The Power Enthusiast

MINERVO 66: Don't Ignore Us

"WOAH!"

When Jeddy came out of the gate of Paul's house, he was surprised by the arrival of a burly, gray-haired and black-skinned man who was carrying two familiar figures in his eyes. That's Nico and Koko. Jeddy smiled widely when he saw Koko in the hand of the burly man.

"Jeddy, huh?" Nico jumped down from Abbas's back, and then he walked up to the green-haired man, who seemed happy to see his arrival. "Where are you going? Oh, by the way where's Naomi? I want to talk to him."

Hearing the name, Jeddy was surprised. "Don't tell me you already know, Bro!?" Jeddy opened his mouth wide in shock. "But who is that guy? Our new hero, huh, Bro!? Waw! It looks so dashing! His body is also more muscular than mine!"

Abbas smiled at Jeddy after lowering Koko's body slowly to the ground. Abbas thought, Jeddy is a pretty nice guy.

"Yes, of course," said Nico chimed in on Jeddy's question. "He's a new hero we found in Cocoa City. Despite his appearance, he was a very quiet person."

"Whoah! I see, yes! Ahaha!" Jeddy quickly walked up to Abbas, then he stretched out his right hand to shake hands with the burly man. "My name's Jeddy! I wish we could get along and be best friends, yeah, Bro! Hehehehe!"

Abbas accepted the hand in a friendly manner, answering Jeddy's remarks in a heavy voice. "I am Abbas" Abbas replied, shaking hands with Jeddy. "Thank you for accepting me."

After the two of them finished their handshake session, Jeddy went straight back to Nico and said, "Naomi is inside, Bro! With Paul and Colin! While Cherry was accompanying Aunt Elena in the room," Then Jeddy's gaze was shifted to Koko who was standing while bowing her head, making her strands fall down. "I finally found you! Koko! Ahahahaha! I thought you were far away! I was worried, Bro!"

Koko does not answer Jeddy's words, she does not want to look at the face of the person involved in her quarrel with Naomi while in the kitchen. Koko is embarrassed.

"Then, let's go in together" Nico told Jeddy, Abbas, and Koko. "We have to move together so that this problem can be resolved quickly. Since the person we are going to face is Naomi, she will definitely oppose my words based on the glasses of science, with her religious views. That's why you should help too."

Hearing that, Jeddy and Abbas, simultaneously, nodded their heads. While Koko is silent, she hesitates to respond to Nico's remarks, though she is happy that they are all willing to help with Naomi's problems. But still, Koko feels that she is the one who caused this to happen, thus involving many people into her troubles. Koko feels guilty. He began to think, perhaps if Paul had not chosen him as a hero from the beginning, and without him in the house, such a problem would never have existed. However, due to its existence which is still considered taboo and humiliating by many, making its existence cause trouble.

"If only I hadn't been born, maybe-"

"KOKO! COME INSIDE!" his words were cut off as Nico exclaimed at him after they were all already in the doorway, while he was alone outside the gate. Slowly, Koko had the thought to run away again, but if she did, then the problem would never be solved, and it would only make the problem bigger. For this reason, Koko embarks on a journey to enter Paul's house and meet Naomi again.

Surprisingly, when Nico, Abbas, Jeddy, and Koko step into the living room, they are shocked by the presence of Paul, Colin, Cherry, Aunt Elena, and Naomi, who are resting on the floor with a position around the food stored in the middle. It seemed, for a while, that guest seats were not needed there. Because, they seem to be starting a dining event in a literal way, in the family room that is connected to the living room, and there was only a white mat arranged on the floor as a base to sit.

Of course, Nico, Abbas, Jeddy, and Koko are wide-eyed at the sight, they don't understand why Paul and the others are throwing a party like this, at a time when the trouble between Naomi and Koko has yet to be addressed.

"You guys made it back, too, huh?" paul tells Nico and Abbas that he is standing between Koko and Jeddy. "Come on! Sit quickly! Goddamn bum! The party is about to start!" Paul patted the empty mat surface on those who had just arrived.

Hearing that, Abbas only smiled clumsyly. Then, they all came, in quick succession, sitting on the still-empty mat surface, to join in, enjoying the big meal party that was about to start in a moment. After sitting in his place, Nico glanced at Naomi, apparently the girl just like Koko, was bowing her head, hiding her gloomy face from the people.

"But I still don't understand," Now, Aunt Elena, the curly black haired woman, who spoke. "Why are the four of you wearing the exact same clothes? What the hell is this really? Did you come home from a musical? Or maybe dance? Or maybe you guys-"

Quickly Paul cut off his mother's increasingly slurred speech everywhere.

"SHUSH! MOM!" paul snaps at Elena. "Mom don't need to know! It's none of Mom's business anyway!"

Elena furrowed her brows looking at Paul fiercely. "PAUL!? WHAT DID YOU SAY!? OF COURSE IT'S MOM'S BUSINESS TOO! BECAUSE I'M YOUR REAL MOTHER! IT'S NATURAL THAT A MOTHER IS WORRIED ABOUT HER CHILD'S UNCLEAR DAILY ACTIVITIES!"

"BUT STILL IT'S NOT MOM'S BUSINESS! I'VE GROWN UP MOM!"

"IN MY EYES YOU STILL LOOK LIKE A KID! PAUL'S! YOU STILL NEED PARENTAL GUIDANCE! YOUR ATTITUDE IS STILL THAT! YOU BRASH KID!"

Watching the quarrel between mother and son, made Colin, Cherry, Nico, Jeddy, and Abbas, burst into laughter. While Koko and Naomi, still hesitant to uphold their respective heads.

It seemed, they were still timid to join in the warmth.

"Without pleasantries! Let's attack the food! BROOOO!" Jeddy was the first to take food, making the others not want to lose. Finally, there was a struggle for meat, vegetables, fruits, and the like, with great boisterousness and delight.

Except, Koko and Naomi, who still haven't picked up the plate at all.

However, at a glance, the two of them looked at each other, but quickly lowered their heads back. It seems like the people there are deliberately ignoring the existence of Koko and Naomi, so that the two of them can interact on their own, and of course, make up as before.

Paul, Elena, Nico, Cherry, Jeddy, Colin, and Abbas, chatted frenziedly, talked about everything, and they simultaneously, considered the existence of Koko and Naomi, like they were not there. It's like empty air. Without anyone willing to offer one of them to take food, it seemed, they were all compact allowing the two figures to solve the problem on their own.

Until finally, Koko and Naomi are no longer strong feel ignored like that. The two of them, simultaneously, got up from their sitting position, then shouted,

"PLEASE! DON'T IGNORE US!"