RUN WITH ME
CHAPTER 31: ANNOYED

"Okay, it's all coming, isn't it?" ask Arunika on all the valentine's day live music show in front of her now. The question was answered by everyone.

"Before I want to say a big thank you to all of you for being willing to take the time to check sound activities today. Even though the show is small tomorrow, I really appreciate all the time and energy you give to this event. Applause first, dong, make us all." The request for applause was approved by all, even with a smile on the faces of some people.

"I will briefly explain the rundown here tomorrow," continued Arunika after the rumbling sounds that filled the hall subsided. He stared one by one the people sitting watching him, not least Gavin. The man sat on the right wing seat in the front row. Arunika stared at him for a few seconds before finally taking her eyes off.

"The movement of the event will be very fast due to time constraints, so I beg all of you not to delay. You guys should be ready when I call you guys, if it's too late, you know what's gonna happen?" That threatening sentence Arunika let out very subtly, making everyone laugh a little.

"The ceremony will begin ten minutes after the second break hour begins. You will be summoned by the members of OSIS twenty minutes before the event for preparation. Anybody here to ask?" arunika asked firmly and answered quietly without a sound so that the woman immediately switched to the next point.

"MC will open the show in just two minutes, then band one will advance as the first performer and followed by Whitney as the second performer. Watch the clock, yes," said Arunika, looking at the paper in her hand, while the two summoned parties nodded in understanding.

"After completion, Gavin will go in and play ... Vin, you're really gonna play two songs, right?" Arunika stopped her first sentence as she remembered that Gavin had not confirmed how many songs would be played. Judging from his notes, it is written that the man is still uncertain. Arunika's bright brown net instantly led to Gavin looking at her fixedly from the start.

"No, I will only play one song," Gavin replied after a moment of silence, making Arunika slightly frown.

"Why change?"

"Because the other performers only brought one song, so let's be fair," the man casually replied.

Arunika nodded in understanding then continued her sentence, "alright, Gavin will play one song, the duration is three minutes. Let the atmosphere when Gavin plays better, some lights will be turned off and OSIS members will invite students to turn on the flashlight of his cellphone." As Arunika said that, all the members of OSIS who were there nodded, remembering the small task.

"Then after Gavin performed, teachers and students were allowed to sing on stage, band one would be his accompanist. It's about fifteen minutes long. Then, the event was finished, we only need to tidy up the musical equipment or other things because we have to return to class. But when we go home from school, we have to go back to this place and clean up the whole thing. Got it? Anybody want to ask?" Shortly after Arunika said that, there was one person who was the show that Arunika knew as the drummer of the band one raised his hand.

"Actually this is not my question, but he is," said the drummer, pointing to the man sitting next to him, the man posing as a guitarist in the band. The guitarist tried to keep his friend's mouth shut, as if he didn't want his friend to talk. However, Arunika did not care much about that and nodded in understanding while giving a straight look at the group.

"Can't you play a song you like? That's the question." The question was immediately followed by a flirtatious shout by everyone there, while the guitarist had hit his friend hard with a tinge of red on his cheek. Arunika turned her head to the right full of confusion.

"Of course you can, dong. Whynot? You know what my favorite song is anyway?" The response was enough to make some members of OSIS scream frustration in the heart. The code is as clear as it is but still not caught by Arunika's clever brain. On the other hand Arunika looked at her comrades in arms with a confused face and asked why the people made hand gestures as if annoyed with her.

In the right wing seat of the front row there, Gavin noticed the whole incident so that there was a feeling of dislike in his heart. He folded his arms in front of his chest and his right leg was stacked on his left leg. His vision flatly led to the guitarist. Moments later he turned his gaze in another direction, the important thing was not to be fixed on the incident there.

"Her, why is Arunika always like this, huh? Though the code was obvious but he was still unconscious" asked Brianna in a whisper to Hera next to him, those who were standing about five steps away from Arunika.

Hera glanced at Brianna then raised both her shoulders. "Eitherway. I used to ask him about this and he replied, he prefers to be to-the point than to code like this. If it is not clear, yes, it will be skipped with him," he replied with a whisper as well.

"But not everyone can be as frank as he wants," Brianna's pretext that makes Hera again raise both shoulders. Then Hera turned her head to the right-wing seating area, where Gavin was sitting. His eyes could catch how the style of sitting as well as his highly visible gaze did not want to look at Arunika who was getting a hard code from one of the school band members. He also laughed in his heart.

"Something seems jealous, yes" murmured Hera. But the murmur could be heard by Brianna.

"Who is jealous?" Hera slightly gasped at the question, she turned her head to Brianna and shook her head.

"Guys, let's start checking his sound, band one get ready now, yeah." Fortunately, Arunika's words stopped Brianna from asking further questions, freeing Hera from questions due to her voice being too loud. The two women walked up to Arunika and they talked about her work.

After preparing for about five minutes, one band began playing his instruments, with one vocalist standing in the center of the stage. The rest of the show's performers become spectators, as well as Gavin. The man could see Arunika standing below the stage facing the vocalist of the band singing. Honestly, Gavin was annoyed by the vocalist's gaze. Fortunately, that moment did not last long.

"Okay, your performance has been good, really. But in my opinion, the sound of the drum is too domineering that the sound of other musical instruments and the vocalist so inaudible. There's no solution, huh?" arunika said evaluating the band's performance. Those on the stage were silent.

Seeing no desire to respond, Arunika also raised her head to the second floor of the hall which was used as a place for audio technicians, lights, and projector screens. "Audio, roughly the sound of the drum can be understated no, huh?" arunika asked in a very loud voice in order to be heard by them on the second floor.

"We'll try," replied one of the audio staff, Arunika nodded in understanding.

"Then you can come down now. Whitney, come on, up," pinta Arunika while staring at Whitney— tenth grader who is known for her golden voice. The fourteen-year-old girl also obeyed the words of the head of OSIS.

The clean gladi of the singer went smoothly, there were no obstacles so Arunika had no comment. Then it was Gavin's turn to clean gladi. Arunika turned her head slightly back to look at the man who had stood up from her seat. The two pairs of netra met and stared at for a few seconds, then Arunika moved her eyebrows, as if telling Gavin to go up to the stage immediately. Gavin gave no answer, but he kept his request.

Gavin walked towards the stage and sat in front of the grand piano located in the right side area of the stage. Under the stage there, Arunika was curious half to death with the piece that the man was going to carry. Because these past few days they were far apart, Arunika became not daring to ask. Arunika noticed Gavin who was ready to press her first keys carefully.

Shortly after, Gavin skillfully played his choice piece, which was none other than the piece that made him aware of his feelings for Arunika. Arunika was silent to see it, as well as the entire audience there. They all get swept up in Gavin's soulful game. For some reason, the OSIS administrators who had listened to Gavin's performance a few days ago felt Gavin's game today was deeper than the day before, as if the man had really poured out his whole feeling there.

Arunika was still speechless with a deep look at the pianist. Of course, he also felt what his organizational friends felt. But because the feeling that Gavin gives in his game deepens, the feeling that Arunika feels when Gavin a few days ago plays it becomes clearer. Falling in love is followed by relief. A question arises in Arunika, is Gavin really in love now? Was that why Gavin had avoided him these past few days? That is, Gavin is trying to keep the person's feelings?

Arunika exhaled heavily, inexplicably Arunika felt unhappy with the questions. Hera who was sitting next to him smiled faintly.

Unknowingly three minutes had passed, the piece should not have been this short, but Gavin had shortened it so as not to take long. After Gavin pressed his last key, his hand held high with his originally closed eyes opened slowly. The applause he got from all the pairs of hands in the room. Gavin lowered his hand and exhaled slowly, then looked at Arunika below.

A few seconds passed with silence, Arunika still continued to look at Gavin who began to be confused, until Hera finally nudged the arm slowly. In fact Arunika did not daydream— as Hera estimated, the woman was aware of one hundred percent since the beginning of Gavin play. Suddenly Arunika stood up from her seat, making Hera and Gavin a little surprised.

Without saying anything, Arunika placed the paper containing the rundown of the event on the chair. Afterwards he looked at Gavin and walked up the stage and continued to step towards the backstage. "Vin, here for a moment, I want to chat," Arunika told in a flat tone. Gavin and the others were confused, why did the woman behave this way all of a sudden?

Gavin looked at Hera, asking through her eyes. But Hera raised both shoulders and made a gesture with her chin as if telling Gavin to obey the woman's orders. Feeling no other choice, Gavin finally caught up with Arunika who was already in the backstage. Just as both of Gavin's legs were treading on the backstage area, his body was roughly pulled by Arunika who had been waiting for him behind the wall. Unprepared for the attack, Gavin is unable to fight back and ends up only able to follow Arunika's wishes.

With all his strength, Arunika reversed their standing position so that Gavin was in Arunika's previous position, cornered into the wall, and then turned back to the wall, arunika immediately locked the movement of the man by putting his hands on the left and right side of Gavin's body. Gavin was surprised to see the behavior without the cue so he unconsciously stuck his back to the wall, trying to give a distance between him and Arunika. If you ask me how his heart is right now, then this one word will explain everything, screwed up.

"Run ... is there ... what?" gavin asked in a stammering voice. This was the first time Gavin felt he had to put in more effort to speak. On the other hand, Arunika continued to give her sharp gaze.

"The longer I think about it, the more upset I get. So, let's just to-the point. Why have you been avoiding me these last three days?"

...⁕⁕⁕...