Reflections
Fatal Error

I was in the teacher's room, but this time the atmosphere was very different from my first visit. The room felt more quiet and tense. It felt like there was a load settling in the air, giving it a very different atmosphere than usual.

We sat face to face in the teacher's room full of books and documents. The sunlight coming through the window gave a warm touch to the room that was supposed to be comfortable, but when he started to open his mouth, the atmosphere felt a little gripping.

“Bapak did not expect, Rico so far,” said the teacher in a voice that sounded full of concern. His face looked serious, with a frown on his forehead.

Bla blah. To be honest, I was a little lazy to listen to his chatter. Why do you have to need a victim first so you start moving. But arriving, he slightly nodded his head. “Excuse me,” he said in a low voice.

To be honest, I was very surprised. This may be the first time we have spoken correctly. If I tried to explain it better in the first place, would anything be different? …Or is this the effect of the new teacher?

I was given a piece of paper and a pen. In the silence of the room, I began to write everything down. I recorded every detail I could remember, from the time I first met Rico until the moment the incident happened.

After coming out, an empty mind greeted me. My shoulder's a little limp. I didn't think I could finally report everything.

On the way back to class, I stopped to peek at Rico's state in the bk room. I could see the teacher bk who was scolding Rico. But unfortunately, I can only see Rico's back.

"How did you get this far, Rico?" there was a sharp voice of teacher bk. "You think it's great? Can hit a child

another? The country doesn't need people like you."

Well, it doesn't seem like the situation is good…

Like a magnet, after the school bell rang, I unconsciously walked back to the bk room.

I saw Katherine's mother standing at the door, tears streaming down her face. His voice was filled with disappointment and sadness as he scolded Rico's mother, "Why should my son? What's my son's fault? How can you raise your child like this?"

I couldn't hear everything they said, but the mood felt from their expressions was enough to give a clear picture.

Rico's mother seemed to be in a hurry trying to stop Katherine's mother's anger, hands reaching for Katherine's mother's arm while trying to calm her down. "I'm sorry" he said in a low tone. "I beg you, forgive my son."

My mind floated, strange, when the wrong thing was his son, but why did his mother apologize?

It did not take long for Mr. Suparno, my homeroom teacher, to announce the long-awaited decision: Rico, Dani, and Bambang will be expelled from this school...Well, I lied. He said they would change schools. But still, when the news was announced, the atmosphere in the classroom seemed to freeze. Our eyes move from the face of one student to the face of another, looking for reactions and responses formed in their expressions.

Of course, this is big news. Finally, Rico and his allies will not be faced with prison. Although it cannot be denied that the school is very trying to relieve the heated situation due to this incident. Along with this closure, rumors began to circulate that they were about to change schools. After all, the school wanted to keep its good name and did not want to tarnish its reputation too much. Anywhere, Rico is the vice-chairman of OSIS.

Even so, something still stuck in my chest. I still feel that just getting them out of school is not enough to overcome all the consequences of their actions.

“It looks like this is called 'sugarcoating the truth',” said the ghost who suddenly appeared from inside out of nowhere.

But do you think this is enough? Is it by just getting them out of school, everything is back to normal?

“This is already the best way,” said firmly.

“You are just a student at this school,” said the ghost in a flat tone. “You have no right to judge

others.”

...Yeah, maybe that's true.

“What's wrong?” ask the ghost.

“Are you still not satisfied?” again, his voice sounded a little mocking.

Just so you know, I originally wanted to do something more. I feel like yelling in everyone's face about their behavior. I still feel like they're getting off too easily.

The ghost breathed in tired.

“Why are you still not satisfied?” furthermore, his voice showed his sharp demeanor. “Looks like you

still underestimating the meaning of this school-issued punishment.”

“Imagine, because they were expelled from school, they ruined their chances of being accepted into the college they wanted,”.

“Or what if they were expelled and could not find another school to continue their education? They will have trouble finding work just because they did not complete SMA,”.

“Isn't that enough?” again, his voice shows how serious he is.

...

“In my opinion, shame is a terrible weapon,” he added with a serious expression.

...Yeah, whatever. Maybe you're right, but I still don't accept it.

“Which is more important,” connect the ghost with a lighter tone, “now hurry, before the next lesson begins.”

After returning to my boarding room, I was again immersed in my thoughts. It seems I was caught in the wilderness of my own mind, trying to figure out where the fault was. Lately, the question has been constantly spinning in my head, infiltrating my mind incessantly.

Time to dig deeper. What exactly drives Rico and his partner? This question further filled my heart, and eventually curiosity flooded me completely. Since my phone was still broken and I needed internet access, I decided to go to the nearest cafe. I wanted to understand more about Rico's background, trying to investigate what might have happened in his life.

The questions just flow. Is it related to mental problems? Is this about

desire to feel powerful? Or is there jealousy? But over time, those answers felt no

conformable.

I opened a Rico Instagram account from Junior High. I found out that Katherine was from the same school and class as Rico. I tried to keep my distance, not wanting to get too involved in the complexity of other people's affairs. Maybe it was just part of the universe cycle, I thought at the time.

However, in my heart, something kept spinning. Something was trying to force my mind to look more

inward. Can this cycle be stopped? What can be done so that such an action does not happen again?

“Maybe you should stop,” said the ghost, appearing as usual with his sharp gaze.

Yeah, maybe you're right. My brain is not suitable for something like this..Because it's already here, one match does not hurt right?

Since I had not slept for a few days, all the fatigue had finally begun to come towards me, like a shadow that had caught up with me. I feel so tired and tired.

Like the days before, the twilight sky colored my way home from school. I walked across the corridors that used to be so familiar, where low boisterous laughter and student chatter still sounded. In the middle of the journey, my gaze was fixed on someone who made me feel fluttering. Si Adit, he was the catalyst of the incident at that time.

"What are you doing? Greet him," whispered the ghost who always accompanied my thoughts.

"…Why should?" I was weak, trying to stop the question.

"That's it, just do it," replied the ghost in a flat tone.

My chest felt tight, and I complained slowly. Ouch, duh. I felt a sigh of relief come out when I finally ventured to greet him. I walked slowly closer to him.

"Sore," I said in a soft voice, although the nervousness was still felt.

He looked at me with a flat gaze, and for a moment it seemed like he would not respond. My little heart started to pump up nervous feelings. But then, Adit replied, "Sore."

I looked back a little after a few steps of walking, and I felt a light smile forming on

her face.

"Where do you think? So, now you feel something?" tanyakanya.

My heart was beating fast, almost audible by the ears. My shoulder felt relaxed, as if trying to overcome the nervousness that infiltrated. I felt a big smile on my face, and my face was hot when I was embarrassed. Unknowingly, I tried to cover my face with my right hand, trying to hide the red hue that was creeping on my cheek.

"Hehe, is it that nice of you to be seduced by a pretty girl?" he said in a shitty tone.

Are you a pretty girl?

"You want to fight, huh?"

...Come to think of it, I still don't know your name.

"Oh my goodness, where is my manners," he said with a smile.

"You can call me Arina" he continued.

"Oh, too, I've been giving you a lot of time off. Tomorrow you will continue your 'good deeds. You still forget, I can read your mind? You can't distract me forever."

Shit, I thought it would work.