7 AM.
Lupus woke up from his sleep, half dead with shock when he realized it was already noon. Oh, God, late again! He had a physics test in the first period. And last night, Lupus had stayed up late studying until midnight. That’s why he overslept. He even set his magical alarm clock before going to bed so he could wake up at 6 AM. And the alarm did go off, and Lupus did wake up. But only for a moment. Just to turn off the annoying alarm and go back to sleep.
So what’s the point of setting an alarm clock?
“Well, to wake me up, so I can then turn off the alarm. Don’t you know that? After that, I can go back to sleep or do whatever I want, it’s up to me!” That’s roughly Lupus’ response.
But who’s to blame? It was pouring rain outside at the time. Making the air so cold. So tempting to pull the thick blanket back and continue sleeping. If only school was already over, and all the students could wake up late in the morning, how wonderful would that be!
Lupus was also annoyed. Because before going to bed last night, he had stuck a big piece of paper on his bedroom door, writing a message for Lulu to wake him up early in the morning. But in reality, his little sister didn’t wake him up. Where was that damn creature? Lupus quickly opened his bedroom door and stared at the big writing under the message he had written the night before. ‘Wake up, Pus, it’s already noon. You said you wanted to leave early – Lulu.’
“Luluuuuu….!” Lupus shouted loudly.
His maid, who was cleaning the room next door, was startled and scared. She was really shocked!
“What’s with the early morning shouting!” Lulu appeared with a mouth full of chocolate from eating bread.
“You know, this isn’t how you wake someone up!” Lupus replied angrily, pulling off the paper stuck to the door.
“Well, who told you to lock the door! I knocked and knocked, but you wouldn’t wake up!”
Lupus quickly entered the bathroom. Took a quick shower, then got dressed. A few moments later, he was ready with his school bag. Ready to go. Lulu, who had just woken up, stopped him, “Hey, Pus, have some coffee first. So you won’t be sleepy. I made it myself. Especially for you. Just imagine how nice I am…”
Lupus quickly grabbed the coffee that Lulu handed him and took a sip.
“Ugh, tastes like soapy water!” Lupus exclaimed, sticking out his tongue.
“Damn!”
In a hurry, Lupus searched for a bike taxi in front of the alley.
But when someone is having a bad day, it usually keeps getting worse. The bus to Lupus’ school still hadn’t arrived. It was already quarter past seven. He only had fifteen minutes left to not be late. And his physics teacher, Mr. Pangribuan (you can guess where he’s from, definitely not Java!), was really strict. But the kids call him by a cool nickname, Mister Punk. He’s tall, big, dark, and definitely not cool. When he gets angry, his voice can thunder like lightning. And his eyes are like eagle eyes, peering from beneath his prominent forehead. Seriously, he’s like Frankenstein! No student dares to crack a joke in his class. And now Lupus is late again. Another test.
Knock, knock, knock. The sound of knocking on the classroom door.
“Come in!” Mr. Punk’s firm command almost startled all the students who were busy with their physics problems.
Lupus’ head appeared from behind the door, followed by the gaze of the entire class. Lupus smiled widely, but Mr. Punk didn’t. He glanced at his watch instead. It was a little past eight. How daring this kid is. Usually, if a student is half an hour late from the bell, they wouldn’t dare to enter the classroom. And Mr. Punk was sure his watch was accurate, even though sometimes it’s a few minutes late. But at least this morning, before going to teach, he had synchronized his watch with the neighbor’s. So there’s no way he misread the time.
“Sorry, sir, I’m late. The traffic was jammed…” Lupus mumbled.
“Hm, the traffic never gets jammed. You must be lying. It’s your car that gets stuck. But never mind. What’s your name? Lupuz, right?”
Mr. Punk always pronounces ‘s’ as ‘z’. Maybe there’s not much ice in his hometown. That’s why he’s so dark. Always thirsty.
“Yes, sir. My name is Lupus.”
“Alright, never mind. Quickly, find a seat and start working on the test questions on the blackboard. Remember, time is running out. It’s your own fault…”
Lupus quickly took a seat and began working on the test questions.
At 8:20 am, Lupus was still struggling with the physics test questions. He managed to solve only one out of the four questions given. The rest were a big question mark. Damn, he had memorized all the formulas last night. But why did he forget again? And his eyes felt so squinty, like they couldn’t open wide.
Lupus looked around for help. His eyes darted around like a pro thief. Almost every kid was busy with their cheat sheets. Some were hidden in the folds of their sleeves, some behind their skirts, and some daringly hidden under the test paper. But still, Lupus’s face showed confusion. Physics is just the most annoying subject. You may know the formulas, but it doesn’t guarantee that you can solve the problems. That’s why Lupus really admires Einstein, who’s a physics genius.
His eyes landed on the neighbor next to him. Herumoko was engrossed in his cheat sheet.
“Hey, can we swap answer sheets, Her? I’ve only done questions one and three. Can you do the rest?” Lupus whispered.
Heru nodded, and the transaction took place. But as mentioned earlier, when someone is having a bad day, their bad luck tends to continue.
And Mr. Punk saw the transaction.
He immediately approached Lupus’s desk from behind, while Heru was half scared to death.
“Now, I want to ask you. How did Heru’s test paper migrate here? Do you think the paper can move on its own?” Mr. Punk asked sternly.
“Of course not. You didn’t mean to say that this paper can escape on its own because of the wind. Because here, there happens to be not much wind,” Lupus replied, trying to stay calm. Although, deep down, his thumb was crumpling in fear.
“Well, it’s good that you understand that. And you surely know what punishment you’ll receive, right? Okay, go ahead and leave. The sooner, the better.”
There was no other way. Lupus had to leave. There was no point in protesting. You know, a teacher has absolute power in the classroom.
Outside, Lupus suddenly became popular. Students from the neighboring class, who happened to have an empty period, gathered around him. They immediately asked which questions came out. Because after Lupus’s class, it was their turn for the test. Lupus became confused himself. Pulled in different directions.
“You’re pretty smart, Pus. You can leave first,” praised Lia in awe.
Lupus just nodded.
“Well, in that case, can you tell me the answers too, so I won’t be confused later…,” Lia pleaded.
“Oh, man, I don’t know. After a test like this, my mind tends to get all foggy. I can’t handle anything too heavy. So, sorry, okay?” Lia pouted, and the crowd around Lupus grew.
“Leave me alone…,” Lupus complained as he ran to the cafeteria.
After the second break, Lupus faced Mr. Punk in the teacher’s room. He wanted to ask for mercy to be allowed to take a makeup test.
“Hm, alright. But next time, no more cheating, okay?” Mr. Punk said firmly. Lupus nodded. And during the last class, Lupus was alone in the office. Working on the test he missed. The teacher’s room was quiet because all the teachers were busy teaching.
And when Lupus was desperately trying to solve the makeup test questions, a messenger entered. Carrying a stack of papers to Mr. Punk’s desk. Lupus, who was working on the big table, immediately greeted him, “Hey, sir. What did you bring?”
“I don’t know. Papers entrusted by Mr. Pangaribuan. He said they should be kept on his desk.”
“Oh, exam papers, right? Just leave them here, sir. I was asked to take care of them,” Lupus said politely. Although you know, Lupus was definitely lying. But the messenger didn’t know. So he just obeyed and left.
Lupus quickly checked the answer sheets. Hm, it’s from the neighboring class’s test! Lupus immediately studied the answers of the smartest student. Fortunately, the problems given were the same, just slightly different. So in just a few minutes, he was able to find the solutions to the makeup test questions. Huh, turns out luck is on my side this time. Not always unlucky, he thought.
So he quickly organized the stack of answer sheets that he messed up. And neatly placed them on Mr. Punk’s desk. After that, he returned to his own desk. Pretending to be busy working while waiting for Mr. Punk to return.
12:00 pm.
Mr. Punk entered the teacher’s room. Finding Lupus sleeping soundly in the corner seat. Lupus was really sleepy after studying all night.
“Hey, Lupus. Wake up! Have you finished everything?”
Lupus immediately woke up and hurriedly handed over his answer sheets, apologizing for falling asleep.
Mr. Punk checked all of Lupus’s answers. Then nodded and smiled. “Hm, good job. Turns out you’re smart too, huh? Why did you cheat earlier? That’s what happens when people lack confidence…”
Lupus smiled happily.
“Well, if that’s the case, you don’t mind helping me, right? I need a moment with the Principal. Can you check the test papers of your classmates that have piled up over there? Can you do it? I trust in your abilities!”
Lupus was surprised and wanted to protest.
“But, sir, it’s already time to go home…”
“Oh, come on, just a little while. It’s easy for someone as smart as you. It’ll only take a few minutes. Okay, good luck. Thank you very much in advance.”
Then Mr. Punk left the teacher’s room. Leaving Lupus with a pile of work. Lupus cursed. Stupid, why did all the answers have to be correct? Well, bad luck keeps coming. He had plans to buy new sneakers at Blok M after school. He had worked hard to save up money, but now he had to postpone it again.
Man, this day is the worst for Lupus. Damn Monday! And he’ll never forget it.
12:45 PM.
Lupus sluggishly entered his empty classroom. Damn, his books were still scattered on his desk. His bag too. Lupus cursed his unreliable friends. Leaving all their stuff unattended. Lupus walked in and started tidying up his messy books. Then he stuffed them back into his bag. His eyes accidentally caught sight of a big writing on the blackboard: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LUPUS. And cheers erupted from every window.
Lupus was half-dead from shock. And from behind the desks, behind the doors, behind the windows, Boim, Svida, Poppi, Ruri, Andang, Anto, Irvan, and all his classmates emerged. Cheering, “Hooray… hooray… It’s your birthday, man!”
Lupus was deeply moved. God, he forgot that it was his birthday that day. Yeah, he’s forgetful like that. But all his friends didn’t forget. And Lupus was sure that his mom and little brother must be preparing a big surprise for him when he got home from school.
“Congratulations, Pus! Let’s have a feast!” they all exclaimed, competing to congratulate him. Lupus busied himself wiping away the tears that dared to flow. Yeah, I’ll treat all the kids. Forget about buying the dream sneakers. The important thing is that everyone should be happy today, Lupus thought.
And the biggest surprise happened when Poppi came in carrying a big birthday cake. With Lupus’ name written on it.
“Happy birthday, Lupus. Let’s be friends again…”
Lupus’ tongue felt tied. He couldn’t say anything. Only his eyes gazed with emotion. And his small hand reached out to receive Poppi’s hand.
“Yeah, Poppi. We’re friends again now. There’s nothing more beautiful than that…”
The kids cheered joyfully.
“Where are we gonna eat?” Boim chimed in.
“Let’s go to my house. Maybe my mom has prepared lots of food,” Lupus replied.
Everyone agreed. And Mr. Punk appeared at the door. Surprised to see Lupus’ classmates still not going home. Instead, they were busy cheering.
“Hey, what’s going on here?”
“Look, sir. It’s Lupus’ birthday,” Svida happily replied.
“Ha? Looks like we’re having a big feast. I thought there was an explosion or something. Turns out our buddy here is celebrating his birthday. Congratulations, Puz.”
Lupus welcomed Mr. Punk’s birthday wishes. And they all piled into Lupus’ house. Irvan and Roni had prepared two minibuses. Everyone joined in, including Mr. Punk. They happily sang along the way, even though sitting cramped felt like sardines.
At home, Lupus’ mom had no idea that they would have so many guests. So the food prepared for Lupus’ birthday was not enough. Lupus quickly told Lulu, who happened to be skipping school, to buy food from the nearest restaurant. Lupus gave Lulu all his money.
And that afternoon, Lulu ran to the restaurant. It’s always like this, when someone is happy, there’s always someone else feeling sad. That’s Lulu. Just imagine, in the hot afternoon, jogging to the restaurant.
But Lulu didn’t mind. They were happy to give something to their beloved brother on his special day. Happy birthday, Pus…
