Chapter 7

Two weeks later...

After finishing breakfast, Nabila and Izzati sat in the living room discussing the items they would need for their dorm stay in three weeks' time while casually watching TV.

Izzati said, "Hey...we got our response from UPU about our diploma application yesterday. I think it'd be better if we bought the bigger stuff when we get to Sarawak. If we buy them here, it might be hard to bring them on the flight. Who knows, they might not even let us carry them on."

Nabila asked, "You're right, huh? I haven't listed the things we need to buy yet. Have you made a list?"

Izzati replied, "Yeah, I've made one, but I don't think it's complete. Hang on, I'll go grab the list from my room."

"Okay.", Nabila said, and started thinking about the items they'd need to purchase in Sarawak later.

After a few minutes, Izzati returned to the living room and sat down on the floor near Nabila. Seeing her back, Nabila asked, "Why'd it take you so long to get the list?"

"I couldn't remember where I put it. That's why it took a while. What, did you miss me already?", Izzati teased, raising her eyebrows at Nabila.

Nabila laughed and said, "Alright, alright. Where's the list? Let me see."

Izzati handed over the list and turned her attention back to the TV. As Nabila scanned through each item on the list, she suddenly remembered the blue passport or Restricted Travel Document (DPT) they needed to get and asked, "Wait, we have to make the blue passport, right?"

Hearing Nabila's question, Izzati slapped her forehead, realizing she had forgotten about the passport. "We'll just do it tomorrow. Let's ask for an excuse from miss."

"Alright.", Nabila replied.

Izzati thought for a moment and said, "Check how much it costs to make the passport. Wait, why am I asking you? I can check on my phone. I'm being silly today.", while slapping her forehead again in embarrassment.

Nabila laughed and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I don't know.", Izzati replied as she tapped away on her phone.

"It's only 5 ringgit for the passport. I thought it would be more expensive. That's good.", Izzati said.

"Hmm, that's doable.", Nabila agreed and moved down to sit on the floor next to Izzati to write down the items they needed on Izzati's list.

After adding a few things, Nabila realized something and said, "Hey, this is your list, not mine. I've been adding stuff to your list. Sorry!"

Izzati laughed and said, "It's fine. Just write on it. We're buying the same things anyway. Let's just use one list."

"Are you sure?", Nabila asked.

"Yeah, it's fine. Just use it.", Izzati assured her.

"Alright.", Nabila agreed, and they continued discussing the items they needed to buy in Sarawak.

That afternoon...

Nabila and Izzati were wandering through stores, browsing items for their dorm without actually purchasing anything.

Nabila suddenly said, "Hey, that's Raihan."

Izzati, confused, asked, "Where?"

Their steps came to a halt as they spotted Raihan in an aquarium shop, appearing to be working there rather than shopping.

Izzati asked, "Does he work here?"

Nabila replied, "I don't know."

Izzati then suggested, "Should we go in and say hi?"

Nabila, laughing softly, responded, "Sure, let's surprise him. He'll be so shocked to see us."

Izzati nodded and said, "Let's go."

They entered the aquarium shop where Raihan worked, walking slowly to sneak up on him. Once they got close, they jumped out and surprised Raihan. Both of them laughed, while Raihan was startled by their sudden appearance.

"Ish, you two….", Raihan muttered.

Izzati, still laughing, teased, "Now you know how it feels when you always sneak up on us. Bet you weren't expecting that!"

Raihan, pretending to be unfazed, replied, "Pshh, if I were the one doing it, you'd be jumping even higher. Your little surprise didn't even make me flinch.", while smirking confidently.

Izzati laughed and countered, "Yeah, right. I saw you jump! I think you jumped even higher than Nabila and me combined!", pointing at Nabila.

Nabila giggled quietly, and when Raihan looked at her, he smiled widely. Izzati cleared her throat, snapping Raihan out of his daydream, making him compose himself.

Izzati asked, "So, do you work here?"

Raihan replied, "No, I'm just a customer who helps out sometimes. I'll get paid by the end of the month."

Izzati, suspicious, narrowed her eyes, "Are you teasing me?"

Raihan laughed, "I'm not teasing. I'm just answering your question."

Still unconvinced, Izzati gave him a skeptical look, while Nabila chuckled and said to her, "Come on, Izzati. Of course, he works here. Look, he's wearing an apron and gloves. No customer comes in dressed like that."

Izzati shrugged and said, "I was just asking. Who knows, maybe he's just helping out the staff.", playfully making a face at Raihan.

Nabila laughed, and Raihan pretended to be annoyed with Izzati before asking, "So what are you two doing here?"

Izzati joked, "Oh, just killing time.", with a teasing tone.

Raihan, surprised by her response, shot her a glance. Nabila chuckled and explained, "We're just looking around, trying to figure out what we need for the dorm. But we're not buying anything yet; we'll get them in Sarawak. We saw you on our way to the next store, so we came in."

Raihan, surprised, asked, "Oh, really? Sarawak? You're continuing your diploma there?"

Nabila nodded, "Yeah. Why?"

Raihan quickly replied, "No reason."

Izzati then said, "Alright, we'll get going now. Gonna check out some more stores."

Raihan said, "Okay."

They exchanged goodbyes, and Raihan watched them leave the shop in silence, his gaze lingering on their retreating figures.

Upon arriving at the next store...

Izzati suddenly said, "Nabila, I think Raihan has feelings for you."

Nabila, surprised, responded, "No way. He's been our friend since we were kids."

Izzati questioned, "You really think so?"

Nabila, confused, asked, "What's wrong with me?"

Izzati explained, "Just because you've been friends since childhood doesn't mean there can't be any feelings between friends. What's with you?"

Nabila asked, "Is that so?"

Izzati sighed, "Oh, Nabila. How did you ever have a boyfriend before if you don't know this stuff? You're driving me crazy."

Nabila chuckled softly and asked, "How are those two things related?"

Izzati replied, "Ugh, I don't even want to answer that. But seriously, I can just tell Raihan has feelings for you."

Nabila laughed, "You and your ideas about him liking me. Come on, let's focus on shopping."

Izzati, laughing in return, said, "Alright, alright. Focus, focus."

They continued searching for the items they needed to buy in Sarawak. After they had exhausted their search, hunger caught up with them, and they decided to grab a meal at a nearby restaurant.

At the same time...

As Raihan watched Nabila and Izzati walk away, his coworker tapped him on the shoulder from behind and asked, "Who was that?"

Raihan replied, "Just some friends from the village."

His coworker teased, "Really? Just friends from the village? The way you were smiling while talking to the girl in the purple shirt tells me otherwise.", raising an eyebrow playfully.

Raihan shot him a glance and said, "There's nothing like that."

His coworker continued to tease, "Are you sure? Or maybe you actually like her? Hmm?", with a mischievous grin.

Raihan responded, "No, nothing like that. You're imagining things…"

Before he could finish his sentence, their boss called out to them, and both Raihan and his coworker made their way toward their boss.

At the same time…

Irman lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling while listening to music through his earphones. Hafiz Suip's - Ku Akui played softly, but Irman's mind was blank. Out of nowhere, memories of Nabila started to flood his thoughts—especially the moment he saw her at the flower shop. Without warning, tears began to fall slowly from his eyes. Soon, the quiet sobs turned into a heavy, uncontrollable stream of tears.

Exhausted from crying, Irman eventually drifted into sleep. Hours later, Zamir and Alif arrived at Irman's house, hoping to hang out together. As they entered the house, Irman was nowhere to be found. They searched the living room and other areas but found no trace of him. Just then, the housemaid, Mak Jah, was cleaning the cabinets nearby, and Zamir asked her, "Mak Jah, where's Irman?"

Mak Jah replied, "I'm not sure. He might be in his bedroom."

Alif said, "Yeah, we haven't checked his room yet. Let's go. Thanks, Mak Jah."

Zamir added, "Thanks, Mak Jah."

Reaching Irman's bedroom door, Zamir and Alif knocked but received no response. They were left with no choice but to ask Mak Jah for Irman's spare room key. Zamir called downstairs, "Mak Jah, can you bring us the spare key to Irman's room?"

Mak Jah responded, "Right away."

After a few minutes, she arrived with the key. The three of them unlocked Irman's door, relieved at first to find him sleeping. But their relief quickly turned to concern when they noticed tear stains on Irman's face, evidence of the heavy emotions he had endured before falling asleep.

Zamir and Alif tried to wake Irman, but he wouldn't stir. Zamir asked Mak Jah, "Mak Jah, could you please make a hot drink for Irman in case he wakes up soon?"

Mak Jah nodded and headed to the kitchen to prepare the drink. During this time, Alif asked Zamir, "What do you think made Irman cry so hard that he fell asleep like this?"

Zamir replied, "I'm not entirely sure, but I think it's because of Nabila. There's no other reason he'd cry this much and then fall asleep."

Alif, puzzled, asked, "What's going on with Nabila? Did they get back together?"

Zamir shook his head. "No, they didn't. But I bumped into Nabila at the flower shop and told Irman about it. So, I think that's why she's been on his mind lately. We'll ask him when he wakes up."

Alif sighed, "You shouldn't have mentioned it, man. Now all he can think about is Nabila."

Zamir replied, "I couldn't keep it from him. It wouldn't have felt right to hide it."

Just then, Irman stirred awake. Zamir immediately asked, "You okay?"

Confused, Irman asked, "What do you mean?"

Alif chimed in, "We found you asleep with tear streaks on your face. So we're worried. Are you alright?"

Irman wiped the dried tears from his face and denied, "I wasn't crying. You guys are making things up."

Alif and Zamir, though surprised, burst out laughing. They nodded, deciding not to argue. Zamir then pressed again, "Come on, be honest with us. Are you okay?"

Irman sighed, "I'm fine, it's just…"

Alif asked, "Just what?"

After a deep breath, Irman confessed, "I've been thinking about Nabila."

Both Zamir and Alif let out sighs of understanding. Zamir said, "Man, I'm sorry if my mention of her made you think about her more. I didn't mean to bring it up to hurt you. I just felt like I couldn't keep it from you."

Irman shook his head, "No, it's not that. It's just… I ran into Nabila at the flower shop you told me about. I didn't plan to go there; I was just walking around trying to clear my head. I had no destination, but suddenly, my feet stopped. I saw a flower shop, and then I saw someone who looked exactly like Nabila. I remembered what you said and felt sure it was her. But I couldn't bring myself to approach her, so I just took a picture and left. After that, I called you to hang out, but I never told you what happened."

At that moment, Mak Jah returned with a cup of hot tea. "Zamir, here's the hot drink you requested."

Zamir smiled and thanked her, "Thank you, Mak Jah. You can leave it here."

Mak Jah nodded, "Alright, if you don't need anything else, I'll take my leave."

Zamir said, "Thanks again, Mak Jah."

After Mak Jah left, Irman asked, "Who's the tea for?"

Alif replied, "It's for you, Man."

Irman looked puzzled. "For me? Why?"

Zamir got up, handed the tea to Irman, and said, "Just drink it first, then I'll explain."

Without much thought, Irman drank the tea and quickly finished it. Both Zamir and Alif were shocked, and Alif asked, "Wasn't it hot?"

Irman nodded, "Yeah, but it wasn't that bad. It was drinkable."

Zamir then explained, "When we tried to wake you earlier and couldn't, I asked Mak Jah to make a hot drink for you, so you'd feel better when you woke up. It's supposed to calm your nerves and help you feel more energized."

Irman smiled, "Oh, thanks. But it's like Mak Jah knew exactly when I'd wake up."

The three of them chuckled. Alif then asked, "So you cried because of that moment?"

Irman nodded, "Yeah. I wasn't planning on thinking about her, but as I lay there listening to music, the memory of seeing her came back."

Zamir asked, "What song were you listening to?"

Irman replied, "Hafiz Suip's 'Ku Akui.' Why?"

Alif said, "Well, if you're listening to that song while relaxing, of course, you're going to think of Nabila. It's like the ultimate heartbreak song for guys."

Zamir agreed, nodding. Irman shrugged, "Yeah, but I wasn't even planning to think about her. I didn't care much about what song was playing."

Zamir and Alif both facepalmed, and Zamir added, "Yeah, sure, you didn't plan it. But that sad love song doesn't really fit your situation right now. Oh well."

Irman asked, "So why did you guys come over?"

Alif replied, "We came to hang out, but when we found you passed out with tear streaks, we panicked. We even had to ask Mak Jah for your spare key, just in case something bad had happened."

Zamir and Irman chuckled. Irman said, "Thanks for being so concerned about your emotional friend here."

Zamir teased, "You're welcome, darling."

Irman gave Zamir a disgusted look at being called "darling," which made Zamir and Alif laugh. The tension lifted, and they resumed their light-hearted banter, enjoying the bond of their friendship.