If you’ve heard Lupus joking around at the corner store, you’re probably already bored. Every minute, every chance he gets, that supposedly quiet kid loves to gossip. If his lips aren’t chapped, don’t expect him to sit quietly next to you. But if you listen to Lupus giving a lecture? Well, you haven’t yet! Even though it’s fun when that kid gives a lecture. With all the laughter, crying on the spot, or throwing a tantrum and refusing to show up on the podium. All of this can happen when there’s an audience attacking with difficult questions. Like the rumor that spread to every ear at SMA Merah Putih High School, that Lupus once dared to give a lecture about teenage marriage in the arena. The result? Extraordinary, a huge success! Because many teenagers got married after listening to Lupus’s lecture… (he he he!) That kid is really crazy.
But the other effect of Lupus’s ‘success’ turned out to be uncomfortable. Lupus’s friends casually pointed at him to participate in an educational speech competition held at SMA Merah Putih High School. Lupus, who isn’t really into giving speeches but is diligent in copying (hey!), is obviously overwhelmed.
“Aaah, they’re all so lame. Let someone else do it!” Lupus grumbled when forced to participate.
“Who else can? Boim? Oh, he’ll just gossip like crazy!” Meta, Ita, Utari, Ruri, all joined in supporting, “Besides, you’ve had experience giving a speech at the teenage arena, Pus. Come on. We have to prove that our class is the best. Come on, Pus. We all support you. Pushing you from behind.”
With these words, Fifi Alone immediately proved it by pushing and shoving Lupus’s body. Lupus was startled. His chewing gum almost got swallowed.
“Come on, Pus.”
Lupus instead buried his head behind a sketchbook. While closing both of his ears.
“Pus, come on, Pus.”
“Try to sweet-talk me first,” Lupus replied, peeking from behind the book. His hands still folded on the desk.
“Well, this is sweet-talking.”
“Not romantic enough.”
“Okay, then let’s ask Poppi. Poppiii… come here for a moment. Help sweet-talk this skinny kitten…”
Lupus raised his head and grumbled angrily. Their mission clearly failed.
But it turns out those kids aren’t the type to easily give up. The next morning, when Lupus entered the classroom, he was immediately bombarded again. Persuaded to participate in the speech competition. “Awesome, Pus. You’ll get free food,” said Anto.
“Damn you, if all I get is boxed tea and sticky rice, I can still afford to buy snacks at the cafeteria without running a tab,” Lupus snapped.
But the other kids helped Anto. Joining in the sweet-talking. Lupus felt cornered. And when he’s cornered like that, his bad side comes out. Which is, it’s hard for him to refuse other people’s requests. Even though his heart isn’t willing. Feeling like a burden. But his inhumane friends just laughed. Lupus was the one who had to struggle to prepare everything for the competition. Searching here and there for data to make the paper. Gusur and Boim became the subjects of investigation.
Lupus, that lazy kid, still hadn’t finished his paper the day before the competition. He had to work hard all night. Up until the early hours, he was still typing away in his room, occasionally cursing his friends who had successfully forced him. If Lupus hadn’t joined the speech competition, he could have slept soundly tonight, man.
The sun was rising when Lupus stumbled towards the bedroom door. His eyes were still half-closed like a crescent moon, and his head felt heavy.
Lulu, who was almost done getting ready, couldn’t help but chuckle at Lupus’s miserable expression. He looked so exhausted, sad, and pitiful, almost lifeless. Yeah, Lupus was really worn out after being forced to work all night.
“It’s already seven o’clock, Pus,” Lulu said, throwing a towel at Lupus. Lupus didn’t respond. He headed straight to the bathroom with sluggish steps. A moment later, the sound of running water could be heard. The fresh morning water revived Lupus’s fighting spirit, although not a hundred percent.
After showering, kind-hearted Lulu was already prepared with a cup of fresh milk chocolate for him. “Drink up, Pus. I swear, this time it doesn’t taste like soapy water anymore. Mom was forced to taste it.”
“Thanks, Lulu, my love,” Lupus said, immediately sipping the cup that Lulu offered. “Hmm, not bad. Where did you buy bajigur?”
Lulu pouted. “This is milk chocolate, Pus.”
“Oh, I thought it was bajigur. Sorry, it tastes the same,” Lupus replied with a smile. Lulu was truly a good little sister. So caring. She was also diligent. Just imagine, even though she had the afternoon shift today, she still took a shower in the morning.
At a quarter past seven, Lupus was ready to leave. He quickly checked his bag and grabbed a sandwich. But… wait, where did his pens go? Why is there nothing in there? It’s such a hassle to search through his room. So when he saw a pencil box lying on the dining table, without hesitation, he grabbed it.
“Bye, Mom… I’m leaving,” Lupus shouted as he ran out. His mother, busy with her cooking, didn’t have time to respond.
When Lupus arrived at school, the reception from the IIA2 class was quite warm. Lupus was immediately escorted to the school hall. “It’s almost starting, Pus. You’re up first,” Meta exclaimed cheerfully. Lupus’s heart started racing. Even though he tried to act cool, that kid was actually nervous too. Especially when he had to speak in front of old people like teachers and the principal. Whoa!
Right on. When Lupus entered the hall, his name was immediately called to go up to the podium. He would have fainted if it weren’t for his friends supporting him.
“Go Lupus! Go Lupus! Go IIA2 class!” the supporters shouted.
A moment later, the atmosphere fell silent. Lupus was busy muttering prayers in front. Then he greeted the audience. His voice sounded really strange. Maybe because he was nervous. “To be honest, I apologize if my speech is a mess. I didn’t prepare enough. Both mentally and spiritually. But because I don’t want to disappoint, I’m here now to give a speech. According to the chosen theme, which is about education, I will address one issue in the world of education. Cheating.”
“Hooray…!!!” the kids shouted with joy. Cheating is a source of pride,” Lupus began his speech. “What kind of pride? I don’t know. But what’s clear is that school kids feel proud when they successfully cheat without getting caught. Just like the pride of sneaking into the cinema without buying a ticket. It feels proud. Amazing. For a concrete example, I have researched two extraordinary creatures, Boim and Gusur, for my thesis.
“Look at Boim. He is so proud when he enters the schoolyard by climbing the school wall. ‘Of course. Anyone can enter through the gate. Even Gusur can. Especially the old teachers. So what’s so special?’ that’s the answer Boim gave when I interviewed him.”
Boim, who was dozing off while listening to the speech in the corner of the room, suddenly woke up. He felt like his secret was being revealed mercilessly in public. He wanted to protest, but he was helpless. It was so painful. Gusur, sitting next to him, burst into laughter. Hahaha…
“So there you have it,” Lupus continued. “It’s clear that in the teenage world, there is a tendency for them to have fake pride. A pride that doesn’t have a clear form, although not supernatural beings. They feel proud when they do something that is dangerously close. Like cheating, that’s dangerous. If caught, it’s a zero grade. But those who don’t get caught feel proud. Especially during Mr. Punk’s class. Their friends are amazed, ‘How can you not get caught? Isn’t the teacher strict? So daring!'”
At this point, Lupus took a break. He was busy looking for a drink. Because he was really thirsty after running from home to school. Meanwhile, more and more kids were listening to his speech. Filling up the hall. Some were serious, some were dozing off, some were chatting, some were pretending to be busy with this and that. In the front row, the teachers and the principal were also present.
And Lupus, with a professional style, continued his speech. His nervousness had disappeared.
“So, Mr. Principal, teachers, and beloved friends, according to my research, it’s not just dumb kids who cheat. Smart kids do it too. Because the motivation to cheat varies for each person. It doesn’t mean that everyone who cheats is dumb. Boim, maybe, but not me, for example. It could be because the teacher lacks attention. Because there are teachers who only value the end result. There are teachers who make students feel proud of getting good grades, without caring if it’s the result of cheating. Maybe like what I mentioned earlier. They often think, ah, that teacher. Easy, just cheat. Done. Why bother studying? Because, why bother. They study hard, but their test results are the same as their friends who didn’t study, but cheated.
“And if that becomes a habit, it’s bad. They get used to taking shortcuts. Less effort. They don’t care that going to Gusur’s house is a struggle. They have to cross a river, the road is rough, there are many obstacles (duck poop!). They don’t care about that. They just want to suddenly arrive at Gusur’s house. This is dangerous, right, Sur? At least Gusur hasn’t had time to tidy up or boil water for refreshments.”
“Yo, speaker dude, I got a question!” suddenly a high-pitched voice echoed from the corner of the room, drawing everyone’s attention. There stood Boim, raising his hand.
“Sorry, man. It’s not the time for questions. I haven’t finished speaking,” Lupus declined.
“But, this is supposed to be an open discussion. I wanna ask,” Boim headed straight to the microphone for questions. “You said earlier that cheating means we’re not making an effort. But don’t you know that cheating can also be considered as effort? ‘Cause there are teachers who let their students cheat. ‘Cause they’re, like, what’s the word…?”
“You mean they’re arrogant?”
“Yeah, them. They think that cheating is an effort. And effort should be appreciated, right, audience?”
The kids erupted in a noisy debate, with some against and some in favor. Lupus immediately scolded Boim. Damn, turns out he’s also attacking his own friend. Cruel. When it comes to this, Lupus usually gets sulky, stops talking, or goes to a corner of the room while crying softly.
“Man, why is the question so difficult?” Lupus whined.
The kids laughed. But Meta, Ita, Utari, Anto, Aji, Gito, they kept cheering Lupus on. Their support fired up Lupus again. He wiped away the tears that had welled up. Ugh, so emotional, right?
“Unfortunate Boim, don’t get offended if it turns out you’re into cheating. Yeah, cheating can be considered as effort. But it’s illegal effort. It’s not legit. Let’s take Gusur as an example. Once, his grandpa asked him to buy train tickets. But typical Gusur, he wakes up super late on Sundays. At eight in the morning, he’s still chillin’, thinking it’s dawn. So, he can only go to the station around noon. But there were already people queuing up since morning. Obviously, the tickets ran out. So Gusur made an effort. He looked for scalpers, going back and forth. Finally, he managed to get the tickets, although they were a bit expensive. But is buying tickets from scalpers a good thing?
“So, back to my paper, I think there’s a way out of all these problems. Teachers should instill independence in their students. They should build self-confidence in them. ‘Cause there are kids who cheat because they’re unsure. Is the answer they’re copying from their friend correct? So, situations like this can still be corrected.
“Friends should also realize that what’s worth celebrating is actually independence, not just getting good grades. Even if the grades are average, if it’s our own effort, it feels so satisfying. That’s what should be implemented.
“I’m not forbidding you guys from cheating. It’s okay. Actually, every kid should have cheated at some point. So that we can appreciate honesty. ‘Cause someone will appreciate the truth less if they’ve never made a mistake.
“Peace out.”
Loud applause greeted the end of Lupus’s paper reading. And now came the most nerve-wracking part. The audience was allowed to ask questions. Lupus pretended to be busy looking for a drink.
Someone stepped forward and asked a question. Luckily, it wasn’t too difficult. “What do you think is a good preparation for a test so that we don’t have to cheat?”
“That’s easy, my friend,” Lupus pretended to be a know-it-all. “Study diligently day and night. It’ll definitely pay off. And one more thing, get rid of the habit of borrowing pens, correction fluid, rulers, erasers from friends during tests or at any time. ‘Cause that shows that we’re not prepared. And it can disturb the concentration of friends who are working on the test. So, prepare everything from home, don’t be a fan of borrowing.”
Right as Lupus finished his sentence, suddenly Lulu’s face appeared at the window of the hall. Without any shame, she shouted loudly,
“Lupuuuus!!! Did you take my pencil case from the table? Give it back!!
I have a test this afternoon! Hurry up, it’s already late!”
Lupus was taken aback. While the kids laughed out loud. Lupus immediately ran out of the hall. He really wanted to smack that damn Lulu’s head.
The laughter of the kids grew even crazier. Echoing in every room. Lupus felt embarrassed. But it’s okay, Pus. It’s normal. Giving advice is always easier than actually following it.
