CH 4 THE MAN IN THE RAIN

The Man in the Rain

That morning, Tesa huffed in frustration.

"Annoyed... annoyed... annoyed!" she muttered while walking hurriedly.

Bayu, her boyfriend, didn't pick her up like usual. Her legs still ached from walking yesterday, and she was running out of time to get to school. There was no other option; she had to take the public minibus—meaning she had to spend money.

Inside the minibus, Tesa kept muttering to herself. One thing she feared the most: encountering schoolmates. Reputation was everything. She didn't want anyone to see her taking the minibus, as if she were nobody. Quickly, she lifted the book she was carrying to cover her face, pretending to read even though she couldn't absorb a single word.

As the minibus moved, her eyes kept scanning outside the window, making sure no one from school was around. When the minibus approached the school, she decided to get off 200 meters away from the main gate and walked quickly, carefully along the sidewalk.

"Phew... safe."

She breathed a sigh of relief after ensuring no one saw her. With light steps, she chose a small path leading to the back gate of the school, a place rarely used by students.

However, a voice suddenly came from behind, freezing her in place.

"You like to go through the back gate too?"

Thud. Tesa's heart raced. Slowly, she turned around, feeling scared.

"Gin?"

The man stood behind her with a casual smile.

"Relax. Turns out I'm not the only one who takes this route," Gin said lightly.

Tesa let out a long sigh. For a moment, she was genuinely afraid her secret was exposed. But if it was just Gin who saw, she wasn't too worried. He didn't talk much and seemed indifferent to other people's affairs.

However, something felt off. Gin always acted strangely, but today he seemed even more suspicious. Tesa's eyes fixed on the object Gin was carrying.

"You're carrying an umbrella? It's hot as heck in Jakarta right now," she asked, puzzled.

Instead of answering, Gin just smiled faintly.

"Do you usually park in the back?" Tesa asked another question, not caring much about the umbrella.

"Today I was lazy to ride my motorbike, so I took the minibus. I left early, so I hung out in the back for a bit," Gin answered casually.

"Why?"

Gin just smiled again.

"Because later this afternoon, after school, there's something I like."

Tesa furrowed her brows. What did he mean? But before she could ask more, Gin had already walked ahead toward his class.

Tesa stared at his back, annoyed. What a strange guy. Still, without realizing it, her curiosity about Gin was growing.

---

Commotion in the Classroom

As soon as she entered the classroom, Aini greeted her with a panicked expression.

"Tesa! There's big news!"

"What is it, Ni?" Tesa sat at her desk lazily.

"Do you know the five finalists of Miss Endfield last year?"

"Rita, Ana, Arin, Indah, and of course, me, the winner," Tesa replied proudly.

"Well, Rita and Ana got food poisoning! Now their faces are all wrinkled!"

Tesa gasped. "What?! How could that happen?"

"They say after eating the food they brought yesterday, their bodies got hot, and they had to go home. This morning they came to school wearing masks, but you could still see their faces had changed. Rita almost jumped from the third floor because she was depressed!"

The whole class went into an uproar.

"My goodness..." several students murmured.

"Did they eat something strange?" a student asked.

"Probably someone poisoned their lunch during yesterday's ceremony," Aini answered.

Tesa paused for a moment, then shrugged. "Good for me. That means my competition for Miss Endfield this year is fewer."

But Tesa's words made every student who heard them look at her with suspicion. Tesa became nervous as her classmates gave her strange looks.

"Who said they were poisoned?" another student asked, growing curious.

Aini shrugged. "No one knows for sure. But the school doctor said the symptoms were strange. Their faces aged instantly overnight. Rita even freaked out when she saw her reflection in the mirror!"

The class erupted again.

"That's so scary!"

"Could someone have attacked them?"

"Or is this some side effect from a facial treatment?"

"But they've been getting treatments for a while, why did it happen now?"

Tesa fell silent, listening to all the theories being thrown around. But in her heart, she started to feel uneasy. If it was true that someone had attacked them, could she be the next target?

The class became quiet. All eyes turned to her with suspicious glares.

"It wasn't me!" Tesa quickly defended herself, realizing how her words sounded very suspicious.

"Come on, just admit it, Sa. You're crazy about popularity," one friend teased.

"Yeah, if you want to win, do it fairly," another added.

"Change your mindset!"

Tesa clenched her fists, her face reddened with frustration. But before she could protest, another student, Riri, rushed into the classroom, panting heavily.

"Bad news! Bad news!"

All eyes turned to Riri.

"Arin and Indah are going home too! They have a high fever after eating their lunch this morning!"

The class went crazy again.

"It wasn't me! Ask Gin, I've been with him since I arrived at school. I didn't do anything suspicious to Arin and Indah," Tesa said heavily, admitting that she was indeed with Gin when she arrived at school.

Now, all eyes turned to Gin, who—as usual—was sleeping at his desk.

"Zzzzzzzz..."

But in the middle of his sleep, Gin's hand rose, giving a thumbs-up.

"See! Gin can be my witness!" Tesa said triumphantly.

But Aini still had a suspicious expression. "Why is Gin the only witness? Why can't Bayu be? You usually come with him."

Tesa went silent.

"Bayu didn't come to school today, and I... took the back gate on purpose..." she said hesitantly.

"Why?" Aini narrowed her eyes.

Tesa swallowed. "Because... I was afraid someone would see me walking alone."

The class fell silent. Then, suddenly, Aini spoke softly, "Maybe you're the next target, Sa."

"But I didn't bring any food, I had breakfast at home," Tesa tried to calm herself.

"Maybe it's done another way."

"Today's not Monday, there's no ceremony, so how could the perpetrator poison their food so freely?" Tesa asked.

"They're both in the same class and always come early. They always go to the bathroom to wash their hands before eating. The classroom is still empty, and that's when the perpetrator takes the opportunity to poison their food," Riri explained.

Tesa shivered. Aini's words made sense. If the perpetrator was targeting all the Miss Endfield finalists, she was probably the next target.

One thing was certain: she couldn't let her guard down. Beauty was everything. And she wouldn't let anyone ruin it.