“Guys, I’m gonna take a break for a bit, okay?” Nadeera said to her friends, who were practicing volleyball.
“Yeah, no worries, Nad.”
“Yeah, Nad,” Nadeera’s friends replied.
“Good luck, Nadeera. Hope it works out,” Karin encouraged her.
“Aye aye, Captain, hehehe,” Nadeera said with a grin, raising her hand in a salute to Karin.
Nadeera quickly grabbed the drink she was going to give Rangga and headed to the edge of the court, where Rita was standing nearby.
“So you’re making your move!” Rita teased.
“I’m so nervous, Rit,” Nadeera said.
“Relax, Nad. Come sit down and loosen up first so you don’t tense up!” Rita called.
“If anything happens, Karin and I have your back, Nad,” she added after Nadeera sat down beside her.
“Rangga, Rangga, why do you have to make this so difficult for me?” Nadeera murmured, then watched Rangga playing futsal with his friends. The longer she watched him, the harder her heart pounded.
“I don’t know why I’ve always loved you. Even though I didn’t see you for five years, my feelings for you are still the same. If anything, they feel even deeper now. I don’t understand you. Have you really forgotten me? Were five years enough to change you and your feelings? If they were, I don’t mind, because I think I’ll still love you anyway,” Nadeera thought, her eyes still fixed on Rangga.
“Nad, look, Rangga’s about to take a break. Hurry over there. Don’t just stand here staring at him from far away!” Rita said, snapping Nadeera out of her daydream.
“Wait, wait, what do I do, Rit? I’m so nervous, I swear,” Nadeera whined, gripping Rita’s right hand with both of hers.
“Relax, Nad. You’ve got this. Remember why you’re doing it.”
“Sniff, sniff… Why do I want to back out at a time like this?” she whined again.
“You’re the one who came up with this idea, and you even prepared Rangga’s favorite drink, right? You’re only one step away, and now you’re giving up?” Rita pointed out.
“Take a deep breath in, then let it out!” she ordered, trying to calm Nadeera down.
“Hooooooh… haaaaaah.” Nadeera tried to gather her resolve again and calm her heart.
“Okay, I’m going over there. I don’t care what happens afterward. I don’t want to regret not trying,” Nadeera declared. She stood up and walked toward Rangga without looking around, afraid anything might shake the resolve she had struggled so hard to build.
“Rangga!” she called, trying to sound as calm as possible when she reached him sitting on the edge of the court with his friends.
“Uh, what?” Rangga asked, looking startled by Nadeera’s presence.
“I brought you your favorite drink. Grandma made it especially for you. She wants you to drink it!” she said, holding out a bottle filled with turmeric-and-tamarind herbal tonic made by her grandparent. She gave him the sweetest smile she could manage, even though her heart felt ready to explode.
“Oh,” he replied curtly, then accepted the herbal tonic.
“Hehehe, make sure you drink it!” Nadeera said with a little laugh.
“Okay, I’ll get going now. Finish it, okay!” Nadeera added before heading back to where she had been sitting. She felt relieved that she had successfully carried out her mission according to plan, but her pounding heart still wouldn’t calm down.
“Ahem, ahem. Who knew Rangga had a surprise up his sleeve? Ahem, ahem. Making us jealous,” one of Rangga’s friends remarked, followed by laughter from the others. Even though she was already some distance away, Nadeera could still hear the comment. Her heart bloomed with happiness, and she couldn’t hold back the wide smile spreading across her lips, making both her cheeks turn bright red.
“Ooh, Nadeera, what’s going on with you and Rangga?” asked one of her female classmates who had been practicing volleyball with them.
“Yeah, you two act all secretive in class, but it turns out you have something going on,” another friend chimed in.
“Figures. I’ve known since yesterday that Nadeera and Rangga kept looking at each other. So you really do have something going on, huh?” another added, with the others chiming in one after another.
“Hehehe, what are you talking about? No, we don’t,” Nadeera said, the smile still clinging to her sweet lips.
“If not, then why are you blushing like that, Nad? Hahaha, it’s so obvious!” another friend teased, and the others agreed.
“Jeez, you guys are so nosy. Come on, focus on the game!” Karin said to her friends before giving Nadeera a thumbs-up.
“Nice job, Nad. Risa looked totally shocked earlier. I bet she’s burning with jealousy right now,” Rita said after Nadeera sat down beside her.
“Good. Hopefully she’ll get mad at Rangga after this and break up with him, just like we planned,” Nadeera said, looking around for Risa.
“Hopefully, Nad.”
“Where’s Risa, Rit? I don’t see her.”
“After you went over there and everyone started teasing her, she went straight back to her classroom, Nad. She looked really mad.”
“Oh, I see. What about Rangga? How did he react, Rit? I was so nervous that I forgot to pay attention to his expression.”
“From where I was sitting, he noticed you when you started walking over there, but maybe he thought you weren’t coming to see him. That’s why he looked shocked when you arrived. It was written all over his face. I could barely keep from laughing over here. When you came back, I think I saw him smile a little, but only a tiny bit—maybe he was trying to hold it back,” Rita explained at length.
“Seriously, Rit? He smiled?” Nadeera asked excitedly.
“Seriously. There’s no way I saw it wrong. The corners of his mouth lifted just a little while he was looking at the bottle you gave him. That’s why his friends started teasing him,” Rita explained again.
“Hmm… I’m so happy. That means I still have a chance,” Nadeera said excitedly.
“But all he said was ‘oh.’ He didn’t say thank you or anything,” Nadeera added.
“Maybe he’s just playing hard to get with you,” Rita guessed.
The morning PE class for 10th Grade Social Sciences 1 finally ended. The students streamed into the changing rooms to change clothes, then headed to the cafeteria to buy something to eat or drink.
The same went for the three friends—Nadeera, Karin, and Rita. They eagerly devoured the food and drinks in front of them. Nadeera’s happiness was obvious as she kept replaying what had happened that morning in her mind. She still couldn’t believe she’d actually dared to do it. It was something she had never imagined herself doing.
Nadeera was the most unfazed person around and absolutely hated drama. She would rather avoid all kinds of trouble than face it head-on. Ever since middle school, she had always chosen to stay away from anything called a problem because it gave her a headache and, in her opinion, wasn’t that important.
That was why she had never dated or gotten into a serious relationship with a guy. She thought relationships were a hassle, and her heart had already belonged to Rangga since she was little. She had no intention of starting anything with anyone else except Rangga. He was the only one who could make her fall so deeply in love.