I THINK WE DON'T MATCH

"Because you will teach me to cook, I will treat you for breakfast." Ziona deliberately said that sentence so as not to offend Zephaniah when she had to pay for the food for the two of them. She wanted to help him financially, but not openly.

"I have already given your cell phone number to Mandala. He will contact you shortly to discuss payment for my lessons. You don't want me to know how many, do you?" Ziona explained again.

"Yes. I don't want you to know. That is a secret." Not without reason Zephaniah kept it a secret. He did not want Ziona to pity him because she knew the rates he gave to the parents of the students he taught below average. Too many competitors make him have to lower the price standard.

After finishing the toast they had bought earlier, the condo was their destination. Ziona's hand was waved to call the taxi driver. Even though the distance from the supermarket to her house was not far.

"Looks like you have to get used to walking in this country. Just look at the grandmother walking on the sidewalk! She walked even though her hair was white and her face was full of wrinkles. This time you lose from a granny." Zephaniah pointed at the old woman walking outside the taxi.

"Yes, fussy!"

Accustomed to always being escorted by a driver in Jakarta, Ziona had to adjust. This country was very disciplined and liked to walk. "I chose to take a taxi because we have a lot of shopping. How could I let you carry a plastic bag like that?" Ziona was looking for an excuse to make the man stop advising her

***

They have arrived at the condo. Zephaniah immediately packed up the groceries while Ziona rested herself on the chair. It turned out that shopping made her tired.

"What are we going to cook?" Ziona asked as her eyes looked at Zephaniah. The man was very painstaking in arranging food and drinks into the refrigerator. He also organized snacks in the food dry cupboard.

"I will teach you how to cook. Just a simple dish. Stir-fried broccoli and oxtail soup. Don't rely too much on food from restaurants."

"You want to teach me how to cook?" Ziona, who had been leaning back, straightened up in surprise.

"Yes. So don't sit down. Come here and help me cut the broccoli."

"Yes, Sir!." Ziona got up from her chair and walked over to Zephaniah. She followed the Zephaniah's teachings even though her cut was still messy.

"Now you peel the onions!" Zephaniah ordered.

Ziona followed all of Zephaniah's orders. It seemed that the man would hold two positions. Cooking tutor and lesson tutor.

"It hurts," Ziona whined when her eyes watered as the LF cells in the onions burst and released gasses that create powerful chemical weapons.

"Just let me do it." Zephaniah took over Ziona's job and he prepared all the necessary condiments.

Ziona's eyes did not leave the handsome face of Zephaniah who was standing beside her. The man was busy stirring the broccoli vegetables in the pan to mix with the spices he had just added.

"Muach!" A big pushing came from Ziona's heart to prompt her to kiss the man's cheek. "Thank you for everything."

Zephaniah gasped. This was his first experience of receiving a kiss from a woman. Even though he was 22 years old, he had never been in a relationship with a woman. The man tried to calm down. He controlled his heart rate and breath because he did not want to lose pride in front of Ziona.

"Do you always kiss people who are doing good to you?" Zephaniah asked, trying to cover up his nervousness.

"Not really. Most people do good to me because they want to. They know who my daddy is so they deliberately do good in front of me."

"Then why did you kiss me?"

"I don't know. Suddenly I wanted to do it. Are you angry?"

"No. I am just surprised that you suddenly did it. Now you sit down. The food is already cooked."

This was the first time Ziona ate voraciously without any burden at all. If she was at home she would have been worried because she had to prepare her heart to hear her father's lecture. More precisely not lectures but demands and comparisons between herself and her sister.

***

After lunch, Zephaniah decided to go back to the apartment and take a shower. Soon he would go to the restaurant because on weekends like this the dining area would be full of diners. After cleaning up he went to Riko's restaurant.

"Woah! Finally a man who stayed at the girlfriend's house was coming," Riko teased when Zephaniah just stepped foot in the restaurant kitchen.

"Not a girlfriend! We're just friends. I had to stay overnight because I overslept and woke up at ten at night. I could not take a taxi. It could run out of my weekly money."

"Yeah, yeah I know. But you don't mess with her, do you?" Riko squinted.

"Of Course not. But I'm starting to feel strange things." Zephaniah, who already thought of Riko as his own brother, started telling stories.

"Strange why?"

"I get excited every time I get close to her. I don't know why but she is so adorable in my eyes."

"That means you are starting to like her."

"I like her? Impossible?" Zephaniah refuted Riko's presumption. He said it was something that was impossible.

"Love does not see, whether you are rich or poor. Remember that!"

"Yeah, I know but my life is not a fairy tale. She comes from a rich family. While me? You don't see the luxurious place she lives in. I did not dare to enter because of Afraid of being evicted by the security guard."

"You are just being too low on yourself. What if she actually likes you?"

"I don't think we match. There are many differences between the two of us. She is like a star that can never be touched."

"Ze, it's all a God's secret. What if she is your soulmate? So what are you doing there?"

"I took her shopping and accompanied her to cook. Should I avoid her? I'm afraid to fall in love with Zio."

When Riko wanted to answer, he had to delay because Zephaniah's cell phone rang. A number Zephaniah did not recognize was calling.

"Hello!"

"Is it true that I speak to Mr. Zephaniah?" A stranger male voice sounded from the flat object stuck to Zephaniah's ear.