Be aground

Stealing Views

"Why do you think, Ko?" my investigation saw a solemn Riko in front of my hungry phone.

"Balesin chat Runa," he replied casually without taking his eyes off my phone screen.

"What do you mean?" I snatched away the phone Riko was holding.

"Eh, not very ethical lo. Play bales-balesin chat aja," my nagging after reading the message he sent to Runa.

"Once in a while I intervene so that the hotter you are the same as Runa," he kekehnya.

"Think of a new scene, you know," I hurriedly typed an apology at Runa.

My words seemed to have hit the target. As well as his satisfied laughter turned into a dead snort of fleas.

"Yes, who already has a boyfriend," he said later, choking.

"Continue now you want to do something? I have no other advice for you," I asked when I saw the lethargic face of Riko sitting in the TV room.

"So I took a chat with the Vita whose room next door Leona, he said ntar malem want to go to Punclut. Just, he told me to invite another friend, let him not be a mosquito repellent when I talk to Leona," he explained.

"So you want to know who?"

"Well, what am I asking you, huh?" Riko stared expectantly.

"Ih, no. Ntar Runa thinks I'm cheating," I refused.

"Ye, I'm afraid. I asked Runa for permission. She's an understanding girl."

This kid is really in love like him. Not usually he gets so excited to approach a girl. Ordinary only with spare change. If the girl refuses, she will find a new victim. This time he seemed to really want to try to get close to this girl he was appraising.

What kind of friend if I help his best friend can not, but if you have to leave the house this weekend can be stressful as well. Between wanting to help my best friend and feeling lazy to block the traffic jam of Bandung city war in my brain.

"Gue tau lo males out on gini weekend, Jun. This time I beg you. I can't make Apeng or Cuplis, it's two bucket kids. It could fail my mission" he asked as if he knew what I was thinking. Face groans.

"Why don't you ask Dimas?" tanyaku tried to bid Riko's request.

"Lo kayak did not know what kind of girl Dimas the way," he said ruffled his hair.

"Ha-ha is right too?" I'm a mangosteen, remembering Dimas' girlfriend who didn't really like hanging out with us. If Dimas forced to come together, the girl's face would be bent several folds. It is almost like origami paper.

"This time, I beg Jun. You know, I usually don't get this much the same girl, mah." Riko cupped both of her palms over her head like a worshipping person.

"The cafe is crowded, isn't it? You are afraid I even destroy the pdkt lo event," I asked a bit doubtful.

"Vita says, she wants to run a cafe that has a personal saung, let's not bother with other visitors." Riko's face began to be filled with hope.

"What time do you leave?"

"Abis ashar aja to my boarding house, so that abis magrib can leave," he said with a sparkling face.

"Gue bring a car, yeah. Let's go straight to the four of you, kapok me dibonceng ama lo," kekehku recalled the incident riko was piggybacked this morning.

"Yes, deh. How to make you comfortable, the important thing can nemenin me," kekehnya.

After her request was approved, Riko began to stop pleading. His face was also beginning to look relaxed. While waiting for the ashar time, Riko began to be engrossed in playing console games in the TV room. In the meantime, I started my activities to make cover songs.

The shadow of Runa's face came back dancing in my mind as I looked for the idea of a song I was going to sing. The Backstreet Boys song, How Did I Fall In Love With You, seems to be a good match for my relationship with Runa. Lyrics of a song that tells about the change of feelings from friends to love.

🎶🎶🎶

Remember when never needed each other

The best of friends like sister and brother

We understand we'd never be alone

These days are gone

Now I want you so much

The night is long and I need your touch

Don't know what to say

Never meant to feel this way

Don't want to be alone tonnage

🎶🎶🎶🎶

I tried to re-arrange the music. I tried several times to play with my guitar, until I found a tone that I thought was suitable for making the cover of the song.

Winding in the studio room makes time feel so fast, it does not feel the clock has shown at four in the afternoon. Although I had no time to record, I left the studio before Riko started playing again.

***

At five o'clock in the afternoon, I went out with Riko just as Pak Karsa had come in to replace his son who was on guard.

"Eh, Aden tumben out gini weekend?" ask Pak Karsa with a very high inquisitive tone.

"Si Riko again asked to be sent to get a girl sir," my gelak.

"Lah Aden himself when or make a deck with girls. His friend's time is thought?" Here's a guard who's into acute. All asked.

"Eh, I don't know yet. Arjun already has a girlfriend sir, so I ask for help with him, so not too ngenes," said Riko before I could answer.

"Well, Aden quietly washed away too," kekeh sir Karsa with his thick Sundanese accent.

"Lo so want to be won't it? Even behind my bullying?" gruntutuku at Riko who seemed to enjoy his activities giving gossip material to Pak Karsa.

"Yes, sir. Later the father of the interrogation of this child if my mission is complete," kekeh Riko waved his hand at Pak Karsa.

"Ha-ha, well Den. Good-bye."

"Lo what the hell, Ko. Tau yourself you're the father of kepo maximal," I grumbled.

"Ha-ha, it's nothing. Let there be entertainment also parents, reward also for lo," kekehnya.

"Yes, you're looking for justification, huh." I'd better end this unimportant debate. Riko always had a rebuttal sentence that I couldn't beat. Rather than mouth until foaming to argue, it is better to be silent. Because I have to save my energy to hit traffic.

Azan magrib roared when we arrived at Riko's boarding house. I wrote a whatsapp message to Runa,

[Where are the nights, Neng?] write me open the conversation.

Unexpectedly, Runa replied to my message shortly after the message was sent.

[Diajakin Vienna around Jakarta.] Reply.

Somehow it feels strange, not only because Runa's phone is active at the end of the week, but he does not usually want to be invited to go for a walk.

[From yesterday I was in the motto house, mom was here too.] He replied.

I was reading Runa's reply.

[Lo again what? Do you pray magrib?] tanyanya.

[Riko asked me to make a pdkt, she made me step out 😂😂] I chuckled to myself when typing that sentence.

[Coconut tumben?] I can imagine Runa's face of disbelief when reading messages from her.

Don't we? It's not just me who feels strange with Riko's body that gets close to the girl.

[Eat him, maybe this time he really likes girls. As a good friend, I try to help you. This time it really is.]

[Good luck to Riko, I hope it really is. Greetings yes. I would like to go to Vienna again, pray first.] Reply.

[OK, dude. C u]

[C u, Jun]

I put my phone in the bag of jeans I was wearing, following Riko who from five minutes ago had gotten out of the car.

"Eh, you're Arjun right?" greet a girl when I'm about to step towards Riko's room.

I tried to remember the sad-eyed girl who had just rebuked me, but failed. My memory is unable to present this face before me as the person I once knew.

"Yes, really. I'm sorry but I forgot, who is it?" I asked frankly, rather than guessing, but wrong people.

"Leona, your old high school girl, must have forgotten her," she flaunted her gings, making my memory reveal a tomboyish girl who was in my first grade high school class.

"Yes God! I forgot to. You've changed drastically gini."

"Ha-ha, the effect of mostly hanging out with real girls," she cheered, "what are you doing here?" Leona looked at me in wonder.

I just realized, this girl is the reason I was forced by Riko to break through the traffic jam to get to this place.

"There's a promise with Riko" I said briefly.

It is also impossible for me to tell Leona, if my best friend forced to accompany her approach with girls, who turned out to be my high school friend first.

"Eh, you know Leona?" Suddenly, Riko was near me.

"He was my high school friend first" Leona said before I could answer.

"So you've known Leona for a long time?" asked Riko with a look as if asking "Kok did not tell me."

"He forgot. Understand the school idol, where the same inget who is rich dimeh I, mah," kekehnya.

"Ha-ha, lebay ah! You've changed so much, that's why I've forgotten" I deny.

"Eh, Ko. Vita said to go to Punclut, huh? Arjun's coming too?" leona asked ignoring my last sentence.

"Yes, are you ready to go yet?" Riko asked back.

"But take a shower. Just got back from college."

"Remain to campus weekend gini?"

"There's a group assignment to do in the campus radio lab."

"Oo, yes, yes. At seven we walk, yes," Riko told me.

"Ok, daph Arjun," said Leona waving her hand at me.

I just replied with a nod. Look at Riko's face that looks sumringah.

"No! Not wrong, right, my decision to make ngajak elo. This is the first time Leona has talked to me for a long time. Ordinary just say hi. It was also her expression flat," Riko said as she walked towards her room.

"Ha-ha, thank God that I'm useful to you, too" I chuckled.

At seven o'clock, we're out of Riko's boarding house. Moving towards the Dago junction that has been filled with vehicles that are not going anywhere. Some may be on our side. Given the place we are headed is also a favorite place in Bandung.

The travel time should only be thirty minutes from the boarding place Riko, backwards up to one and a half hours. Luckily Vita, his friend Leona was quite able to dispel ke-betean during the trip.

The parked vehicles filled the roadside where the cafe we were going to. A parking attendant directed me to an empty parking lot.

The four of us went down, greeted by a female waitress dressed in traditional Sundanese dress.

"How many people are you making, Tea?" the greeting was friendly to the two girls who had first arrived at the entrance of the cafe.

"Fourth, there's an empty saung, no tea?" ask Vita.

"Oh, there, Tea. Let me take you." The waiter invited us to enter the cafe, through the front room of the cafe which was not too crowded. The front only contains three sets of tables with four seats. In the corner of the cafe there is a small stage for live music. On the right side of the entrance is a cash register.

"Please, Tea." The maid showed a saung located not far from the exit of the main room of the cafe.

The view of Bandung looks amazing from this saung. The lights contained in buildings located in the lowlands of the city of Bandung look like points of light that decorate the dark city.

"This is the menu, Tea. If you want to order, just push the bell button, yes," explained the waiter handed the menu book and pointed to a bell attached to the edge of the saung.

"Oh, fine. Thank you" said Vita.

After dinner, Riko's approach session began, but Leona asked me more questions. More like my little reunion with Leona.

"Runa how are you?" leona asked after she had chattered to remind her of the old High School.

"They're so now," Riko chuckled on my back.

"Oh yeah? Well, I don't think. From friend to demen," rang Leona.

"She has always loved Runa, her Runa is too late to realize." Riko spoke again before I thought about what to answer.

"Oh, the pantesan used to be the girls who fancied you on a mental all, yeah. It turned out that indeed her heart was only for a Runa," teased Leona with a wide smile.

The Riko approach event seems to be running less smoothly. But from the look on Riko's face, he was already quite happy to be able to chat more with Leona. Although I felt that Riko did not look like the Riko I had known all along, it was easy to find a topic of conversation with the opposite sex. Tonight he was a little stiff. Yes, if lucky with the heart, many people who become misbehaved, not infrequently even look like other people.

Hopefully Riko's efforts to approach Leona can bear sweet fruit. Which friend would not be happy to see his best friend happy.

______________________________________________

Thank you for Vitamin A, giving me a vitamin booster for promoting my work on your lawn.

Make friends who want to read the exclamations of crazy rich Surabayan style, stop by the author's work on this one.