Les Laches

Proposal for a Date

Tian was busy reading a chicklit from one of the bookshelves in the library when a notification from his phone distracted him. While thinking that it was time for him to rest his eyes, Tian placed the barrier on the last page he read and stepped onto the first floor of the room. His cell phone was deliberately placed on the sofa table so as not to interfere with his concentration while reading. While throwing his body onto the surface of the gray-black sofa located in the middle of the room, Tian shifted the lock of his phone screen and checked several notices that had piled up since he entered the room two hours ago.

The first notification he saw was hundreds of messages on a chat group consisting of himself and his four best friends. Everyone except him was busy planning something to fill the time of the college vacation was still a month away. Tian deliberately mute the notification of the group on that one because even though he had set the notification sound with the slowest ringtone, the twangs due to the sending of successive conversations still sounded disturbing.

The second notification is an update notification from the application installed on his phone. Then, the last notification is a notification from Tian's instagram account. Tian automatically smiled widely when he saw the name of the account that made the notification appear. He hurriedly clicked on the notice and saw the cover post of the book he had photographed appear on his phone screen this morning. Below, there is a sign that there are 239 people who like the post. However, that number did not have much meaning for Tian compared to the name of one of the accounts that clicked on the like button a moment ago.

Anmed_Harp.

That is how Meda named all the accounts she owned, except her official e-mail account which was named according to her real full name. Harel Andromeda.

It has been a week since he visited Meda's house and the last few days, Tian noticed that the young man was quite active on social media judging from his frequent likes on Tian's posts. Also, from how to tag Tian account on posts relevant to Tian lecture majors, posts containing motivational content, to topics that are popular.

Thanks to Meda, Tian is a little updated on things that are trending around him. That left his four best friends astonished, because it was the first time they did not need to give Tian a "footnote" while discussing viral content.

His phone rang signaling an incoming call when Tian intended to put it back. Safira's name appeared on her phone screen, making Tian think that there was something important she had to read in the group chat.

"Yes, Fir?" Tian pressed the speaker button after answering the call, then shifted the view to the main page to access the chat group in his Whatsapp application.

"Open your Whatsapp now!" sapphira's orders immediately upon hearing Sapphira's voice.

"Yes. Here I just want to read the group chat," replied Tian quickly.

There was a moaning across the phone. "Not a group chat, Tian. Check out Meda's profile picture!"

"Meda's profile picture?" tian murmured softly before returning to the initial view of the app and looking for Meda contacts.

A small screech slid from Tian's lips as his eyes captured the profile photo on Meda's contact. The portrait adorning Meda's contact profile photo is that of Tian while in Cienfuegos. In the photo, Tian is standing on the road leading to the port city of Cienfuegos. The position of Tian is facing the sea and turning back to the camera.

"I know it's you." Sapphira's voice reappeared and from her tone, she was trying to emphasize that there was no room for Tian to twitch.

"Yes. It's me, but I didn't realize he took this photo back in Cienfuegos." Tian replied stammeringly.

Confusion still surrounds him as he tries to remember the existence of this photo in his mobile gallery which became a tool to snap almost all the pictures when he and Meda were in Cienfuegos. Right, almost. The next few minutes, Tian recalled that Meda had indeed pulled out her phone occasionally during the trip. When Tian asked Meda to use his cell phone if he wanted to take a picture of something that caught his attention, Meda simply threw a thin smile and put her phone back in. It could be, that was the reason Tian did not know the existence of the photo.

"Honestly, Ti. You're not in-diem dating Meda in Cuba, are you?" accuse Safira.

Tian chuckled. Actually, the idea didn't sound bad to him. It's just that, until now, he still can't agree with those expectations. He still wants to enjoy the times of his approach with Meda. If he had made sure that the young man would no longer change his attitude as he did in the early days of their encounter, then Tian would have formalized his relationship with Meda.

"Yet, Fir. You will know that for example there is a development between me and Meda, you and Hera first which I will tell you," Tian said after being satisfied with a laugh.

"okay." Safira immediately believed Tian's words because the girl had never broken her promise.

He then invites Hera to make a group call. The three continued the conversation on the topic in Tian's unread group chat. Apparently, the talks in the group did not find a definite purpose even though it had spent days.

"An idea?" ask Hera frustrated.

"Where is the proposal?" ask Tian back.

"I'm the same Safira wanted to go to Singapore. Alvin wants to dive into Gili Trawangan. Afgar wants to go to Jogja because he said there are many good events at the beginning of the year." Hera closed her explanation with an annoyed grunt.

"Tok everything out of town? We can't play here?" Tian frowned dislike.

He is indeed a little afraid to travel far in the near future considering his departure last time making him unable to be beside his family when there was a big problem. Sapphira and Hera who responded instantly realized that. They plan to "force" each other's partners to adjust the direction of the conversation according to Tian's desired destination preferences when the topic is brought up again in the group chat forum.

"What if we go to places that are usually made outbound?" hera's proposal.

"Recorts?" tanya Safira, mentioned the location that became the choice of the outbound organizing team on their campus.

Of course, even girls like Safira are smart enough to know that there are more destinations that can be used as outbound locations besides resorts. It's just that, Safira deliberately mentioned the word "resort" to show that he will only come if there is the intended location to do outbound activities.

Safira is not interested in activities that involve too much physical movement. The gym is an exception. His fear of being outshaped slightly overcame his laziness to make a move. He was indeed not awarded a body like Tian who had been curvy from there even without extra effort, or the body of Hera who was always thin no matter how much food stuffed into his stomach.

"To the cinema. Take the Velvet Class, keep buying all the movie tickets that air that day." Hera started throwing up the original idea.

"Rice!" chirps Safira.

"What's nice? That's absurd. If you two just want to move places for cuddling, mending diem alone in each room. Don't go anywhere." Tian denied the emotions that were immediately met with laughter from his two best friends.

"You're berserk because the idea is ugly or because there's no date?" safira Goda.

"Will there be a Meda?" sahut Hera's.

"Yep. Just take it." Safira is getting more and more pumping.

"Bye!" Tian closed the debate by disconnecting the phone.

Unfortunately, the contents of the conversation on the phone were stuck in Tian's head even after his phone was closed. Given the contents of the conversation on the phone just now, made Tian imagine if he was crazy enough to follow the advice of his two best friends to invite Meda to participate in the marathon movie plan in Velvet class. I don't know what kind of view the young man had given him that Tian had come up with such an absurd idea. Even if Tian explained that it was not he who proposed the idea, it was still he who would be considered strange because it was only according to the scenario.

Just as Tian was intending to end his daydream, his phone rang again. This time the name of Meda was plastered there. Tian hurriedly pressed the answer button.

"I fell asleep again" replied Tian.

"Body sleep?" ask Meda again

Tian shook his head. "No. Just overslept. You?"

"I just finished the meeting. Have you had lunch?"

"Ughh! Don't talk like that. Luckily I know what I've eaten yet for you? If not, you want me to eat." Tian sneered.

"Yes." Yeah." Meda answered quickly.

Tian counted to the number three, waiting for the young man to laugh. Because, he felt that the young man could not possibly seriously take Tian to lunch on his usually busy work day.

"You don't know me anymore, do you?" Tian asked doubtfully.

"i'm serious. It's me again the way to the parking lot." The sound of the shoe pad clashing with the floor echoing across the phone showed that the young man was not lying.

"Why?!" Tian screeched in panic. "I mean you didn't suddenly drop out for lunch together because of what I said earlier, did you?"

There was the sound of Meda laughing on the other end of the phone, followed by the sound of the car alarm disabled. "If I don't have to go to work every morning, I will also try to meet you every day."

Tian's face warmed to hear the unexpected narration of Meda. When he first met Meda, it never occurred for a second in Tian's head that the young man could come out with such grumbling sentences. Well, although of course Meda was not boasting and it made Tian remember that he had to make things right.

"What do you want to eat?" That was the first thing that Meda asked when Tian entered her Ford Mustang.

"It's up to you, please" Tian replied quickly.

"I don't think you like pleasantries. But your answer will instead get us engaged in a long, stale conversation" Meda replied while showing a wide grin towards Tian.

"believe me. I have absolutely no intention to make our conversation cliche and long-winded. We don't have much time to spend arguing because you have to go back to the office, right?" Tian pointed at the complete work suit that was still attached to Meda's tall body. "I'm just not sure you can eat the food I want to eat."

Meda scrunched her forehead. "What do you want to eat?"

"Chicken photo." Tian said slowly.

"Where does the problem go?" Meda is getting confused. He tried to remember if he had ever said that he was allergic to that one food.

"It's on the side of the road" Tian replied again.

Meda gave him a flat look, asking Tian to continue his explanation to the end.

"Eat while sitting in a plastic chair. There's no table."

"And you think I can't eat there because?" Meda still doesn't understand.

"Your utfit and our eating place don't fit." Tian looked at Meda as if what he said was the clearest thing in the world.

"Do you have a 'special' outfit to eat on the fifth leg?" ask Meda again.

Tian shook his head in doubt. Confused by the meaning of the question Meda.

"Well. I didn't either. So, we can still eat chicken soto on the fifth leg in clothes like this, right?"

Meda asked back. This time with a very subtle teasing tone in his voice. Tian could only laugh wryly before gesturing for Meda to drive her car forward.

"That's the spill?" Tian's eyes widened to see the orangeish-red viscous liquid that filled Meda's bowl.

Back then, the two had been beside Tian's subscription chicken soto cart. Meda who got her order first poured as much sambal as possible into her bowl because she was very fond of spicy food. Tian Yang returned while carrying his order until he swallowed his own saliva. It was as if he was the one who had to finish the bowl. Meda just grinned broadly at the girl's expression.

"Do you have any good movie advice at the movies?"

Meda suddenly asked between the mouthfuls of her second soto bowl. The next new thing he knew about Meda was that her thin body was not directly proportional to the portion of food she could afford to spend. Tian recalls the moment they were in Vinales and when Meda ordered a whole piece of grilled chicken for herself. The rest of the grilled chicken that they could not afford to spend at that time was indeed wrapped by Meda to be taken back to the hotel. However, Tian suspects that it was Meda who spent it all alone instead of sharing it with Afgar.

Tian nearly choked on the rice when he heard Meda say "the cinema". Suddenly his memory returned to the conversation between himself and his two female companions on the phone.

"Why?" tian asked back after confirming that he could make a sound without showing any expression as if he was caught making a mistake.

"I want you to watch tomorrow" Meda replied after she swallowed the food she was chewing.

"Why do you suddenly want to watch?" Tian still asked with caution. Trying to analyze the possibility that Safira played a role to instill the idea of a "cinema" in Meda's head.

"Would you like to go somewhere else?" ask Meda back. "I don't care where I go. Just so we meet tomorrow."

"Medic. You're not ashamed to say something that sounds exactly like dialogue in soap opera scripts?" Tian tried to distract Meda from her reserved face by changing the topic.

"I just don't want to keep the image by not saying what I have to say to you." Meda shrugged her shoulders. "So, you agree that we'll see you tomorrow, right?"