THE FORMER SHADOW
14. School Back

The Wednesday that Cantara is waiting for has arrived. The kindergarten school uniform she wore was neatly attached along with a pair of pigtail ties in her hair and pink shoes on her feet.

Last night Cantara asked to call her papa, because Monday and Tuesday Arshaka did not come to Badrina's house caused by a pile of work. Plus he had to meet an old friend.

This morning, after going through a debate about who will take Cantara to school, Arshaka came to Badrina's house. Arriving at breakfast means not eating from home.

Unfortunately, Badrina offered nothing upon seeing Arshaka enter the dining room. Badrina looked cute.

"Papa..," Cantara came down from her stool, approached Arshaka and pulled her hand towards the dining table, "ayo Pa, we eat. This is Mama's special dish. The first day I went to school again" he explained with sparkling eyes.

Arshaka glanced at Badrina who was feeding a spoonful of food to the plate. There is no morning greeting for Arshaka. Could it be that Badrina is still angry with her desire to take her child to school? arshaka thought in his heart.

Before the divorce, taking Cantara to school was Badrina's routine assignment. Arshaka often goes to the office first. Unlike last night, Badrina urged him to take her to school.

For Badrina, what Arshaka does is a legitimate attitude because the man is the father of Cantara.

Her cold attitude was nothing more than a message Poppy had also contacted her last night.

Poppy doesn't want Badrina to be glued to her ex-husband, even raising her objections to their marriage years ago.

Poppy gave Badrina the nickname fool. Divorce is the karma of Badrina's immunity that didn't follow her tantric words eight years ago.

Last night Poppy also delivered Hafez's message to schedule a meeting on the night of next week. Poppy requests that Badrina meet Hafez's invitation at a fancy restaurant in the city.

Arshaka certainly did not know Badrina's plan to be introduced to a man. He only guessed that their conversation last night had made Badrina quiet.

At the dinner table, there was only a conversation between Cantara and Arshaka. Every now and then the man glanced across the table, coincidentally Badrina drowned in daydreams while still scooping food into her mouth. Arshaka guesses there is a burden on Badrina's mind at the moment.

After they finished breakfast, Badrina invited Cantara to brush her teeth to clean the leftover food. Then, he went back to check his daughter's needs before handing over Cantara to Arshaka to be escorted to school.

"You're not coming?" ask Arshaka. Badrina looked at him in astonishment.

"After school, you'll definitely go to the office, I'll take a cab home. You'd better drive yourself," declined Badrina.

Arshaka smiled bitterly, she remembered how she was in the past. When Badrina asked to take Cantara to school, he asked Badrina to return by taxi because Arshaka rushed to the office.

The Cantara school is different from the Arshaka office. Even if he currently takes Cantara to school then he will return past Badrina's house to his office. In the past, the man was just lazy to drive his wife back home.

"Yes already. We're leaving." Arshaka no longer urged Badrina. The woman took off Arshaka and Cantara in front of the gate, the car drove until it was invisible to the eye. Later in the day, it is Badrinalah's duty to pick up her son from school.

After arriving at school, Cantara went down and waved at his papa who was going to the office. "Good school and friends yes, Papa's son," Arshaka said.

"Ready Papa!" the response of Cantara raised his hand like doing a sign of respect.

Cantara walked cheerfully into her class. When the bovah entered the hospital, no friends visited him, because through the school Badrina advised that the parents of his son's friends do not need to visit his daughter.

The lesson hours went well, Cantara was happy with group and independent activities. Arriving at break time, children eat together provided by the school in one large table.

Each child in each class will sit around the dining table. The school has many special spaces used for extracurriculars. It is not wrong if the cost of Cantara kindergarten school per month is equivalent to UMR in the area.

Cantara has no close friends at school, all for her are friends. He is a child who does not distinguish his friends. However, there are only one and two nosy children who like to prank their peers.

"Canta, long time no school. Why?" ask a girl friend named Maiza Amanda.

"I'm ill. So treated, said the doctor needs a break, so long time no school."

"Canta, what pain?" ask her friend Cherika.

"Ee.. what yes...." Cantara tried to remember the name of the disease, "Oh, I don't remember. Calling it hard, I'll ask --"

"Canta, said my mother, your mother's father you're divorced." A boy bongsor cut off the conversation of Cantara, his name is Parama Nafiz.

"Divorce? Is that a divorce?" ask Canta with a normal face to Parama.

"If what I heard about the divorce was quarreling. I saw my mom watching Tivi keep telling papa 'divorced artist' and I kept hearing my mom say 'pa'amama Canta too', '" Parama said.

"Squaking, really. Where did you hear it from?" tanya Cantara was not happy.

"I told you from my mother's father, in the room at that time," replied Parama. "I keep asking, 'what is divorce, Ma?' That's what my mama said, 'fighting and not living together anymore', I see." Parama continued what he knew from his parents.

Cantara was silent at the word not living together anymore. What Parama said about it is true. However, not fighting. My mom is still talking.

"Canta, still living with papa and mama?" ask Cherika.

"still. Eh.. with mama still, if papa is rare because my papa is busy working," Cantara revealed what he knows and sees.

"That's a divorce, Canta," she laughed.

Cantara is upset with Parama, "Papa mama I'm not divorced, Parama!" canta shouted while standing up.

The teacher came to their table. The system at this school at the break hours the teacher watched from a distance of several meters. The child is released for conversation between one child and another as a social development.

"Mom, Parama said papa mama Canta divorced like an artist in tivi, quarreled, but not." Cantara sobbed while pointing at Parama.

The teacher looked sadly at the face of Cantara who had been covered in tears. Then hugged Canta, calmed him down, then took Cantara away from his desk to the teacher's room.

Another teacher was asked to help manage the table that Cantara left behind. All the teachers also know what happened to papa mama Cantara, of course they will not bring the personal problems of parents to the students.

Teachers don't expect kindergarten boy talk at the dinner table about divorce.