THE FLO!

Bag. 23

I climbed the stairs to the roof of the school. I remember the first time I came here. I climbed the same stairs and with the same feeling. I know, if I go to this place and see that person, it's been confirmed that all my disguises will be uncovered. I am most likely going to jail. I took a deep breath before opening the roof door.

He's standing right there. He's turned my back. It seemed that she was so calm as I called her name and she turned her body around. A sweet smile adorned his face. And for some reason, I'm sick of seeing that smile.

"Hi, Azka," I said without smiling. I closed the door behind me and leaned there. His face was not surprised. Like I said, he smiled.

"Why are you here? You should be on a plane bound for America right now" he said. I just shrugged both my shoulders.

"I'm actually here now" I replied reluctantly. "Since when do you know who I am?"

Azka shrugged both of her shoulders. "Since I first saw you. Freya showed me a picture of you. I didn't know you were going to be back in high school."

I just kept quiet to hear his comment. Here's she. The one who's been impregnating my sister and running away from responsibility. It made my brother suffer until the end of his life. I walked up to him and stood right next to him. I leaned my body against the roof barrier while staring blankly at whatever was in front of me.

"Why don't you take responsibility when my sister is pregnant?" askaku.

"It's an accident. That shouldn't have happened! Freya shouldn't have followed me to Singapore!" hiss Azka. I looked at him, trying to read his expression.

"So it was Freya's fault? Should Freya wait for you like a sweet boy?" my challenger, trying to get him to let out his emotions.

"He should have known that I would never stay with him! He should have realized that I would definitely go back to him!" Azka shouted like a frustrated person. I'm staring.

"He believes, he just misses you. And you're right, that shouldn't have happened. He shouldn't sleep with you," I said as slow as possible. I try my best to keep my voice and emotions.

Azka ruffled her hair. Looks like he's starting to get hooked. "I didn't think he would stay here! He left with no responsibility and didn't think of my feelings when he died!"

I'm staring. Azka. He's like Caesar and Stella. He also regrets the death of my brother. I took a deep breath while shaking slowly.

"Then why are you leaking out my secrets?" askaku. His face was towards me but not with his eyes. For some reason, his eyes did not dare to look at me.

"Because every look, I hurt! I always remember Freya every look at your face!" hiss Azka.

"Why don't you stay away from me? Why are you chasing me?"

"Because that way you will saturate and get away from me. In the end you'll give up and leave."

I tilted my head while looking at him. Very deeply. "Gue asked once again, why are you leaking out my secrets?"

Azka frowned. "So you go!" abugn. This time I smiled. Exact guess.

"Lo doesn't have to lie, Azka. You don't have to protect her anymore" I said with a sigh of relief.

Azka looks surprised. He even stumbled. "No! I sent that e-mail!"

I'm shaking. "Gue knows that you're protecting others. The person closest to you who you can cover up with as much as possible" I said in a loud voice as I walked towards the door I had left and opened it. "Well, Miss Rose?"

The rose looked surprised when it saw me. It seems that he did not expect that I was aware of his presence which had eavesdropped on me and Azka. I retreated my steps as I looked at her face. He looked at me like an eagle staring at its prey. I gasped a bit as Azka pulled my body behind her, as if protecting me.

"Mama can stop here. He will not harm anyone" Azka told Roses. Surprisingly, the Rose just stared at him.

"You don't understand, honey. He's gonna separate us!" sizzle Rose. "Do you want the incident when Papa took you back to repeat itself?"

Azka looks to nod. "I remember, Ma. But he'll be gone soon and won't separate us. Aren't you, Flo?" Azka asked me but I did not answer. I just looked at Azka and the Rose who were arguing.

I don't understand this mother-daughter talk. I just found out that Azka is the child the Rose once told me about. Although Azka did send the e-mail, I know why. I once read a Freya diary that said that someone hated him so much for taking Azka. I didn't understand it at first but now I know why. Azka was the son of Rose who was taken away from her side and when they reunited again, Rose felt that everyone close to her son would take Azka from her side.

"Ma! Get that gun down now!" azka shouted suddenly which made me realize that something bad happened. I saw from behind Azka's back that Rose pointed her gun at us.

"You don't understand, Azka, he's going to tear us apart! Mama doesn't want to see you leave without you doing anything." Sobbing roses. I could only freeze when I saw the gun clearly pointed at me.

"Ma, relax. Give that gun to Azka. Flo's not gonna separate us. Azka promises Flo will leave soon and we can go back to how it was. Azka please, Ma. It is precisely if Mama does this kayak, Mama must separate from Azka. Please, Ma, give that gun to Azka now." Azka sounded so clear. His body was purposely made into a shield to protect me.

The Rose's hands seemed to tremble as she aimed the weapon. I realized something. Roses can't actually use weapons! I've got a chance.

"Can't, Azka. He'll be just like Freya! He's gonna separate us!" The Rose's words made my eyes wide open.

"What happened back then?" ask me about the rose. Suddenly she laughed hysterically.

"That's her fault! She told Mama she was pregnant! He asks you to be responsible. She even pretended to be a saint in front of Mama by saying that she respected Mama as your mother so she talked to Mama first." The hysterical laughter of the rose grew.

"Mama... Mama pushed him?" tanya Azka did not believe. I held my breath when the Rose was silent and did not answer. "Why? Mama knows that Freya won't miss us. It is he who makes us gather again as a family. Why is Mama so happy?"

"He's the one who unites us, but he's the one who separates us! You think Mama wants to see that happen?" peculik Roses.

"Love that gun to Azka now!" Azka's voice sounded so cold. All I could hear was the hysterical sound of the rose.

"You want to leave Mama? After everything Mama did for you?"

"Mama did nothing but take away all my happiness!"

I again heard the hysterical sound of the Rose and suddenly three times the loud sounds of the eruption. I flinched back when I saw Azka's body. I can see that his right shoulder was shot. His white uniform smeared with blood. Suddenly, Azka collapsed in front of me. There were two shots on his body. One on his shoulder and one on his arm. It looks like the third shot missed somewhere.

"You want to leave Mama? You want to get away from Mama?" ask the rose hysterically.

This time I was scared. When Freya was born and I knew that my parents' affection would be split in two, I wasn't this scared. Or when I found out Freya died, I wasn't this scared either. I could feel my hands shaking. Moreover, seeing Azka collapse in front of me while groaning made my fear increase.

"It's your turn now!" rose said while pointing her gun at me. I raised both my hands.

I took a deep breath and lowered my hand, trying to gather my courage. "Mom can shoot me anytime, but I want to know one thing. How did Freya die?" my many.

"He killed himself! Point!" The rose turned her gun on me. Instantly, I raised both my hands.

"Woah, woah, woah. Consider this a question from someone who is about to die. No one will hear us. You could say, Mother's secrets I'll carry to death" I said.

The rose looked at me suspiciously. "He called me first! Sok holy by saying that she asked my permission because she was pregnant with my grandchild! Ha! A granddaughter? The relationship between him and Azka from the beginning was forbidden. But he pretended to chase Azka to Singapore. That's outrageous!"

"Then what happened? There's no way he's jumping that way, is he?"

Suddenly the Rose laughed. Laughter is so scary. "I told her to drop her womb but she didn't want to! He said it was better to live in shame than to kill innocent lives, especially the children of the people he loved the most. She was so scared when I threatened her, like I did to you right now."

I swallowed my saliva. I knew Freya couldn't have killed herself, let alone brought along the child she was carrying. He would have preferred life.

"She retreated, retreated and continued to retreat even as the wall behind you became a barrier. She said that her brother would come and defend her."

My head was raised when the Rose said that. He doesn't recognize me!?

"Finally upset, I pushed him and it wasn't my fault he suddenly fell down."

I held my breath. The rose said as if my sister's life was nothing, there was no price. Like he was killing a fly!

"Now no one can separate me and Azka. Not even with the brother who had only been in his dream. How'd he say it? Oh, 'My brother will defend me and will come back for me. Even if Azka did not want to take responsibility and I still gave birth to this child, my sister would definitely love this child. And when that happens, Azka will regret it and she will separate herself from Mom.' See now? Azka is not separated from me! He's just talking nonsense! Where's brother? Even until the moment she died, her brother wasn't around!"

I was silent, thinking about every word.

I looked at him and smiled.

"Where's her sister, huh?" askaku.

Strange, I suddenly felt calm. A feeling of calm that I did not understand came from where.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I'm actually lying. I don't carry this secret until I die. In fact you could say, all eyes are currently staring at Mom," I said with a smile.

The face of the rose did not understand. My smile is getting bigger.

"Try me to check Mom's phone" I said. He took his cell phone even though the gun was still pointing at me. His eyes were wide when he saw his phone.

"You could say, all the connections or networks in this school will only play one live video," I added calmly.

"No way! I turned off the CCTV!" hiss Rose and I laughed out loud without me understanding why I laughed.

"Do you know what Freya's sister's job is?" I asked slowly while smiling.

"He's just a technician... What is kinship—"

"Ah-ah, the technician is just the name of the subtle. In fine language, Florentia Abdi Kusuma is a tester who tests each program by looking for gaps between programs. If you want to know the rough term, it's a hacker. Mom asks where is Freya's sister?" I took off my glasses and threw them on the ground. "I'm right in front of Mom right now. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Florentia Abdi Kusuma."

"No way! It is possible that a much older person could return to High School. Where is there—"

The rose flinched backwards. Seems surprised by my true self. Suddenly he laughed. Not a happy laugh, but like the laughter of a defeated person.

"Even if that CCTV goes around what's going on right now, what's the connection? CCTV of this school does not record sound, only pictures! Our conversation doesn't sound like anyone!" mawar. He raised his chin slightly as if he felt that he had already won.

It seems like the Rose is completely unaware of who I really am and what I can do. I smiled with my hands still up in the air.

"Oh, huh? It's just that if you bring your phone closer like that, everyone will be able to hear our conversation more and more" I said, tilting my head. "Well, you don't understand, do you? You could say, I use my mobile phone as a wiretap connected to every electronic item that has a speaker, including..." My voice echoed behind me. "Speaker this school."

I smiled as I looked at the pale face of the Rose in front of me.

"Mom can't escape. Mom just said that you killed Freya. And now, I have two other demands. Gun ownership and attempted murder of me" I said calmly.

Suddenly Rose dropped her phone and shot her twice. If he thought that our conversation wasn't heard with the phone destroyed, he was wrong. I still have other backup plans.

"Now you only have one bullet left. From what I see, I'm less skilled at directing weapons. So if the bullet misses, I have no choice but to surrender" I said calmly, lowering my hand. I've been counting all this.

What I don't take into account is that the Rose will point the weapon at its own head. I didn't take into account that Rose was going to try to kill her.

"What difference? This whole thing's done. Azka will leave me. There's no point in me living if Azka hates me. This is all done."

Before the Rose pulled the trigger, a bullet slid down from beside me at an incredible speed that pointed right at the Rose's wrist. His weapon fell as did the rose. The rose cried out in pain because of her bleeding hand.

"Sorry, Mom, I lied. I'm not alone" I said, and suddenly the roof door slammed. Some men in police clothes complete with guns pointing at us showed up. I raised both my hands.

My body was instantly pushed by that police-clothed man, as well as the Rose. He yelled at the police officer saying I was the cause of all this. I don't care about the screams of the Roses. I asked the police officer who was handcuffing my hand to help Azka. But it seems unnecessary because some men in white already put Azka's body on a stretcher.

"Brother Florentia Abdi Kusuma, you we arrested on fraud charges..."

For the rest, I can't hear anything the police behind me are saying. My eyes and mind were fixed on the Hisyerid Rose and looked at me as if ready to swallow me round and round. But I don't care about that look. I smiled at him instead.

My body was pushed by the police behind me. They kept pushing me down the stairs or walking down the hallway of my school. While walking down the hallway, my gaze accidentally fell on my classmates. I looked at them and they seemed to want to walk towards me but the police surrounding me did not let anyone near me. I could only look at them while whispering my apologies to them. I bow my head.

My life as Florence Ferdinand is over.