being able to have a long-distance relationship without meeting since you first entered college," Danita said with a faint smile, "I wonder how you can resist meeting your lover."
Ignacia nodded her head slowly, "I don't mind if I don't meet. All I wanted was a short message from him. That way I can read it over and over again when I miss it."
The conversation became quieter. Even the sound of bites on the snacks of the two was almost audible.
"Thank you for the fitbar, Ignacia. What if we go in and rest? Tomorrow will be a long day for both of us." Danita got up, stretched out her hand to help her friend stand up.
...*****...
Rajendra's busy day begins. The big day celebrated by the restaurant where he works invites the interest of visitors who read leaflets about the existence of a new menu every year. In addition there are still many promos that attract more and more visitors.
Rajendra justifies his apron before returning to bring the order to the customer's desk. After that he had to bring a cleaning tool to clean the table. Visitors must clean their own desk, so the job of restaurant employees is to make sure the table is clean.
"Rajendra, is there still a place on your tray? Can you take this to table 11? I have to go to the second floor."
The one being asked for please thought for a while, he nodded then brought the extra menu to the tray he had in hand. Carefully Rajendra took her to the table who ordered and arranged it well.
"Good fun" he said before leaving the table.
Seeing the busyness, Rajendra did not even have time to check his phone whether there was a message from Ignacia or not. Today is his second birthday, Rajendra should come, but all he does is get stuck in a foreign city and is trying hard to make money like a real man.
"Rajendra, drink a little" asked Rajendra's roommate Bagas to offer him a cold drink. "I haven't seen you drink since I came. Do not get dehydrated and feel dizzy. We're busy, so don't get sick."
Friends according. Sit down for a while and receive a cold drink from his senior. "Thank you" he said before closing his drink and returning to pick up orders ready for delivery. He looks like a robot.
"Your phone-" hasn't had a chance to talk to her friend, Rajendra has left the kitchen. The man whose words were cut off earlier stared at the special room of the clerk. The sound of someone's cell phone ringing was heard from a moment ago before Rajendra came and drank.
Bagas had almost memorized the ringtone sounds of all the employees in his own family restaurant. So he believes that the ringtone was from the cellphone of the employee who was too hardworking in his first year of work.
"Why?" the senior asked, "were you like hearing a cell phone ringtone? Do you know who that belongs to?"
"It seems to belong to Rajendra," the man replied briefly then returned to his job to take care of the carbohydrate part. Forgetting the uncomfortable feeling when hearing the voice of the roommate's phone. If you recall, today is Rajendra's birthday with Ignacia. Most likely the one who called earlier was that girl.
"It's not usual for Rajendra to have a phone call while he's at work." Even the senior who had just asked just now was also aware of his strangeness.
...*****...
Nesya looked at the friend before her while drinking a cold drink that had just come a moment ago. As expected, Rajendra was still busy working to the point of not being able to pick up calls from Ignacia. "Let's call you later, Ignacia," he suggested.
Ignacia nodded, put her phone in the bag and ate the fries she ordered. Soon another friend appeared, sitting next to Ignacia and trying to guess the situation as long as she went to the toilet.
"Not lifted?" tanyanya who then gets a nod from Nesya. The bespectacled girl likely shifted the snacks before her as a code for Danita to eat only and did not ask much.
Ignacia fixed her sitting position before changing the mood, "what if we go out until the afternoon? I don't want to be in the dorm alone."
Danita doesn't mind, after all she also feels lonely because her lover has not returned. While Nesya was even happier if invited to gather like this until the afternoon. Because he's tired of being at the cost of that guy.
"Where are we going?" Nesya asked. He made no plans because he didn't know Ignacia wanted to stay out longer.
"Actually I was planning to buy a small flower to take care of in the dorm. What about you guys?" Danita looked at her two friends in turn. He plans to buy it himself, but if his two friends want to come along, they can go together and help Danita choose.
Ignacia agreed, and so did Nesya. It was immediately decided that the three would go with Danita to buy plants. Ignacia also wanted to try taking care of plants as a novelty reading interlude.
"After buying the plant, what if you buy cucumbers? My eye bags are coming up. I guess I stare too much at the laptop screen and stay up late to do chores" Nesya asked. His friends agree. Ignacia also seems to need some vegetables to make healthier meals in the dorm.
Ignacia plans not to restart her phone until after her arrival at home. Let Rajendra get busy with his work while he also busies himself with having fun with his close friends. Luckily both of Ignacia's friends are equally free today.
They board a bus to get to a place that sells plants just like Danita. He went straight to an employee as soon as he arrived to ask if the plants he was taking were available. Unlike Ignacia who prefer to find something on their own.
Nesya and Ignacia follow a short-haired friend who is looking at a plant he has been looking for. While following, Ignacia also looked around to see if any plants caught her attention. But even after Danita was done with her affairs, Ignacia had yet to find her.
Until Danita asks her two friends to wait while she pays, Ignacia has lost interest. This second opportunity was used by Nesya to ask something that had been bothering her ever since.
"Ignacia, are you on a diet? You look thinner than the last time we met at the bus stop." Nesya looked at her friend from top to bottom, "your weight is decreasing because it's busy? You have to keep your diet healthy, Ignacia."
The one being talked to just nodded and smiled. The corner of his eyes caught the shadow of someone walking over. "What if we go around this place again?" bargain Danita, "said you'll be looking for plants too, Ignacia. I'll help you choose."
Ignacia refused on the pretext that she was no longer interested. There was no plant that caught his attention the first time he saw it. So if it spins once again, it will feel boring. Maybe his interest is only in books and light snacks. And Rajendra.
Then go to the traditional market. The place is spacious and clean and the air feels fresh when entering the place of vegetables. This is very different from the markets Ignacia has visited before. He thought it might be because he had not been with his mother for years going to the market.
"I've been here a few times if I want to buy vegetables. This place has always had a lot of stock and the vegetables are always fresh" explained Nesya while leading the way ahead. Now replace Ignacia and Danita who follow him.
Nesya stopped at a stall of the dominant greens seller. The glasses girl seemed to have known the seller for a long time until the mothers who guarded the stall greeted Nesya with a smile. Nesya must have stopped by more often than Ignacia thought.
"Mom, I want to buy cucumbers," said Nesya kindly.
"Cucumbers? Yes, I'll get it first."
While waiting for Nesya to be served, Ignacia took a look at the vegetables present. Maybe he should buy some so that it can be cooked quickly before it rotts in his refrigerator. Before the busyness increasingly attacked him before the big day of the campus.
Buying Danita plants already, cucumbers for Nesya have also been obtained. Then Ignacia came back with a plastic bag filled with green vegetables. They did not go home empty-handed. At least someone filled one of his third hands before returning home.
It's getting late afternoon. Who would have thought if they could spend such a long time unaware of such a noticeable change in the sky? Maybe because they are too busy to have plants and vegetables.
"I'm going to this stop. Y'all careful. Call me if you've reached the dorm," Nesya's message then runs small towards the stop after seeing the nods of her two friends. The bus is coming soon.
Ignacia and Danita continue their journey. Heading to the bus stop that will take the two home. Ignacia spoke this whole day. Talk only when questioned. Moreover, she would probably smile a little as Danita tried to melt the atmosphere.
"You still think about your girlfriend?" Danita asked. He feels uncomfortable if his friend becomes quiet even though he himself also knows the reason. It's just that Danita feels pain if Ignacia isn't happy.
"I guess I'm still disappointed to miss my birthday without my girlfriend. But at least he said he'd come to our double date." Ignacia smiled slightly, turning to Danita who also returned her smile.
"I can't wait for our show, Ignacia. I made a plan and will send it to you when I get home. Let us plan a day together while our lovers enjoy it."
Ignacia agreed with her friend. During her stay there only Danita has surrounded many places to date her lover. So he must know the perfect place to double date.
Seeing Danita who was excited because her lover would soon return to the city made Ignacia also feel the same way. Ignacia is also excited to meet her lover as per the appointment. Soon her longing feelings for her handsome man will disappear.
Arriving at the dormitory, Ignacia said good night to her neighbor and went straight into her room to rest. The whole day of going together made him feel tired and needed a long sleep.
Go straight to the refrigerator, storing freshly purchased vegetables immediately before their freshness diminishes. The fridge was quite empty as Ignacia ate Fitbar more often than rice when in the dorm. Only at lunch will he go to the cafeteria to eat other sources of carbohydrates.
Ignacia got up, put her bag on the side of the bed. His hands moved quickly to charge the phone before starting the afternoon ritual.
Rajendra ⁇ ◝ ⁇ ◜ ⁇
I'll call you tonight
To discuss our date plan