Unsociable Drakuli Part 2
Yo!
Hey!
There’s this dude looking around in front of Lupus’ house. He’s looking left, right, sideways, even up. Thief? Or someone who wants to do some exercise in front of Lupus’ house? Let’s observe this person closely. Don’t jump to conclusions just yet. Maybe he has bad intentions!
This dude’s appearance is pretty fancy compared to Gusur’s grandpa. He’s wearing a black suit, black pants, a fancy bowtie, and carrying a black leather bag! Wait, why is someone as cool as him looking around like that if he’s just here to visit? Oh, he’s probably looking for the doorbell! Like, this dude is the type of guest who’s too lazy to knock or say hello. That’s why he keeps searching for Lupus’ doorbell. The doorbell at Lupus’ house is intentionally hidden. It’s to prevent it from being played with by mischievous kids. So even though there’s a sign that says “doorbell” with an arrow pointing to the side of the door, the doorbell might not actually be there. The arrow is just indicating a paper with a map drawing showing where the doorbell is. Now, this dude is no longer shaking his head left and right, but he’s busy studying Lupus’ homemade blind map that shows the location of the doorbell. Turns out, the blind map is really blind. There’s no other information at all, except for small lines that look like mini highways. Luckily, this fancy dude doesn’t give up. He keeps studying it diligently. Even though Lulu has passed by twice while opening the door to return a plate of fruit salad.
“This red line means we definitely don’t have to follow it…,” the dude mumbles seriously. “Hmm, this green curved line must indicate the location on the map. If we take a closer look, this one must be a drawing of a door. And this green line goes through the door and up. Oh, that means the doorbell is on the roof! Yeah, the doorbell must be on the roof. Alright, I have to find it now. If not, I could be stuck here until late,” the fancy dude mutters.
And then, the dude quickly climbs up to the roof to find the doorbell he’s been looking for. Turns out, the dude’s assumption is a hundred percent correct! The doorbell is really on the roof. And with a joyful feeling, he presses it with excitement.
“Ding dong! Ding dong! Ding dong!”
It’s Sunday today. Lulu, who was busy reading comics while lying on the sofa and watching RCTI, feels disturbed. Ugh, who’s visiting at this time of day? Lulu grumbles as they lazily get up. They throw the comic into the magazine basket, then Lulu walks lazily towards the door. But when they open the front door, there’s absolutely no one there. Damn, some mischievous kids must have played with the doorbell! Lulu quickly tries to close the door again.
“Hey, don’t close the door yet…,” suddenly a shout is heard from above the roof. The head of the fancy dude appears from behind the asbestos.
“The visitor is up here!”
Lulu goes to the terrace and looks up.
Damn, there’s a fancy dude perched up there.
“Oh, it’s you again? You must want to see Mommy, right? Mommy’s not here, she’s in the kitchen!” Lulu says with an annoyed tone.
Lulu doesn’t like this fancy dude who often comes to the house. He’s the one who always takes Mommy out. The dude who intentionally gets close to Mommy is what Lulu wants to tell Lupus about. He’s come here more than five times.
“Come on, don’t be like that. The dude just wants to see your mommy for a moment. It’s an important matter, you know.”
“What kind of matter? I can handle it.”
“Well, you really can’t. This is an adult matter, a business matter.”
“Ah, excuses!”
“Seriously, I have a little something to discuss with your mommy. It’s an urgent matter that needs to be talked about as soon as possible. Really. If I’m lying, I swear I won’t be able to walk on water. Can we do it?”
“But don’t take too long, okay?”
“Yeah. Hey, can you bring a chair first? How can you come down without a chair?”
“Well, how did you manage to climb up without a chair earlier?”
“I was in the process of searching, so I was really excited.”
“Come on, if you can go up without a chair, you can come down without a chair too. Alright, I’m going inside!”
“Don’t leave me behind!”
And finally, Lulu kindly brings a tiny chair, the kind used by kindergarten kids, so Oom Agus has to struggle to hang on and reach the chair with his toes.
While chatting with Mom in the living room, Lulu faithfully waits, holding a stopwatch. Lulu doesn’t hesitate to kick Oom Agus out if he overstays his welcome.
Well, Lulu is not just annoyed because their comic reading and RCTI watching are interrupted, but also because this guy keeps coming to visit more often. Yeah, lately Mom has been going out a lot, being picked up by that annoying guy. And that’s what annoys Lulu. It seems like there’s a business relationship between Mom and that guy, who Mom often refers to as Oom Agus. But what kind of business, Lulu never knows. That’s one of the things that makes Lulu mad at that guy. And also mad at Mom.
Mom? Yeah, because one day Lulu caught Mom and Oom Agus making plans to go somewhere. And it seems like the place they’re going is not a business place. Lulu clearly protested. But Mom dodged the question, saying that the place is not a business place, but there will be a business transaction happening there. Mom meant that she will meet with a big company boss who will propose a business collaboration in the catering field. Lulu still doesn’t believe it.
Then Lulu tried to get a response from Lupus. Turns out Lupus is also clueless. He even ran away yesterday afternoon.
And now Lupus’ mind is still on the mysterious girl he met yesterday. Lupus feels like he has been to that cemetery area before. But when was it?
“Pus, why are you so quiet?” Lulu interrupts Lupus’ thoughts.
Lupus is startled. “W-what? What are you asking?”
“That. About Mom.”
“You don’t have to worry, Lu. There’s nothing between Mom and… who? Who’s that guy?”
“Agus!”
“Angus?”
“Agus, Oom Agus!”
“Yeah, between Mom and Oom Angus, there’s nothing going on.”
“Oom Agus!”
“Yeah, yeah. Oom Angus can be Mom’s business partner. Don’t you know that Mom’s catering business is growing? There are lots of orders coming in from factories. There are orders from offices, from people celebrating birthdays, and even from Gusur and Boim who only order one piece of tempeh, but it still keeps Mom busy, Lu. So maybe Mom needs a partner to expand her business,” Lupus explains calmly.
“Seriously, they’re making promises and all?” Lulu retorts.
“Well, of course they’re making promises. What’s wrong with you? Do you really think Mom and Oom Angus just randomly bumped into each other at the market and started talking about their business?”
“It could happen by chance,” Lulu insists.
“Well, in business, you can’t rely on chance alone, Lu.”
“Ah, just say that you don’t want to know about this matter,” Lulu says, almost in tears. “You only care about yourself.”
Lulu runs off and goes straight to her room. She’s annoyed with Lupus too. Uh, she’s already annoyed with Mom, Oom Agus, and now Lupus too. Lulu is getting sadder and sadder. She doesn’t know who else to talk to. Lupus is usually the only person who understands her. But now Lupus is not the same Lupus as before. Lulu’s inner thoughts keep cursing Lupus!
Lulu’s annoyance is somewhat justified. As a girl, she can sense that Oom Agus likes Mom. And Lulu clearly can’t accept the fact that Mom is really close to Oom Agus. Lulu is worried that Mom might start dating that seemingly sophisticated but foolish man. Worried that Mom’s love will be divided.
As a result, to anticipate the situation, Lulu starts behaving strangely.
For example, when she comes home from school, Lulu starts coming home late. And not just a little late, sometimes she’s gone for two days. If Mom or Lupus asks, Lulu casually answers, “The traffic was totally jammed!”
Lulu also likes to sleep over at her friend’s house. Or she invites her friend to sleep over at her house. It’s better if it’s just one or two friends, but sometimes the whole class is asked to sleep over. And in the morning, all the kids are given catering boxes again. Mom is clearly furious. But Lulu doesn’t care.
Lulu also starts getting close to boys, although she doesn’t dare to be open about it with Mom. A few times, Mom caught Lulu being accompanied by a guy who has a weird appearance.
In the past, Lulu never hung out at the plaza, but now she almost goes there every day. Her friends are mostly boys, and they have strange styles. Some wear nose rings, some wear earrings on their ears, and there’s even one who wears a necklace as a bracelet. Most of them have long, metal hair. Yes, all those kids have become close to Lulu.
For example, if you go to the bus terminal, don’t be surprised if you see Lulu chatting casually with the conductor or with a high school student who is strategizing for a war. Lulu is really crazy these days.
And after school, Lulu, who used to help Mom with the catering eggs, oh sorry, I mean helping to fill the eggs into the catering boxes, doesn’t do it anymore. Her habit of reading comics while watching RCTI has also been replaced with her habit of playing trash-metal cassettes at full volume. Her collection includes Anthrax, Megadeth, Kreator, and the like. Especially when Oom Agus visits, Lulu immediately starts screaming along with the lyrics written on the cassette paper while nodding her head in a Metallica-style.
“Hiyaa,
Darkness imprisoning me
all that I see absolute horror
I can not live, I can not die
Trapped in myself, body my holding cell!!!”
Lulu is completely unfazed as she screams like that, while not forgetting to stick up three fingers at Oom Agus or Mom.
Oom Agus was totally shocked, and Mom went crazy.
“Well, Mom did scold me once, but her reason was, ‘I want to join a band festival, Mi. Maybe I can become famous and compete with Anggun C. Sasmi!'”
Besides being into metal style, Lulu has recently been really into running around the house. Sometimes she casually walks in between Oom Agus and Mom who are having a conversation. But unfortunately, Mom doesn’t realize that it’s Lulu’s way of protesting because she’s too close to Oom Agus.
Lulu even openly protested to Mom. But instead of understanding, Mom scolded Lulu back. And she didn’t hold back at all. She even pointed her finger at Lulu’s nose. Lulu felt hurt. Because when Mom didn’t know that guy, she never scolded Lulu like that. Lulu is really annoyed!
