Ew, Creepy! Part 7
TOOT TOOT TOOT
“Yo, listen up, peeps! Attention, attention! All you cool cats and kittens who wanna hop on the Woro-Woro Maliboro train, gather up on the train ASAP! And hey, don’t even think about crowding on the trash carts, ya dig? That’s a big no-no!”
And just like that, the passengers swarmed towards the train doors.
“Hey, where’s Boim, man?” Anto asked, struggling with his heavy suitcase.
“Dunno. Heard he went to buy some Akua,” Pus replied.
“Forget about him,” Gusur chimed in, juggling a bunch of plastic bags and a stacked lunchbox. “Boim has always been a pain in the butt, even back in the good ol’ days!”
“Heyyyy…!” a voice shouted.
“There’s Boim!”
“Hurry up!”
“Where have you been, dude?”
“Yo, I got a girl! She’s super fly. And she’s heading to Yogya too, Pus.”
“You only care about girls, huh? Don’t you know the train is about to leave?”
“My bad, Sur. Whenever I score, I always leave you hanging…”
They all made their way into the station. Oh yeah, Lupus, Gusur, Boim, and Anto were planning to spend their vacation exploring Yogya. Anto claimed to have a friend there.
“Don’t worry, peeps. When it comes to food, sleep, and free adventures, I got you covered!” Anto boasted. “You won’t need to spend a dime. Just cover your transportation and bring some cash for souvenirs,” he promoted.
“True, Nto. ‘Cause I ain’t got a single penny to my name. My mom had to pawn her gold tooth just to buy this ticket,” Boim said.
“And don’t even get me started. My grandpa had to go door-to-door collecting donations just to fund my trip,” Gusur added.
“Attention, attention!” the loudspeaker blared once again.
“Yo, hurry up! We’re being called,” Anto said.
“Hey, pay attention! Stop chit-chatting, people. We got an announcement to make! Listen up, yo!”
The passengers stood up straight, like it was a Monday morning assembly, listening to the crackling voice.
“Attention, folks! For all you peeps heading to Yogya on the Woro-Woro Maliboro train, gather up at Cirebon, I mean, gather up on platform four!”
“But due to some technical difficulties, like a busted TV, the train ain’t showin’ up yet!”
“Boooooo…!” The potential passengers, including Lupus and his crew, shouted in protest.
“Late again, dude! Always freakin’ late,” grumbled a guy.
“Late again and again,” chimed in the person next to him.
“Always late, man,” said the person behind the guy next to him.
“Can’t the train ever be on time, seriously,” cursed a potential passenger from Tegal.
“What’s up with this? I miss my girl already!” shouted a guy from Gunung Kidul.
“Attention, attention! All passengers, please remain calm! The train’s got a flat tire and it’s currently being fixed at the welding shop! So, all passengers have one hour to kill. Make the most of it. Maybe by reading or something!”
“Boooo, not funny!”
“Hey, how about we go find those girls from earlier?” suggested Boim.
“Let’s go,” agreed Lupus.
“But…”
“Forget it, Sur. Better than just standing around here!” said Anto.
“Hey, attention, attention! Don’t go too far, folks. The train might just show up.”
“Oh, and passengers, please be careful with your belongings. If anything goes missing, we can’t guarantee anything, you know, like Jermaine Jackson. I mean, we can’t guarantee anything like that!”
Soon enough, the long-awaited train finally appeared. But it was still moving all jerky.
“Well, forget about finding girls, man,” Boim sighed.
“Hey, Nto, which carriage are we getting on?” Gusur asked, surprised by the long train.
“Carriage one!”
“Hey, how about we just get on the carriage with a bunch of girls, Nto,” suggested Boim.
As the train finally came to a stop, the passengers quickly hopped on and scrambled to find their seats.
Lupus and his crew were also searching for four seats on the train.
“Where the heck is carriage one? Pus, maybe we should just ask,” Lupus politely said, approaching a staff member.
“Carriage one? Oh, just go straight from here, dude. No need to turn around. It’s not far, man. Yeah, like around five hundred meters from here.”
“Hm, thanks, man.”
“Oh, and remember, dude, just go straight…”
Hehehe, like is there even a train that’s not straight, man? Lupus and his crew then went through each carriage, and because they weren’t satisfied with the previous answer, they kept asking questions. Until they were mistaken for street vendors.
“Hey, dude, dude,” Lupus was approached by a lady, “um, are those monkeys for sale?” while pointing at Boim.
“Oh yeah, ma’am, they’re for sale!” Lupus quickly replied while pushing Boim forward. Boim was confused. “But these aren’t monkeys, ma’am.”
“Then what are they, dude?”
“Totally monkeys!”
Hehehe.
Meanwhile, the actual street vendors were making it difficult for the four of them to move around in search of seats. Just look at that cigarette vendor, selling his cigarettes while walking in circles like a fashion model from the capital city.
“Come on, folks, souvenirs for your strict mother-in-law! Come on, who else!” shouted the lemper cake seller, agile as ever. “If it’s not tasty, just smack it! Yeah, who else!”
And Gusur and Boim got smacked for real!
“Yeah, that’s how you smack it, folks, gentlemen, ladies. Easy, right?”
Well, after going through many trials, Lupus and his crew finally found their seats in carriage one.
“Attention, attention! All passengers of the Senja Utama Train heading to Yogya, have you all boarded yet? If so, the train is ready to depart, yo!”
“Oh, yeah, on behalf of the committee, we wish all passengers a safe journey and see you again in the same event and place. Bye!”
Tweet, tweet, tweet… oops!
“Attention, attention! Apologies, folks, for the passengers of the Senja Utama Train heading to Yogyakarta city. Um, our whistle got swallowed!”
Hehehe.
The train slowly moved away from the station, leaving behind the billowing smoke and the annoyed staff who swallowed the whistle!
Meanwhile, inside the train, all the passengers were engrossed in various enjoyable activities. Some were reading, knitting, doing laundry, sipping coffee, typing, gossiping, ironing, taking a shower, drying clothes, brushing their teeth, playing tag, snacking!
“Yo, ever since the flight attendant handed Gusur a pillow, he immediately started snoring. Anto was standing on the handlebars, jumping around. And Boim? That slick playboy is still curious to meet the girl he was eyeing earlier.”
“Yeah, Pus, instead of just messing around, let’s find that girl,” Boim persuaded while massaging Lupus’ thumb.
“Is she hot?”
“She’s hot! Long hair and she’s got dimples too.”
“On her hair?”
“On her forehead! Yeah, on her cheek, man.”
“Oh, I thought it was in her throat.” In a moment, Lupus followed Boim.
“Which carriage do you think she’s in?” Lupus asked.
“Well, I don’t really know, Pus. But we should just search through all the carriages. We’ll definitely find her!”
“Hey, we’ve reached the last carriage, Im.”
“Patience, Pus.” Boim kept looking around. “Hey, there she is!” Boim approached a girl sitting in the corner seat.
Lupus was spying on Boim approaching the girl with long hair. She was busy reading a magazine.
“Wow, we meet again,” Boim greeted warmly.
The girl looked surprised as she looked at Boim. Then she looked at Lupus too. Seeing that, the two guys immediately smiled.
“This is my friend,” Boim introduced. “I was looking for her everywhere and turns out she’s here…”
“You’re still short, huh?” Suddenly, the girl stood up and pointed at Boim’s nose. “You can’t even carry one suitcase without wanting to be paid a thousand? Here, if it’s not enough. Take this crumpled five hundred from me.”
Lupus was stunned. Boim was shocked. Lupus quickly pulled Boim’s arm away from there.
“So, you were the one who carried her suitcase, huh?” Lupus whispered angrily.
Boim nodded weakly. “Just to earn some extra pocket money, Pus.”
“Huh, so embarrassing!” Lupus scolded as he snatched the five hundred from Boim’s hand.
“Hey… that’s my money, Pus!”
“Share the wealth!”
As the Yogyakarta sun rose on a bright morning, the four kids emerged from the mouth of Tugu Station. They were greeted by the becak drivers in their green jackets, standing in a neat line.
“Becak, sir,” they greeted politely.
“Nah, not today, bro,” Anto replied.
The morning air in Yogyakarta was so clear. There weren’t many vehicles passing by yet. Mostly just andongs and becaks. At the end of Malioboro Street, the street vendors were busy tidying up the leftovers from last night’s sales. It was still quiet. And there were no signs of the Yogyakarta girls that Boim had been chasing since Jakarta.
“I heard there are a lot of girls here, Nto,” Boim was really eager to meet the Yogyakarta girls ever since Anto told him that the girls on Malioboro Street were beautiful.
“It’s still early, Im. They haven’t come out yet.”
“Boim only has girls on his mind. He doesn’t even think about the fact that we haven’t had breakfast since morning,” Gusur complained. His stacked lunchbox was already empty.
“Come on, Nto, let’s just go to your friend’s house. We can eat there.”
“It’s not polite, Sur, it’s still early.”
Once they arrived in front of the big Post Office, they sat down to rest. They watched the Yogyakarta kids riding their bikes back and forth at the busy intersection.
“Yo, speaking of which, is your friend’s house far from here?” Lupus asked.
“Nah, it’s close. If we walk, it’ll only take about half an hour, Pus.”
“Let’s go there now, then. I’m hungry too.”
“It’s still a little early, Pus.”
“What’s the big deal?”
“It’s not a big deal, it’s just not polite to visit early in the morning.”
“But she’s your good friend, right? Hey, is she your friend from junior high or your ex-crush who moved here?”
“Oh, no! Not a junior high friend and not my ex-crush, PUS.”
“So, where is she from?”
“Well, when I was in second grade of elementary school, I joined a tour from my village. And then, while I was strolling around Malioboro, I met that kid. Her name is Nyengin! Wow, she’s really nice, Pus. She took me everywhere.”
“Second grade of elementary school?”
“Yeah. I still remember it vividly!”
“So, it’s been nine years?”
“Yeah.”
“Damn! Does she still remember you?”
“I’m sure she does.”
“Wow, that’s dangerous. In that case, let’s go there right away!”
They immediately rushed along Ahmad Dahlan Street. Turn right at the intersection. Then, near the gate, turn left. Anto turned out to have a strong memory. However, Lupus was still worried.
“Which one is her house, Nto?”
“Look for number 17!”
Lupus searched for the building with the number seventeen, with the help of Boim and Gusur.
“Hey, this is it!” they shouted. “Assalamualaikum, assalamualaikum. Nyeng, uh, what’s her name, Nto?”
“Nyengin!”
“Nyengin… Nyengin…!”
A chubby woman appeared from inside. She was surprised to see the kids shouting.
“Who are you looking for?”
“Um, Ma’am, we’re friends with Nyengin!” Anto replied.
“Yes, Ma’am,” Lupus added. “We’re from Jakarta. Just arrived, Ma’am.”
“From Jakarta? Looking for who? Unyeng-unyeng?”
“Her name is Nyengin, Ma’am,” Anto reassured.
“Nyengin…” The woman tried to remember. “Oh, Nyengin, Enjum’s daughter! Well, they’ve moved, kids. If I’m not mistaken, they moved to Wates.”
“They moved a long time ago, Ma’am?” Anto couldn’t believe it.
“About two years ago, I think.”
Lupus couldn’t say anything. Meanwhile, Anto started feeling uncomfortable with the kids. Because besides Nyengin, he didn’t have any other acquaintances. Plus, Gusur kept whining for food.
“I’m hungry, Pus,” Gusur whined.
“Me too,” added Boim.
“Do you think I’m not hungry?!” Lupus snapped, “And do you think I have extra money?”
“So, what do we do?” Gusur kept whining.
“Let’s find a cheap eatery!” Lupus said. “Getting back home is easy. Because our stomachs are more important than going home. We can walk if we’re strong enough.”
The scorching sun in Yogya was making the asphalt roads even more exhausting for the kids. When they arrived at Malioboro, they found a street vendor selling nasi gudeg. But they didn’t order right away. Because Lupus suggested going back to Jakarta instead.
“But, dude,” Anto, who had been quiet all this time, finally spoke up, “Nyengin is always hanging out here in Malioboro. She also knows someone who sells wallets and leather sandals here, dude.”
“So?”
“Maybe if we make an announcement, she’ll know that we’re here.”
“An announcement?”
“Yeah, like a shoutout, you know. We write it on a cardboard, then we put it by the roadside, dude. There are a lot of people passing by here. Like, if she doesn’t read it, maybe someone who knows us will and kindly invite us to eat and crash for a few days…”
“Yeah, whatever.”
Anto then went into a bookstore to buy cardboard and a big marker. With the help of Gusur and Boim, Anto finished the shoutout. It was pretty catchy. Especially when Gusur drew an illustration of a young person carrying a lunchbox while walking alone, with the words: Don’t let them go hungry!
They put up the shoutout by the roadside, right in front of a busy supermarket. The result was quite good. Many people gathered around the shoutout.
“Malioboro shoutout.
Brothers and sisters, want some extra blessings?
Easy. Invite these sweet kids next to this announcement to crash for a few days and have some decent meals. You won’t regret it. Besides being well-behaved, they’re also sweet. Especially for you, Nyengin. Come on! You gotta take responsibility for us!
Sweet regards,
Lupus and the crew”
It worked like a charm. A sweet girl with long hair smiled at them.
“Oh, poor things. Undocumented immigrants, huh? Come to my place, then? Luckily, the maids are all gone.”
The girl’s name was Lia…
