USTADZ
26. Romantic Scene

Ustadz Amar was cooking eggs for breakfast when she heard Syahla screaming hysterically from inside the room. Still with a spatula in his hand, Ustadz Amar rushed to his wife's room.

"Why? What's up?" tanyanya while knocking on the door.

Shahla opened the door of the room with sparkling eyes. "See Om Husband, I can DM from the Word Media editor! They said they were interested in publishing my novel there!"

"Oh yeah?" Ustadz Amar read the message on the screen and smiled happily. "Goodbye wife,"

Syahla nodded her head enthusiastically. Spontaneously, he put his hands together to embrace the husband. "Finally my dream has been realized!"

The actions of Shahla just now made Ustadz Amar can only be silent with both hands floating in the air. Upon realizing his actions, Syahla hurriedly let go of the embrace and rewinded awkwardly.

"I-I'm sorry about Husband, my release,"

"It's okay" Ustadz Amar tried to keep a flat face even though his heart was racing.

While scratching her non-itchy head, Syahla suddenly smelled a strange scent from the kitchen. "Eh, what's that smell?"

Ustadz Amar sniffed the air around him to be sure and was wide-eyed when he realized something. "The egg's charred!"

...----------------...

Syahla sits alone in a cafe near the campus. The seat in front of him was still empty, and Syahla waited with her legs swaying nervously.

A short-haired woman sebahu entered the cafe area, making Syahla immediately stand up to welcome the person she had been waiting for.

"Hi, I'm Dian, the editor of DM Lo yesterday," The short-haired woman who turns out to be Dian salutes Syahla.

"Hello sister, I am Syahla," replied Syahla with a friendly smile.

"Who from earlier? Uh, why haven't we eaten yet? Go on, we talk while eating. Ma'am!" Call Dian to the cafe waiter.

After making small talk and finishing each other's meals, Dian started talking about Syahla's novel to be published.

"Gue had read Lo's entire novel, and the story was interesting, so I was interested in publishing the novel in Kata Media,"

Syahla listened to Dian carefully while nodding her nervous head.

"But, there are some shortcomings that you must pay attention to."

Shahla bit her lip. He was not unprepared for the criticism of his story, instead he realized that he was still lacking a lot. Word media is a large publisher, so the work published there is certainly through a process that is not easy.

"This story is interesting on the side of romance, but the biggest weakness is in the romantic scene,"

Dian took out her tablet and showed some parts of the paragraph that she circled in red ink. "Instead of writing the two characters kiss, how about you describe how the kiss was?"

Syahla notes the advice from Dian on top of her notes in detail. There are some points that Dian mentioned and most of them are in the romantic scenes of the two main characters of his novel.

"Syahla, do you have a boyfriend?"

"Huh?" Syahla was surprised by Dian's sudden question. "Ee..why Brother?"

"If Lo has a girlfriend, Lo can write a romantic scene of the main character Lo based on personal experience. For example, the feelings of the female lead when the male lead touched her hands, or when they were alone in a closed room. There must be times when your heart is pounding? Well that's the point, Lo must make Lo readers pound as well when reading romantic scenes that Lo wrote. If the current one is already good, just according to I am bland, there is no feeling."

Shahla nodded her head again. True, some comments many readers protested that the romantic scene he wrote was less intimate. But, writing based on personal experience? Shahla touched a man's hand never, so how?

"If you don't have a boyfriend, you can find references to romantic movies. If Lo has trouble choosing, ntar I will send a list of titles to Lo. How's it?"

"By Sister" Syahla nodded her head.

"Okay, see you next time ya La!" Dian waved his hand before getting into the car he was carrying.

"Yes, be careful." Reply Syahla. He stared at Dian's departure with a long sigh.

"Romantic scenes huh.." he muttered as he walked back to campus.

...----------------...

Back home from college, Syahla immediately sat in front of the television in the middle of the room. He again saw a list of romantic movie titles sent Dian. He then chose one of the top lists.

"OK, start," Syahla unwrapped the snack and started eating it as a watching friend.

"Tumben watching tivi" said Ustadz Amar, who had just come out of the room. He opened the fridge and picked up a bottle of soda. After that, he sat down next to Shahla.

Within fifteen minutes, the two of them fell silent enjoying the spectacle. It was only in the next minute that Shahla began to feel something strange.

The male lead who undressed the female lead made Syahla immediately close her eyes. Not until there, the two actors seemed to do indecent scenes and began to emit strange sounds.

"Eh, uh, what is it? Matiin, matiin!" Syahla cried out in panic and immediately grabbed the television remote. But being too nervous, Syahla instead pressed the on-off button but instead pressed the volume button. Finally, the television even displays adult scenes from the film with maximum sound.

Panicked, Syahla immediately ran towards the outlet and unplugged the television cable. The screen of the box instantly became jet black.

On the sofa, Ustadz Amar sat with a face of shock. A few moments passed, and the couple could only look at each other in silence.

"I was just told by the Kata Media editor to watch this film, he said he could add a reference to my story. But I really don't know if it's like this!"

Ustadz Amar turned his face shy and stood up from his seat. "Yes.."

"Really! It's not me who wants to! Husband can ask himself! Her name is Dian, she's 23! He's an editor at Kata Media and we met him at the cafe! She kept saying my novel was less romantic, so I was told to practice with a boyfriend, but since I didn't have a girlfriend, I was told to watch a movie!" Shahal explained quickly.

"Yes, yeah. I trust. Even if not asked to be the same editor you also do not papa, besides you are an adult, you can already watch that."

Syahla's face reddened hearing the word 'soon' from her husband. "I swear it! This is not my wish!"

Seeing Ustadz Amar seem to distrust him, Syahla ran over and intercepted Ustadz Amar. "Truly, Om Sua—"

Syahla's words were swallowed in the esophagus because her feet tripped over the end of the rolled-up carpet. Immediately, Syahla's body drifted forward and fell on the body of the husband.

BRUK!

"Ouch.." Syahla stroked his head which clashed with Ustadz Amar. "sickness.."

As the pain subsided, Syahla opened her eyes and was shocked by the position of the two of their bodies. Ustadz Amar lay on the floor with his right hand on Syahla's hip, while Syahla sat directly on Ustadz Amar's belly.

Realizing that, Syahla hurriedly moved from her seat. "Sorry!"

Ustadz Amar got up from his sleeping position and rubbed his back head that kissed the floor. For a while, only the roar of breath of the two of them filled the room.

"Am I not qualified?" Tanya Ustadz Amar broke their silence.

Shahla scrunched her forehead. "What conditions?"

"So you said the editor told you to practice romantic scenes with your girlfriend. But you can't do it because you don't have a boyfriend. So, if the same husband can't?"

"Huh?"