1. Dinda Alia Sutardjo
That morning as usual Dinda before leaving for school, 1 hour before the Fajr call to prayer she had to help her father and mother fill 1 drum of water using a manual pump, boil water to fill the thermos, and make just a cup of sweet tea for breakfast she and her siblings drank together 1 boiled eggs.
Unlike their friends who wake up, the food is already served on the table. Dinda must try to do it herself as much as possible not to spend money while at school.
After everything was done, Dinda was only able to take a shower to wash her sweaty body after pumping water which drained her stamina. Dinda attends one of the public high schools in Jakarta, while her house is in the Bekasi area, which is the fastest it will take 1 hour if it goes smoothly without a hitch. The problem is Bekasi - Jakarta is never without traffic jams. It takes 4x public transportation to go to school. Because of that, Dinda had to leave home at 05.15 am at the latest.
Once upon a time, Dinda was almost late for school because there was no public transportation that wanted to take the children to school, so Dinda stopped the passing motorbike for a ride to school. Or, he had also asked for a ride to one of the truck drivers.
"Fyuhhh, finally arrived," Dinda sighed for a moment after placing her backpack on the table. Sweat dripped down the back of his white uniform. Dinda re-tidied the comb of her second braided hair which was disheveled by the effects of sweat.
One by one his friends started to arrive. The class began to be bustling with joking and chatting among white and gray students. Dinda is famous for arriving early among her friends even though the house is farthest away. In fact, his friend who lives near the school leaves from home at 7 less than 5 minutes.
Today is Monday for the flag ceremony. Dinda is one of the PMR (youth red cross) officers, so every flag ceremony she and her friends don't have to stand in the flag field. It is enough to watch from behind if there are participants in the ceremony who will and pretend to faint to get out of the scorching and exhausting field.
There Rico stood proudly. Not far from where Dinda was standing. The idol boy is the main character in the diary that she writes every night. Dinda likes him. However, it seems that Rico doesn't care if Dinda is there. As Dinda recalled, Rico had never looked at her at all. Moreover, invite him to chat with small talk like to other female friends. Yups, Dinda's love is unrequited.
"Din, I need a bottle of eucalyptus oil, please. I have a headache." Arya, Dinda's classmate, was lying on a long chair in the UKS.
"Huh, why are boys so weak?! Just the ceremony isn't strong enough." Dinda replied while bringing the oil to him.
"I couldn't sleep last night. Plus I didn't have breakfast this morning. So I'm down now."
"So don't stay up all night."
"Yes, yes, future wife, hehehe. If you are angry, you will be even cuter."
"Wooo, who wants to be your wife anyway." The tissue box flew freely towards Arya's head.
"Dinda, Dewi has fainted. The girl always faint on Monday Flag Ceremony. Huft!" Tasya and other female friends helped lift Dewi to the UKS room.
"Wi .. wi, wake up." Dinda smeared eucalyptus oil under Dewi's nose while patting her cheek.
"Do you have a bottle of water? Share one, please. Siska is dehydrated." Suddenly Rico entered the room which was starting to fill with many teenage patients.
Dinda turned around for a moment and then continued the process of awakening the consciousness of one of her friends, Dewi.
It's a gray Monday for Dinda because math, chemistry, physics are all in one day. Dinda feels nauseous every time she thinks of Monday. Is this what people call I Hate Monday?
Break time has arrived
Dinda and Tasya went together to the canteen.
"Din, look at that. Your prince is still close to Siska, hehehe." At school, only Tasya knows that Dinda has a crush on Rico.
"Hmm." Dinda feels lazy to respond.
"I have no idea why you likes him. There is no special with him, beside his look and his intelligence is mediocre. Arya is better than him. He's handsome, rich, humorous, and willing to hang out with anyone."
"Ah, there's no need to talk about it. I also know Tas. I am look mediocre, my intelligence is far below Siska, my family also doesn't come from rich people."
"But at least Arya always gives a signal to you. You're the one who's indifferent. After all, you're actually pretty, Din. If only you didn't wear loose clothes and braid like a village girl. Hahaha," Tasya insisted on promoting her cousin.
"Huuuuuu." Dinda drifted back to class.
"Din, please mop the floor after it has been swept. Your younger siblings are washing dishes and helping mother cooking rice." Mother shouted from inside the kitchen.
"Yes ma'am, don't worry it will be fine."
Dinda and her 2 younger siblings have been used to doing chores since their childhood. There are three daughters in the house.
Dinda Alia Sutardjo
Dania Alia Sutardjo
Desia Alia Sutardjo.
Their age gap from each other is only 3-4 years.
A father who is only a security guard and a mother who is purely a housewife without any home business because she focuses on taking care of 3 girls.
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"Din, Teen Red Cross wants to hold a Saturday Sunday social service on Pulau Seribu. Are you coming?" Tasya and Dinda sat together during breaking class.
"The cost is fifty thousands, right. I don't think so." Dinda forced smile
"I'll pay if you want. Come join us, okay?"
"No, Tas, thank you. I don't want to depend on you." Dinda's eyes wandered to the school field where Rico was playing basketball with his friends.
As before, every event that requires money, it is certain that Dinda will not participate. The money that her mother gives every day is only enough for transportation to school 8 times back and forth plus a simple rice and vegetable fritter for her lunchtime. To get extra money, Dinda sometimes sells some food which she buys from neighbors and takes to school for only 500 rupiahs. The profit is what she saves and uses from time to time to pay for paper money for tests or school crafts.
The social service that will be held later can actually make Dinda's holiday event and at the same time staring at her favorite prince for a long time without the presence of Siska, the prince's crush.
However, Dinda is still shy and she knows that she doesn't deserve to express her feelings. It's like a longing for the moon when Mrs. Nina, her Indonesian teacher said during the proverbs lesson at that time.
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"Mom, can I join the Social Service on Saturday and Sunday tomorrow?"
"How much will you pay?" Mother replied while sewing torn pants manually.
"20 thousands and it doesn't include food, transportation, and others." Dinda answered carefully.
"I have money, darling. However, it's for daily needs and school fees. If you use it, what will you eat tomorrow?"
"Yes, it's okay, it's okay ma'am. Besides, it's not an obligation."
Dinda walked as usual as if she's not disappointed in her room. However, she buried her face into the pillow and wept bitterly. The opportunity for him to be with his prince was lost even though he was together in the sense of a group of about 30 people.
Mother pretended not to hear and said to herself "Mom and dad feel sorry for you, darling. We can't give you what you want because of the limited budget. We only can pray for you all my daughters, to have a better life than us and can buy what you want in the future , Amen."
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10 years later...
This morning Dinda left the house earlier than usual because today is Monday where there are traffic jams throughout the street. There was an early morning meeting with his boss who had just arrived from London. Weekly meeting evaluates the results of last week's work and plans targets for the week ahead.
Luckily, Dinda works in a place that doesn't require wearing a blazer and high heels. Dinda wears a plain light green shirt and pants of almost the same color, with five centimeter high heels and her long hair is left loose, light make-up also colors her face, which is more beautiful and well-groomed than when she was in school. The little girl has turned into a magnet for anyone who sees her.
Time and life experiences can indeed change a person for the better or vice versa. Dinda, who is from school to college, still has the principle of being the eldest daughter, without promiscuity, who can be an example for her younger siblings.
Dinda spends her days studying, part-time work, and at home either watching TV or watching her favorite drama. No time for dating, that's how Dinda enjoys her single life until she's 27 years old without realizing it.