Rey was truly handsome; his smile was so sweet. Any woman who saw him smile would definitely not be able to forget it. It was the same for Ratna.
Even though Rey only smiled at her occasionally, somehow the vision of Rey smiling was always vivid in her mind's eye.
That night, Ratna went to sleep as usual. As she fell into slumber, Ratna saw a beautiful landscape in the hills. In the dream, there was a cave. Ratna walked into the cave, and inside, there was Rey. The Rey she always dreamed of. Rey smiled and waved at her. Ratna approached him hesitantly. It turned out Rey walked toward her, took her hand, hugged her, and gently kissed her forehead.
Ratna felt the warmth of Rey's body. Ratna was truly happy; a feeling of overflowing joy surged from her chest.
Suddenly, a faint knock on the door was heard. Ratna paid no attention to the sound; she was completely swept away by the warmth of Rey's embrace. Ratna wished not to let go of Rey's hug. The knocking on the door grew louder, and her father's voice faintly said, "Ratna, wake up, hurry up, or you'll be late again." Ratna truly didn't care, until then... the alarm clock blared loudly...
Finally, Ratna was forced to wake up. She was really annoyed, sad, and frustrated—why did she have to wake up? "Ugh... why did you wake me up? I was still dreaming! I want to sleep again!" she shouted in frustration, pulling the blanket over her. She wanted to continue her dream, but her brain apparently couldn't create the hallucination again, which truly made her frustrated."
---
Ratna's seatmate, Helen, was less shy. Helen had formed a gang with the pretty girl next door, Julia, Julia's boyfriend, Aryo, and Tim. During break time, Helen would disappear to hang out with her gang, usually at the canteen. As for Ratna, since she didn't have money, she was either alone in the classroom, in front of the classroom, or at the library.
Ratna had a habit of always staying in the library during the break. It wasn't because she enjoyed reading; actually, it was more because Ratna didn't know what else to do to fill the break time. She rarely brought lunch because it was troublesome. Only occasionally would her mother cook her favorite soy-sauce-and-onion fried egg, which was wrapped in plastic—yes, wrapped in plastic, not in a lunchbox—to make cleanup easier since only the spoon needed washing.
Apparently, Helen occasionally noticed Ratna. Sometimes, Helen would bring Ratna leftover bread from her parents' bakery. Ratna was actually embarrassed to accept it, but Helen always insisted. Helen couldn't bear to see Ratna not eat anything until school was over.
Rey was liked by many other students; everyone invited him to join their groups. But for some reason, Rey ended up joining Helen's group. The kids in Helen's group were indeed friendlier. Even though Rey had joined Helen's group, Ratna had never managed to get to know him better.
That afternoon, Ratna took the time to borrow a book from the library before going home. Outside the library, Helen, Julia, Aryo, Rey, and Tim were sitting on a long bench, seemingly waiting for something.
As soon as they saw Ratna walk past them, Helen stood up and walked over to Ratna, while the other kids remained seated.
"Hi, Ratna, aren't you going home yet?" Helen greeted her warmly, patting her shoulder.
All eyes turned to Ratna.
Ratna looked around, her eyes meeting Rey's. "The handsome one," she whispered to herself.
Rey smiled. "Oh, my heart, my heart is pounding!" Ratna exclaimed in panic internally.
"Hey, Ratna," Helen prompted again, sounding a bit annoyed that Ratna hadn't answered.
"Ehm, why haven't you guys gone home yet?" Ratna finally replied with hesitation.
"Ratna, we're going for a walk to the Mall. Rey wants us to show him around Bandung city. We're waiting for Julia's car," Tim answered.
"Want to come along?" Julia offered.
This group was genuinely friendly to Ratna, perhaps because of Helen, Ratna's seatmate.
Rey looked at Ratna with a sweet smile. Ratna felt shaky; her heart genuinely couldn't handle seeing that sweet smile...
"Come with us?" Rey offered, walking closer to Ratna. Ratna panicked even more; her heart was beating fiercely. Her cheeks flushed.
Actually, everyone knew that Ratna wouldn't join. Ratna was the innocent type who didn't like socializing. Ratna was startled that Rey had actually spoken to her; his baritone voice sounded very melodious to Ratna's ears.
Ratna looked at Rey in disbelief; Rey was standing right next to her. Ratna realized her head only reached Rey's chin.
"Ehm, I can't do things spontaneously," Ratna answered. "I have to ask for my parents' permission first.
" Everyone smiled at Ratna's answer and exchanged glances because they had secretly gossiped and bet that Ratna wouldn't want to come if invited.
Ratna somehow felt a sense of guilt, "Ugh, I can't take you around, Rey..." she lamented internally. "Ah, it would certainly be fun to go out with you, Rey."
---
Julia's car arrived. Helen and her gang got into the car one by one. They waved goodbye to Ratna, smiling. "Bye, Ratna," Helen said. Everyone else also said goodbye, but all Ratna truly registered was Rey's baritone voice.
That day became a pleasant day for Ratna. Even though she couldn't go along, today was the first time she had seen a glimmer of hope with Rey. Rey's smile truly made her feel like she was floating."