"Oh, God... I don't know what's happening right now. Every day, this strange feeling in my heart is getting bigger. When I'm with her, seeing her smile and laughter, my happiness overflows, and when I hear her talk about other men my anger makes my chest tight. Give me your directions, Lord..." Barra prayed in his prayer.
After finishing his worship, Barra stood in front of the mirror in his room. In the mirror reflection, Barra saw his own worried face.
"Why does my love for Gita as my sister turn into wanting to have her like this? No way, I must have gone crazy!" Barra said to his own reflection in the mirror.
***
"What do you eat, Gita?" Zaki asked his new and first lover. They just arrived at the school cafeteria during break time.
"Just buy fried bananas and water!" Gita answered and immediately got an 'okay' signal from Zaki.
"Woah, there's a new couple here, guys!" teased Zaki's friends who had already gone to the canteen.
"You guys are so noisy! You're jealous, aren't you?" Zaki replied to his friends.
Zaki's heart has always blossomed since he was with Gita. Vice versa, Gita has also begun to accept Zaki's status in her heart.
They also always meet when carrying out their duties as class president of each class at their school. This makes Zaki and Gita have more things to talk about as well as brings them closer to getting to know each other better.
***
School holidays after the odd semester exams begin. At that time, Gita's class ranking was achieved in second place. And the first position is occupied by Dian and Anita in third place. Yes, just like that for almost two years of them.
Gita chooses to vacation at her aunt's house in the city center while taking care of her old grandmother. Gita is bored at home only seeing Galih playing Playstation with Ganesa when he comes home from work, while Barra happens to always work late at work.
Even when they are on vacation, Gita and Zaki always communicate by phone.
"Hello, Assalamu'alaikum?" Gita answered the person on the other end of the line.
"Wa'alaikumsalam. Why are you answering my phone so fast? Did you miss me?" sneered Zaki.
"You're too confident! I didn't miss you at all!" said Gita annoyed.
"Geez, I didn't mean to make fun of you, Gita. And actually, I was the one who missed you. But I also know you must have the same feelings. You miss me too, don't you?" Zaki said with a small laugh.
"In your dreams!" said Gita in denial, but her lips smiled.
"Does that mean I'm the only one who misses you and you don't?" Zaki's voice sounded weak from the other end of the connection.
"Hahaha, didn't I tell you that I didn't miss you? You're overthinking!" Gita laughed, "but I lied… I also feel the same way as you… Hihihi!" said Gita again, laughing amused.
The happiness of teenage love is as if they are the only ones who feel it. But they don't know if someone else is listening to their conversation from the other end of the phone line with a sinister smile.
They didn't know that Zaki's father was listening to his son's conversation with Gita.
It turns out that Zaki's home phone is paralleled to the home factory owned by Zaki's father.
Zaki's father owns a home factory that produces ordered furniture made from rattan. The home industry can produce handicrafts made of rattan in the form of chairs, tables, cage swings, baby carriages, and others.
You could say Zaki's parents are among the 'Rich' people around Zaki's residential area because the products of small industries are always marketed out of town and even abroad.
It turns out that Zaki's daily life has been observed by his parents for two weeks at home while seeing the phone bill that has gone up drastically and showing the number of calls to the same number, and they are sure that it is the number of the girl his son likes.
Now the teenage romance is just a matter of time, the anger bomb of Zaki's parents will explode.
***
Elsewhere, Barra, who had just laid down, finished cleaning after work, grabbed his cell phone on the table. Barra saw that the last time Barra contacted Gita was two days ago. The feeling of longing that has accumulated is the reason Barra presses Gita's cellphone number.
"Assalamu'alaikum, Bro?" said the Gita there.
"Wa'alaikumsalam, Gita… you haven't slept yet? It's already eleven o'clock at night, isn't it?" Barra asked.
"I was just about to get ready for bed, but you called me right now. Did you just come home from work, Bro?" asked Gita.
"Yeah, I just got home from work and just finished taking a shower. Then I thought of you and wanted to hear your voice. I thought maybe you haven't slept yet and it's true that you haven't slept and picked up my call, haha, I'm very lucky…" replied Barra calmly.
"You miss home, don't you, Bro? If you miss home, why don't you just come and chat with mom and dad? But, don't you often overtime at the company?" continued Gita.
"Hmm, that's true. But yesterday I was staying at mom and dad's house. But still, the atmosphere is different when you're not there. It's very quiet without your voice..."
Hearing Barra starts talking something strange according to Gita, Gita began to divert and stop the conversation.
"Home… I'm sleepy, Bro. Let's end the conversation! We'll meet in two days because I'm going home. Later when I get home, your sister will listen to all your stories! Assalamu'alaikum, Brother Barra..."
"Yeah, Wa'alaikumsalam… Pray before going to bed!" Barra answered softly and their call ended.
"Good night, dear my Gita. I really miss you..." Barra muttered as he hugged his bolster.
Barra already realized what feelings he had for his sister. Barra was sure that the feeling was love for Gita and no longer love for a sister.
Seeing Gita smile, Barra became happy.
Seeing Gita pout made Barra excited.
Gita's anger and tears made Barra sad too.
When Gita talks about other men in front of him, Barra starts to get angry.
If he doesn't meet Gita as he does now, Barra will miss her very much.
Yes, it is a miss…
***
The first day of the even semester of the same school year was marked by cloudy weather and rain that cooled the earth.
The sound of a student knocking from the direction of the eight-second grade door broke the silence of the classroom, which at that time was diligent in studying.
Knock Knock
"Excuse me, Ma'am… I came to call Gita because she was called by Mrs. Shifa to the teacher's room!" said the student from another class who then left after seeing the nod of the physics teacher in Gita's class.
Gita, who was currently busy writing, immediately stopped her pen and raised an eyebrow when she heard her name being called. Reflex turned to the side where Dian sat.
"Who else is your victim, huh? It's still the first day of school, Gita! Why have you thrown a tantrum?" asked Dian followed by a questioning look from Anita who was sitting behind Gita.
"I don't have a problem with anyone? I also wonder why I was summoned to the teacher's room again!" Gita is telling the truth because at this moment Gita is also very confused.
"What's wrong, Gita? Why do you really like to play in the teacher's room there, huh?" the physics teacher complained to Gita, "Hurry up, you're already waiting there!" continued the teacher telling Gita to hurry up.
At the teacher's office, Mrs. Shifa was already waiting with a slightly tense face, along with Zaki's arrival. Then Mrs. Shifa invited Gita and Zaki to sit in front of her.
"Gita, do you know why I called you here?" Mrs. Shifa asked Gita and Gita shook her head in confusion.
"Zaki? Do you know the cause?" continued Mrs. Shifa asking Zaki.
Zaki hesitated to answer but still nodded his head as a sign that he knew about this matter.
Gita rolled her eyes when she saw Zaki's nod.
"You already know, Zaki? Why didn't you tell me?"
Zaki did not answer Gita, but immediately asked Mrs. Shifa, "This is because of my parents, right, Ma'am?" asked Zaki who got his teacher's nod.
"Gita, Zaki, I know that at your age this is a time of self-discovery. Times of liking the opposite sex and that is normal. But there must still be a limit..."
"I don't blame you two being close and in a relationship, as long as you can maintain your manners and behavior. Besides, I also observed that you never did anything bad while at school," said Mrs. Shifa, who was secretly observing the relationship between her students.
"But, every parent wants the best for their child. They want their child to focus on school and studies so they can get a decent future, that's the hope of every child's parents, Zaki's parents are no exception," continued Mrs. Shifa again.
Gita, who had begun to understand where their conversation was going, clenched her fists tightly. Gita wants to be angry and speak up, but she is still sane remembering etiquette to elders and teachers.
Continued...