The Power Enthusiast

MINERVO 111: I Can Relax

In one of the high schools in Swart City, precisely in a classroom that was once Paul's class, he said, there was a long, wavy black-haired girl who was tidying up her study tools to put in her backpack. The class looked quiet, there was only that girl there. From outside the classroom, the sky was already yellowish in color, marking the evening time had appeared.

"As usual, you're so loud, huh, Olivia?"

A person's voice came from the doorway of the classroom, making the girl turn her head to the source of the sound.

"Eh? You haven't come home yet?" Olivia flinched when she found one of her classmates standing straight at the mouth of the door.

"I should have told you that, you idiot." It seems that she is a girl just like Olivia, her hair is black and yet she is only shoulder length. He had a lot of pimples on his face and his smile was rather cold.

"Sorry, I just started PR, so focused, I forgot it was late afternoon."

"It's a habit, you know, base."

"By the way," Olivia spoke again after the learning tools had been put in the bag, and the bag was carried on her back. "Why haven't you come home yet, Refana? Are you also running PR like me somewhere in this school?"

"Haha!" Refana, the name of the pimply girl, was blown away when Olivia thought so. "Where possible! I don't see you directly working on PR in class until you forget that time. Ahaha!"

"Eh?" Olivia tilted her head, astonished at the behavior of the Refana who laughed at her. "If not, then what?"

"When did you forget, anyway?" Refana gritted her face like a child in a frenzy. "I'm with eskul, you know! Eskul basketball!"

"Oh?" Olivia remembered about that. "Sorry, I forgot."

"No problem" replied Refana with a big smile. "You, rightly so, always forget about the things that concern me."

Olivia was surprised. "That's impossible, I don't, Rephana!"

"Haha! Joking around! I'm just kidding, come on!"

"You surprised me, you son of a bitch."

"Hehehe!" Then Refana again asked Olivia from her position which was still standing in the doorway, not moving a single inch from there. "Do you want to go home? If so, come home with me!"

"Ah, thank you, but you don't have to bother, Refana."

"Come on! You brought a bike, right? Coincidentally, today I forgot to bring it, so can you, right? I'm taking you in? Heheheh!"

"really? Then, all right."

Olivia and Refana went home on a bicycle, they sat on the same bike - Olivia was in the passenger seat while Refana was the driver. The sound of insects squeaking in the trees completes the atmosphere this afternoon. Refana pedaled the bike with all her might, her sweat soaked all over her body. Olivia gripped her hips strongly so that her balance on the bike did not waver.

"Who? Why are you taking this road? Doesn't this road make the distance of our house even further?"

Olivia was astonished when the bike controlled by Refana instead went in a different direction.

"It's okay, right? Besides, there's something I want to discuss with you, and it looks like it's going to take a while."

"Eh?" From behind the Refana, Olivia scowled to hear it. "If that were the case, just say it, I'd hear it. But please don't be long, huh? I'm so tired."

"If Olivia says so, what can I do. Hehe!"

Bicycles still move straight, down the residential streets are quiet enough, the afternoon sunshine looks bright, the white clouds are marching began to separate into something abstract. Stork birds fly across the yellow sky, migrating somewhere. What a very calming view of the afternoon sky.

"Actually I've wanted to tell you before, but I've always failed. So I thought, being in a moment like this, was a good opportunity for me to talk about it with you."

Olivia was silent for a moment, waiting for Refana to begin.

"It's a hit," Refana continued in a serious tone, though her legs continued to pedal the bike. "Our classmates, who have been expelled from school."

Olivia's mind immediately recalled Paul's figure as the Rephana said that. I don't know, but obviously, the only person in the class who's been expelled from school is Paul.

"What do you mean Paul?"

"really. I mean, that kid."

"So, what do you want to talk about Paul?"

"If Olivia asks that, I get nervous! Hehe!"

"Come on Refana, seriously a little." Olivia patted Refana on the back, so badly.

"Alright, I'll get straight to the point," Then, Refana was silent for a moment. "Olivia, you know, too, right? I'm one of the people who cornered Paul in class, while he was still present in our midst."

"Looks like that, my memory's a little fuzzy, anyway."

"I don't know what your reaction will be like next, but I'm talking this way because I hate myself so much" The voice of the Rephana became a little cooler than before. "Olivia, you may not know about this yet, but I'll be honest with you."

For some reason, Olivia felt more tense than usual when Refana said so. It was as if there was a time bomb inside his body that could explode at any moment.

"Refana, I don't like this, you're freaking me out."

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to hide it any longer than you," Refana gulped her saliva, both feeling tense like Olivia. "For Paul to be shunned, hated, and ridiculed by our classmates, it all started with my problems."

"Your problem? What's that supposed?"

"Look," The hands of the Refana holding the bicycle tightly, so trembling. "I'm the one who made Paul so hated by his classmates. It all started when he was trying to help me on my first day of school."

"Help you? Wait, I don't understand."

"When I was colonized by the seniors, Paul helped me by pulling my hand out of the presence of the seniors. I was shocked then, because it was suddenly pulled so. He kept pulling me up until finally, we were on the roof of the school building. Paul, rudely, advised me not to be careless when interacting with the seniors, I who was surprised by Paul's rude attitude, became angry. Instead of thanking her, I said cruel things to her. Until finally, we had a big fight there, so I held a grudge against Paul." Refana sighed. "When I found out I was in class with him, I started inciting other friends to hate Paul. My plan worked, most of the people in the class, started to show their hatred for Paul. And the rotten thing is, I'm happy about it."

Olivia was silenced after hearing it all.

"My pleasure peaked when I heard Paul was kicked out of school, and there, I was really happy, it felt like I was getting some great relief. I even cheered with other friends, celebrating Paul's departure from school. However, all that excitement was gone when you set the tape in Paul's house, especially when Paul's mother blasphemed us all out. It was a moment that I will never forget in a lifetime."

"But it's your fault, right? You're with the others, planning something crazy. Of course I can't let it. That's why, I-"

"Yes, I get it. But that's not what I meant. I'm talking about this not just confiding or anything like that. I say this because I feel that I am a very disgusting human being. I was an ungrateful person, to the point of making the man who helped me, face the painful chain of events at school. I still can't forgive myself. So please, Olivia."

"What?" Olivia asked because Refana suddenly called out her name.

"Please punish me. My law is heavy, I am a dirty man, I am a trash. I'm really disgusting! So please, punish me until my blood splattered, my body trembled, my breath tightened, and my skin torn. I had to go through all of that in order to, "Refana held back her tears. "... I can relax."

Olivia heard it.