Just A Book

It's been a week since the incident, but the story about Heri was still the most talked-about topic among the school's residents. Class XII Social Studies 3 had now become a room filled with somber faces. Gone were the days when students from this class acted out or gave their teachers trouble. Now, they all stayed silent, consumed by the situation. The teachers understood their behavior because, truthfully, they felt the same.

In the quiet classroom, absent of a teacher, someone suddenly broke the silence.

"What do you guys think? Who killed Heri?" It was Akbar, one of Heri's closest friends. He had been hanging out with Heri on the night it happened. "I just don't get it. How can someone be that cruel?" His lips quivered, a clear sign that he was holding back tears.

But there was no response. Everyone remained silent, lost in their thoughts, considering every possibility. Only Karin had suspicions about someone, but there was no way she could say it—not until she was 100% sure.

Akbar took a deep breath before continuing, "To be honest, that night, I saw someone suspicious."

Now all eyes turned to him. Karin and Selin, overhearing this, immediately approached his desk.

"Who? What did they look like?" Karin tried to stay calm, but her tone betrayed her urgency.

"It was a man, I think. Tall, and he seemed to be wearing thick clothes—like layers of clothing." Akbar strained to recall the memory. "I couldn't see his face because it wasn't bright enough."

"When did you see this person?" This time, Selin asked the question, followed by their classmates, who began gathering around to hear more.

"Not long before Heri went home. That guy looked from a distance for a bit, then left. I thought he was just some random person." Guilt weighed heavily on Akbar's mind. If only he had realized that the mysterious man might have been the killer, he would have stopped Heri from leaving. "I already told the police, but even they couldn't figure out who he was."

"How tall was he? Approximately?" Karin needed more information.

"Over 170 cm, about the height of Mr. Ilham or Mr. Ali."

Hearing that, Karin felt her heart sink.

A single name was enough to send chills through her entire body. Everything seemed to connect, and Karin could no longer deny it. Her suspicion that Mr. Ali was the killer had now reached almost 100%.

The girl needed time to think. Without saying a word, she walked out of the classroom and leaned against the railing, staring out at the field below. Her thoughts were a tangled mess, and she needed clarity.

Fortunately, Mr. Ali wasn't in the field; otherwise, he would usually join the students playing basketball. Instead, there were only students from Class 12 Science having their physical education lesson. There, she spotted the girl who had glared at her before, now taking shelter in the shade with her friends.

On the other side of the field, someone else caught her attention—a boy who seemed to be staring at her. Karin furrowed her brows; she didn't recognize him.

What happened next surprised her even more. The boy waved awkwardly at her, making her feel even more confused.

"Weirdo," Karin muttered under her breath. With that, she went back into her classroom, leaving the boy behind, seemingly questioning his earlier decision.

***

Arzan regretted waving at Karin. He thought she might wave back if he did, but instead, it ended up being an impulsive mistake the moment Karin glanced his way.

He felt the urge to slam his head against a tree to forget what had just happened. It was utterly embarrassing for him.

"Arzan."

Thankfully, someone stopped him before he acted on the thought.

"Yes, Ma'am?" He turned to see Mrs. Lili, the deputy principal.

"The debate competition form is ready. You can pick it up from Mrs. Anjar's desk," Mrs. Lili said, handing him a flyer for the competition. "The deadline is the day after tomorrow, so make sure you register on time."

"The day after tomorrow?" Arzan asked.

"Yes. Remember, the principal asked you to sign up a month ago, but you said you needed to ask your mother for permission first, didn't you?"

Arzan nodded. He remembered. The speech competition the principal had mentioned coincided with the day Mr. Budi had passed away. Initially, Arzan had no interest in joining, but as fate would have it, the principal ran into his mother—they lived in the same housing complex. Naturally, his mother learned that Arzan had been asked to represent the school and immediately urged him to participate.

"Well then, go get the form."

"Yes, Ma'am." Feeling reluctant, Arzan made his way to the teacher's office to pick up the form.

Upon arriving, he entered quietly and found only one teacher inside—Mr. Ilham, the physical education teacher, was fast asleep in his chair. Arzan shook his head at the sight. A teacher resting in an air-conditioned room instead of teaching? Typical.

Arzan approached Mrs. Anjar's desk to look for the competition form. It didn't take him long to find it. But something else caught his attention—a bag hanging next to the adjacent desk. He recognized it. It was Mr. Ali's bag.

The zipper was slightly open, revealing a black book that piqued Arzan's curiosity. Before reaching for the bag, he scanned the room one more time to ensure no one was watching.

Slowly crouching to align himself with the desk, Arzan carefully reached for the book. His heart pounded as he focused on making no sound.

Once he had the book in hand, Arzan opened it cautiously. Several names were listed inside, including his own—unsurprising, considering he often spaced out in Mr. Ali's class.

But his name wasn't what mattered. Heri's name, written three times and crossed out, shocked him. As if Heri had been subjected to some kind of punishment—one whose details Arzan couldn't discern. So far, only Heri's name has been crossed out. Most of the other names in the book were listed just once.

One other name stood out to him: Karin. Even she wasn't exempt from Mr. Ali's watchful eyes.

Before Arzan could delve further, the teacher's office door suddenly opened, forcing him to hurriedly return the book to its place. As he stood up, his head collided with the edge of the desk, producing a loud thud that even woke Mr. Ilham from his nap.

"Huh? Arzan? How long have you been there?"

Luckily, it was Mrs. Lili who had entered, not Mr. Ali.

"I was just picking up the competition form," Arzan replied, holding up the paper.

"Oh, I see. Be more careful next time. But why were you under the desk to get the form?"

"It fell, Ma'am."

Not wanting to linger any longer, Arzan quickly excused himself. "I'll be leaving now, Ma'am."

Without waiting for a response, he dashed out of the office, almost running. It was time to talk to Karin. Arzan didn't want any other students to become victims. He had to end this and finally find peace of mind.