The Unsociable Drakuli Part 3
The bright air on that Saturday morning created a lively atmosphere at the Rap Competition held by Radio Ga Ga. Teenagers dressed in their typical fashion crowded the open arena behind the Radio Ga Ga parking lot, which had been transformed into a cool hangout spot.
Magazine cover-worthy guys and girls were scattered everywhere. And small sedans were packed tightly in front of the radio station. The cool breeze slowly made its way into the arena, surrounded by lush trees, along with Ucup. The event, which was supposed to start at nine o’clock, got delayed for a few hours because the MC was reportedly locked in the studio bathroom.
Lupus, who had arrived with Boim and Gusur, was busy looking for the seats they had reserved. But around a hundred visitors who filled the park area didn’t care about seat numbers anymore. They just squeezed in wherever they could. Yeah, for events like this, discipline is really hard to maintain. Some kids even preferred to stand near the stage to get a better view.
Rumor has it that famous artists were participating in this exciting event. Some of the school kids in the crowd were still wearing their uniforms because the event was held on a Saturday morning, and it wasn’t time for them to go home yet. Lupus, Boim, and Gusur had also escaped from school. Well, it’s still the beginning of the school year, so there are still a lot of empty lessons. Luckily, Lupus had prepared a shirt to replace his white uniform with the red and white SMA Merah-Putih logo.
“Ugh, someone took my seat!” Lupus grumbled to Boim and Gusur.
Indeed, there was a girl wearing a mini denim skirt sitting in Lupus’ seat.
“Hey, Miss, this is my seat,” Lupus said.
“No way. I sat here first,” the girl insisted.
“But this is my assigned seat!” Lupus showed her his invitation ticket.
“Oh come on, the invitation is just for the door prize. You can sit wherever you want…”
“But, Miss, you have to move!”
“I don’t want to!”
“Well then, let’s just sit together!”
“Come here, I’ll give you a piggyback ride!” the girl challenged.
Her friends burst into laughter. Lupus felt embarrassed. He walked away from there and looked for another seat. Meanwhile, Boim and Gusur had already found strategic seats.
The organizers started distributing drinks, snacks, and shirts from the sponsors. And Lupus was still confused near a parked VW Combi in the arena, which served as a radio broadcasting tool. The plan was to broadcast this event live to neighboring radios.
“Hey, Lupus!” a cheerful shout startled Lupus. He turned around. A sweet girl with her hair tied up, wearing roller skates and still in her school uniform, smiled widely at him.
“Oh, Olga, right?” Lupus was surprised.
The two crazy kids shook hands and exchanged excited greetings. Boim, who was watching from afar, felt a bit jealous. “Hey, Sur. Look, Lupus got a really cool encounter!”
“Oh yeah, let me introduce you, Pus. This is Wina, my friend!” Olga introduced her friend who had been following behind.
Wina and Lupus shook hands.
“Hey, just come with me, Pus. Sit near the organizers there!” Olga invited while pulling Lupus’ hand.
“We can have more fun teasing the participants there! Oh, Win, you can leave now. Find another partner.”
Wina grumbled as she was being kicked out.
“Or you can go with my friend, Win. Boim, the curly-haired guy over there!” Lupus said, pointing towards Boim. Boim was already excited to be pointed at.
“No way!” Wina scoffed.
Olga pulled Lupus to the side of the stage. But as they passed by the VW Combi, she was called by Mbak Vera.
“Oh, Olga. Perfect timing. Can you be the host for the event?”
Olga was surprised.
“Why me, Mbak?”
“Please, Ol. Just this once. The emcee hasn’t shown up. The audience is getting restless. The event is about to start!”
After being persuaded, Olga finally agreed. Olga was immediately informed of the program list she had to present.
“Sorry, Pus,” Olga looked at Lupus.
Lupus smiled. “It’s okay.”
“But you’ll accompany me, right, Pus?”
Lupus nodded.
Finally, still in their school uniforms, Olga took control of the event from the top of the VW Combi. Lupus accompanied her on the side.
“Hello, hello, everyone, it’s Olga here on JaJahan 106.1 FM! Through an incredibly exciting event held in celebration of Radio Ga Ga’s anniversary. This is… the Rap Competition!”
Olga screamed with excitement. And the audience, who had been anxiously waiting, cheered loudly.
Lupus, sitting next to Olga, felt the excitement. Yeah, when Olga is on air, she tends to forget everything else. Shouting, forgetting about the neighbors sitting next to her.
“Yes, before the Rap Competition begins, with participants from local and interlocal levels, as an opening act, we have the famous Jakarta models showcasing the creations of famous designers!”
On the stage, several participants could be seen strutting their stuff, showing off their skills in being cool. The event was made hilarious.
Like the first group, boys and girls wearing only underwear shirts, carrying small banners that read: Being Cool with Summer Fashion!
There were also those who showcased security guard outfits. Wearing sarongs, carrying flashlights and bamboo sirens.
Olga was having a great time commenting on the people on stage. Meanwhile, Lupus was just sitting there, daydreaming. But while he was lost in his thoughts, his eyes suddenly landed on a girl sitting a bit far away. Lupus focused his vision. Oh my God! Isn’t that the mysterious beautiful girl? The one who lives near the cemetery? She actually came!
Lupus was curious. She must not be a ghost. Because, why would she appear in broad daylight, in such a crowded place? Without Olga’s knowledge, Lupus quietly jumped down from behind. He wanted to approach the mysterious girl. “Hey, ladies and gentlemen,” Olga said again, “how about on this occasion, I interview a viewer who is willing to skip school for this event?”
Olga looked beside her. “Hey, where did that kid go?”
Olga looked for Lupus. But she couldn’t see him anywhere.
“Since we can’t find the viewer to interview, I regretfully cancel the interview segment!”
Lupus chuckled as he quietly circled around the audience seats, trying to approach the mysterious girl. But suddenly, Lupus needed to pee. He looked around, searching for a public restroom. Luckily, at the end of the field, near the studio, there was a sign that said Ladies and Gents. Lupus hurriedly went there. The area was quite empty.
After peeing, he quickly came out. Afraid of losing track of the mysterious girl. But Lupus was surprised when he saw the girl he wanted to approach already standing in front of him.
Lupus was caught off guard. The girl gave him a sweet smile. Lupus awkwardly smiled back.
“Hey!” the girl greeted.
“Hey!” Lupus replied.
The girl smiled sweetly again.
“Do you still remember me?” the girl asked, looking at Lupus.
Lupus didn’t answer immediately because he was still scared. What if this girl is some kind of supernatural being? How else would she know to appear here? Yeah, demons can come out in broad daylight…
“Why isn’t my question being answered?” the girl asked again.
Lupus snapped out of it and felt guilty.
“Oh, um, sorry. I-I’m sorry. But you’re not a ghost, right?” Lupus asked nervously.
“Hehehe…” the girl giggled.
Lupus shivered. That laugh!
“Hehehe… you’re funny, you know. There’s no way a ghost would show up in broad daylight like this. Besides, do ghosts even enjoy watching rap?”
“S-so, who are you?” Lupus asked, still a bit scared.
“Let’s introduce ourselves. My name is Kunti. And you, who are you?” The girl who claimed to be Kunti extended her hand. Lupus hesitantly shook her hand.
“K-Kunti?” Lupus was surprised.
“Yeah, what’s wrong?”
“It’s just that you look like…”
“There you go, accusing me again.”
“Yeah, well, no. I-I’m Lupus.”
“Lupus? Hehehe, your name is funny,” Kunti laughed again.
“Well, what’s your full name, Kun?” Lupus suddenly asked, causing Kunti to stop her cheerful laughter.
“I have one!” Kunti replied confidently.
“What’s the full name?” Lupus was curious.
“Kun… Kun… yeah, it’s Kuntilanak.”
“What? Kuntilanak?” Lupus was half dead with shock!
Kunti laughed again. Hehehe, this kid is such a scaredy-cat!
“Just kidding. Your heart is so weak, huh?”
Lupus blushed. Then he invited Kunti to join the participants. While walking from the restroom to the competition area, Lupus tried to walk behind Kunti and was busy examining her back. Was there a hole or not? But Kunti’s long hair made it difficult for Lupus to investigate.
But in the competition area, they already looked close in no time.
“Well, ladies and gentlemen, the Rap Competition arena is set up in such a way, and now it’s filled with not less than… wow, I can’t even count how many. So just imagine it yourself. Especially for the curly-haired guy named Boim who looks like a lost sheep, he must know the exact number of the audience. Well, just ask that guy!” Olga’s voice could be heard again from the loudspeaker. Meanwhile, Boim, whose name was mentioned, was getting more and more excited.
No need to be surprised. Because that guy is actually descended from a shaman. So he must know!
Boim was shocked.
Lupus laughed. Kunti too.
“That curly-haired guy, Boim, is your friend, right?” Kunti asked.
Lupus nodded. Then, curious about the cemetery, Lupus started asking about Kunti’s creepy house.
“Oh, that’s not my house. I’m just visiting my family’s grave.”
“Visiting? At night like that?”
“Why not? I’m not afraid. Besides, I have cousins who live nearby. I often hang out there.”
“Hang out at the cemetery?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re so weird.”
“Oh, it’s no big deal,” the girl smiled.
Then she refocused her attention on the stage.
“Kun, but I feel like I’ve been to that cemetery area before,” Lupus said again.
Kunti turned to him. “Well, everyone has been to a cemetery. Everyone will eventually become a resident of the cemetery. What’s so strange about it?”
Lupus fell silent.
The main event has started. “Yaaaaa, here comes the contestant… um, which number is it? Oh well, don’t worry about it. All I can say is that he’s super cool. Really awesome! Tall, sturdy, with a sharp face like Vanilla Ice, and… oh! He’s looking in my direction!”
The audience was eagerly waiting. But then, a rapper named Kelapa Muda Ice appeared on stage, who looked quite similar to Boim.
“Booooo, get off the stage!” the audience shouted.
Kelapa Muda Ice, who was trying hard to look cool, with shaved hair on the sides and back, thought the audience was happy. He danced around casually while rapping the song “Abang Tukang Bakso” (Brother Meatball Seller).
“Well, from my point of view, ladies and gentlemen. This guy is so likable. His outfit is so coordinated. Ah, his style is so relaxed. He seems unaware that he’s the center of attention. Truly!”
Mbak Vera, who was monitoring Olga’s radio broadcast inside the VW Combi, was a bit surprised to hear Olga’s contrasting reviews. Wina felt the same way. She felt that something was off with Olga. Wina immediately approached Olga.
“This cool guy is suspected to be very quiet, because only his eyes speak. Ah, he’s looking at me again. Seriously! He’s looking at me!” Olga became more hysterical.
Wina climbed onto the VW and observed her friend’s behavior. Wow, it turned out that Olga was captivated by a cool guy sitting in the front row of the audience.
“Is he going to come to the… oh!”
Wina tapped Olga’s shoulder. Olga looked annoyed at Wina.
“Wina, what’s wrong with you? Can’t you just let me work in peace?”
“What work? You were supposed to comment on the Rap Competition, not on that guy. You’re so obsessed!”
Olga slapped her forehead. She was really clueless.
“Yes, still with Olga on 106.1 FM. Dear listeners, now let’s get back to the actual rap competition…”
And the event became even more exciting with the performances of rap masters and guest stars. There were groups like NKOTB, duos, and solo artists.
Lupus and the other audience members started swaying their hips to the rhythm of the rappers, who performed popular songs like Ice Ice Baby, Pray, U Can’t Touch This, This Beat is Hot, and others.
And when Lupus realized it, he couldn’t find Kunti by his side anymore. He searched everywhere, but the girl had disappeared. Where did she go?
Ah, Kunti, you’re full of mystery.