Dean stared at R, who had been stirring his coffee for a while. He nudged Loen's arm and gestured for him to look at R. Loen, who had been busy drinking his matcha, grew annoyed with him. R's gaze wasn't like usual, so Loen just shook his head and shrugged. Dean let out a rough sigh, then lightly smacked his best friend's hand.
"What are you thinking about, R?"
R flinched from the smack. He quickly rubbed his face and drank the now-cold coffee latte. Dean chuckled when R shuddered after taking a sip. The guy couldn't stand anything cold, and Dean and Loen weren't surprised anymore.
"My head feels heavy, and so does my heart," R complained suddenly.
Dean and Loen exchanged glances. They immediately panicked when they heard that. Dean quickly placed the back of his hand against R's forehead and compared it with the temperature of his own.
"Ugh, I don't have a fever!" R immediately slapped Dean's hand away.
"Then what is it?" Loen narrowed his eyes.
"I don't know. I think my head and heart feel heavy because there's someone inside."
Dean nearly spit out his coffee and ended up coughing several times. Loen burst out laughing when he saw that. R, who didn't really understand what was going on, looked confused.
"Why are you guys laughing?" R clicked his tongue.
"Are you in love? With who, bro?"
R pondered Dean's question. Falling in love—those were two words that had only just appeared in their conversation. Was R really feeling that? Was this what it felt like? R messed up his hair in frustration. Just thinking about it made his head spin. He drained his cold coffee.
"Hey! Take it easy, R," Dean warned.
"I don't understand why I'm like this. All I know is that I want to find out who she is."
"Who is she? The girl who was with my little sister earlier?" Loen asked, and R quickly nodded.
"Finally, bro. I thought you really weren't normal. Loen and I can breathe easy now."
"You're such a pain!" R smacked Dean on the back of the head, while his best friend merely yelped.
"If you want, I can ask Vera. She's the new girl in the class next door. I think Mia and Vera are the only ones who's close to her."
R nodded in understanding. He called over a server to order another hot coffee. Loen played around on his phone, then showed it to R.
"Her name is Stela."
"You hacked Vera's Instagram?" Dean hurriedly leaned over to peek.
"Hehehe." Loen just laughed.
R studied the Instagram of the girl who had caught his attention. He immediately opened her posts one by one, each no less captivating than her face. Dean and Loen leaned in as well to look.
"She has a decent number of followers, but why are all the comments muted?"
"Yeah, you're right, De."
[Photo] 278,827 likes @stelenastar mind blowing
R opened one of the photos and stared at it intently. Without realizing it, a smile slowly appeared on his lips. The girl was stunning with her long hair. Still, to R, she had looked just as captivating with the short hair he'd seen on the assembly field earlier.
"Find out about her. I'm going to lose my mind if this keeps up."
"Yes, boss!"
Teo hurriedly opened the door to his house. The weather tonight was awful. Rain had been pouring over the city of Jakarta for the past two hours. He immediately pulled Sanas inside as she hugged herself to keep warm.
"I told you to let me know before coming here. I could've picked you up so you wouldn't have to ride through the rain on a motorcycle taxi."
"Can you save the yelling for later?" Sanas complained as she repeatedly rubbed her palms together.
Teo went back to his room to get a towel. He also asked the housekeeper to make them something to drink. The fairly large house was very quiet because Teo's parents no longer lived with him.
"Here!"
Teo handed her a towel. He then sat beside Sanas and helped dry her hair. However, he quickly stopped when the drink he'd ordered arrived. Sanas just laughed softly at his awkwardness.
"Thank you, Mbok."
Sanas immediately drank the hot tea. The warmth from its steam made her feel better. Teo only watched her, waiting for an explanation as to why she'd recklessly braved the rain to come to his house.
"Have you checked Instagram @squadofimmersion?" Sanas asked. Teo shook his head.
She took her phone from her bag and immediately showed him why she'd come to Teo's house. The guy's eyes widened when he saw the controversial post uploaded an hour ago. He immediately looked at Sanas, who seemed to know Teo would react that way.
"This is Stela? How could—"
"I'm the one who should be confused, Yo. How did the kids in the Squad get this photo?"
[Photo] 66,418 likes @squadofimmersion Time and place, netizens. Go ahead.
Sanas was shocked to see an old photo of Stela being circulated. She was even more baffled by the thousands of likes and hundreds of comments appearing on it. The woman began biting her nails, so Teo quickly pulled her hand away and held it.
"Calm down, Sanas."
"How am I supposed to calm down? I brought her here so she could have some peace, but look what happened!"
Teo was in a difficult position. He didn't want Sanas to blame herself, since he was also involved in transferring Stela. He'd thought a school as big as Immersion wouldn't put Stela in danger. It had been a long time since Immersion's Squad had uploaded a post like this—the last time had been when there was a cheating incident in the honors class.
"Have you contacted Stela?"
Sanas shook her head. "Her number isn't active. I think that kid's phone is dead. Help me find the kids in this Squad, Yo."
Teo immediately opened his phone and sent a message to the account @squadofimmersion. It was the only thing he could do. None of the teachers at Immersion, and most of the students, knew who the admin was or who belonged to the Squad.
"I asked them to delete the post. Calm down first. Panicking won't solve anything."
Sanas nodded and hugged Teo. Only Teo's touch could calm her. She prayed that tomorrow wouldn't be a new hell for Stela.
Stela got off the city minibus as usual. Something unusual happened when many students at the entrance gate stared at her. The girl kept walking with her head held high.
Stela felt that there was something strange about the students' looks today. She had received those looks when she first set foot at the school too, but the atmosphere felt different this time. Quite a few of them whispered after seeing Stela. Some also looked at Stela, then at their phones, as if comparing something.
The girl sighed and began to feel afraid when the girl behind her said the word "nightclub." Stela quickened her pace, lowered her head, and avoided everyone else's gaze. She quickly entered the classroom and sat at her desk. Mia and Vera, who were already there, looked startled to see Stela as if she were running from something.
"Are you okay, Stel?" Vera asked.
Stela turned toward Vera and gave her a brief smile. Mia approached the girl and took Stela's hand. Vera also got up from her desk and held out her phone.
"I've been trying to reach you since yesterday, Stel. Your number isn't active, and you haven't replied to my Instagram messages either. I guess you haven't seen this post yet."
Stela took Vera's phone. She had deliberately turned off her own phone because of Ramon's harassment. The girl immediately began trembling when she saw a photo of herself with Simon—her friend—in a post from @squadofimmersion. She looked back and forth between Mia and Vera. The girl said nothing, merely biting her lip.
"We're not asking you to explain, Stel. This is your business and your past. I just want to say that you shouldn't care about what other people say," Mia said.
"She's right, Stel. No matter how strong someone's faith is, they've still sinned before. None of us are pure. We just choose different sins."
Stela handed Vera's phone back and ran out of the classroom. Mia and Vera ran after her. Stela stopped in the bathroom and let her tears spill inside one of the stalls.
Mia and Vera waited for Stela in front of the mirrors. The girl's sobs could be heard outside. Vera then turned on the sink to cover the sound.
Mia watched the female students who wanted to use the bathroom. She immediately stopped them and sent them away. Vera helped too, giving them a firm look. The two of them acted deaf when the school bell rang. As long as Stela didn't come out, Mia and Vera would keep waiting for her.
"I was the one who forced you to become my friend, Stel. I'll prove that I'm really worthy of being your friend. We're staying right here. Take it easy, Stel. You're not alone."