Hey, have you seen Lupus?” Poppi asked Ita and Yuni who were gossiping at the end of the school. The classes were already quiet, the lesson had just ended a few minutes ago. But some kids were still hanging out at school. They liked to chill. Weird-they’ll see each other again tomorrow anyway.
“Nah…” Ita answered shortly.
“Where did he go? He was here earlier, right?”
Poppi scanned the group of kids who were walking home together.
“He got called by Mr. Kusni when we went out to play, maybe he’s still there. Why are you looking for him?”
Poppi just smiled and winked. Then she ran to the art room. Sure enough, he was chatting with Mr. Kusni. Probably about music or some other art stuff.
“Good afternoon, sir. Sorry, just a moment. Having fun, huh? Can I borrow Lupus for a bit?” Poppi greeted politely. Mr. Kusni nodded, and Lupus was pulled out.
“What’s up, Pop?”
“I just wanted to congratulate you. I’ve read your story that won the contest. Come on, you can’t deny it anymore, you said you’d treat me!”
Lupus grinned and messed up his hair.
“Oh, you know too, huh? Sure, if you want, as long as it’s not too expensive.”
“Now?”
“Up to you. I always have time for a cute girl like you,” Lupus teased.
“Don’t flatter me. But not this afternoon, okay?”
“What? The flattery?”
“No. That, the treat. I’m being picked up this afternoon. Going straight to English class. How about… oh, like this. How about we just watch a movie? Want?”
“In the dark? Sure. Watch what?”
“Anything. In the cheap cinema near the market there. Let’s watch the evening one. Five o’clock, because we have school tomorrow. But on the way back, let’s buy meatballs, okay?”
“Okay. And how do we get there? Do I pick you up or do you pick me up…”
“Cheesy, you pick me up of course. That’s it then, I’m being waited by the driver here. See you later, okay?”
Poppi ran to the gate. Lupus smiled as he turned around and waved his hand.
It was almost five o’clock and Lupus was still nowhere to be seen. How rude. Didn’t he know that I had been all dolled up for the past half an hour? Poppi thought angrily. It was true, after coming back from her English class, she had taken a shower right away. She even brushed her teeth and washed her hair. Then she spent half an hour in front of the mirror. She used all kinds of accessories. Madonna would be jealous. When she was done, she spun around in front of the mirror. Left and right. Just like a kindergarten kid at a carnival.
But now, she had been sitting on the porch for almost half an hour. Flipping through a magazine with annoyance. Poppi knew, Lupus liked to be late and to chew gum. But she couldn’t accept that he still insisted on being late on this historic occasion. This could be their first date if they were meant to be. She had started to like him when she entered high school, six months ago.
She still remembered, back then she was immediately appointed as the class leader. And she began to order the other students to bring all kinds of things for the class. From brooms, calendars, wall decorations, buckets, cloths, mats, you name it. It was also during the ‘school introduction’ period. Lupus, who came late, also got the task of bringing chicken feathers.
The next day, early in the morning, the kids gathered at school. There was going to be a class cleanliness competition that day. So Poppi started to inspect the belongings of her subordinates like a warlord. When she got to Lupus’s desk, she was a bit surprised because he seemed to only bring one book. He didn’t bring a bag or anything else.
“Hey, where’s that chicken feather?” Lupus asked. “Hm? Oh yeah…, wait a sec. Hopefully it didn’t fall on the street!” Lupus replied, flipping through his worn-out textbook. Then he grabbed a stray chicken feather that was stuck there. “Here it is. Lucky it didn’t fall. One’s enough, right? For what, though? Ear decoration, huh?” he continued casually. Poppi just stared at him, accompanied by laughter from the others. But Lupus wasn’t wrong. He really didn’t know that what Poppi meant wasn’t just a chicken feather, but a hairpin.
Poppi often chuckled to herself when she remembered that incident. And for some reason, she started liking to imagine Lupus. That guy was innocent, you rarely find such innocent guys in Jakarta.
“Hey, Virgin!” a loud shout from the street startled Poppi from her daydreaming. Without realizing it, a group of young people was laughing at her from behind the fence. Poppi quickly glanced at her watch. It’s already past sunset. She hurriedly went inside, straight to her room, and wrote “I hate Lupus” a hundred times in her diary with red ink. After that, she felt her eyes starting to get teary….
No matter the reason, Poppi didn’t want to listen anymore. Lupus, that jerk, would probably keep spouting nonsense for ages. Poppi had made up her mind, she didn’t want to talk to him anymore. It hurt her to be treated like that. If Lupus had the audacity to break a promise like this on the first try, what would happen in the future? And when Lupus passed by her seat, Poppi rolled her eyes. Like a stubborn cow. Meanwhile, Lupus, acting all nonchalant, went straight to his own seat. He playfully pulled Utari’s long hair, mimicking a copycat. Even after the second break, Lupus still didn’t come to apologize to Poppi. Unbelievable, she thought. She had been ready since half past seven in the morning, ready to put on a poker face. Ready to be as cold as ice. But Lupus didn’t show up. Instead, he was busy gossiping about Queen and Meta. Unexpectedly, Lupus was waiting near the car after school. He was silently staring at the leaves being blown by the wind. Poppi looked at him with a mix of confusion and a slightly reduced anger.
“What do you want?” she snapped when she reached Lupus. Lupus was surprised and turned around. “Well…” “Have you found a suitable excuse to defend yourself?”
“Not yet. I’m actually still searching. Do you have any ideas? Because I’m not good at lying…” he replied, sounding sad.
Angrily, Poppi pushed Lupus’s body that was blocking her car door, then quickly opened the door without looking back. “Wait, you’re not being fair treating me like that. I’ve never been mean to you…” he protested.
“What? I’m not being fair? And what about you, casually breaking the promise we made yesterday?” Poppi retorted sharply. “What other excuse do you have now?”
“That’s exactly what I wanted to talk about. I don’t have any excuses. That’s why I only wanted to talk when there were no other friends around. I’m so embarrassed. Don’t think for a second that I’m not upset about canceling our plans. You have to understand me. Forgive my carelessness…”
“This is more than just carelessness. It’s about responsibility!” Poppi shouted. “You’re selfish! Coward!”
Poppi’s anger exploded. Lupus felt more cornered than ever. His eyes stared blankly ahead. And for the next ten minutes, Poppi continued to rant at a speed that couldn’t even be measured with a stopwatch. Until finally, she exhausted herself. She looked at Lupus, who showed no reaction at all.
“Now, just be honest. Why didn’t you come yesterday evening? No need to make excuses!” Poppi’s voice weakened. Lupus seemed hesitant. “I…”
“Well, why?” Poppi urged impatiently.
“I don’t know your address…” Lupus’s voice was barely audible.
“What?” Poppi’s eyes widened.
“Forgive me. I’m really clueless. I’m so embarrassed about my stupidity. Honestly, this is the first time for me to go out with a girl. I was too excited and didn’t know what to do. I didn’t realize that I never had your address. So how could I pick you up? Will you forgive me? I promise, next time…” Lupus’s voice grew quieter.
For a moment, Poppi didn’t know what to do. Only her eyes looked more friendly.
“Lupus!” Poppi called softly as Lupus entered the classroom the next day. Lupus immediately turned and approached Poppi.
“What’s up?”
“Shh, don’t be so loud! Troublemaker, I’ll wait for you again at five o’clock this afternoon. Here’s my address, don’t lose it, okay?”
Poppi handed him a piece of paper, then as if nothing happened, she walked away from Lupus.
“Hey, wait!” Lupus stopped her.
“What now?” Poppi looked around nervously, afraid of being caught by their friends.
“Here, I also want to give you my address. Pick me up if you end up waiting for too long…”
Poppi stared at him in disbelief.
