Do you know Lupus? He’s a popular first-year high school student who loves wearing long-sleeved shirts. He’s quite famous, you know! Seriously. If you happen to visit his house and mention his name, everyone in the house will know him. That proves that he’s quite famous. Well, at least among his family members. He looks like most teenagers these days, skinny and kind of tall. His face is not bad, better than getting stuck in a door. What’s interesting is his hairstyle, with long hair in the front that almost covers his eyes. The sides are neatly trimmed towards the back. And the back is long enough to almost cover his collar. “So that I look like John Taylor,” he said proudly.
“Hey, from behind you look like Mick Jagger,” his friends often compliment him, “but from the side, you look like a minibus…?”
And Lupus never feels offended by such teasing.
If you happen to pay closer attention, you will see that he always carries chewing gum wherever he goes. Don’t ever ask for one, because he’s too stingy to give away his favorite snacks. Unless you exchange it with chocolate, which is obviously more expensive. And Lupus only eats his chewing gum when he feels nervous, confused, or doesn’t have any other food to ask for from his friends for free. Sneaky, right? That’s just how he is. And one bad thing about him is that he never gets rid of his bad habit of sticking his used chewing gum on the empty seat next to him on the bus. Who knows how many victims he has harmed. One more thing you should know, he’s a very quiet person. Especially when he’s sleeping. But not always. He can be very talkative when he’s with people he likes.
And like most teenagers, he also loves music. All kinds of music, except for horror movie soundtracks. He can’t help but sing along when he’s out and about. When that happens, the person next to him will be surprised and look at him with concern, “Are you coughing?”
He also enjoys writing articles and sometimes short stories in a teenage magazine. This skill may be the only thing he can be proud of. Because of that, he never asks his mom for money unless he really has to (unfortunately, he often finds himself in situations where he has to ask his mom for money). But his kind-hearted mother never gets upset. Because when he has a lot of money, Lupus often gives some to his mother.
Like the previous days, that morning Lupus was waiting for the bus at Grogol terminal. Since the Grogol bus terminal was moved to Kalideres (oh, do you know Kalideres? It’s near California…), Lupus felt disadvantaged. The buses passing by there are always packed with passengers. And when that happens, they all charge high fares. They’re too proud to just stop by at Grogol terminal to pick up Lupus. Well, Lupus often ends up chasing after buses that stop a bit far from the front. Plus, buses that pass by Lupus’ school are rare. Sometimes they only come once a month.
That is, if the driver feels like it and has nothing else to do (hehehe…)
And at that moment, Lupus was still lost in his thoughts. It had been so long that his face looked like a bus terminal. Plus, he had quite a lot of stuff with him, like someone going back to their hometown. It was all because his biology teacher told him to bring plant samples, lab coat, and other things for the biology practical in the afternoon.
The awaited bus finally appeared. So, like other adventurous souls, Lupus enthusiastically participated in the morning ritual of chasing after the city bus. He managed to squeeze in, getting crowded next to a sweet girl in a school uniform. And this was indeed the only pleasure that God gave to people like Lupus. Only at that moment did Lupus dare to touch a girl, catch a whiff of her perfume, and strike up a conversation. Who knows, maybe it’s destiny…
And it’s not too surprising that Lupus took advantage of the opportunity. After pretending to accidentally step on the sweet girl’s foot, Lupus put on a pitiful face and tried to initiate communication with her. Although people say that communication can be done in various ways, it feels like this approach is the most suitable for Lupus.
“Oops, sorry. It was unintentional. It’s because of the pushing. Does it hurt?” Lupus’s expression perfectly displayed his regret. Wow, he has the talent to be a character actor.
“No. It doesn’t hurt. Just keep stepping!” the girl replied coldly. Lupus was shocked. Due to his imperfect acting, he forgot to lift his foot off the girl’s foot.
“Oh, are you mad?” Lupus’s face was full of regret. This time he was serious.
The girl smiled.
Oh God, this is a good opportunity.
“What’s your name?” Lupus asked again after a few moments of silence. The girl was slightly surprised to hear such a “random” question. Typical guy, stepping on someone’s foot and then asking for an introduction. For a moment, she just looked at Lupus, making him feel awkward. He started to wonder if it was a mistake to ask that.
“I’m Yanti. And you?” she replied, returning the question.
“I’m Lupus,” he answered while extending his hand. And you can guess what happened next. They talked about school, the weather, movies, music, and favorite foods.
The streets were congested. In the early morning like this, there were many people on duty. But Lupus didn’t curse the situation at all. Instead, he felt grateful. And at Senayan, someone got off the bus, leaving an empty seat that Yanti immediately occupied. Lupus quickly entrusted his many belongings to Yanti. Plant samples and big textbooks.
But damn! It turned out that there was a guy sitting next to Yanti who immediately started talking to her, much more aggressively than Lupus. He spoke with jokes that Lupus didn’t find funny at all, but it made Yanti giggle. Lupus cursed Yanti for being so easily friendly with that guy, neglecting him. Typical girl! He cursed in his heart.
And he kept grumbling until he forgot to get off the bus. Finally, in a rush, Lupus pushed through the crowded passengers to quickly jump off the bus. “Left side, sir!” he shouted while banging on the door. The conductor glared angrily at him. “Damn you! Haven’t I been saying that all this time?”
Lupus jumped off while teasing the angry conductor. Then he walked along the sidewalk. But, oh my! His belongings and textbooks were left on the bus! Lupus immediately turned around to chase after the bus, but all he saw was a cloud of dust and the sound of it fading away. Lupus cursed, that cursed girl! It was all in vain to wake up early in the morning to look for plant samples for the practical, only to end up like this! Going back home was clearly out of the question.
Oh, he felt like shouting out loud. Pouring out the frustration that was boiling in his heart. But the situation didn’t allow it. There were many school children walking around. He might be mistaken for crazy. The safest thing to do was to chew his gum and bite it hard. He regretted why he didn’t stick his gum on Yanti’s hair earlier, just to show her what it feels like!
“Hey… Lupus!!!!” a girl’s voice could be heard calling from a distance. Lupus immediately turned around. Oh, it was Yanti waving her plant samples and textbooks.
“You forgot to bring these, huh?” she shouted again. Lupus’s face lit up. Wait, Yanti was supposed to get off at Mayestik, why did she bother to turn back and return the stuff? he thought.
“Wow, thanks a lot, Yan! Bring them here!” Lupus happily replied as he approached Yanti, but Yanti moved away while laughing. “Come on, catch it first. Hahahaha…”
And Lupus easily chased after her. Ah, rural romance! They both laughed.
“You’re so arrogant, not telling me you’re getting off!” Yanti said, out of breath. Lupus just smirked. “You were so engrossed in talking to that guy. You forgot about me!” he retorted.
“Oh, jealous, huh?”
“No!!” Lupus replied with a blushing face. But in the end, Lupus faithfully accompanied Yanti to wait for the next bus to come, not caring about the distant school bell ringing. And he even felt grateful when the awaited bus didn’t arrive.
