Linger

Wh why?

Ever since his big hand dragged Kalea to leave the hotel building until they finally reached the restaurant not far from there, Gavin was still reluctant to open his voice. Even as the plates began to be delivered to the table and the waiter asked if there was anything else to help, Gavin did not answer. He is only preoccupied with his own thoughts, letting Kalea take over the task of talking to the people they meet after their unexpected encounter with the female figure named Irina earlier. 

For a long time Gavin just silently looked at the seafood fried rice in front of him. His appetite disappeared instantly as his eyes caught a few pieces of shrimp on the plate. Because he remembered his girl again. Gavin likes shrimp. His favorite food since childhood is the shrimp balado sauce made by Mother, but since knowing her girl, Gavin almost never again eat shrimp because the girl is allergic to seafood. 

"Why?"

His head looked up as Kalea's voice interrupted. He found the girl looking at him in astonishment. In front of her mouth was already a spoonful of fried rice ready to be devoured, but presumably the girl was forced to undo the intention of seeing it which still had no intention of touching her food at all.

"Do you like seafood? Want me to take another one?" the spoon is back lowered onto the plate. Kalea was ready to call for service to change her order, but Gavin quickly prevented.

"No need. I ate this."

Then, Gavin grabbed a spoon and tried to feed the fried rice into his mouth. He ate in silence, chewing rice in his mouth in slow motion while his head still felt noisier with various things that were increasingly thought to feel tangled. There were pieces of events spinning around in his head randomly, constantly changing in quick time just like a roll of tapes that had been broken. He tried to parse one by one things that disturbed him, but what he found was precisely those things transformed into something that increasingly made his head feel full.

"If you don't like it, don't force it, Gavin." 

Gavin stopped chewing. He looked up, only to find that Kalea was looking at him seriously. 

"What?" tanyanya confusion. Because honestly, for a while, he had interpreted Kalea's words just now as something else.

"Fried rice. If you don't like it, don't be forced to eat. I'm the other pesenin. What do you want?" 

"No, Kalea. I ate something that was there."

"Gavin," said Kalea slowly, still trying to convince him not to force himself to eat what has been provided. But Gavin doesn't care about it. Because he's used to doing things he doesn't want. He was used to not doing what he liked, and only according to what was outlined for him. Gavin was used to living by following a predetermined path, so now he had no power to impose his own will. Not one bit.

So in the end, Gavin decided not to continue his debate with Kalea. After the fried rice in his mouth finished chewing and he swallowed with difficulty, Gavin again stuffed another spoonful into his mouth. As it continued until the fried rice on the plate slowly reduced. Sometimes he glanced at Kalea who was silent to him, completely forgetting his fried rice that was allowed to cool down without any reduction. 

Uncomfortable with the situation, Gavin again put down his spoon. He grabbed a glass of water and immediately gulped it down to the toilet, then looked at Kalea seriously. 

"Why not eat? You were so noisy asking for food, why is the food now even taken?" tanyakanya. His eyes were still not separated from the Kalea boba bead which this time was too difficult for him to read. 

But instead of answering his question, Males threw another question at him. 

"Why you?"

"I? Why me?" Gavin pointed to himself in astonishment. 

"You're weird, Gavin." 

"Nothing is weird."

"Much." Kalea interrupted. "Since last time you suddenly dragged me away while I was still talking to Irina, until a while ago when our food was delivered, you were acting strange. You just shut up, not a lot of talk and a few times not horrified also what I said." Kalea put away the plate from before her, then folded her hands on the table, looking at Gavin seriously.

"You why? I was wrong with you? Or what? What's wrong, Gavin?" kalea.

Gavin had to breathe a lot to suppress his ego so as not to explode right now. His head was dizzy, and hearing Kalea's speech did not make things easier. Gavin's scared. She feared she would spiral out of control and was forced to show her bad side in front of Kalea if she continued to force her to open her voice. And so, before all that happened, Gavin reached out, grabbed Kalea's hand and grasped it so tightly. Hopefully that way his anxiety can gradually subside.

But what happened was just the opposite. When his eyes met Kalea's flimsy, bead-looking boba at the same time, Gavin felt the dam where it held all sorts of emotions in place instantly. His grip tightened, his teeth clenched tightly and he was forced to close his eyes for a moment before finally opening his voice.

"My mood is no good now, Kalea." He said after his eyes opened. "So, may I ask you to please not ask too many questions? I just don't want to show my bad side in front of you." 

There was a pause of a few seconds until Kalea sighed then withdrew her hand, leaving a void in one corner in Gavin's heart when the little hand was completely detached from his grasp. 

"Sorry."

Naw. Don't apologize, Kalea. 

"Let's go home." Kalea got up and grabbed her handbag on the table, but Gavin seemed reluctant to move on.

"If you still want to be here, it's okay, I'll go home alone."

Supposedly, when Kalea said so, Gavin immediately got up and held Kalea's arm so that the girl would not come home alone. But what happened was that he was just in a place, not moving at all even until Kalea uttered a saying that somehow felt so painful to hear.

"Okay, I'm home. May your mood improve quickly, so that you do not behave like a gini and make me confused." Then the girl actually passed, stepping quickly leaving her who was now busy berating herself for failing to control her emotions.

*******

Karel emerged from the kitchen, carrying two glasses of avocado juice in a tree owned by Ibun planted in the yard later his house. His facial expression looked annoyed, his eyes squinted at Kalea who looked relaxed just sitting on the sofa of the living room while chewing on eggs made by Mpok Nuria.

"That's like a hobby to leave you alone." Read Karel. He thrust a glass of juice in front of Kalea and was immediately accepted with pleasure by the girl. Then he took a sitting position next to her, taking part in plucking a grain of eggs from a jar in the arms of Kalea.

"It wasn't him who left me, but I left him." Kalea said casually, as if the matter of her coming home alone was not a serious problem. Though for Karel, this is clearly a problem that cannot be underestimated. After the incident that night, he could no longer let Kalea wander alone let alone at night. Because of his parno, he was willing to become an impromptu driver for Kalea to make sure the girl was safe. Seeing the usual Kalea reaction now certainly makes him upset instead of playing.

"That's exactly the problem. If you get to come home first, it means something is not right. Tell me, what's the matter?" Karel snatched the jar from Kalea's embrace, making the girl frown with her mouth full.

"The school says." His insistence, but Kalea was still reluctant to open her voice. The girl instead switched the conversation by discussing about avocado juice that tastes too sweet.

"Don't talk." Upset Karel. If it had been this way, he was sure that something had happened between Kalea and Gavin.

"Nothing, Karel. Gavin still wants to take care of things, but I'm tired, so I go home first."

"Don't lie."

"Not lying."

"If you're not lying, try talking to me while you look into my eyes."

Kalea actually looked. Karel did not waste the opportunity, immediately acting quickly to spy on the boba bead that was now looking at him seriously. But he found nothing there. There were no lies that tried to hide, making him sigh frustrated because his feeling said that Kalea and Gavin were indeed involved in a problem.

Because the feeling capital alone will not be able enough to make Kalea open her voice, then all Karel can do is sigh and then sip his avocado juice in silence. His view is still inseparable from Kalea who is now busy watching news broadcasts.

"What time do we want to walk?" kalea asked suddenly, turning her head while Karel was still staring at her.

"Half the seven." Karel replied after checking his phone to see the clock. It was only five o'clock past fifteen minutes, there was still quite a bit of time before they left for the cinema. And that much time should have been spent pushing Kalea back to tell her what really happened. But Karel didn't do it. Instead, he got up from the sofa, walked leisurely to the backyard with one hand put in a shorts pocket while another hand held a glass filled with avocado juice. To get Kalea to talk, she needs to give her a fishing rod instead of continuing to urge her.

"Where are you going?"

"Last page." Answer without turning your head. He kept going because he knew Kalea would follow him soon.

And sure enough, just as he was sitting on the wooden chair in the backyard, the girl emerged from the door with a frown.

"Well, why?" tanyanya confusion.

Kalea did not answer. He sat down opposite Karel, folding both hands in front of his chest while still maintaining his pouting face. Kalea was silent for quite a while, making Karel cluck bitterly as he felt impatient to wait for her to open his voice.

"By the way, manhunt." Upset Karel. He followed closely, straightening his back which was all leaning on the chair only to be able to see Kalea's sullen face from a closer distance.

"Are the guys like that, Rails?"

Next to Karel's eyebrows raised, confused. "What does that mean?"

"Yes, he suddenly changed his attitude for no apparent reason. A good second, a second later ferociously. A second of laughter, a second later of frowning. Guys are that hard to guess?" kalea's babble made Karel gawk.

"Know I'm back, yeah." Mention Karel lightly. Because indeed, as far as it is, what Kalea said just now is more appropriate to describe how a woman behaves. Throughout the history of her life, Karel has met many women and almost all of them have predictable traits. Make it as a man to be all wrong and do not know how to behave.

"It's about Gavin, isn't it?" guess it's on target.

Hearing Gavin's name being called, Kalea sighed in a dramatic manner. His originally defiant shoulders had now fallen drooping, his pouting face was gone, replaced with a pitiful moody look.

"Emang the Gavin why? She's abis mad at you?" tanyakanya.

Kalea shakes. "It's no rage, it's just..."

"What's free?" sela Karel was quick, making Kalea snort.

"In the first place, don't cut my talk!"

"OK, okay. So, how's it?"

Kalea started telling me everything that happened to her and Gavin all day. Starting from the time at the boutique, when they accidentally met Irina at the hotel until when Gavin behaved strangely while at the restaurant. Karel listened to everything carefully. They were busy exchanging voices, not knowing that not far behind them, there was Gavin hiding behind the door, listening to their conversation with a painful heart and a choked breath.