I Love You, J!
Chapter VII - Waking the Sleeping Tiger

Fortunately, my shoulder was not in any serious trouble. After three days the pain has diminished. Yasmin fulfilled her promise to accompany me to physiotherapy.

My days are getting tormented at home because I and Mas Yudha have no signs of improvement. My brother still feels right. He knew my shoulder hurt, but it was like holding back from asking. I don't even bother to explain it to him.

“You still haven't talked to Mas Yudha?” ask Mom at lunch. It was just me and Mama. Papa is busy with his project. Mas Yudha went somewhere.

I'm shaking. “Mas Yudha is very mature,” my mouth while chewing the vegetable bakwanan Mama.

Mama took a breath. “Yudha so because it cares about you,” Mama said. “Kan can speak well. Not good to know, do not talk to each other so.”

“You know Mas Yudha, ask him to speak carefully.”

“Both are stubborn,” muttered Mama slowly. “Where are your shoulders? Yesterday so to the physiotherapist?”

I'm nodding. “Udah mengingan anyway, Ma. Stay come one more time.”

“Thankful. Tomorrow you do not have to watch a concert again, a real danger. Fortunately, you did not have any serious injuries. Junot also will not be angry right, if you do not watch him play. He must have known.”

“Iya,” I said briefly so that Mama does not prolong the problem. After the incident I fainted at that time, Mama nagged me all out. My condition was not okay at the time.

“Yudha had time to ask your Mama why,” Mama said again.

I stopped chewing Mama's super delicious vegetable buds. “Keep Mama said what?” I waited for Mama's answer.

Mom shrugged her shoulders. “Mama said you fell. If Mama says you passed out while watching a concert, do not be kayang deh Yudha storm will be like nothing. He's eleven twelve kayaks of Papa.”

“Super protective!” I said and Mom at the same time. We then laughed. Mas Yudha is a photocopy of Papa. I'm glad Mama didn't tell Mas Yudha the truth. Don't let Papa know either. Could serious.

“Other times be careful, Na. You still like sloppy sometimes,” Mama's message.

“Iya, Ma,” I said. “I want to finish this first.” I plucked one more vegetable bakwan and a piece of tempe mendoan.”

Mama was just shaking her head at my big appetite. I have to fill up the gas to do college work that piles up, my stomach can not be rumbling.

***

Among all the war movies, my favorite is Pearl Harbor. As often as I watch it, I will never get bored. I've memorized every detail and dialogue of the film.

I got something from Pearl Harbor. Never wake a sleeping tiger. No matter how hard you hit him, he will not be weak, but will hit you harder than anyone else.

The Japanese searched for trouble by attacking American naval bases. America may be devastated by the attack. But three years later, the Americans retaliated against Japan in a more painful way. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed.

Nothing is impossible.

I frowned reading a tweet shared by Yasmin. Jevan is again. As if a victim of heartbreak, she posted photos of the two of us, reminiscing about our sweet moments into a thread.

All this time I was silent. I didn't post anything when I was feeling messed up because of Jevan's affair. But the guy actually acted as a romantic man on social media, as if he was the victim. Netizens also thought how ungrateful I was to have a boyfriend like Jevan.

This time Jevan has made me feel emotional.

Jevan is no different from the sweet mouth of Japan at the beginning of their arrival to Indonesia. He didn't realize that he had ruined my expectations of a devoted romantic guy, just like the Japanese destroyed Pearl Harbor. He thinks I can't act like an American who's been quiet for a while to retaliate later?

Damnit. I didn't focus on the job because of Jevan.

Yasmin called.

“Kirana, it feels like I want to throw a 12 kilo LPG gas cylinder into Jevan's head. Could play victim!” Yasmin immediately raved.

“Indeed you can lift LPG gas tube 12 kilo?”

“Gue seriously! You can't do it, Na! Lo who is harmed here.”

“I know. This is me thinking, how good I am this Jevan.”

“You want me to help you with lessons?”

“Ndon't need. America didn't need anyone's help when Hiroshima-Nagasaki hit. I will also empower myself to fight back.”

“Gue is also sprained!” I said. “Gue did not accept her uploading my photo, instead of being deleted, it was displayed. He has violated my privacy.”

“Betul! He uploaded your photo without permission!” Yasmin.

“Gue really hate the same people who use sosmed for manipulation!” I'm getting more emotional because I was lured to Yasmin. “Gue really wants to go back in time, I swear! Mending me engrave my face on the inscription! Scattered gini is the same as defaming me!”

“Bene! You have to reply! You have to attack back!”

I'm gregetan myself. My brain's spinning. What am I supposed to do with this motherfucker? Should I reply with social media as well?

Without warning, I ended Yasmin's phone call. That kid must be cursing right now. Foolish time with that. I opened Jevan's twitter account and saw who she was following.

Turns out he was playing clean. He just follows his friends. There are no suspicious accounts. He must have stopped following Vanya, his mistress.

Ah, I remember. I had time to catch the screen of Jevan's phone which contained a friendly chat with Vanya. It will be my weapon to attack him. I also still keep a screenshot of his indecent chat with Mila. I'm going to look for that screenshot no matter how much I scroll through the phone screen because it's been a while.

You're dead, Jevan.

While I was still searching for that screenshot, I received a notification from Twitter. I got a lot of mentions. My forehead wrinkled. What else is this?

I switched to checking the notification and my eyes widened after. Somebody call me leaving Jevan for Javier or Juan? Jesus, misunderstanding is widening. Jevan will definitely seize this moment.

Justright. Jevan responded to the comment with a tweet that read, ‘Oh, so his name is Javier and Juan? It deserves lately he did not care about me, it turned out to have been looking for backup. Two psik.”

My hand clasped the phone I was holding. All this time I didn't care about the gossip calling me crazy. But if someone talks about me like I'm not a good girl, I can go berserk.

I went back to looking for screenshots of Jevan's conversations with Vanya and Mila. After meeting, I posted it on Twitter, directly on Jevan's tweet. “Jevan, stop now. Don't play victim. You are cheating. One more thing, don't bring Javier or Juan. Who the hell am I chasing them?”

My reply to Jevan has made Twitter even more frenzied. Wow, so this is what it's like to make a furore? Me and Jevan are just ordinary people, not selebtwit or selebgram. But the sensation made Jevan was able to attract the attention of many people.

I read more and more replies one by one.

“Oh, so the guy who cheated? Continue now to act as a victim?”

“Yeah, the chat is so. I'm sorry that I had negative thinking on you mbak.”

“Twitter price gini very yes. Many drama. Fortunately I did not follow his blasphemy. Turns out who rese her guy.”

“Why can a guy cheat? Because the girl doesn't care? So the guy cheated to get attention.”

“Goblocks. Cheating is cheating. Not much reason.”

“WICK! SNAGGING THE DOG! ONCE AGAIN LO SORTS OF MY SISTER, OUT OF LO SAME CAVE!”

My forehead wrinkled as I read the reply in capital letters. Gosh darn. Why is Mas Yudha here? Oh, my God, I'm really tired. It just feels like disappearing.

***

I fell asleep after going through the frenzy that happened on Twitter. Thankfully, people are now turning to attack Jevan. People do not think they will be attacked back, right? To my surprise, Mas Yudha even got a lot of new followers because of his emotional tweets. 

Twitter residents called him a protective older brother. Suddenly everyone wanted to have an older brother like Mas Yudha. If you want, just take Mas Yudha to be a sister. I'll be grateful.

I woke up to the sound of a chicken crowing. I blinked slowly. Chicken crowing? I haven't heard chicken for a long time. Does Bang Arman now raise chickens?

I rubbed my eyes slowly. Aargh, why is my bed so hard? I squirmed to pull my muscles before rushing up. When I could see clearly and was completely conscious, I saw an oddity.

My ceiling looks different. I got up and sat down on the edge of the wooden cot. This is definitely not my bed. I look around. I was in a narrow room with walls made of wood. My feet stepped on the cold ground floor. And clothes. This is the strangest. I was wearing a cloth wrapped around like kemben.

Oh my God, what really happened? Am I dreaming? Or someone pranking me?

I immediately ran out. No way's. I saw a situation I could not see at all in 2023. It's like a colossal drama setting. Street dirt, row of wooden huts. People wore cloths wrapped around their bodies.

I turned my eyes to the center of the crowd. It looks like a market. Every now and then I see a bare-chested middle-aged man pulling a wooden cart over there. I looked to my left, maybe there was a hidden camera. Someone must be pranking me. I can't go to the past, right?