"Nak dekat sampai dah ni. Hm, tak apa lah. Okay."
"Sorry tau! Sorry sangat sangat sebab kacau pagi pagi ni."
And I hung up, grabbed the keys and waited for Auntie Ogy outside of the house. 7.25am. Wow, that's a record.
I was a latecomer. By the time I reached school, people were already getting ready for the perarakan thing so teachers' attentions were drawn completely to the juniors on the road. I guess I was lucky, though frantic with worry. Auntie Ogy's words came out as a mumble when they reached my ears but I figured she asked me to hurry up. And I did. I sneaked into school, unnoticed—safe and sound.
"Awalkan? Haha."
The rest of the day was great. I remembered shouting my heart out, totally conscious of those people around in the school hall—judging. I guess we were a tad bit too excited and loud that day but who cares. It was our last year; our last Maulidur-Rasul event with schoolmates, although I was sure I'd be annoyed if I wasn't one of us. Surprisingly... okay, scratch that. As expected, we won the first place for sepanduk. And guess who almost lost her voice at the end of the day?
As much as I wanted to blame my bus driver for not picking me up in the morning, I couldn't. He did came. I just got out late that I didn't get to hear the honking. I blame those who put up the tent, though. Suckers. I was so exhausted I had to drag myself into the house after unlocking the door. Being home alone wasn't that bad after all. I like the calm environment that filled the air I was breathing in. It was rare to have my home in this state. I made a mental note to call my parents to inform them that I was safely home from school as I forced myself to get upstairs to change. Right! The phone call...
"The number you have dialled is not answering. Please try later."
Chaotic. How I'd precisely describe the state of my mind at that moment. I couldn't even think straight, what with the guilty feeling that had been choking me ever since. I had been trying to reach him but failed every time. I got pissed, gave up, and was now sitting in front of the computer.
"Sorry sangat sangat sangat :("
You could tell I was feeling so guilty that I no longer cared if I sounded pathetic. And then I hit "Enter". Of course, I could already sense the reply I was about to get, but I was expecting (needing to be honest) a little "scolding". I deserved to be punished. I even told him it wasn't human of me to do that (especially to him) but the only answer I get was "Tak apa lah." "I'm fine." "Jangan risau." and all that craps I knew were lies.
At least that was what I thought.
"Kenapa tak boleh call?"
"Oh, battery phone habis. Tunggu jap eh."
It wasn't long after I replied to that message when I heard my phone rang. I let it be for a bit because I liked my ringtone.
It wasn't only my favourite, anyway.
I didn't know what had gotten into me but I wasn't being myself. Why would I be nervous? It wasn't our first time talking. I heard myself scoffed. After what seemed like a lifetime to me; which was really, only a matter of seconds, I picked up the phone.
"Hi. Assalamualaikum. Um, SORRY!! Sorry sangat sangat sangat sangat tau!"
I heard someone giggling in the background.
"Haha, tak habis habis lagi dia ni."
And the remaining conversation was... to never be forgotten.
