Mandalas

FIGHR Analysis

 “I brought you a shirt. Aunt Irin said you might need it.”

              Leno's father was standing in front of his insulating glass. He was a thin, not-so-high man with long gray hair half his back that was pigtailed low. His face was hard but not too stiff. There is no similarity to Leno. He held a large paper bag. But Leno could not accept it, other than because all the goods given had to go through the sterilization process Geduna, he also should not wear other clothes other than a knee-length white dress in his isolation room.

              “I can use when I come out later,” Leno said. He sat on a mattress, facing the front of the insulating glass that separated the room from the waiting room.

              “Aunt Irin must be barred from entering this room. He was too old to visit. So I didn't take her,” her father said. Aunt Irin is 85 years old. He's been looking after Leno's sister, Gof, for a long time.

              Leno. “They won't allow either. Security must have been tightened after yesterday.”

              Silence approached them for a moment. This was something that Leno hated so much, an incredible awkward situation. Leno didn't know what else to say.

              “I'll be here again if they need administrative matters,” his father said.

              “I won't be long. They say a maximum of 7 days,” said Leno quoting the words 2 Mandala

who served yesterday.

              “Hopefully the city is already not in danger at that time.”

              Leno fell silent, he swallowed his saliva. Leno followed the news from the television. He knew the city was currently on Alert II, the same status if their city was preparing for war.

              “They won't let me go home if it's still dangerous,” Leno said. “Or maybe if it's safe, I can go straight home to school.”

              Leno felt something odd when he combined the word “pulang” with “school”. However, his father did not respond to anything. They kept quiet again.

              “How is aunt?” leno asked, breaking the silence.

              “Good,” replied His father briefly. “He asks you to call.” more often

              I can't use my phone at home. The fact that it wasn't her father who asked her to call

a little hurt Leno.

              “I'll call,” Leno said.

              “Gof fine. If you ask.”

              Leno raised both eyebrows. “Sgratitude.”

              The awkward atmosphere again enveloped them. Leno did not know if it was normal to not be able to talk to her own father.

              “Tell me if you need anything. I'm home.”

               “Iya, be careful,” says Leno. He waved from behind his glass.

              His father nodded and walked out of the room. When the door of the room closed, Leno threw his body on the mattress. I don't know why that conversation really drained his energy.

              Not long after, Leno's dX85 bracelet shook. There's an incoming call from Amber. Leno smiled widely and quickly rubbed his bracelet to answer Amber's call.

              “LEEE!!!! HAIII, HOW ARE YOU?!”

              Amber's scream from the other end managed to make Leno's heart almost loose. Amber's hologram emerges from Leno's bracelet.

              “Replace to video. I'm with the others,” Amber said again.

              Leno, who was more familiar with his nursery, turned on the television and plugged his bracelet into the television. The call from Amber turned into a live video featuring her own face and the view that the camera showed from Amber's side.

              Leno's television screen featured Amber with a pink pajama sitting in the living room of the hostel

erfu. Niken wore a soft yellow pajama with a head covering cloth. Sept, Jaffray, and Dika surround Amber and Niken in the same costume, faded screen printing jerseys that look oversized and knee-length shorts.

              “It looks like FIGHTR has had to accommodate an awful lot of homeless people lately,” Leno said with a flat expression. His friends immediately protested, according to Leno's allegations.

              “Badness!” dika is the loudest. Jaffray and Amber laugh to see her friends busy on the camera.

              “Your body is also like a padlock. Didn't Geduna have any clothes other than a tablecloth?” said Gilang. The boy protested at the camera pointing at him with his finger full of crumbs of chips.

              “Ih, slovenly, basic.” Niken brushed off Gilang's arm in annoyance.

              Leno couldn't help but laugh anymore at seeing her half-sane friends. Leno grabbed her own collar and lifted her up a little. “At least this tablecloth is convenient if I wear it without shower three days.”

              A noisy voice came back from the side of Amber and her friends. Sept laughed along

Amber and Jaffray. “Jorok once,” grumbled his friends alternately. Leno also laughed while watching his friends from the television screen. Just this time he was longing to gather with these people.

              Their laughter began to fade. Niken took the packaged chips flanked by Gilang then put them in his mouth carefully. The others followed Niken's movements until Gilang shouted out loud. “Uh, grab yourself dong!”

              While a heated debate begins, Amber looks at Leno gently through her camera, “Jadiii, how are you, dear? The food there is good, right?”

              Leno nodded. He loved the cheese mashed potatoes and the chicken cream soup he had eaten earlier for lunch. Caramel-flavored cream milk this morning is also quite good. Actually, come to think of it, the taste of the food here is delicious. But Leno misses the food Bu Denia cooked in the cafeteria. “Lumayan. But, no

as delicious as canteen.”

              “Uh, I also miss the canteen,” chirps Dika. All his friends agreed. “Food dorm

monotonous once,” said Gilang with a mouth full of chips.

              The quality of the video images that appear is sometimes unstable. Leno rubbed his bracelet some

times.

              “You used to eat here 2 times a day,” said Jaffray. “Eat morning and night only increase one more time in 2 days.”

              Dika put on a pouting face. His round face made him even more funny. “But it feels like

boring.”

              “And one more, I got stuck with you guys for 48 hours non-stop! It sucks.”

              “Hey we've been stuck in this school for 8 years. It makes no difference, stupid.”

              “Different lah-“

              Suddenly Dika's voice disappeared. Leno could only see his mouth moving without a sound.

              “-in, we all day do not shower and smell together.”

              “Sorry the network is ugly,” Leno said. He lifted his bracelet here and there to look for a signal.  “Why are you only in the dorm, indeed classes are not opened?” ask Leno again.

              “Iya. Classes temporarily closed.”

              “They don't allow anyone to go in or out of the dorm. Two weird holidays once.”

              “Teachers also can not get out of enDu, let alone out of FIGHTERR.”

              Leno nodded at the explanation from his friends. Perhaps it is safer that way than letting the children roam around and become the next victims of Lentipede.

              “Lee are you okay?” sept asked, worried to see Leno not talking

for a few moments.

              Leno smiled slightly. “I'm fine.”

              “Lee, until when should you be there?” ask Niken.

              “They said 7 days. They want to make sure I don't carry any infection from the creature

that,” Leno said. “So, I can't go anywhere.”

              “Oh yes, Lee.”

              Amber leaned her body slightly. “You haven't told me why you were in the library at 9pm?! Is it the same as Reppe?”

              Leno sighed. Indeed in the end he will tell the incident 2 nights ago.

Leno explains how Mia found out about Lentipede, how she spent time at school to drown in old printed books in the library, how Leno foolishly agrees to accompany Mia to stay even though they know there was a sudden attack last night from the giant Lentipede. Leno told me how he knew to meet the 6 shadow creatures who chased him to the library.

              “They said there were only five Lentipede seen in FIGHTR,” Jaffray said. Niken opened a news site projection from his bracelet. The title of the news with the inverted letter is faintly visible from Leno's television screen:

THE EMERGENCY! 5 GIANT LENTIPEDES ATTACK THE FIGHTERS AT NIGHT: 2 STUDENTS FALL VICTIM.

              “Because..” Leno's words stopped. Leno was a bit doubtful whether this was something that could be told to his friends. Leno himself was still worried actually what happened 2 nights was exactly like what was in his head?

              “What's up?” ask Sept. All his friends were silent and waiting.

              Leno still had doubts about his decision. But, let it be if they do not believe, the important thing is that Leno has been honest. “I stabbed him.”

and Dika dropped a bundle of chips from their hands.

              “I...take the spear made by Mia then..” said Leno trying to continue.

              “’Mia’-made Spear means?” jaffray asked, confused.

              Leno combed some of her hair with her hands. “Uh, this is hard once.”

              Leno took a breath and began to tell everything slowly. How Mia made the spear

it was homemade, threw it at Leno, and Leno used it to tear the first Lentipede. Leno tells the story of two Mandalas, one of whom is her sister Mia, who comes to their aid. As Leno ends the story, Niken and Jaffray stare at Leno in disbelief. Amber and

Sept glanced at each other. Everything was silent to digest what Leno said.

              A few minutes later, Dika opened his voice. “Lee I'm a bit doubtful, your head is fine right?”

              Amber snapped Dika's head spontaneously. “Your head now that isn't okay.”

              Leno raised his palm. Trying to calm themselves and also ask for the understanding of his friends. “I know this does sound very strange and magical. But I didn't make it up.”

              The atmosphere became quiet again. Suddenly Gilang clapped his hands and rubbed the second

his palm. “So..”.

              “You took out one of those giant creatures alone?”

              Leno shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, actually two.”

              “Jagoaan!!” yelled suddenly. “When will we meet the future Mandala candidates for success?! You are amazing Lee!!”

              Niken and Amber were confused. Jaffray and Dika slowly nodded. Both of them smiled broadly. “True yes,” said Jaffray. “Not everyone can do that.”

              “And you survived the incident, Lee. That's all that matters,” said Sept smiling. Niken and Amber nodded. They slowly smiled at Leno.

              Leno still felt very awkward with the response of his friends. But somehow he feels relieved now.

              Dika, who seemed to have not spoken a supportive sentence for Leno, stared at the table in front of him sharply while thinking. “But Lee, I'm still curious. How can you not be caught?”

              “So he said, Dik. Leno is good at sneaking around,” said Niken.

              “Not. I understand what Dika means. The Reppe Observer couldn't possibly not have known any students were wandering over at 7, right?” sept thought back.

              Leno tried to remember. “But I did not see a single Reppe who was on guard last night.”

              “Indeed they don't keep watch like that,” says Jaffray.

              “I had a little chat with them, before class started a few weeks ago. Since the holidays, Reppe has placed heat sensors throughout the FIGHTR area. They installed it so that all activities above the curfew can be monitored through the Tower.”

              Everyone went back to silence and drowned in their heads.

              “So actually...,” says Gilang. His voice sounded doubtful.

              “they know that Leno slipped?”

              “They know, but they did nothing.” Amber shut her mouth with a second.

her hands.

              “Oh, no…. I don't like this,” said Niken.

              “This means someone wants to interrupt Leno intentionally,” said Dika. They all stared

Leno simultaneously through the camera. Leno was uncomfortable with this conversation. He doesn't know what to respond to.

              “We cannot draw such conclusions. Not necessarily they didn't catch Leno

because intentionally,” said Sept, trying to find another point of view.

              “Then why for example?” ask Gilang

              “Wah, there are recalcitrant students who wander at 8 pm. What am I doing, huh? Pretend you don't know.”  Jaffray, Dika, and Niken spontaneously grabbed Gilang's hair.

              “But it's true! It is impossible for them to be silent when they know Leno is out of the dormitory,”, said Gilang defended himself. Her hair was now sticking out everywhere. No one's trying to clean up.

              “Or maybe they don't know,” says Sept again.

              “Internet network difficult to access until now. It is possible that they too, could not keep watch with the sensor as usual.”

              Jaffray shook his head, “If indeed the heat sensors that usually work can not be used, instead they will go down to the field directly.”

              “Then, Leno directly caught.”

              Once again the whole view was on Leno. Leno felt nauseous suddenly. He bowed his head. A throbbing dizziness struck his head back.

              “Hey, you guys made Leno in pain!” amber said hysterically. “Don't talk heavy

used to.”

              Leno raised his head and smiled. “I'm fine,” said Leno lying.

              “We'd better let Leno rest,” Sept said in a quieter voice. The look on his friends' faces relaxed and softened.

              “Oh yes, true. Forgive us, Lee,” Jaffray said as he fused his palms together.

              “I'm fine, right deh,” said Leno. Guilt approached Leno for making his friends unwell.

              “Already, you rest first yes, Lee,” said Niken smiling. He and Amber waved their hands at Leno.

              “Eh briefly,” interrupted Dika suddenly. “We haven't asked how Mia.” is doing

              Leno swallowed his saliva nervously. An uneasy feeling again enveloped Leno's mind. “Mia treated

in a different room, I have not met him.”

              “Oh, yes I mean,” says Dika.

              “Media says one of you is in critical condition. If you're okay, it means Mia.”.

              “I don't know, Dik. It's hard to find information when you're locked up in this room all day.” Leno interrupted Dika's sentence. It has been 2 days now he tried to get rid of the creepy shadow of how Mia is. Information that Mia is still “ada” in a different room with Leno was enough to dispel the anxiety that appears every time Leno remembered Mia. But Leno has not been able to master himself to imagine further how his friend's true condition.

              Jaffray elbowed Dika from behind. Both looked without sound. Niken and Amber

looking at Leno with sympathy. Gilang kept quiet, doing nothing in his place. Sept cleared his throat, trying to say something. He straightened his back and looked at Leno gently, “Don't get too dizzy, Lee. What matters is that you are okay now.”

              “Mia will also be fine, Lee. Calm down,” said Amber smiling.

              Leno took a deep breath. Maybe it was overrated. Leno smiled and nodded

in front of the camera.

              “Okee happy resttt. We will often bother you,” Amber waved her hand with

splashy. All his friends smiled and waved their hands.

              “If we can get out of here, we will see,” said Niken. Amber nodded

spirit. “Of course. Fine you there.”

              Leno smiled and waved his hand, “Thank you, you guys are fine too.”

              “Don't forget to shower,” connect Leno.

              They all laughed at Leno's words. A little relief was seen from Dika's face and

Jaffray. Gilang waved his hand and went back to chewing his chips again. Sept was still smiling calmly.

              “You too, padlocked. Don't forget to shower and rest,” Amber said before ending

their calling.

              Leno laughed as he watched his television blacken again. Maybe it was his friends

right.on. He needs rest.