The Times New Romance
Chapter 5: Old Friends
CHAPTER 5
Old Friend
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Zayn's back hit the wall when one big high-ranking big brother shook his shoulder rough. Zayn chuckled, but he was not intimidated at all. It took even more effort to make Zayn cower in fear. Zayn smiled looking kindly at the three level brothers before him. "What's the problem?" he pretended not to understand what was happening.
As soon as Zayn met Gilang in front of the class, the tall boy asked Zayn to follow them outside the campus building. Sitting on a small street between two majors, Zayn faces Gilang and his two friends, Himapro's son.
"Gue doesn't like pleasantries" Gilang said. "So what do you mean by hacking the campus web and sharing my video?"
Zayn pursed his lips and shook his head. "No means anything. I told you that as a show. And coincidentally, I found the video accidentally on the laptop Kak Chairman. So, am I wrong?"
Gilang chuckles in disbelief. "But why until now the website has not been restored? Do you deliberately start because of?"
Zayn shrugged his shoulders. Next to his eyebrows swooped up. "Not the big brother of the Chairperson of the Student Association of Programmers? Why can't you mull it yourself?" zayn said without thinking. He did not know that the speech immediately ignited the fire of Himapro's three sons.
"Lot of lo!" look for the thick man on the left side of Zayn, who was shaking his shoulder, while raising a reflex fist that makes Zayn close his eyes with resignation. But seconds later the fist never reached Zayn's cheekbones. When Zayn's eyelids opened, he found a hand holding the fist.
"Gio?" Gio throws Jayyus's hand and grabs Zayn's shoulder. Zayn frowned in wonder.
"Lo?" tukas Gilang while glaring.
"Yes, I. Wh why? Trouble for you?" Crossed twisting eyeballs. "Release this Si Zayn Malik. He didn't do anything weird, did he?"
"Zayn Abhicandra," Zayn's sergeant confirmed.
Gio turned his head and shook his hand. "As far as I am." He looked back at Gilang who had reflected the smoke. "Lo doesn't have to make the same calculations, brother. I'm ashamed as your sister!"
The sudden statement drew all eyes to look at the astonished Gilang and Gio alternately. They just found out they were both brothers. Including Zayn who gaped in disbelief. There's nothing similar. Gio's face is more square than Gilang's slightly oval. Maybe each other inherited the genes of his father or mother alone not both.
Gilang clenched his fists. "Lo don't have to interfere with my problems."
"Unfortunately, I've intervened," Gio replied as she let her tongue out in triumph.
Gilang took a rough breath and tidied up the campus alma mater suit that was bright blue. He invites his friends to leave Zayn and his sister. Gio held back his aching stomach from laughing contentedly at his brother who could not wrinkle. "Thank you, Zayn!" concluded Gio.
Zayn let out a sigh of relief. "Why?"
"Gue has always been a lackey at home but I feel free on campus can be timid of him. Thanks to you of course."
Zayn smiled as well. "Yes, equally. Thanks to you, I'm not battered either." Zayn said goodbye but his shoulder was re-embraced by Gio. Gio smiled broadly. And just then Zayn knew, nothing is really free in this world. Zayn agrees to Gio's request to buy him a meal in the cafeteria.
***
After the lecturer left the class, Ayna quietly followed the lecturer in the back. Not to collect the task, but he wanted to escape from Zayn who would definitely take him home together. The guy did not give up even though Ayna refused repeatedly. Ayna must quickly get away from the radar that Zayn has.
Ayna pulled over at the library building. His breaths follow each other. He was tired after circling the engineering department building. His head turned in all directions to make sure he was safe. There was no sign of Zayn or the IT boy around Ayna. Ayna breathed a sigh of relief. He had to get out of college quickly.
This time his escape was a success. It was like releasing a bond that strangled his neck and now he could breathe a sigh of relief to the fullest. Ayna sits comfortably at the campus stop in Zayn's absence. The guy took a black car to campus. So, of course the guy will come out through the car park on the east track instead of through the north lane where Ayna is.
Ayna pulled out her phone as a man in a black jacket sat beside her. The guy smiled politely at Ayna before playing his phone. Ayna smiled awkwardly when replying to him, but Ayna's gaze could not be separated from the man's stature. He felt he had seen it. The guy he saw was a little bit starting to glance at Ayna, either because he felt uncomfortable being noticed by the girl or because he felt the same way with Ayna.
Their eyes met again and then Ayna covered her gaping mouth in disbelief. “Nata?”
The man called Nata pointed at Ayna. “Ayna Nabila, right? Who is the school in Junior High?”
Ayna nodded enthusiastically. He put his hand out to shake. “Wah, you are a student of this campus too?” Nata nodded, assuring. “What majors?” ask Ayna.
“Business Management Degrees. If you?”
The smile on Ayna's face suddenly receded. “Don't be asked, I'm in the wrong department. I want him to major in your kayak but my father instead enrolled me in the Department of Informatics without permission."
Ayna recalled that at dawn when Ayna had not yet fully awakened from sleep, Faza suddenly pulled out a paper and slipped Ayna's hand with a pen. Faza asks Ayna to sign quickly, but Ayna does not get a paper answer to what it is despite being asked repeatedly. And it turns out Ayna just knew that the registration form for new students majoring in Informatics Engineering. Faza said it was the last day of enrollment and he had no time, because he was busy working, to go back to campus and request another form. So Ayna must sincerely accept her majors whatever it is. After all, Faza knew Ayna wanted a management major to just follow her friends instead of Ayna's real interest.
Ayna is not a special child who has hidden talents. He was just an ordinary child born into an ordinary family. Dad works in an office while mom dies when Ayna steps into second grade High School. Ayna has a lot of things that she likes but there is never any interest in wrestling one of them. He likes to draw even though it is not too good, he likes to take pictures even though the results cannot be predicted when satisfying, and he likes to cook yes even though sometimes salty. Ayna felt she had no talent even though she could do anything.
Ayna dislikes it the most when asked about ideals. He will answer the most cliche answer of all, be a teacher. Though Ayna is not friendly and does not have enough patience to face a child who is difficult to accept the teachings. Even last time, Ayna even hated her friend's sister for scolding and insinuating her is not smart for failing to answer the multiplication problem. Ayna is missing.
At the age of eighteen, Ayna is required to be able to choose what she wants at least what goals she wants to achieve. But Ayna would answer with a sledgehammer and say, "I just want to live a happy and rich life." However, he knew what path he had to take to make it happen.
Many people are stuck with dreams that do not materialize because they only imagine the results, without thinking about what process they must do to achieve it through their own potential. And Ayna is a part of those who have not been able to recognize what true self-potential she has.
“Sabar, Ayna. Consider this the introduction of campus, only next year you move majors. But the risk is you have to repeat from semester one. You don't mind?”
Ayna breathed a heavy sigh. If so, why did he spend time every day coming to campus? Ayna wants to move on from now instead of later. “Goru, Nat. Age of the girls is a calculation. If I repeat two semesters, later I miss graduating compared to my friends,” confided Ayna with lips cut down.
Nata laughing. “Ya has done it if so. Maybe you do not like because you do not know the same majors, there must be alesan why you are wrong in the department, Ayna.”
Ayna nodded trying to accept Nata's words that had a point as well. Ayna never thought about it. He is too busy to curse a fate that is not in line with his wishes. Ayna never wanted to see the reason why this happened to her.
“You're real, Nat. I'm not looking for the reason.” Nata just smiled back. Then, the bus that Ayna was waiting for came. The girl was saying goodbye to Nata when the guy suddenly held his wrist. Ayna blinked not understanding.
“I asked for your number,” said Nata smiling sweetly.
****
