“Ah… uh… ah… uh!” Lupus gasped for breath. His body was going up and down, up and down. He was panting heavily, sweat pouring down his face. His eyes would occasionally close, then open again. Just like a sleepwalker. The only difference was that there was no foam coming out of his mouth.
Meanwhile, a girl next to him was also going “ah, uh, ah, uh.” In sync with Lupus’s “ah, uh, ah, uh.” Sweat was dripping down her forehead.
Lupus glanced at the girl. She grimaced.
“Tired, huh?” Lupus spoke up.
“Yeah,” the girl replied.
“Let’s stop, then?”
“Hey, you wanna get caught by the seniors or something?”
And Lupus changed his mind. He continued with his “ah, uh, ah, uh.” The girl, with her hair tied in two braids with blue and red ribbons, also continued with her “ah, uh, ah, uh.” Occasionally, she wiped the sweat off the tip of her nose.
Meanwhile, in the distance, another girl, who was sweet but had an attitude, was enthusiastically giving commands.
“Come on, keep going! One-two-one-two, no slacking off, okay? Watch out if anyone slacks off, you know the consequences!” the girl shouted through the microphone.
Today was Lupus’s first day participating in the orientation program. Campus Introduction Orientation, after completing the training the day before. And the orientation program that day was really interesting. All the new male and female students were forced to do push-ups. It was a program that really exhausted and made the newbies complain. Because the seniors were really heartless. How could they make us do push-ups in this scorching heat, when it would be much nicer to lie down in an air-conditioned room? Lupus was really annoyed. It wasn’t just because of the push-ups that made him tired, but also because of the seniors’ behavior. They would yell at people as if they had all the power. Ordering people around as they pleased, sometimes their commands didn’t even make sense given the circumstances.
There was even a senior named Burhan whose eyes were not aligned, and all he did was yell. His task was to supervise the Rose Team, the team Lupus was in. Lupus often got yelled at by Burhan because he was considered the most rebellious. He liked to defy authority. Even though in the Rose Team, Lupus was the team leader. Usually, team leaders would obey without question. But Lupus was different. Not only did he defy, but he also liked to prank Burhan. For example, when they were told to run around the field, Lupus intentionally took his team and ran onto the street. So Burhan had to chase after them, cursing from behind. As a result, he ended up sweating like crazy, just like the newbies.
Yo, so there we were, in the middle of doing our push-ups, and Burhan was acting all extra. He was accompanied by his buddy Abraham, who had a stubby nose and a lopsided chubby belly. Burhan kept pacing back and forth in front of Lupus, grinning like he just won a prize. And every now and then, he would sneak a glance at Lusi, the cute girl doing push-ups next to Lupus. But with his wonky eyes, Burhan just looked hilarious. Turns out, Abraham was no less of a show-off. He kept twirling his mustache, even though it was only a tiny bit of hair on the corner of his lip.
Lupus was totally annoyed by their antics. And so was Lusi, who we all called Lusiyem. Actually, all the other girls were also fed up with the seniors acting all tough. They were cursing and wishing that the seniors would get in trouble, or even get a divine punishment. Just so they know how it feels. ‘Cause their behavior was way out of line.
Lupus would often sneak a peek at Burhan. Observing his over-the-top behavior. But Burhan was pretty perceptive. If Lupus stared at him for too long, Burhan would sense it and snap at him. “What are you looking at?” he would bark.
And Lupus would quickly divert his attention. But even during the push-ups, Lupus still couldn’t help but observe Burhan’s antics. Sometimes, he would even chuckle to himself. ‘Cause Burhan was always so awkward. Especially with his misaligned eyes.
Meanwhile, the midday heat was scorching. It felt like standing next to a stove. Well, a stove that hasn’t been turned on yet. Fifteen minutes had passed, but it seemed like the seniors had no intention of ending the push-up session. So the girls and guys were still going up and down, up and down. Even though they looked completely exhausted. They were sweaty and overheated. Sweat was dripping down their necks, foreheads, and noses. Lusi’s ice cream-like nose looked like it was about to melt. And that’s when Lupus couldn’t resist being mischievous. “Hey, Lus, be careful with your nose,” Lupus warned.
Lusi was confused, of course. “What’s wrong with my nose?” she asked.
“Just be careful it doesn’t melt from all the sweat, hehehe,” Lupus said with a chuckle.
But Lusi didn’t get mad at Lupus teasing her. She actually enjoyed it, as a little bit of entertainment. It was only Abraham and Burhan who got angry for some reason.
“Hey, you! Why do you keep blabbering? Can’t you shut up? Do you want to be roasted?” Burhan barked angrily.
Lupus immediately went silent. But he managed to whisper to Lusi, “Am I a salted fish that needs to be roasted?”
Lusi burst into giggles.
“Who told you to laugh? Are you crushing on me or something?” Burhan shouted again. Man, that accusation came out of nowhere. From being angry to accusing someone of having a crush. Talk about being delusional!
Lupus grumbled to himself. While Burhan and Abraham glared at him like prison guards.
Meanwhile, the grumpy seniors, who were giving commands through the microphone, ordered everyone to stop the push-up activity.
Finally, this torture is over,” Lupus gasped. The rest of us felt relieved too. Like we were free from suffering. We quickly changed positions. But before we could even relax our muscles, that grumpy senior suddenly yelled again.
“Hey, now you guys run around the field while doing squats!” he commanded.
We all stared in disbelief, before finally cursing, “What a cruel senior!”
