Turns out, Lulu is quite daring. She boldly wore flip-flops to Lupus’ school. Even though her mom had warned her, saying, “Make sure to wear shoes when you go out, Lu? Be a sweet girl.” But Lulu didn’t care. Well, she did wear shoes from home, but as soon as she reached the front yard, she swapped them for blue swallow flip-flops. She threw her shoes into her room through the window. Then she ran as fast as she could down the street, afraid of getting caught by her mom.
Lulu is obsessed with wearing flip-flops everywhere. No matter the occasion, she always shows up with her beloved flip-flops. She claims that she and her flip-flops have a deep spiritual connection that no one can break.
That’s why Lulu always wears flip-flops wherever she goes.
But this time, why is Lulu fooling around at Merah Putih High School?
There must be a mission. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be so bored as to play around at her brother’s school. Lulu said that Lupus was forced to deliver a letter to his homeroom teacher, informing them that he couldn’t attend class today due to illness. At first, Lulu didn’t want to do it. But after being bribed with Toblerone chocolate, she finally agreed.
During recess, Lulu appeared at the gate of Merah Putih High School. She peeked around for a moment, then boldly walked inside. Trying to act as casual as possible, so as not to attract attention from the creatures there. But…
“Hey… hey… whose kid is lost here?”
Uh-oh, she got caught. Lulu is such an idiot. Why did she wear a red shirt? It stood out so much among the other students in their uniforms.
“Damn, she’s so smooth… her forehead…”
The boys who were hanging out near the gate became aggressive.
“Look at her big toe, it’s like a ping-pong ball.”
“Hey, but she’s cute, you know. Wanna introduce ourselves?”
“Hey, virgin! Someone wants to introduce himself! It’s Kodri. He said, warmest greetings. As warm as a frying pan’s butt.”
Lulu pretended to be indifferent. But inside, she was nervous. For some reason, her beloved flip-flops were making weird fart-like sounds as she dragged them along.
“Dang… she only farts that much after being teased. Not used to it, huh?”
Lulu scowled angrily. Staring at them. But they just burst into laughter. Damn!
And after asking around, Lulu finally made it to Lupus’ classroom. It’s unusual to see the kids all gathered in class. Busy studying physics.
“Hello, excuse me, Assalamualaikum, kulo nuwun! Can I meet with the homeroom teacher of IIA?” Lulu greeted a girl sitting near the classroom door.
“Oh… hey there, sweet Lulu! What’s up?” Boim shouted loudly from the corner of the classroom, jumping to the front. The other kids turned their heads towards Lulu.
“What brings you here, Lu? Looking for me?” Boim asked eagerly.
The other boys crowded around. Can’t blame them, they can’t resist something good-looking.
“Oh… is this Lupus’ ugly little sister?” Aji stared at Lulu without blinking. “Not bad. At least way better than Lupus. What’s your name again? Lulu, right?”
Lulu was annoyed by the noisy boys surrounding her. She raised her voice, “Which one of you is the homeroom teacher?”
The boys eagerly raised their fingers.
“Me!”
“Me!”
“No, me!”
“Me!”
“So, all of you are the homeroom teachers for IIA?” Lulu asked again.
“Yes!” they answered in unison.
“Great. Then I don’t have to bother looking anymore. Listen up, respected Homeroom Dudes, that ugly Lupus with the sweet little sister can’t come to school today because of some serious illness.”
The kids were shocked.
“What’s wrong with him?”
“I don’t know,” Lulu took a deep breath. “He’s just sick. He didn’t specify what kind of sickness. Maybe a broken heart? Who knows, all I know is that he’s now lying helpless in his bed, accompanied by loyal little mosquitoes. Poor thing, he can’t do his usual jaipongan dance. It’s all because yesterday he climbed the neighbor’s guava tree while it was pouring rain. Such a dumb move. Of course, the tree trunk became slippery. But Lupus dared to climb up so high. Until one day, there was a thunderclap. Lupus lost his balance and landed smoothly on the muddy ground. He immediately passed out, unable to get up. Maybe his arms and legs are broken!”
“Broken? Are you serious, Lu?” Aji was shocked. The other kids crowded around.
“Dead serious. And you know what, Im? This is the fourth time Lupus came home with his body and clothes covered in dirt like that. Aji, that kid is really stubborn. He never learns his lesson, climbing the neighbor’s guava tree. Oh, by the way – try to guess, Im, after Lupus finishes showering, what part of him still stays dirty?”
Boim furrowed his brow when he was asked that.
“Wait, why are we playing guessing games now?”
“No big deal. Just for fun with a prize.”
“What’s the prize then? His hair?”
“Wrong!”
“His clothes?” Gito guessed.
“Lupus never wears clothes when he showers,” Lulu said.
“Then what is it? His nails?”
“Not even close!”
“Give up, Lu. Give up.”
“It’s his bathtub,” Lulu answered triumphantly. “Now, how do you tell the difference between an empty Indomilk condensed milk can and a Bendera condensed milk can?”
Boim thought again.
“How? They have the same shape, right? Or…”
“Come on, Fifi, join in and don’t just stand there dumbfounded.”
“Ike’s not in the mood for guessing games.”
“Pathetic.”
“So, how do you tell them apart, Lu?” Boim chased after her. “Just read the brand. You’re so clueless, Im?”
The atmosphere became livelier. More kids gathered around. Lulu felt like a street vendor selling medicine. Earlier, the Lupus class kids were determined to stay inside and study for the upcoming physics test, but now they forgot all about it because of Lulu’s playful antics.
Suddenly, Poppi arrived from the teacher’s office. She was surprised to hear the news about Lupus.
“Oh wow, you’re right, Lu. No wonder that kid dared to skip school. There’s a physics test, you know!” Poppi exclaimed.
“As loyal friends, we should definitely visit him. Maybe after school,” Meta said. The other kids nodded in agreement.
“Can’t believe it, that kid could actually get sick,” Boim commented.
“Yeah, we should visit. It’s really sad, Lupus. Let’s bring some entertainment. Maybe his illness will heal faster with all of us around. Especially if someone brings fresh fruits or other food. Like chocolate, for example. He’ll definitely love that. Especially his sweet little sister. She’ll love it too,” Lulu said excitedly.
“Yeah, let’s all go there together. But Lulu, did you bring the letter for the homeroom teacher? Because Mr. Punk will definitely ask about it later,” Poppi asked. Lulu quickly handed over the letter she had been carrying since earlier.
After that, she excused herself and went back home.
“Did it work, Lu?”
“It worked like a charm. Imagine, all your classmates were shocked when they heard you were sick. Wow, I’m really good at acting. They were all so influenced by it, they agreed to come visit this afternoon.”
“What?” Lupus, who was busy doodling in his sketchbook, jumped.
“They want to come here?”
“Yes.”
“Oh no, Lulu, why did you let them come here? What did you tell them, huh?”
“Oh, various things,” Lulu replied, taking a seat in front of Lupus. “Basically, to convince them that you’re really helpless and bedridden, unable to take the physics test because your arms and legs are broken.”
“My arms are broken?”
“Yes.”
“You terrible person! You didn’t have to come up with such an outrageous story to convince them that I’m really sick!” Lupus insisted.
Lulu fell silent.
“Well, it’s too late now…”
“You’re such a foolish person!”
“You’re such a dork, you know. You just gave instructions to convince your friends that you’re seriously sick and delivered the sick note. I’ve already done everything. What else?”
“Yeah, what else? Lupus is really confused. Because you know, Lupus isn’t actually sick. He’s just pretending. Yesterday, Lupus spent the whole day helping his mom make dough for a party order. So the next day, he wasn’t prepared at all for the physics test. He immediately begged his mom to make him a sick note, ‘Please, Mom. I’m really not prepared for this test. I just want to take the makeup test. It’s your fault for making me bake the cake, right? Come on, Mom…'”
“Well, Mom thought you didn’t have a physics test the next day. And why didn’t you tell her earlier? Mom could have asked someone else…” his mom defended.
Lupus grinned. Actually, he really wanted to help make the cake. Because he could taste it while making it. He really loves eating cake. And yesterday, he tried to study while baking, but ended up eating more cake than actually studying physics.
As a result, early in the morning after delivering the cake order, Lupus whined and begged for a sick note.
His mom felt sorry for him. So she granted his request, “Just this once, okay? Not again.”
“Thank you, my dearest mommy…” Lupus shouted with excitement.
But now? Huh, all because of Lulu.
“Lupus… your friends are here!” Lulu shouted, catching her breath, as Lupus was busy touching up his fake injuries from his knees to his toes.
Lupus immediately jumped onto his bed.
“You have to act seriously sick, Pus. Make your face look pitiful, like Boim when he’s about to borrow money,” Lulu whispered.
“Yeah, I know!” Lupus yelled, annoyed.
“Shh… they might hear you!” Lulu ran ahead, welcoming Lupus’ friends who brought fruits and cake.
This crazy idea came from Lulu. Even though Lupus was incredibly annoyed, he didn’t have any other choice. He had to pretend to be seriously sick.
“Well, at least we’ll get free food out of this, Pus,” Lulu said.
At that moment, Lupus just pouted.
But little did Lupus know, his trials were far from over. Because a few minutes later, Lulu appeared again from behind the door.
“Pus, Pus, we have a problem, Pus.”
“What else is going on?”
“Mr. Punk also came to visit!”
“Mr. Punk?”
Lupus actually fainted for real.
When Lupus regained consciousness, Mr. Punk’s face was right next to him. Meanwhile, the other friends were gathered around. Lupus’ mom was out at that time. Only Lulu was there.
“Don’t worry, Puz. Rest up. I pray for your speedy recovery,” Mr. Punk said.
After that, Mr. Punk excused himself (who was he borrowing from anyway?). because he had tasks to do. Lupus thanked him profusely. Then one by one, the kids shook his hand. There, as usual, were Poppi, Boim, Fifi, Gito, Aji, Meta, Ita, Utari, and Gusur. The others just sent their regards since Gito and Poppi’s car was full.
Mr. Punk was then driven home by Poppi’s car.
“Ah, it’s a shame you’re sick, Pus. We were actually planning to go to Puncak today to celebrate Meta’s birthday. It was quite spontaneous,” Aji said after the calm atmosphere.
“Meta’s birthday? Oh, congrats, Met, I forgot,” Lupus said. “Thanks. It’s a shame you can’t come. We can’t postpone it anymore. Afraid we won’t get permission from our moms. Oh, by the way, the kids said it’s also a celebration because the physics test got canceled.”
Canceled test? Lupus was shocked. So…
But it was already too late. Lupus clearly couldn’t go to Puncak. Besides still being considered seriously ill, he couldn’t leave Lulu alone until late at night. Because his mom would only come back close to midnight. But if it was a food feast in Puncak, well – that’s a tempting offer.
“Well then, rest well, Pus. I’ll tell you all about it when I get back,” Boim teased.
“Yeah – just relax at home, okay?” Fifi added, teasingly.
Lupus started to hesitate.
“Well… what about me then?”
“Well, what about you? You clearly can’t come, right? Didn’t you say that?”
“But I’m being forced, can’t just give up like that,” Lupus whined.
The kids were dumbfounded. “Wait, you can’t go anymore, but now you’re asking to be forced?”
“Come on, force me! I want to go!” Lupus exclaimed.
With surprise, the other kids insisted that Lupus join them. Lupus agreed immediately, although he was initially shy about it.
“But are you going to be okay?” Poppi asked, slightly worried.
“No,” Lupus calmly replied, then shouted, “Luluuuuu… I’m going to Puncak. You take care of the house, okay?”
“I’m coming too!” Lulu’s voice echoed loudly.
“Who’s going to watch the house then?”
“Just lock it. Mom has a spare key too!”
And the kids were left dumbfounded as Lupus quickly got up, changed his clothes, and grabbed his jacket.
“So, it’s you, Pus…” Boim was amazed.
Hahahaha… Lupus chuckled.
A few hours later, Lupus and his friends were happily singing in Gito and Poppi’s car on their way to Puncak. Lulu didn’t want to be left behind and joined them too. Along the way, they encountered cows crossing the road. The smell was unbearable, not to mention the dung.
“Hey, if we happen to find cow dung in the middle of the road, would you want to split it in half?” Lupus suddenly joked.
“No way. I definitely wouldn’t!” He replied quickly without thinking.
“Well, you’re just greedy then. You want to eat it all by yourself!”
Boim was dumbfounded. He couldn’t believe what he just heard. The other kids burst into laughter.
Ha ha ha.
