VLOGS

Episode 25's

            The sound of the alarm clock, ringing loudly right next to Aleta's bed. With a lazy gesture, Aleta extended her right hand to the top of the small drawer where her doraemon alarm clock was perched, and hit it right on the alarm switch. The loud noise stopped instantly. Aleta lowered the blanket that covered her face, squinting her eyes as the sunlight pierced through the window.

            A pretty quiet holiday. For several days, Bimo was not present at his house. Plus Aleta who has not yet entered school, making her able to have a quiet time for a while. Aleta widened her eyes slowly, grabbed the phone next to the alarm clock, and checked if there were incoming messages. Aleta smiled, there was an incoming message from Salsa there which, as usual, called out to her while shouting through the voice note. Salsa habit that Aleta always received, almost every week morning.

            “What the hell, Sa?” tanya Aleta directly contacted Salsa by phone. Slowly getting up and stretching his stiff muscles.

            “Newly wake up?!” Salsa's irritated voice came from across which only Aleta answered with a nod. It was as if Salsa was able to see it. “Kan loe has promised that today you want to try making vlog!”

            “Still lazy, agh. Just wait for my mood back.”

            “How to get money from youtube, if you are lazy like that, Al!” Salsa snorted in annoyance which made Aleta laugh silently, stepping into the kitchen and grabbing the clear glass from the cupboard. Aleta placed it on top of the shower dispenser, and pressed the button until the water came out.

            “News from Bimo?”

            Aleta who just intended to drink water in her glass, said. As if in line with his thoughts, Salsa thought of Bimo this morning. I don't know where that guy is. Unlike usual he disappeared when the fight happened. Bimo usually keeps coming and apologizing. It even broke down the door when Aleta didn't open it.

            Aleta shook her head, “Not yet,” replied Aleta briefly which there was no reply from Salsa across the street. “Why, loe kangen?”

            “Crazy loe!” snapped Salsa as if not accepted with Aleta's insinuations. “Gue is just a wonder, the child usually fuss every day in front of the house loe every time you fight, this is how adem ayem. It's been almost a week, right?”

            Aleta nodded. Salsa's right, this is weird not playing. I don't know what happened to Bimo. Not even just calling her or sending her a short message party. Usually, Bimo will also continue to contact him. A short message from him repeatedly always entered as if without pause. Just entered one, another message from Bimo back in when sometimes, Aleta has not read the previous message.

            “Loe not worried?” salsa asked carefully, afraid that her best friend was even sensi da angry with her.

            “Slightly,” reply Aleta briefly. Step back into bed, and turn on the tv from the remote that was last night, under his pillow. “At school?”

            “She didn't come, maybe since that incident!”

            Right, this is all really weird. Aleta kept her phone away from her ear, trying to check the incoming messages who knew one of them was from Bimo. But nil, only a short message from Salsa, Mbok Minah and also the operator who was present in the inbox of the message. The rest, nothing. Aleta re-attached the phone to the ear with a puzzled look on her face. Salsa herself had not yet made a sound. I don't know what he's doing right now.

            “Gue heard from Biyan, last night Reta got drunk?” Salsa again asked strangely, always getting information from Biyan. I don't know when the two exchanged mobile numbers. Yang Aleta knew, the two were just greeting and occasionally talking, but there was no visible intense closeness between the two.

            “Loe with Biyan, since when to exchange mobile number?”

            There was a crybaby laugh of Salsa across the street. The laughter that momentarily made Aleta doubt as well as fear instead of playing. Afraid if the two turned out to harbor each other's feelings until secretly playing behind him.

            “Biyan asked for my number,” replied Salsa. “Say let me know if you need help that he can't help.”

            That bad thought, disappeared instantly. A smile streaked across his lips while looking straight at the still-unlit tv, but as if it was interesting to see. More interesting than all the tv shows that continue to air almost every time. Twenty-four hours full of interesting events.

            “Loe haven't answered my question!” salsa's exclaim shocked Aleta who was engrossed in daydreaming Biyan was on the television screen. “True Reta came home drunk?”

            “Dan loe believe?” Again, Salsa knew first before Aleta told him. There is a sense of resentment in his heart because now, it is no longer the center of information for Salsa who is too busy taking care of his channel, making it less updated around. Biyan has now taken over her duties, leaving Aleta confused about what else to discuss with Salsa.

            “Now, I don't know!”

            “People kayak Reta, don't be trusted!” Salsa begins her actions. It was like a burning stove that anyone at any time devoured prey that was nearby. “Loe knows itself, right, all this time there is Reta and her family continues to struggle to live loe!” Salsa again added her seductive sentence. “He won't change, Al. At most, he also just wants to make you melt, keep coming back again ngehina loe in front of everyone. You don't see that camera that leads to elo?”

            Aleta tried to remember the situation back then. There was nothing he should suspect. Reta was not holding anything, she just held a bag hanging in her hand while walking grubbyly because of the strong enough alcohol control over her. I don't know how many glasses he drank, which surely Reta did always do at least once a month.

            “Nothing is strange. I just look at him, Tyaz and Biyan!”

            “Tyaz? That weird loe neighbor?” Aleta nodded. “Kok can he there?”

            “What I heard from their previous conversation, Tyaz seemed to be there first. There was a plastic bag in his hand. Looks like the hell, Tyaz wants to throw garbage and accidentally meet with Reta.”

            “Where does her husband remember?”

            “Yes where do I know, Sa!” aleta said annoyed, as if she was the culprit of gossip who always knew everything. “Which must have been a few months invisible!”

            Salsa. There was no sound from him that usually always asked a lot of things that made him curious. And casually mixed in annoyance at times, Aleta answered all Salsa's questions. Salsa was silent for a long time, until finally she heard a sigh of heaviness that made Aleta confused.

            “Bimo...,” Salsa hangs her sentence which now managed to make Aleta curious. “She slept with Aleta the night you were beaten by her, Al?”

            Salsa's question, as if reopening a sore wound in her heart from Bimo's actual violent events, becomes the reason for her to sleep at Reta's house. Although the rough scenes have happened too often, but there is a different taste that Aleta felt. The presence of Biyan outside who awaited him patiently and his heart was sliced, making him sick instead of playing. If there were no Biyan there, Aleta would not feel the immense sadness to defeat the pain in her body. Biyan's heartbreaking gaze when she went inside to meet him after the rough scene occurred, made her weak until finally powerless to cry in front of him.

             Aleta recalled the incident that morning, when she found Bimo out with a face of fear due to his actions caught by Aleta, who she thought was not going home at dawn. And the figure of Reta, who casually came out with a channel dress glaring until it showed a red bra that covered the beauty of her breasts plus panties that match the color of her bra. It was disgusting, but that was what Aleta had managed to see back then.

            “Loe need not be sad,” said Salsa with a soft tone of voice. “Loe and she have nothing to do anymore, so you don't have to think about it anymore. Okay?”

            Aleta smiled faintly, lowered her head and tried to calm her own feelings. Actually he was not thinking about Bimo at the moment. From the beginning, Aleta already knew he was a striped nose guy who liked to tease a lot of women. But what Aleta knows, Bimo will not do recklessly whatever the body of a woman in front of him. But that night, Bimo's defense collapsed in front of the beautiful Reta instead of playing.

            Aleta also thought of Reta. Somehow since the events Reta drunk and say the words that had made her melt, Aleta always worried about him. Just remembering the incident Bimo out of Reta's house alone, has made Aleta think too far. Reta's age is still too young if she gets pregnant out of wedlock.

            “Or you make a vidio for a loe channel, Al!” Salsa's voice was shrill sharp, making Aleta jerk in shock to stay away from the phone from her ear. Upset, that was what Aleta always felt whenever Salsa let out her voice power without knowing the time. Aleta put her phone back in her ear, as Salsa's voice kept calling her.

            “M-A-L-E-S! MALES!!” aleta said, immediately ending the conversation by pressing the red button, throwing her phone to the bed while bending her face. Really do not think of knowing the way of mind Salsa who always put the content before anything else. It is impossible for Aleta to make it as a vidio to attract everyone, to laugh at Reta and Bimo. In spite of Reta's attitude to her, Reta has built her image well in front of all viewers of her youtube content. And it felt unfair and too evil for Aleta to just ruin it.

            A short message came into his phone. Aleta snorted annoyedly, she knew very well who the sender of the short message was. It must be Salsa who will apologize or just scold him for suddenly hanging up the phone.

            But both of Aleta's eyes were wide open. A message came in, not from Salsa, but from Bimo. Aleta gulped her saliva, trying to think of something with a fearful expression. Afraid that Bimo will return savage as before.