Mentari in the Night Sky

The Past: Retaliation

"Don't forget this project. From Mom."

Ms. Stella, our science teacher, closed the class today. He glanced at me before leaving the classroom. A look I haven't seen in a long time from others. The look I could avoid. The fearful look, I hated the most when others gave that look to me because the fearful look told me how frightening the Allison Family I was part of was.

After the home bell rang, all my friends' cellphones rang notifications, including my mobile phone that continued to vibrate. I ignored the notice and focused on putting my belongings into the bag. It's not that I don't care, I already know what's going on even if it's not 100%.

Ken ran out of the classroom after reading something from his cell phone. Some of the children were surprised by the sound of the fallen bench and made them stare at him, including me who was immediately greeted with a look of disbelief from him. Looks like he just saw CCTV footage of Natasha's bullying. Whatever it is, I don't want to get involved with him anymore.

Some of the children also started to look at me in turn. Their gaze was the same as that of Bu Stella, a look of fear but this time it was more of a show of fear than that of Bu Stella. There was no way the news about the truth of the bullying happening could scare them to the moment where they knew what was really going on. I stopped putting my things in and took the phone that was on the table and kept shaking.

'Allison Group Takes Over Elizabeth's Private School'

'Allison Group Breaks Contract with Many Companies'

'Allison Group Acquires Multiple Companies and Makes It Allison Subsidiary'

I looked directly at Stephanie who was also looking at me with a smile adorning her face. How can he keep smiling when his family's school is taken over by my family? How could he not say anything to me?

"Why didn't you say anything? This school is your dream, how can it be?!" I couldn't see the smile Stephanie showed.

The children in the class were silent. Caroline immediately took over the situation and asked the other children to get out of this classroom as soon as possible. Without having to order 2 times, they had already flocked out of the classroom. They were also afraid of what consequences they would get if they remained in this room.

Caroline told me to sit down, try to calm me down. I followed him and sat down on the chair next to him. I didn't want to sit next to Stephanie or the emotions we were both going to meet each other and cause a fight.

"It's just de jure, Zeta. De facto, my family still runs this school. Both now and in the future."

"My dad can undo all that in just one night, Steph."

"For the first time in my life, I could see my father's happy smile. And do you know why Zeta?"

"...."

"Your father finally approved some of Allison's subsidiaries to merge with my family's company. Even though our family was friendly and very close, your father remained critical of my father's business plan."

"But this school is the only hope for you not to take care of your family's main company. You don't want to do the dirty work, why? Why?"

"Sometimes I envy you, Zeta."

"Steph," Caroline calls to stop what Stephanie wants to say.

"Your father is willing to destroy many companies just for you. Just to protect you. Who would have thought your father's silence for a week could have made those who hurt you now under your feet."

"...."

"I'm happy Zeta can be friends with you. Maybe from now on the path we choose will be different. Maybe after this I'll use dirty ways like Brother William did because that's why I'm begging you to keep Caroline," stephanie continued and she immediately walked out of the classroom as soon as she said the sentence.

"Steph!!" call Caroline as she chases Stephanie.

"Pursue your sister" I said, seeing the doubt in Caroline.

I never knew the consequences I would get just to protect Ken would be this big. I shouldn't have tried to protect Ken from the start and ended up hurting a lot of people like this. I should have been able to realize my feelings of hatred for Ken before I finally made this stupid decision.

Ting...

A message from Arthur came in. I think he's okay with everything that happened today. I really want his stupid attitude.

'Where are you? I'll practice basketball for 30 minutes.'

'Where is Brother William?' my reply.

'It looks like it's in the VIP room. You haven't answered my question, where are you?'

I went back to tidying up all my belongings and walked out of the classroom. I went down the school corridor to see William and asked him why he had to come like this. A few children who passed me, lowered their heads. The thing that I hate back happens again, something that I really hate as if I am the king of the food chain and they are my prey.

My footsteps came to a halt as I saw the poster Ken had placed on the school notice board.

I watched the poster for a long time. All the insults written in it no longer hurt my feelings. Now another thing that bothers me once I see this poster is Ken who chose to use a photo that also has him. All the insults on the poster, filling Ken's face. All this time I thought the photo on the poster she had attached was a photo of my face.

Why did he pick my picture with him when he could find many of my own photos on the internet?

"I'm sorry, Miss. I seem to have forgotten one poster" said one employee.

"It's okay, let me take it off."

The officer walked away from me after hearing my words. I looked back at the poster in front of me. The actual poster makes me remember the day this photo was taken, my birthday. At that time, for the first time Ken refused to take a picture with me because he had already started to realize his feelings for Natasha. I think that day, she gave me her last sincere smile.

"There is doubt in him."

"Sister Alvin?!" I shouted in surprise as soon as I found out that Alvin was already beside me.

"When I first saw this poster, I wondered why your face did not contain words of contempt and instead the words of contempt were in his photo. As if he wanted to tell me he was the one who deserved the insult."

"..."

"Did you know? Yesterday after he heard all your sayings, he blindly looked for the person who tried to throw the pot over your head and splash the hot soup."

"Somehow, I just feel there are times when someone acts impulsively without thinking about what he really wants. And it looks like he's gonna need a second chance."

Alvin took the poster off the notice board. He made a plane out of paper with an occasional look at me. He extended his hand to me, asking for my hand to hold it. I welcomed her hand which was immediately returned with a smile and a gentle look. He gently pulled my body towards the field in front of the school, a field filled with green grass.

Once again, he looked gently at me and flew the plane that he had just a few minutes to finish. I laughed as soon as I saw the plane couldn't fly far. I looked at Alvin's face, who also seemed embarrassed about not being able to fly the plane far away. He walked to get the plane but I kept him from leaving.

I laid my body on the green grass, making Alvin lie down. We enjoyed this silence while gazing at the sky that was starting to turn orange. I kept staring at the sky until I realized that all this time that was stared at by Alvin was not the sky but my face. I only realized it when I turned my face towards her and her blue eyes were already welcoming me.

"I like your blue eyes" he said breaking the silence.

I even forgot the fact that I also had the same eye color as him. I forgot about the fact that my father left me his blue eyes, the blue eyes that I have always admired. Blue eyes that not only my father passed on to me but also to Arthur. Unlike me and Arthur, William inherited mom's brown eyes. I didn't think Alvin's presence in my life could make me forget just the blue eyes of mine that I loved so much before I found his blue eyes.

"Sister also has blue eyes" I replied.

"Do you like it?"

I just nodded and kept staring into her blue eyes. I felt her blue eyes were a magnet to me because I couldn't take my eyes off her. Something I've been doing since I first saw it, I have indeed fallen because of the blue eyes before me. The blue eyes that I wished I could continue to remove the wounds I felt and the blue eyes that I wished I could continue to accompany.

"What would you do if Ken asked you for a second chance?" he asked while changing position, this time he was really looking up at the sky.

"...."

"Are you going to give him a chance?"

"It was my brother who made Ken sign the agreement so that in the future he would not come near me again" I replied without taking my eyes off him.

"But you haven't signed it yet."

I fell silent and looked back at the increasingly orange sky. I haven't signed that deal yet. I honestly didn't want to sign it because I was also guilty of everything that happened to Ken. I don't want to limit someone's life to just a deal.

"Do you think he'll ask you for a second chance?"

"I don't know,” I answered making his pair of blue eyes look at me in disbelief.

I don't know if Ken would ask me for a second chance or not, a time when he never realized he had gotten a chance from me. The opportunity that I had given him, he always considered as a friendship between us. If the question Alvin asked was intended for a chance in terms of 'love', I don't think Ken would ever ask for a second chance because he never loved me.

And for someone with high self-esteem like Ken, asking for a second chance is like throwing away his pride. I never saw Ken ask for a second chance except when he lost his sparring with his father, at which time the stakes were to visit his mother's grave. It was the first time in his life to plead to someone and that someone was his father. She pleaded for a second chance to do the sparing a second time so she could keep visiting her mother's grave. I guess I wasn't that important to him to make him ask for a second chance.

"I'm not going to force you to sign that deal, I don't want to force you to do something you don't want. Even if in the future you want to give him another chance, I don't have the right to be angry" Alvin said as he looked back at me still calmly staring at the sky.

I never thought such a sentence would come out of the mouth of someone who when he first met Ken put out a sentence that was arguably not friendly enough. A person who had never given a friendly look to Ken suddenly issued a non-issuing sentence if Ken got a second chance. Did something happen that made her heart change?

"I saw myself in him" he said as if he knew what I was thinking.

I turned my face to the left side where Alvin was. He seemed to be thinking of something, something he wanted to say from the beginning of meeting me. Something that also made him hesitate to tell me.

"Before I met you, I once loved someone selfishly. I loved her so selfishly that I didn't realize she never loved me. Just like Ken did to Natasha."

"..."

"And I also just found out that my family sent Natasha to Ken."

I immediately got up and sat down, shocked to hear what he had just said. If he had known about this by now, father and William would have known about the truth I was trying to hide. Alvin got up from where he lay and sat facing me. He held both of my hands, as if giving me the calm I needed right now.

"Your father and William did not know this. I found out about this because I accidentally saw Natasha's file."

"Sister's excuse doesn't matter if I give you a second chance..."

"Hmmm, I don't want to get to you in a fraudulent way," he cut.

"I will never be able to replace all the memories that have been made by him but I will fill the memories that he cannot complete. Therefore, can't you just let me into your life?" continued.

I let go of his handrails, making him a little surprised. I laid my body back on the grass and looked at Alvin who was looking at me gently. With a movement of my eyes, I told her to lie back down together with me. He followed me and came back with me to enjoy the twilight, the twilight that I will never see again this season.

"Sister has been a part of my life" I said as I looked at him.

Alvin gave a very sincere smile to me. He took my left hand that was on top of the stomach and directly grasped it very tightly. The grip I often felt every time I held my hand. The grip that I once thought was a restraint grip because I didn't want to see me go far away from him but gradually I knew that the grip that my father gave me was a fear-filled grip. The fear that I would be taken from him and leave him. The same fear that I felt in Alvin's grasp right now.

We enjoyed the twilight sky for quite a long time, making me forget my initial reason for seeing William. I want to continue to be able to enjoy the twilight like this with him. Even if God does not allow me to continue in his life, I will only ask God to let me and him continue to enjoy the twilight happily as now.

"For Stephanie's trouble, I think you should give her a little time."

"How did you know?" many surprised.

"VIP room."

"Sister Will told me that Brother never wanted to join or enter the VIP room."

"Someone changed me" he said with a small laugh.

I really wanted to pursue my dream with him.

...-----...