PART 6 - A LITTLE STORY ABOUT KALILA

Just for having lunch, but Marvel chose a luxury restaurant in the middle of the city. In Kalila's eyes, this kind of place looked quite foreign to her. Maybe because she rarely visited a fancy restaurant like this. Apart from the fact that her pocket money wasn't as much as Selvi's or her other friends, Kalila thought that her stomach would still be full even if she ate at a roadside stall.

Kalila was aware that she was from an ordinary family. Not a wealthy family that was able to earn much money mostly without spending a lot of energy. They literally just sat on a comfortable sofa while waiting for the reports from the employees.

"Do you like this place?" Veer asked, breaking the silence between him and Kalila.

Currently, there were only Veer and Kalila at the table. Selvi and Marvel were busy taking pictures to capture the moment they said they wouldn't forget. Selvi once said that she must immortalize everything related to Marvel. What a hopeless romantic! Eww

"Yeah, I like it," Kalila replied. Still faithfully enjoying the view outside the restaurant.

"Next time, we can come here again," Veer said, then he went back to enjoying his food.

Kalila, who heard his words, smiled faintly. "Havta save your money first if you wanna come here, at least."

"Not gonna lie, to buy just a menu here, you can buy various foods at Warung Oren for even one week."

Not much that Veer knew about Kalila, he just knew that she was not from the city where she was currently studying. Selvi said that she chose a school that was far away from her hometown, so she could find a side job or part-time there. The thing was, Kalila really wanted to lighten the burden on her parents.

"Selvi said that you just resigned from your previous job. How long have you been doing this kind of work and stuff despite your busy schedule?" Veer asked her another question.

"Since the second grade of high school. Starting from working in one of the juice shops near the school. lasted until I'd graduated. Then after that, I moved to a laundry place near campus. But it only lasted three months," Kalila's answer was so detailed that she didn't even reduce anything at all.

"Why only three months?" Veer asked again.

Today it seemed that Veer's mood was in a good condition. Veer didn't usually ask questions that were not related to his business or life.

"The thing is, it's literally tiring. Especially on the weekend. There must be a ton of clothes that need to be ironed. The salary is quite good though. But the strength of my body can't bear the work. So, I decided to resign and move to another place," Kalila told him the reason why she didn't work at the laundry for long.

"Last week I just applied for a job at a coffee shop near the campus, anyway. Do you know Lavéna Café? It's been a long time since I wanted to work there. But suddenly this year, the cafe unexpectedly opens a job vacancy."

Kalila laughed softly. It might sound silly because since the first time she visited Lavéna Café, she had been determined herself to work there.

Kalila immediately stopped her laugh when she realized that Veer had only been silent and just looking at her while hearing her story. At this time, her brain thought too many negative things until made herself uncomfortable with it.

"Oh, I'm really sorry, Sir. I talked too much in front of you, I'm sorry," said Kalila politely apologizing to Veer.

Kalila should've just answered Veer's question as simple as that. No need to explain at length like what she had done. Veer also didn't ask or didn't expect himself to hear Kalila's story.

"No problem. I'm actually happy to hear that," Veer said, not as much as Kalila said. But what he just said indirectly made her feel relieved.

"I really respect students who have skills in dividing and organizing their time for studying and working. Imagine they could stay focused on studying even though they have other responsibilities beside college stuff. Self-study at a young age isn't easy, is it? But I see how successfully you are doing all that, Kalila."

Wait a minute. You all hear that? Just now, Veer mentioned Kalila's name? Kalila didn't hear wrong, right?

Kalila's ears were not used to hearing Veer say her name, like nearly never. It made her feel a bit awkward. The 'first time' thing would definitely feel strange and uncomfortable, right?

"Reduce your habit of daydreaming. Hurry up and finish your food before it gets cold," Veer ordered, which was immediately executed by Kalila.

***

After lunch, Veer immediately returned home. Likewise with Selvi who came home with him. As for Marvel, that guy had gone earlier because he had an urgent business. So, Veer no longer needed to go back with Kalila again then.

"Veer, why did it take so long for you and Kalila to get to the restaurant?" Selvi asked, just remembering that Veer and Kalila got to the place like fifteen minutes later than Selvi and Marvel.

"Kalila literally refused to go with me, to be honest. She even intended to order an online taxi for me, " Veer said, while removing the tie around his neck.

"I knew it, Kalila is such a person, Bro. Moreover, she's a bit difficult to get close with guys," said Selvi.

"It's hard to be close, you say, but now she has a boyfriend."

Selvi immediately turned after hearing Veer's words. "How did you know that Kalila has a boyfriend? It seems that I've never told you about it."

Veer took a glass of water on the table and drank it several times firstly, before he could answer Selvi's question.

"Yesterday, I saw her arguing with her boyfriend," Veer answered simply.

"It must be Galang who's looking for trouble with her. GOD, he's freaking annoying. He really likes to hurt Kalila, like every time" Selvi responded quickly when she heard that Kalila had just argued with her boyfriend.

"You didn't see right away, anyway. How could you know that he's the one who's wrong?" Veer is surprised to see his sister's reaction.

"I told you, Bro!" said Selvi while changing her sitting position to be cross-legged.

"The one whose name is Galang, he's just using the status of being Kalila's boyfriend. Then, the reality? He never paid any attention to Kalila. He always ignored her and was more concerned with his personal business. He preferred to spend time with his friends rather than accompanying Kalila, his girlfriend."

"And you know, what's the worst thing about him? He always scolds Kalila whenever she's complaining about their relationship. He even said that Kalila was a spoiled girl. Even though, Kalila would always help him whenever he asked her for help in his urgent situations. WTH! It's so annoying when talking about him!"

Selvi, with a red face full of emotion, used a nearby pillow as an outlet releasing her anger. She hit the pillow many times as if the pillow was Galang's face, LOL.

"Then, why is Kalila still holding on to him when she herself knows that Galang is totally a red flag for her, like he has never been nice to her all the time?" Veer's question this time was solely to eliminate the curiosity that plagued his mind.

"I've no idea. If I'm at a state where couldn't stand with her insanity anymore, I'll even probably say that she is really STUPID about love. How could she still wanna stay with someone who clearly didn't make her happy. Instead, he makes her like she could mentally die every day, "said Selvi, holding back her anger that never ended every time she talked about Galang.

Veer agreed with Selvi's opinion. According to Veer himself, for him, there was also no point in sticking with one person who didn't have the same feelings as her. Loving alone is very uncomfortable. Moreover, it makes us hurt many more times. It shows that it's literally not a right choice for us to take.

***

28 June 2022 (12.09 PM)