Joy: A Hope's
Chapter 22: Slowly Stranger

“Thanks, have helped me,” said Arga to smile on the sidelines of his meal.

Joy glanced at Arga at a glance, then nodded her head. A faint smile also appeared on his lips. Inversely proportional to the reaction Aletta next to Joy. The girl's eyeballs turned pushy.

A few moments ago the break bell rang. The three of them immediately pumped gas into the canteen. Sit at the back of the corner of the room that is not too crowded visitors. Usually students prefer to take place on the front for various reasons, for example to seek attention to the most wanted school in the front row. Not with Joy, Arga, and Aletta who precisely fill the crowd.

“You'll be used with him!” aletta sneered at Joy as she chewed the food in her mouth nonchalantly.

His eating activity stopped, Arga glanced at Aletta. “Syrics to lo!” reply sneered.

“Dih, why am I a syrup! I can do my job without any help from Joy. Not like lo, nothing always depends on others.” Aletta stuck out Arga's sticky tongue.

“Lo—!” Arga's eyeballs bulged. His jaw hardened, staring at Aletta furiously. It felt like to tear the face of songong in front of him.

Aletta advanced her face slightly and raised both of her eyebrows. “Why? Want to get angry, huh?!” said challenging.

Joy shook her head and laughed a little watching the mouth of her best friend and compatriot. It always ends up like this in the same environment. Aletta and Arga like the characters of a cat and mouse in the series ‘Tom & Jerry’, never get along.

“And you are not my cousin and my mother's favorite ponkan, abis lo!” hiss Arga was joking.

Aletta laughed, feeling victorious over Arga's agony. “That's tau.”

Joy was surprised. He stared alternately at the two people. “You ... cousin?” ask Joy with wide-eyed balls.

That statement really made Joy's mind instantly blank. Joy did not think. Either have to believe that reality or—

The nod of the head given by the two men makes Joy have to believe. Arga and Aletta exchanged glances and giggled at Joy's reaction.

“Reaction lo too excessive,” grunts Arga.

“It's too unlikely.” Joy mutters. His blank look like a dork made Arga sneer sickly.

Aletta's wrinkled furrow is faint. “What's impossible, Joy?”

“You're a cousin with him,” Joy replied pointing to Arga.

“What's the reason?” This time, Arga said. The chin is raised high. His face is so song.

“Aletta her son is good, smart too. Not like you are a delinquent, stubborn, and unruly,” said Joy lightly.

Unknowingly Arga's increasingly wide glaring eyeballs stared at him irately. Another case with Aletta who has been broken up. He could barely control his laughter. Ends her stomach that feels cramped.

Joy looked at Aletta confusedly. The man had not been aware of the words that had come out of his lips just now. His mind kept wondering what was up with the girl.

Joy shook her head, looking innocent. “Not saying anything. I'm just talking facts,”.

“It's precisely because you spoke the facts, Arga upset Joy.” Aletta laughed again after saying Joy.

While Arga's head may have issued a red horn if only visible. “Damn you two!” arga Ogat.

Arga quickly finished his meal so he could get out of the canteen faster. He closed his ears ignoring Aletta's very disturbing hearing.

***

The rest of Joy's break was spent wandering around the school library. Joy is tired of staying in class and listening to Aletta's rant that keeps telling her everyday endlessly as if the story is endless. While Arga back to ditch out of nowhere. The man was still angry at her about what she said in the cafeteria. Joy cursed herself for unconsciously saying this.

Since getting closer to Joy, Arga has rarely even barely ditched again. Today, however, the man is back to repeating his bad habits. Habits that are ingrained. Bad habits should be abandoned, but it takes a long time. Everything needs a process. In fact, acting is not as easy as speaking.

Talk about Arga and Aletta. Until now, the reality of Arga and Aletta's cousin has not been accepted by Joy's common sense. Joy forgets that in this world nothing is impossible. The world is full of mysteries, puzzles, and impossibilities.

Joy sat reading the novel in a special place in the library. His back he rests on a wooden bench.4 The fiction is lifted in line with the eyes until his face is almost visible. The lips slowly sounded from the lips. Pages per page Joy open and read only at a glance. Until the book was closed rather rough. The squeaking sound of the bench filled the silence that occurred in that soundproof room. Several pairs of eyes reflexively turned towards Joy. The small movements as Joy moved from the bench seemed quite disturbing and attention-grabbing.

Joy slightly bowed her face. The faint smile that rose on his lips seemed to represent his apology. When not the center of attention anymore, Joy stepped onto the novel's special bookshelf and returned the novel she had borrowed.

“The story is less exciting. The flow is too monotonous. Not my taste.” Joy clucked up commenting on the novel she had just read.

Joy picked the novel she wanted to read. His first destination to the library was actually because of this. Joy wants to find references so she can continue her story that has been on hiatus for almost a month. Suddenly Joy stuck when the story is about to reach conflict. Ideas that have been arranged neatly even until the ending is lost from memory without residual memory. It feels pointless if Joy stops the story halfway and ends up fared just like some of her previous works. Must be completed before ending.

Four novels with attractive-looking covers are already within Joy's grasp. Joy again sorted out one of the novels from the four novels. A smile returned after it disappeared a few minutes ago. The other three novels have been returned to their original place and then moved away from the shelves of the novel. The novel he selected was opened slowly until it displayed the first sheet. Read the prologue part. Smile on the lips is wide. It seems Joy didn't choose wrong. New part prolog, but Joy has been made guess. This kind of unpredictable storyline that Joy likes. Joy's favorite genre.

It didn't last long that smile faded again. Change the pain of someone he just hit. The novel that fell onto the tile floor as white as a bone was picked up, then turned to stare at the person in front of it.

“Maaf—” said it choked and immediately hung in the air as her eye bead met the girl's brown eye bead.

“Joy ..” The lashes blinked a few times. A soft voice that always ringing in the head echoed in Joy's eardrum. Chest thumped nonchalantly as if it did not know the place.

It was in those beautiful eyes. Joy shook her head and immediately moved from her slung. The face turned flat expressionless. He can't melt that easily. Remind Joy that she's still mad at Rani. To be exact, Joy was jealous. I think Joy wants to take her apology back. Joy was too proud to tell Rani that.

Rani flabbergasted on the spot. He stared at the remains of Joy's departure in a giddy manner. What happened to the neighbor, asked Rani in her heart. Something changed about Joy. No, that guy has really changed. His eyes were no longer as gentle as before. That flat-robed look was completely foreign in Rani's eyes. Without even bothering the man helped her up. He just passed away.

Now, it was like there was an abstract distance that lay between the two of them. But Rani has no idea what caused it. Yang Rani knew they were getting stranger as time went on.

***