CHAPTER 11 : One Ordinary Day

"Van!  How many times do I have to say?  Eat!  If you're sick, I'll be in trouble too!"

 Lunch time, in the middle of the super hot day. 11 IPA 2 class was filled with loud noises that only came from two young men on one of the benches in the corner of the room.

 Not only because of their loud voices, but also because there was no one else in the class apart from the two of them.  It's not strange, of course, because not many people will choose to stay in class during recess.

 "No!"  Ivan answered firmly.  He shook his head vigorously avoiding the mouthful of fried rice that Devan offer at him.

 A cross appeared on Devan's forehead.  Dealing with Ivan's childish behavior was not his responsibility.  After all, he's not a big brother.  They were twins, and Ivan was born five minutes ahead of him.

 But somehow here he is the one who has to take care of Ivan's behavior.  Well, if it wasn't Ivan who was acting in front of him but someone else, then it's not impossible that a box of lunch on the table would be thrown in that person's face.

 "Van, seriously!  You will complain of hunger throughout the lesson, and the next lesson is physics!  I don't want my headache to increase!"  Dean growled.

But Ivan insisted on silence, and it made his twin sigh heavily.  Giving up, Devan finally put the spoon in his hand back into the lunch box.

 "How long are you going to be like this?"  Dean asked.  He looked tired and super irritated.

 "Until I've skinny!"  said Ivan quickly.

 "Tsk!  You're not even fat!  Shame on the ribs!"

 Devan's shout this time made Ivan gasped and even fell silent.  From the look on his twin brother's face, Devan could tell that Ivan was silent not because he was afraid of his loud voice.

 "Bad devil!"

 But offended at his words.

 Ivan's angry exclamation was accompanied by a thump on the innocent table which was the only distance between them.  Responding to his brother's attitude, Devan could only sigh with his arms folded in front of his chest.

"What does this kid want? He doesn't believe me when I say he's skinny, and gets angry when I taunt him." He grumbled in his mind.

 In the end they silenced each other.  Devan who's fed up with almost giving up and doesn't want to know anymore.  Meanwhile, Ivan – who actually has a heart that is easily hurt, is now sulking at his brother.

 The excitement that originally filled the classroom has now turned into silence.  For a few moments no one spoke.  It creates an awkward atmosphere between the two of them.

 However that was only until they were startled by a sudden loud noise.

 "DEANDRAAAAAAA!"

 Ivan and Devan gasped to the same beat.  Suddenly they turned towards the window where the voice came from, and found a uniformed youth standing in the middle of the field.  That young man also carried a basketball in his right hand.

 "Isn't that Gusti?"  Devan spoke casually.

 "Wow... I think he's really angry this time."  While Ivan shuddered in horror.

 Shortly after shouting Deandra's name, the young man known as Gusti walked away with a super annoyed look on his face.  Ivan and Devan were still faithfully watching from their classroom window on the second floor.

 Meanwhile, somewhere within this vast school.  There is Deandra who is struggling to survive from being chased by the basketball team captain.

 "That's crazy kid!  I think he has  no fatigue!"  Dean grumbled in a low voice.

 Running out of hiding places makes Dean choose to sneak into the music room.  Ten minutes had passed since he had hidden himself behind the piano mounted in one corner of the room.

 "Where am i going to run away now?  Break time is still long."

Dean looked at the clock on his wrist.  He was upset because Gusti didn't even give him enough time to go to the canteen.

 To be precise, it has been three weeks since Deandra was first stranded in this foreign world.  More or less he has started to get used to and accept every situation.  You could even say enjoyed it.

 His relationship with his father improved.  He got Ivan and Devan back, as well as the school life he had lost.  Everything was nearly perfect, if only there wasn't a basketball team captain ready to pounce and drag him to practice every break.

 Deandra kept thinking hard to get out of here without having to face Gusti.  His rumbling stomach forced him to think faster.

 But all his concentration dispersed.  Dean was even distracted from the door of music room he had been spying on.  Just when the melodious sound of a violin being played sounded in his ears.

 "Fur Elise?"  Dean scoffed.

 His gaze was fixed on one part of the room.  At first, the part that was bounded by the stretched white cloth did not catch his attention.  Not until the sound of a violin came from there.

 The voice is so melodious and full of appreciation.  Deandra listened intently.  At one point, the player made a mistake that ruined the game and forced her to stop.

  A faint sigh was heard.  Dean was even more curious because he heard a girl's voice.  Curiosity brought his footsteps closer.

 Slowly but surely, he lifted the curtain.  Deandra's eyes widened when he saw a cute figure standing with her back to him.  The violin in the figure's hand confirmed that she was the person who created the melodious series earlier.

 "Why so sad?  Mistakes are natural for people who are just learning."

 With his unusual way of greeting, Deandra had managed to attract the figure's attention to stare at him.  A familiar face, of course.  Just by looking at the girl's back, Dean could already recognize her.

 "Dean?  Running away from Gusti again?"  the girl – Amel, smiled amusedly when she saw the wry look on Dean's face at her question.

 "Actually ... yeah ..." Deandra couldn't deny.

 The window with the glass closed averted his gaze.  Dean decided to take a step then opened the two shutters wide.  That's when the fresh air immediately entered to replace thestuffy air in the room.

 "You need fresh air enter your brain to be able concentrate."  He said as he sat down on the window sill.

Amelia lowered her gaze.  Her smile became a little sad and Deandra could see it.  Not long after, that girl put the violin in her hand on the table and then sat down on the chair.

 "I may not be talented in this area."  Amelia said.

 Meanwhile, Deandra chose to remain silent and listen.  There is no right for him to comment.  And as an adult, he knows very well that not all problems can be solved with a single word of motivation.

 "I've been thinking about leaving the music club.  But Mrs. Endah instead appointed me to be the school representative."

 "Championship?"  Dean cut Amel's words with a question.

 In response, he got a nod from the cute girl in the other corner of the room.  Seeing Amel's current state makes Dean couldn't help but feel sorry.  He did not know what like this also happened to Amel in the real world.  But this Amel looks so depressed.

 "This is why I never wanted to stand out at school."  His mind spoke.

 "If you don't want to do it, then don't."  Deandra said it so lightly.

 A second later, for some reason, he got a surprised look from Amel who just lifted her face to look at him.  The girl didn't seem to expect that those words would come out of Deandra's mouth.

 "Could it be that easy?"  Amel asked innocently, and looked a little worried when she thought about the possibility.

 "Of course.  You just need to come to Mrs. Endah, saying that you can't and you don't want to.  And finished."

 Even though he said it so lightly, in reality Dean wasn't sure that his way would go as smoothly as he said.  Because every school is the same.  No school really puts students' interests above its own good name.

"But what if Mrs. Endah doesn't agree?"  Amelia hesitated.  Slowly but surely she lowered her gaze again.

 For a moment, Dean couldn't help but stare at the worried girl he admired.  He didn't want to sound like a pervert, but Dean couldn't deny that he still thought Amel looked cute even when she was worried.

"If you keep limiting yourself with the phrase 'I have no other choice', then your whole life will just be pressured to do things you don't want to do."  Dean said.

 A second later, Deandra jumped down from the window sill.  He stepped closer to Amel, only to pick up the violin on the table and stare at it as if examining every part of it.

 "You have more options than you think.  The only thing that leaves you with no other choice is your own negative thoughts."

 "What choice do I have?"  Amel replied with a question.

 The girl's gaze was now fixed on Deandra who was standing right by her side, a little surprised to see Dean who was strumming a violin like a ukulele.

 "First, and most definitely you know.  You will be working hard, pressured to train.  Then you'll go to the contest, mess things up, and come home with defeat."

 Amelia raised her eyebrows.  Deandra's sentence has offended this sweet girl.  Of course, Dean also knew that his words would offend Amel.  That's why he immediately continued his speech before the girl got angry.

 "Secondly, you can tell Mrs. Endah that you can't.  In this second option there are two things that might happen.  At best you will be dismissed, or at worst you will return to the first option."

 "There's no difference!"  Amel jerked.

 "There really is no difference."  Dean replied so casually.

 After being satisfied strumming the violin, now Dean put the object back on the table and then turned to look at Amel who had been giving him an annoyed look.

 "But you still have a third choice."

 "What?"

 Deandra gave a mysterious smile.  A second later, he pointed his index finger at the violin lying on the table.

 "Prove that you can.  Then get out of that club in a cool way."  His smile widened at the end of the sentence.

 Amelia was pensive.  Not because she didn't understand the meaning of Deandra's words but because she didn't understand what the young man was thinking.

 "What if people ask 'why did you go out when you can?'" Amel asked again.

 Instead of answering the girl's question, Deandra grabbed the violin back on the table.  Not to play it like before, but to make room for its own ass on the table.

 "Why is it hard?  You just answer.  'Just because I can, doesn't mean I have to.'  I'm sure they'll be quiet."  Said this young man while thrusting the violin in his hand to the girl.

 Amel received the violin and then put it on her lap.  Her gaze was still full of questions, focused directly on Deandra.

 "And if they don't?"  amel asked again.

 "Then that's my turn to intervene."

 Again, Dean said it so calmly.  For anyone who heard those words come out of the mouth of a high school kid, they would obviously think that it was just a meaningless gibberish.

 But Amel did not think the same.  Whether because of love or what, her heart was filled with confidence just because of what Deandra said.

 In an instant, Amel felt she could do anything.  In an instant he felt that she could face whatever was waiting for her in the future.  There is courage, there is faith.

 Ironically, that courage and faith actually came from a young man who in fact had just run away from the pursuit of responsibility to take part in a competition.  Deandra really needs someone who will remind him to look in the mirror.

 To be continued....