Lupus was busy looking for his brand new sneakers when someone mischievously knocked on the front door.
“Hold on a sec!” he yelled while rummaging through his shoe collection. Darn it, where’s the other one? Where could it be? Ugh, it must be Gegi’s doing, Lulu’s mischievous pet dog. That little troublemaker loves to chew on shoes and take them on a world tour.
The knocking sound came again.
“Geez, didn’t I say to wait a sec?” Lupus grumbled. But he couldn’t resist and opened the front door. Standing there was a middle-aged man with a smile on his face. He must want something!
“Excuse me, young man, can I ask you something? Where is Jalan Kepiting Rebus?” the man asked politely.
“Have you looked for it yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Well, go look for it first. If you can’t find it, then you can ask!” Lupus replied, shutting the door.
The middle-aged man was left dumbfounded. Then, with a hint of confusion, he walked away. But before he got too far, Lupus shouted from the window.
“Hey, sir! If you find it, let me know, okay? Maybe someday I’ll need that address too.”
The man glared at him in annoyance.
And Lupus went back to searching for his sneakers. He had plans to watch a basketball game at the youth arena that day. It was supposed to start at four o’clock, but now it was already past four. No wonder he was panicking, afraid he wouldn’t get a seat. He had dozed off earlier and only woke up a little before four.
Once he found the missing sneaker, Lupus grabbed his bag and went to look for a pedicab. But darn it, there wasn’t a single pedicab in sight. They must be getting caught in a raid. There was one pedicab that passed by earlier, but the driver was acting all high and mighty, ignoring Lupus when he called out to him. So Lupus had to go the extra mile and chase after him on foot.
“Hey, Bang, what’s the fare to the arena?” Lupus asked.
“Seven hundred fifty!” the pedicab driver replied spontaneously.
“Wow, that’s so expensive! How about four hundred, Bang? It’s close by. Look, you can even see the top of the building from here.”
“You can also see the top of Monas, kid, from here!” the pedicab driver retorted rudely.
Lupus was annoyed. He stormed off. He’d rather walk than ride with a capitalist pedicab driver like that!
But Lupus was in a hurry. So he had no choice but to look around for another pedicab. He arrived in front of his neighbor’s house, where he remembered seeing a racing bike parked in front. When he saw Lulu hanging out there, he immediately called out.
“What’s up, Pus? Can’t you see when someone’s happy?” Lulu whispered angrily. Lupus’s little sister Dodol was really annoyed with the new neighbor. Typical modern girl, having a crush on a guy and approaching him first.
“You can hang out with him here, but please lend me your racing bike. Just for a bit. At least until halftime, I’ll return it. Come on, I want to watch basketball.”
“You can ask him yourself,” Lulu refused.
“Come on, help me out, I’m desperate. You’re already close to him.”
After being persuaded like that, Lulu smiled happily. She immediately explained Lupus’s intentions to the new neighbor.
“Oto, it’s okay. Go ahead and use it!” the guy replied kindly.
With a grin, Lupus took the racing bike parked in the yard.
“Here’s the key.”
“Thanks. I won’t be long!”
“It’s okay if you take your time!” the neighbor guy replied, winking at Lupus. Lupus grinned.
A few moments later, Lupus was seen happily cycling towards the youth arena. Look at his style, all cool and sleek. He even overtook a few girls on their way home from school. And he accidentally bumped into the boiled peanut seller while he was busy admiring a cute girl watering flowers in front of her house.
“Hey, Dodol, where are you going, mate?” the peanut seller snapped.
“Nowhere, don’t worry,” Lupus replied, quickly pedaling his bike. And when he was about to turn, he ran into Vera, his school friend, who was riding a pedicab. With the skills of a street demon, he swiftly overtook her.
“Hey, Ver, heading to the arena?” Lupus greeted.
The pedicab driver suddenly slammed on the brakes and started ranting.
Lupus didn’t care.
“Yeah, where are you going?”
“Same as you. Just come with me, it’ll be faster. We’re already late!”
Vera agreed and immediately hopped off the pedicab and paid the driver.
A few moments later, they were happily riding together. Lupus pedaled with even more enthusiasm, and Vera occasionally tickled his slim waist. It annoyed him, but when that happened, his racing bike went crazy. Vera screamed in both fear and excitement.
“Your bike is awesome, Pus. Just got it, huh?”
“Yeah, it’s imported, you know,” Lupus bragged.
“Wow, must be expensive…”
“Yeah, it is.”
The gentle breeze and cheerful banter of the children walking home from school enlivened the atmosphere of the afternoon. Every now and then, they cheered and teased Lupus and Vera, who were enjoying their ride together.
When they arrived at the arena, it was already bustling with people. The crowd was cheering and making a lot of noise. The final match between Merah Putih High School and Adikarya High School was surely in full swing.
“Hurry up, Pus. We’re really late!” Vera said.
“Yeah, you go ahead, exchange the food coupons. I’ll park the bike.”
Vera ran towards the coupon exchange counter, while Lupus hurriedly squeezed his bike among the others that were parked all over the place. He made sure to lock his bike before running to catch up with Vera.
And as Lupus looked around for Vera, she suddenly appeared behind him and tapped his shoulder.
“Here’s your food. Let’s enter through that side door. It’s kinda empty!”
And with small, quick steps, they turned to the side.
“Tickets! Tickets! Where are your tickets?” Boim, who happened to be the ticket guard, shouted when Lupus and Vera just walked in. “Sorry, Im, they got washed last night,” Lupus grinned. Meanwhile, Vera handed over her ticket.
“Well, sorry, Pus. Friends are friends, but business is business!” Boim said with a fake seriousness.
“Seriously, you’re so full of yourself just because you’re important!” Lupus snapped angrily. Vera immediately pulled his hand, leaving Boim fuming in anger.
Inside, the event hadn’t started yet. Typical, always running late. And the kids were arguing about the opening ceremony. Ten girls in mini dresses, with almost open-chest tops, were dancing to the lively song “Lenggang Puspita” by Guruh. This was the typical grand opening of a big competition in the west. And of course, our very own celebrity, Fifi Alone, was there. With her hotness, she swayed her hips to the rhythm of the song. Not to mention her beautiful legs, going here and there. And there was Gusur, the crazy artist who loved photography, going all out and lying on the field to capture interesting shots. As a result, he was chased by the sexy security guards for violating journalistic ethics (of course, someone who’s hot and dancing like that would get annoyed by a crazy photographer like Gusur!).
And when the match started, Lupus was already lost among the crowd, cheering for his class. Occasionally, he would sneak a glance at the girls who suddenly looked cool at that moment. Or rather, they were trying to look cool. It’s typical for everyone to make the most of every opportunity like this. Especially Boim. He seemed so busy all the time. Before the match started, he was already bustling around the field. Trying to look cool! Always finding something to do. Picking up fallen plastic, or occasionally ordering his friends to carry this and that. While his eyes wandered everywhere. Maybe hoping someone would have a crush on him. Geez, he acted like he was the center of attention.
But it’s understandable. Boim really loves being the center of attention. And this is also his way of getting Svida’s attention. But Svida seemed calm and unaffected (is she a sour vegetable?). No reaction at all. And Boim became even more curious. Imagine, he looked so sophisticated that afternoon! His shiny hair neatly combed back (trying to imitate the actor from “Return to Eden”). And even though his face was a combination of Jaja Miharja and Benyamin, with his Alibaba-style clothes (you know, the loose top and tapered bottom!), he looked a bit cool.
Half past seven, the event was over. All the kids were satisfied with the impressive show. They all praised Fahrul. But Lupus didn’t care. He was happy because Vera had been by his side the whole time. Even outside the building, they were still together.
“Ver, is someone picking you up?” Lupus asked.
“Yes. My driver is waiting in the parking lot! I have to hurry home. I have something to do,” Vera replied, pointing to an old man standing next to a car. Lupus looked disappointed. Vera couldn’t help but notice the change in Lupus’ face.
“What’s wrong, Pus? Do you want to give me a ride again?” Vera teased.
“Well, that’s what I wanted.”
“Sure, I’ll tell my driver to go home first, okay?”
Lupus was overjoyed.
“Yeah, sure. I’ll speed up so you can quickly take a pee. And you wait under that tree, okay? I’ll grab the bike.”
Lupus happily ran to the parking lot. Meanwhile, Vera was chatting with her driver. The driver quickly left, and Vera waited under the flamboyant tree.
Lupus looked around, searching for his bike. Oh God, there were so many racing bikes parked there. Which one did Lupus bring earlier? He started to get anxious because he couldn’t remember the color, shape, or where he had put it. He was in such a hurry! Finally, he wandered around the parking lot.
Meanwhile, one by one, the other kids had already gone home. Lupus had been wandering around the parking lot for over half an hour. Vera couldn’t wait any longer. She went to find Lupus.
“Geez, I’ve been waiting for so long! What have you been doing?”
“Uh… I’ve been looking for my bike but I can’t find it!”
“Did someone steal it?!” Vera was shocked.
“No, but I forgot which one is mine.”
“Huh? That’s your bike! How can you not remember?”
Lupus panicked.
“Well… it’s still new. So I didn’t have time to memorize its shape!” Lupus defended himself.
Vera looked at him in disbelief.
“So, what now?”
“Do you remember where I put it?”
“No. I was exchanging coupons at that time. I didn’t have time to watch you put the bike.”
As a result, they went around the parking lot, but Lupus still couldn’t recognize his bike.
After a while, Lupus finally confessed.
“I think I have to be honest with you, Ver. Honestly, that bike belongs to my neighbor.”
Vera looked surprised.
“And now it seems like we have to wait for all the owners of these bikes to go home until there’s one bike left!” Vera grumbled.
“Yeah, it seems like it.”
Vera pouted.
And they really had to wait until all the visitors went home with their bikes. Until there was one racing bike left. And that was the bike Lupus took. Because Lupus genuinely forgot about the bike he brought. Unfortunately, the other visitors didn’t leave immediately. They were busy hanging out in the nearby park.
Late into the night, Lupus and Vera were still waiting for the bike. They felt like bike caretakers. Meanwhile, Vera was still thinking about her pee that she hadn’t been able to take. If only she had gone with the driver earlier!
“Sorry, Ver. Maybe this is a blessing from God for us to be alone all night. But I promise, I’ll help you make your pee later…” Vera was still pouting.
