So, the second-grade kids have a new habit, you know? Exactly at one o’clock in the afternoon, they always seem to be eagerly waiting for the bus heading to Blok M. Lupus, Aji, Boim, and Gito. It’s kinda weird, their houses suddenly moved to Blok M all of a sudden. After some investigation, turns out they’re chasing after a girl. Don’t know which school she’s from, but one thing’s for sure, every one o’clock, her sweet face always appears at the window of the Blok M bus, near the front door. Her round sparkling eyes, long flowing hair, and petite body managed to make the cool guys from Merah Putih High School amazed.
They first saw her three days ago when they planned to have a meal in Blok M, to celebrate the most historic day in Boim’s life because he finally won the lottery after participating eleven times. And at that moment, the four of them were stunned at the bus door, admiring the beautiful creature sitting sweetly near the window. The bus conductor, who was always impatient, got a bit angry too. “Hey, why are you guys so lost in thought when getting on my bus?”
Lupus and the gang, shocked by the scolding, replied, “We were just praying for a safe journey, that’s all.”
And since then, every night, they had the same dream. About the girl on the bus.
That’s why in the following days, they were often caught waiting for the Blok M bus. Whenever someone asked, they all answered in unison that they were going shopping in Blok M.
“Why do you go shopping every day?”
“Well, what can we say? We’re rich people, you know.”
And the person asking would just walk away with an annoyed face.
The awaited bus arrived, and the four of them stood up eagerly. Regardless of how crowded the bus was, they still made an effort to catch it.
“Stop, dude! Stop!” they shouted while jumping into the reluctant bus. The conductor glanced at them irritably. It’s not for nothing, these creatures always caused a ruckus when they got on the bus. Even though they only paid a small fare. He knew it very well. Especially Lupus, who always chewed gum. Or Boim, the playboy of Merah Putih High School, whose face was a combination of Jaja Miharja and Benyamin (seriously, it’s spot on!).
And just as the conductor predicted, when many passengers had gotten off, those Merah Putih High School creatures started teasing the girl with their loud voices.
“Hey, girl! Let’s get to know each other. My name is Boim. The most famous guy in Merah Putih High School. I was even a cover boy for Bobo magazine. I have a red scooter, which is currently – because of one thing or another – not working. Maybe the fan belt is broken (Boim is such a fool, scooters don’t have fan belts, right?). But don’t worry. I have plenty of other scooters. You just have to choose which one you want. I change them every day. Besides that, I’m a movie star, you know. I often appear on TV in shows…”
“Flora and Fauna!” Gito interrupted from behind.
“No! Believe It or Not!” Lupus chimed in, defending Boim.
Boim glared angrily at Lupus and Gito, who were giggling.
“Don’t listen to them, Sweet Girl. It’s normal for popular people to attract attention. But I’m used to it. So, do you want to get to know me?”
The girl didn’t react much, just smiled a little.
“Don’t go with Boim, Sweet Girl. He rarely treats anyone. It’s better to go with me. My name is Gito. I’m a bit shy like a cat, but I’m more popular than Boim. I often appear in ACI movies as the main character.”
“Lies! Don’t believe him!” Lupus shouted from behind. “He’s actually the one who plays Mr. Lazy in the Si Unyil story!”
Gito got angry.
“No, I’m telling the truth. How can you not recognize my familiar face? Look at me!”
“Yes, he does appear in ACI. But only as a stuntman. So, if there’s a scene where someone gets beaten up, he’s the one used. It’s better to go with me. My name is Lupus. I have a two-band radio. I’m a simple person, just the way I am, not like Boim who…”
“Idiot! Why am I always the scapegoat?!” Boim protested.
“Yeah, you’re the scapegoat!” Lupus replied. “Sorry, there’s a little technical problem. Where were we? Oh yeah, I’m a simple person. But actually, I’m rich, you know. How can I not be rich? When I finish chewing gum, I just throw it away. I never swallow it like Boim, who likes to pick it up and chew it again.”
Now it was Boim’s turn to get angry. He immediately messed up Lupus’ hair. Lupus screamed and made a lot of noise. Geez, he’s behaving like a toddler! (Well, because Lupus is afraid his hair won’t look like John Taylor’s anymore!)
“Ugh, you guys are acting like little kids. It’s better to date me, sweet girl. I’m mature, manly, and… you’ll definitely feel the warmth once you fall into my arms…” This time it was Aji who stepped forward.
“Seriously, dude? Are we doing a survey or something?” Lupus sarcastically remarked from behind.
Aji tried to flirt. But unfortunately, the bus had reached Blok M terminal. So, the flirting competition had to be postponed until tomorrow. The conductor let out a sigh of relief and muttered “Alhamdulillah” under his breath.
“Don’t worry, man. We’ll definitely ride this bus again tomorrow. Maag!” Lupus said, patting the conductor’s shoulder. The conductor gave him a stern look, and Lupus quickly jumped off the bus to catch up with his friends.
But two days later, Lupus, Boim, and Aji were shocked by the news brought by Gito. Gito said that the sweet girl was now his girlfriend, and no one was allowed to flirt with her anymore. And unfortunately, the news turned out to be true. When they were going home from school, that damn Gito was casually chatting with the sweet girl on the bus. Lupus, Boim, and Aji were furious.
“You cheated, Git! When did you manage to win her over? We’ve been getting rejected by her all this time, haven’t we?” Aji protested.
“Did you use black magic or something?” Boim chimed in with envy.
Gito just smiled. Damn, he’s so smooth. And little did his friends know, that idiot Dodol had actually gone to the girl’s house without their knowledge. It’s unclear how he got her address. But one thing’s for sure, his smooth talk worked, and the sweet long-haired creature fell into his hands. And the key to his success was that the girl happened to be a fan of the ACI series and recognized Gito’s appearance as Fuad. Smooth move, damn it!
“Huh, they’re going crazy just because they played in ACI. That girl doesn’t know, maybe I can act in movies too,” grumbled Boim.
“Yeah, I often see you in advertisements at the cinema, on the radio, and in newspapers. Right? Is that really you?” Lupus asked.
“Oh, you know too? Yeah, that’s me. When did you see it? In which ad? Shoe ad? Modern men’s clothing ad? Or… maybe what you saw was Roy Marten. Because, well, my face does resemble his, even though I’m still cooler. Right? What ad did you see?”
“Oh, you know… the Kalpanax ad. For antifungal cream.”
Two empty days passed. There were no cheerful faces when the bus to Blok M arrived at exactly one o’clock in the afternoon. Only Gito immediately got up and left with that memorable bus. The others stayed or went home.
But a week later, they were once again excited by another beautiful creature on the bus to Grogol. At first, Lupus didn’t really notice her presence, but when he saw her again the next day, Lupus started excitedly telling his friends about his ‘discovery’.
“Wow, she’s really pretty. I always see her when I go home from school at half past one!” Lupus exclaimed. Naturally, the other kids were interested, and suddenly, their homes all moved to Grogol.
So in the following days, at half past one, Lupus, Boim, and Aji were always seen waiting eagerly for the bus to Grogol. The same thing happened again. Chaos on the bus, flirting with the girl, laughing, and of course, annoying the bus conductor.
And one time, while the three of them were waiting for the bus, Gito came running towards them.
“Hey, what are you doing, Git? You’re not allowed to join anymore. You already got the one before, right?” Aji said.
“Aww, let me join too!” Gito whined.
“Well, you can’t. You’ll win again. And then we won’t be able to have fun anymore when we go home from school.”
“No, I promise. I really enjoyed getting that girl who came here. It means I’m cooler than all of you…”
“Booooo!” the kids protested.
“Hey, hold on. But the happiness only lasts for a short while. Because after that, it’s just the same old thing. Monotonous. Every day, taking her home, stopping by her house, talking. It’s just like that. There’s no excitement. I envy you guys when you find new girls again. I want to join in teasing, flirting, chasing, like before. I don’t know why. What do you think, Im?”
“Simple. Maybe your love was rejected!” Boim calmly replied.
“No way. You saw for yourself how easily I got her!” Gito insisted.
“Oh man, they’re all arguing. Maybe Gito’s right. Chasing after girls is probably more fun than actually getting them. ‘Cause we’re still teenagers, you know? We still want to be free. Our wild side is way bigger than our romantic side. And they say girls are like buses. Once you miss one, there’s always another one coming. So no need to chase too hard. Especially not to end up with a broken heart. Right? And you know what’s weird? Sometimes we chase after things that we don’t really want. But it’s all good, we’re just young, you know,” Lupus philosophized, pretending to be deep, until his friends started getting sleepy.
“Hey, the bus is here! Get ready!”
All four of them jumped up at the same time. Then they started chasing after the bus with so much energy, shouting and making a ruckus. The same old scene was happening again.
And they’ll keep doing that. Until one day, they’ll be too tired to flap their little wings and they’ll settle down on a flower. Where they’ll find everything they need.
And they won’t want to fly again…
