It was a bright afternoon. Lupus was panting as he stood in front of Aji’s new house. His breath was all over the place. Sweat dripped down his face one by one. Damn, he was so annoyed by Aji’s pranks all afternoon. That crazy kid moved houses without telling anyone. As a result, Lupus spent the whole afternoon like a salesman. Going from one house to another, searching for Aji’s address. Door to door, coast to coast. Repeating the same sentence, “Spadaaa? Is this Aji’s house?” Luckily, Lupus was riding his racing bike. Imagine if he had to walk? But even so, he felt relieved when he finally found the house he was looking for. Lupus got off his bike and immediately looked for the doorbell. Suddenly, guk-guk-guk! The sound of a small dog warmly greeted him. Lupus was startled and took a few steps back.
Guk-guk-guk!
The ugly dog kept barking.
“Who is it?” a voice from inside could be heard. “The milkman or the newspaper guy?”
Damn, why aren’t there any better options? Lupus cursed in his mind. How should he answer? If he said the milkman, no, if he said the newspaper guy, no.
Guk-guk-guk!
The dog barked even louder.
“Who is it?” the voice asked again. “Lupus, come in! Come in, Lupus!”
Lupus was surprised. Oh, so he’s famous here too? Even Aji’s mom knows him. Even though they’ve never met before.
“Um… yes, Auntie. Thank you!” Lupus politely replied.
But the aunt didn’t show up.
Guk-guk-guk!
“Don’t be naughty, Lupus, come in!” Aji’s mom appeared at the door. She smiled at Lupus. “Oh, there’s a guest. Who are you looking for? Aji or Vita?” the mother politely asked. Then she glared at the ugly dog that was still excited about Lupus. “Come on, Lupus! Don’t be naughty! Come in, Lupus! You can’t lick like that, okay? Um… oh, yes, dear. Please come in. Sorry, my dog is really naughty. Are you scared, dear? What’s its name? Let me call my child…”
Lupus was confused. So, the one who was called ‘Lupus, Lupus’ was the dog? Aji is such a jerk. He must have named the dog like that just for fun. Watch out when it shows up later…
“Oh, sorry…” The aunt who had entered earlier came out again. “Um… I forgot. What’s this child’s name? Aji or Vita? Come on, Lupus! Stop barking!!!”
Lupus forced a smile.
“I’m Aji’s friend, Auntie…”
“Oh, please have a seat. Let me call…” Aji’s mom smiled kindly. “Ajiiiii… here’s another one of your friends!”
Lupus sat on the sofa. He let out a sigh of relief. If there weren’t rumors that Aji’s little sibling was cool, Lupus wouldn’t have bothered looking for this jerk’s house. Because this morning, Lupus was indeed told to go to Aji’s house. There was an event. But Aji didn’t say anything about moving a few kilometers from the previous place. Well, the old house got hit by the road expansion project. So they moved further inland. But this new house is pretty cool compared to Boim’s duck pen.
