BETWEEN°

The bright morning atmosphere, makes some people happy to live a new day, even the birds chirping sounds melodious.

The girl in full uniform and her hair always untied looked at her reflection in the mirror.  A sweet smile, but it looked forced, it was her first morning when she saw her this morning.

A knock on the door snapped the girl out of her reverie and started to leave the room.

"It's noon, you've been inside for a long time."  The woman with a warm smile made the girl smile too.

"Yes Ma, Airin has to get ready, Mama knows that Airin has to look beautiful like Mama."  The woman laughed at the child's words.

His hand reached out to gently ruffle the top of his son's head, before finally gently pulling the girl's arm to come with him to the dining room.

The well-dressed man looked at the girl with a smile, this time a different smile?

Airin began to sit herself in the dining chair and stared at the dishes that were served in front of her.

"Mama came home late again, are you okay?"  His mother's question made the girl who was biting the bread nod.

"Mom's sorry."  His mother's words caught the girl's attention.

"It's okay, Mom."  A sweet smile spread on the girl's lips, making Mama Airin smile warmly and gently ruffle the top of her child's head.

***

Airin came out of the house after sighing, she looked up at the sky and changed her face to be cold.

His footsteps led the girl to take a bicycle from the garage and pedal it to her school which is not too far from her house.

The wind that was blowing this morning managed to make her hair flutter slightly backwards, the wood of the bicycle accelerated along with the tears that fell without being able to stop her.  Because somehow, this morning feels so tiring compared to the mornings ago?  The same morning, which he always repeated.

Without realizing it, she was swinging her feet on her bicycle pedals, making the girl make it to school without being late.

Many pairs of eyes were staring at her, not the first time that the girl had been stared at like this by students at her school. Rather, it had become a habit that they had to do when Airin came.

Without changing her straight face, the girl walked into the school without smiling like her mother even for a moment.

His footsteps brought the girl into the school environment, where the rooms of each room were neatly lined up there, with nameplates hanging above each room.

"Ah, there is Airin."  the girl with curly hair in pigtails smiled at Airin.

Airin stared at the girl flatly, and chose to ignore the girl to step past her and enter the classroom.

Before, a hand grabbing finally stopped him from stepping inside.

"Why?"  Erin stared at the girl with a straight face.

A crooked smile printed on the lips of the curly-haired girl, she looked Airin up and down.

"You answer?  Usually you are mute."

"It seems you are the one who is blind, because you already know I have a mouth but still say I am mute."  The two girls behind the curly-haired girl were shocked by the girl's answer in front of them.

"Incredible, he dared to you, Ca."  The girl who was called Ca, smiled even more crookedly at Airin's behavior this morning because even though she had never been like this before.

"Pull him behind the school."

After saying her order to her two friends, Bianca stepped into a quiet neighborhood behind the school and no one came there at all, of course there was no CCTV installed there either.

They reached the back of the school, a look of annoyance mixed with anger appeared on Bianca's beautiful face.

"You never change, Airin."  Bianca smiled faintly, a deadly smile that could make anyone immediately apologize if they had been stared at with a smile like that by Bianca.

"You never change because you always take whatever I have!"  Airin shouted in front of Bianca, making the girl silent for a while before laughing loudly.

"What did you say just now?  I always take whatever you have?"  Bianca pulled Airin's chin so the girl would look at her.

"I'll tell you yes, everything in this world and what you get is inappropriate for a child who is a jinxed mother who sells herself." Airin looked at Bianca with reddened face and eyes.

Everyone can call him, even people can also spread their life.  Even though Airin has done all of that, why is her life still insecure?  Still can't live comfortably.

"Yes!  If all that is true.  What do you want?!"  shouted Airin.

Bianca laughed softly, and signaled her two friends to let Airin go.

"Life is reciprocal, everything that is not suitable for humans like you must be taken again."

Bianca walked away leaving Airin who was on the ground with her two friends.

No one really understands him in this world.  In fact, the one who was supposed to protect him was the reason he was hated by the whole world.

***

"That's a child who doesn't know himself, right?"

"How come life is comfortable, huh?  even though the results of his mother who had to sell herself."

"He said his father died because of him."

"It's true, Bianca did all of this hahaha..." laughed the two girls who looked at Airin with disgust.

Airin chose to walk away from the crowd with a straight face, her steps took her out of the school environment faster.

Tears fell without him being able to stop them, this time really tight for him.

"What did I do wrong, Lord?"  Airin shouted, when he had stopped in front of a deserted place.

***

The man in the bomber jacket stared at the cars in front of him.  He sighed, because it had been three years since he had to finish studying abroad in the country he had chosen.  The sound from the airport speakers became the boy's lullaby at this time.

"Ran!  Mama's favorite."  The man who was called Ran looked at the woman who was aged but still looked young, smiled and waved at her.

The man laughed softly and scratched the back of his neck to see his mother who had not changed yet, of course, it attracted the attention of several people at the airport.

"Mama missed you," her mother said with a smile that suddenly turned gloomy.

If you think a child will look spoiled by his parents, don't expect it to be in Ran's family, because his mother is like a sister who loves him so much and is always there for Ran's every growth.  But, if the mother is angry, there is no longer the word tolerance, of course.  Weird, isn't it?

"Ran misses Mama too."  Ran hugged her mother tightly, while her two soft hands stroked her back affectionately.

"Who told you to choose education abroad?  Whereas in Indonesia there are many good education."  Mama's words are still the same, just like a few years ago when she left Indonesia.

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