That morning, the sun had barely risen when Aletta was already at the school bus stop.
She sat alone on a rusting metal bench while the bus she was waiting for was still expected to arrive in about twenty minutes.
No one was there to keep her company.
Aletta simply hugged her schoolbag in her lap and stared at the busy road, where vehicles streamed back and forth. Every now and then, the morning breeze fluttered her long hair, but her gaze remained blank, as if her thoughts were somewhere else.
To her, waiting for the bus alone had become an ordinary routine. No one ever invited her into a conversation, and no one ever asked how she was doing.
Silence had become her most faithful companion.
Amid the bustling traffic and people busy starting their day, Aletta remained seated in her own world, letting time pass without hurry.
Aletta was still lost in thought when a pair of shoes stopped right in front of her.
Slowly, she raised her head.
Bagaskara.
He stood there with a faint smile. In his hands was a small notebook with a cream-colored cover and a pink pen.
Without saying much, he held them out to Aletta.
“This is for you.”
Aletta only stared at him in confusion, making no move to accept them.
Bagaskara kept his hands extended.
“If you’re not ready to talk to anyone else... that’s okay.”
He smiled warmly.
“But try writing in this notebook.”
Aletta remained silent.
“Think of it as the way we talk,” Bagaskara continued. “You don’t have to force yourself to tell me anything. Write down whatever you’re feeling. Angry, sad, upset... anything.”
He looked at Aletta earnestly.
“At least then... I’ll know what you’re really feeling.”
For several seconds, neither of them said a word.
Aletta looked at the little notebook, then back at Bagaskara’s face.
No one had ever tried to understand the way she communicated.
And for the first time, the wall she had built inside her heart felt slightly... cracked.
Seeing that Aletta was still hesitant, Bagaskara slowly reached for her hand.
His movements were careful, as if he were afraid of making her uncomfortable.
He opened Aletta’s palm and placed the small notebook and pink pen in it.
“You don’t have to give them back,” he said softly.
After that, Bagaskara sat on the empty bench beside Aletta. He no longer pressured her to look at him or speak.
For a while, they were accompanied only by the sound of passing vehicles.
Bagaskara then smiled faintly.
“I hope... having that notebook will help us communicate.”
Aletta lowered her head and looked at the small notebook in her hand.
Her fingers slowly brushed over its cover, as if she were considering something.
She still said nothing.
But this time, she did not return Bagaskara’s gift either.
That small gesture was enough to make Bagaskara’s smile grow wider. To him, Aletta’s willingness to accept the notebook was a small step toward the trust he had been trying to build.
Bagaskara turned toward Aletta, who was still sitting with her head lowered, clutching the little notebook he had given her.
He smiled warmly.
“You know what?”
Aletta remained silent.
“I don’t care what other people say about you.”
The morning breeze blew softly, lifting a few strands of Aletta’s hair.
“To me, everyone needs time to grow. Not everyone has to be great today. Not everyone has to be the smartest.”
Bagaskara shrugged with a small smile.
“What matters is... don’t give up on yourself.”
Aletta still made no sound. But her fingers slowly tightened around the notebook.
“If one day you feel like everyone has left you...” Bagaskara continued, “...just remember that there’s still one person who’ll cheer you on.”
He pointed to himself with a mischievous smile.
“Even if that person is kind of annoying.”
Without realizing it, the corner of Aletta’s mouth moved, almost forming a smile, if only for a moment.
Inside her heart, something that had been frozen for a long time slowly began to warm.
“Why... is he so kind to me?”
No one had ever told her that she didn’t have to be perfect.
And somehow, Bagaskara’s simple words felt far more comforting than all the advice she had heard throughout her life.
Yet the warmth that had just begun filling Aletta’s heart suddenly faded.
Alice’s face flashed through her mind again.
“Stay away from Bagaskara. If I see you getting close to him again, I’ll make sure your life at this school becomes a lot harder.”
The threat still sounded clear, as if it had been spoken only seconds ago.
Aletta lowered her gaze. Her fingers, which had been clutching Bagaskara’s gift, slowly loosened.
She wasn’t afraid of Alice.
She was just tired.
Tired of facing the insults, mockery, and cruel treatment that seemed never to stop coming her way.
To her, keeping her distance was the safest choice.
Maybe... if she stayed away from Bagaskara, Alice and her friends would stop bothering her.
Aletta let out a soft breath.
Without turning toward the boy still sitting beside her, she hugged the little notebook tightly against her chest.
In her heart, she whispered,
“I’m sorry... not because I hate you. I just don’t want to drag you into my messed-up life.”
Not long afterward, the school bus finally arrived.
The doors opened slowly, and Aletta was the first person to board. As usual, she headed straight for the very back row and sat by the window.
A few seconds later, Bagaskara got on as well.
His eyes instinctively searched for Aletta.
“There you are.”
His smile began to widen. But just as he was about to approach her, he stopped.
The seat beside Aletta had already been taken by another student.
“Seriously...” he muttered under his breath.
There were no empty seats left in the back. With a slightly disappointed expression, Bagaskara finally walked to the front and sat in the seat directly behind the driver.
The driver, who had gotten to know him fairly well over the past few days, chuckled when he saw Bagaskara’s gloomy expression.
“Well, look at that. You’re not late for once, kid.”
Bagaskara leaned his head against the seatback and let out a quiet huff.
“Yes, sir.”
“Usually you’re running after the bus.”
“That’s because I have a reason to come earlier now.”
The driver frowned curiously, but before he could ask, Bagaskara merely glanced at the rearview mirror.
In its reflection, he could still see Aletta sitting quietly in the very back row.
Bagaskara exhaled softly.
“Welp... no sitting next to her today.”
Even so, a faint smile remained on his face. To him, simply being able to see Aletta from a distance was enough to make that morning more enjoyable.
The cheers of the spectators filled the field that afternoon. The interschool soccer match was intense. Both teams attacked one another, fighting for goals to secure a spot in the next round.
At the edge of the field, students cheered them on. Bagaskara’s name was shouted several times whenever he skillfully dribbled past an opposing player.
Not far from the crowd, beneath the shade of a tree, Aletta stood alone.
She had deliberately chosen a spot far from the crowd so she wouldn’t attract anyone’s attention. From there, she could still see the match clearly enough.
Without realizing it, her gaze followed Bagaskara’s every movement on the field.
The boy who had given her a small notebook that morning.
The boy who had told her she didn’t have to be perfect.
The first person who wanted to understand her without judging her.
Aletta clutched the small notebook still tucked inside her bag.
For the first time in so long, she felt that someone truly saw her as a human being—not as a “stupid kid” or an “arrogant girl,” as others had always labeled her.
Without realizing it, a faint smile briefly appeared on her face.
A smile that lasted only a moment.
But it was enough to prove that, little by little, the wall surrounding her heart was beginning to crack.
In the middle of the intense match, Bagaskara’s gaze accidentally swept across the area around the field.
At first, he only glanced toward the trees along the edge of the field.
But then his eyes suddenly stopped on a figure he knew all too well.
Aletta.
She stood alone beneath the shade of the tree, far from the crowd. She wasn’t shouting encouragement like the other students. She simply stood there, silently watching the field.
A faint smile immediately appeared on Bagaskara’s face.
“So... you came.”
For some reason, the exhaustion he had felt throughout the match seemed to vanish instantly.
He refocused on chasing the ball, but now his energy had multiplied several times over.
Every time he won the ball or dribbled past an opponent, his eyes occasionally searched again for Aletta, who was still standing faithfully in the same spot.
“I don’t know how long you’ll need before you can trust someone...” he thought.
“But I’ll wait.”
He drew a deep breath, then ran after the ball again.
“And someday... I want to be the person who can make you smile without fear.”
Bagaskara was no longer thinking about winning Aletta’s heart.
All he wanted now was to prove through his actions that not everyone would hurt her or leave her behind.