Mall

"I've told you many times, you shouldn't get involved with them. You go to school, your allowance is made light by the government until you graduate, but you… Why can't you just do what I say, huh!?"

"Sorry..."

"Your life will be a mess if you get involved with your seniors. They are bad students, you know that. But, why do you guys always make trouble, huh!? Yesterday, your friend Tommy got involved with them. As a result, he now has to be hospitalized. And now, you... My goodness, what do you want to be? You were financed to be successful, but instead, you chose to be a human failure."

"Calm yourself, Miss Prillia. Your voice can be heard in front of them. It's still recess time, the students are still in front there. You must calm yourself down, Miss Prillia."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Gunawan. I can't contain my anger over this behavior of my students."

"Calm yourself!"

"Thank you, Mr. Gunawan."

After apologizing, Prillia looked back at the people in front of her.

"You guys go back to class now! I will reproach what you have done. Don't do that again."

"Thank you, Miss Prillia. And... we're sorry. We'll excuse ourselves first."

Hearing that, Raka, who was eavesdropping in front of the teacher's room door, immediately rushed away from there and hid.

Raka saw several of his classmates, including a messy red-haired boy, come out of the teacher's room.

"Ah… this is so bad. They're in trouble. What's the problem with them? Are you being chased by moneylenders, because you are in too much debt?" Raka wonders to hide and watches them leave from there.

Even though Raka doesn't know what happened to them, he still thinks this is a problem. Raka was sure that this had something to do with the guy he had met eyes with. Even so, once again, he will still assume that they are in debt and are currently being chased by loan sharks.

It was his joke, which he didn't realize was a lousy joke.

"What are you doing there, Raka?"

That voice, a voice that Raka recognized. It was the voice of his girlfriend, Clara Anisa.

Raka turned his head, seeing how beautiful Clara was.

"Oh... Clara... Hi."

"What are you doing? Why do you look like you're hiding?"

"No, I like it like this. You know, sometimes there comes a time where you have to blend into the wall."

"You are very strange, Raka."

"That's how it is."

Raka confirmed something. He made sure of something that lay in Clara's shoe. After that, he asked.

"By the way, they..."

"Ah. Somehow they suddenly drifted away from me after I said that I already had a boyfriend. They're like... Yeah, like they're done. I don't know why it's like that, but it looks like they're going to report this to that person."

"That's good, isn't it?"

"Of course. But, I have a bad feeling about it. Are you sure, Raka?"

Clara is afraid that Raka will get involved with what is Clara's problem. She once again confirmed that.

"Don't worry, I'll be the one in charge."

Even though Clara is new to Raka, she still believes in Raka.

"By the way," Clara said, her gaze fixed on Raka's eyes which were covered in cracked glasses. "Come home later, do you have anything to do?"

"I am free."

"Good. How about we go to the mall?"

"Mall?"

"Yeah, there's something I want to buy. You want to accompany me?"

"Sure."

"Good. Thank you, Raka."

"What for?"

"For being responsible for me."

"Does not matter. After all, it's only natural to help each other out, right?"

"You are right. I will return to my class. I'll pick you up at your class later."

"Yes."

"See you later."

"Yeah, see you later."

After Clara left him to go to her class, Class 2-A, Raka put his index finger into his nose, looking for treasure. After that, he turned and walked.

"Mall? Why malls? Why not just a minimarket? Isn't that the same?"

Raka never visited the mall. He thinks that the mall is the same place as a minimarket, a place to shop for some necessities. He didn't know that the mall was a much bigger shopping place than a minimarket. He didn't know that the mall had complete items. He had never felt the sensation of being greeted by a security guard when he entered the mall. Therefore, this would probably be the first time for him to go to the mall. It was a great opportunity for him.

After arriving at his class, sitting nicely in his chair, Raka was dumbfounded, staring at the blackboard with his blank stare.

"Ahh... Ummm..."

For some time, he mumbled like a fool.

"Hi."

Lia suddenly greeted him from her chair which was next to Raka's chair, and it surprised Raka.

"Oh... Hi. What is it?"

"Did you just daydream?"

"Not. I was just thinking, what else is the use of a blackboard for other than writing. You know, with a blackboard that big, you can injure and stun a human. So, why isn't a blackboard as big as that one looking after it?"

"..."

Lia responded silently. She couldn't respond to what Raka said.

"Just forget it! After all, it's a waste of time to maintain such a big blackboard. Isn't it like that?"

"Y-Yeah, that's right."

Weird boy.

Lia spoke in her mind, finding Raka strange, even though her face agreed with what Raka just said.

"Oh, that's right. There's something I want to ask you, Raka."

"Umph?" Raka turned quickly to Lia.

"Are you dating Clara Anisa?"

"Yes, it is true."

"Wow." Lia was surprised, even she pushed back her chair. "Seriously?"

"I'm serious."

"How could that be?"

"Umm… that's how it is."

"The rumors are true, Clara Anisa is dating a new student. You surprised me, Raka. You know, Clara Anisa always rejects boys. She doesn't want a boyfriend, even rejects Kevin."

"Kevin?"

"You don't know Kevin? Oh right, you're a new student, so you don't know anything about it. Your glasses…" Lia pointed at Raka's face.

"What is it?"

"You got hit by the basketball earlier, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"Kevin did that. I watched the game, saw you hit the ball. I don't know if he did that on purpose or not, but it was Kevin who did it."

"Oh, I see. So that person's name is Kevin?"

"Yes. Therefore, maybe because he saw you close to Clara, he was annoyed with you—oh, or maybe he was annoyed with Clara for always rejecting him. It could happen, right?"

"That's right."

"I can only warn you as your classmate, you have to be careful because you have become Clara Anisa's boyfriend. Looks like Kevin will be after you. You got involved with him because you were dating Clara Anisa."

"Is he his father?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Oh, apparently not. Well, I think he is her father, who can manage Clara's life as he pleases. I thought so."

"Most importantly, you have to be careful from now on. You fall into the circle of your seniors. You have to be careful with him. And... thanks for setting Clara free. I am grateful that she is dating someone I know."

"I'm also grateful because I already know that the boy is not her father."

Once again, Raka's joke is not funny at all. He even made Lia feel that he was crazy. Therefore, Lia responded by ignoring what Raka said.

"Clara is a good girl. She and I were in the same class, in 1st class. She is a reliable and mature girl for her age. You can't disappoint her, Raka. If you let her down, you'll have to deal with me."

"OK. I will take this responsibility. It's not heavy, not the same as what I've been through. It's easy, I just have to keep her happy and take care of her."

"That's good. I expect that from you. Anyway, I'll leave Clara to you. You have to be able to take care of it."

"Oh, you gave up your baby now. I think you are a good mother. Hahaha."

"…You're a strange boy, Raka. I hope Clara won't be like you."

"That's what people tell me. Hahaha. By the way, I'm an innocent boy."

"I can see that. You're wearing glasses, and they're cracked."

By only wearing "glasses", Raka can hide everything. He's known as an innocent, clumsy, geeky guy now, who even though he used to be a violent, cold, wild, unforgiving... and manly guy. Now, he has buried his past using his late uncle's glasses.

Rama will not come back like that. He is now Raka—Raka Pradana.

***

"How about this?"

Clara put glasses on Raka's face, while Raka was still shocked by what he had just experienced.

He was still surprised to find out that the inside of the mall was this big. He even had to bow several times when the security guard greeted him. He did not think that the mall has a lot of equipment, very different from minimarkets.

"Where are you looking, Raka?" Clara asked, realizing that Raka's eyes weren't on her.

"Oh..." Raka finally realized after Clara stared at him for a long time. "Sorry, what was that?"

"You want this?" Clara shows glasses to Raka.

"Eyeglasses? For me?"

"Of course. Your glasses are broken, you have to replace them with new ones."

Clara plans to buy Raka new glasses for what happened on the field earlier. She planned this all because Raka's glasses had been broken.

"That's good..."

However, Raka could not accept that.

"Those are good glasses," Raka continued. "But sorry, I can't change these glasses. These glasses are a memento of my late uncle, who has always looked after me. So, I'm sorry, Clara, I can't change these glasses."

"What are you apologizing for? You should have said that earlier. If that's the case, you need to fix that. Come with me!" Clara grabbed Raka's hand, took Raka somewhere—to be precise, to the cashier.

After arriving there, Clara asked the staff to fix Raka's glasses. And luckily, Raka's glasses can still be repaired, because only the lens is cracked.

"Ah, thank goodness, it can still be fixed."

When Clara said that gratefully, Raka watched her, and continued to watch her until Clara realized it.

"What is it?" Clara asked.

"That's right, you're a good girl, Clara. Thank You."

With Raka saying that Clara's cheeks turned red for some reason.

"Eh? Isn't it natural to help each other, right? You're the one who said that."

"Ah. That's right. Thank you, Clara."

After they got out of the eyewear shop, and after Raka got his glasses back, they took a walk in the mall and decided to look for ice cream.

"I want ice cream, do you want it too?" Clara asked.

"I would, but..."

"But?"

"But not with chocolate flavor. I'm still traumatized by what they did to you."

"…Are you making fun of me?"

"Hahaha, of course—of course not."

"I'll buy you chocolate ice cream."

"Uh, why? I don't want that, either… this time let me treat you."

Raka knows what he has to do in return. Clara had fixed Raka's glasses with her money, that's why this time Raka would treat her to ice cream. Raka realized that he should not depend on Clara. He realized that.

However, Clara still insists on buying it, refusing to be treated by Raka.

"Anyway, I'll buy you some chocolate ice cream."

"Huff... Okay."

Raka surrendered to it. A girl's wish will be hard to resist even though Raka has refused it several times.

As they walked towards the ice cream shop, Raka saw something wrong in front of him. And it turned out to be true, his hunch was right.

PLAQUE!

A man slapped a woman right in front of Raka and Clara who were walking.

Realizing that the man was about to slap the woman again, Raka quickly stopped that, gripping the man's hand tightly.

"What are you doing, Little Boy!?" He asked in a harsh tone.

"You can't slap that woman," Raka responded with a sharp look.

"This is none of your business."

"It's my business because you slapped her right in front of me."

"You are so brave, Little Boy. Let go of your hands now!"

"I'll let go of your hand if you promise not to slap her again."

"Talk too much!"

Before the man hit Raka's face, Raka tightened his grip, making the man hurt.

"Oi! Let go of my hand!"

"Promise me that you won't slap her again! She is a woman, you can't be rude to her."

"Alright, alright, I won't slap her again."

With said that Raka slowly removed his hand from him.

"It was a good choice. If you are a man, you will not be rude to women. Remember, women are the ones who will carry your child. So don't ever be rude to her."

Clara, who could only see what was happening and heard what Raka had to say, couldn't help but be silent and blush. She was proud of what Raka said just now.

"Get out of here! And remember that well—yeah, that's if your listeners are still improving."

After Raka said that, the man left with the woman.

"Raka... you..." Clara approached Raka with feelings that were still proud of Raka.

"Let's go get some chocolate ice cream," Raka responded with a smile in front of Clara after turning to her.

"Yes."