The Devil's Legs Upside
The gall!
After the small meeting, we were escorted to our desks. Funny thing is, the three of us are next to each other. There's a bit of an oddity here, the Engineers' faces are bending in fear, just like old man James. I was a little tense because of the atmosphere, but Lim again tried to melt the atmosphere, by inviting the conversation of Abeba, the African woman. After the Engineers left the three of us, I immediately became acquainted with Abeba.
Short-bodied Abeba – shorter than Lim-and somewhat obese. In my opinion, the makeup is a little menor because the black skin does not match the thick lips with a bright pink lipstick. Her hair was long black wavy, complete with her dark brown skin Abeba's appearance looked extremely ferocious. Even so, he was so friendly to me and very talkative. His English was also easy to understand, so we chatted a lot. Abeba told us that she was rooming with Yevitzka, a tall European woman with acne spots. Yevitzka was an Informatics Engineer, which is why she sat a bit away from the three of us. Abeba himself was a Nautical Engineer, in charge of controlling the giant drill bit.
Our job - especially me and Lim - is to oversee the quality of petroleum from the giant Well-head Platform drill. The drill had been stuck in the earth's skin for a month before we came here, and kept the oil out. The petroleum is then piped to the pipes that are carried to the Production Platform.
My job is not too heavy, it's because there are so many Mining Engineers here. I was also very helped by Lim who was so smart, he must have been a cumlaude on his campus. It is precisely the task of Abeba and his nautical team that is the toughest. They have to keep the drill bit stuck. According to Abeba, the task was quite heavy because the drill bit hit a large chunk of rock during the drilling process. So that the drill body that is currently on the seabed directly intersects with the chunk of rock. Abeba and the team every day have to keep an eye on the drill's position, so as not to shift.
The sound of the chatter of the three of us was the only sound that was heard in the room, besides the noise of sonar radio and the sound of the worker's fingers clashing with the keyboard. My eyes explore around, the Engineers here seem so focused on their laptops. Their faces all bent in fear as well. Really, I wonder what they're afraid of.
My eyes then looked at the round table in the middle of the room, where we had a small meeting. Mr. Teigl is still there, having a dialogue with a young Indian boy carrying a tray with a few glasses of drink on top. I observed his thick blonde hair, luxurious black suit, and the golden watch coiled in his left hand. Was Mr. Teigl was so cruel that the Engineers here were so afraid of him? Ah, I don't think so. When he was in the Hall, he spoke to all of us so courteously. But it's still my first day, and we're new workers. It is possible that his true nature will appear later, as time passes. Waduh dangt .. then, I must not make mistakes while working.
My mind continued to mutter wildly, as I watched Mr. Teigl speak to the Indian boy. He spoke to her politely, but the face of the Indian boy was just like any other. After a while, the Indian boy nodded and left in the presence of Mr.Teigl. The boy then looked at me –because I kept staring at him from there-and walked up to me.
“Drink sir?” (Drink Sir?) he said by shaking the head typical of Indians.
Oh, this Indian boy turns out to be a Helper in charge of serving drinks to workers here. He was the fifth Indian I saw on this bridge (after the four dock officers).
“Gee ... thank’s much!” (Well .. Thank you very much!)
Lim immediately grabbed and upheld a glass of coffee that was on the tray of the Indian boy, without hesitation. Abeba also stood up from his chair and picked up another glass. Unlike these two of my comrades, I tried to be a little friendly to him. Although it looks like he is only a Helper, but I have to be friendly to everyone, right? While picking up the last cup on the tray, I invited him to a chat.
“Hey .. What’s your name, young man?” (Hey.... What's your name, young man?)
“Gagan!” he said while continuing to shake his head. Her overzealous tone intonation, as well as her misbehavioral movements made me laugh a little.
“I’m Dimas, nice too meet you!” (I'm Dimas, nice to meet you!)
“Nice to meet you” (Happy to meet you)
At first I was a little confused about what he said, because his English was still mixed with a little Indian. But gradually I was able to catch what Gagan was trying to say. My attempts to be friendly with her bore fruit, Gagan spoke to me a lot. But the face bent in fear still could not be lost.
Curly short haired gagan, with an innocent round face. Plus his thin body is small even though he was 11 years old, making him look more petite like a Kindergarten child. Gagan has been in this bridge since half a year ago, since this bridge was first built. The job is to provide the food and drink workers need in this Well-head monitor room. Because it was too cool to talk I ignored Abeba and Lim who had left me, dissolved in their respective work.
..................................
The wall clock in the monitor room went off at exactly 17:00, ending my first day at work. I stretched both my hands up, yawning.
Then I turned to Lim and Abeba on my left. Abeba seemed to be done with her job and told me to leave the monitor room first. Lim is still focusing on his laptop, he asked me to wait for him a few more minutes. And in the end, we both cleared our desks, and went home.
Outside, Mr. Teigl stood up and greeted the worker with a warm smile. But still, the faces of those Engineers smiled with a forced smile, I could see it. I was a little nervous when it was our turn to greet Mr.Teigl. But Lim without hesitation immediately greeted him. Mr. Teigl was warmly welcomed, and spoke to Lim. When I got closer, he greeted me first. He remembered my name very well, I was very flattered. Is this the kind of boss that all workers are afraid of?
……………………………………………………………………………………
“Hey Lim, Umm ..”
Lim looked back, confused to see me who suddenly walked slowly.
“You can go first, I think I left something behind” (You go first, I think I left something behind)
“Ahaaaa!” Lim smiled with a grin.
“What’s ‘Ahaa’?” (‘Ahaa’ why?)
“Hahaha, just go ..” (Hahaha, go ..)
I immediately turned around and ran excitedly.
“Say ‘Hi’ from me to Julia, ok?” (Send my regards to Julia, ok?)
“Do a Jingzu before talking to her, bro” (Do Jingzu before chatting with her, bro) she said as she walked away.
“Jingzu?”
“Some Chinese Tradition, Google it!” (Sort of Chinese traditional rituals, Google only!)
The two of us then split up, I immediately headed to the Generator-Compressor Platform. I ran a bit across the Well-head Platform to get to the bridge that connects to the Generator-Compressor Platform. While walking quickly I opened my phone, scouring Google to find the meaning of Jingzu Lim spoke earlier.
‘Ritual of Respect to deceased ancestors’
Wahahahaha Shit! Just watch out for you Lim. I laughed and was annoyed to read Google's search results. It turned out that just a few days ago, I was already so familiar with Lim. Although it sucks, I am grateful to have a friend like her.
BRUKK…. PRANGS….
“Ouch!” I complained, I just fell to the bridge floor.
Several light bulbs rolled around me. And in front of me, I saw a male worker fall down while holding a cardboard box.
“Sorry Sir ..” (Sorry Mr. ..) I got up while looking around
Because I was too busy with my phone, I did not see anyone passing by. We collided, and the light bulb he was carrying inside the cardboard box fell. Ow hell! Some of the bulbs were broken. The man just kept quiet and looked around.
“I’m really sorry ..” (I'm really sorry ..) I reached out to her.
But he did not respond, he just stared blankly at the broken bulbs. The old man was European-faced, with thin hair that was entirely white. His face was wrinkled and pale blue, it seemed like this father was already fifty years old.
I felt so guilty, immediately I swept the fragments of the bulb with my shoes. Then turn the debris toward the edge of the bridge. There is a small hole in the lower corner of the bridge barrier that is used to drain water when the bridge is flooded. I continued to sweep there, until the debris jutted to the sea.
“Done, Sir! I’m really sor ..” (Already, Sir! I really asked ma ...) “Huh??”
I was so shocked. When I looked, the man was no longer there.
I turned my eyes around, I was really alone. Even the –-not-broken-bulbs scattered earlier also disappeared. I was going to help him pick up the bulb back to the box he was carrying. Did the man run towards the Generator-Compressor Platform? It's a lot closer than Well-hea…
“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just when I turned to the Generator-Compressor Platform, I heard from the end of the Well-head Platform bridge, Gagan was screaming hysterically. He looked at me with fear. I waved my hand and returned the scream. I thought he was yelling at me, but soon he dropped his empty tray on the floor and ran away. What the hell's going on? I'm confused between having to find that old man or Gagan. Finally, I decided to run after Gagan.
Arriving at the mouth of the Well-head Platform bridge, I found Gagan sitting squatting on the edge of the stairs of the monitor room. Both of his hands held tightly to his ears, as if he was hearing something loud. His body shivered in fear, what happened? Slowly, as I gulped, I tried to hold the body.
“Gan... Gagann?” I was so nervous, that I myself called Gagan with the Indonesian accent. Even so, he still did not respond. Then I clasped his hands which kept shaking it.
“GWAAAAAH!!!!” His screams surprised me. He looked at me crying.
“Hey!! What happened? It’s Okay, I’m here, Gan” (Hey!! Wh why? It's okay, I'm here, Gan)
I slightly raised my tone to calm him down. He kept thrashing, trying to get his hands off me.
“PRETNIII!!! PRETNI!!! WAAAA!!!!!”
Gagan stomped his hand, released my grip and blurred.