"Get in the car! Now!" Havi bellowed once more at Diana and Yono, his voice sharp with urgency.
"I'll explain everything later! Just get in!" he insisted, eyes darting about with restless energy.
"Havi, have you lost your mind? What about my bicycle?!" Yono protested, his face a picture of disbelief.
"Leave it! If it gets stolen, I'll buy you a better one. Now hurry!" Havi snapped, his patience thinning.
Diana and Yono exchanged uncertain glances before, at last, scrambling into the vehicle.
Yono slid into the back seat while Diana hesitated behind the wheel.
"Diana, what's the fastest you've ever driven?" Havi demanded.
"Um… maybe 50? 60 km/h at most," she admitted, her voice small. "I haven't got my licence yet. I've only just started learning."
"What? That's far too slow!" Havi groaned in exasperation.
"Move over! I'll drive!" Without waiting for protest, he threw open the car door and strode towards the driver's seat.
"Diana, shift to the passenger side," he ordered firmly.
"Havi, have you gone mad? You can't even ride a motorbike, let alone..."
(The engine roared to life)
With a jolt, the car lurched forward, tyres screeching against the tarmac as it shot off down the road, leaving behind a schoolyard full of stunned onlookers, students and teachers alike.
"Did I just see Havi driving?" one teacher murmured, eyes wide in disbelief.
"He was definitely driving," another confirmed, shaking his head.
"Since when could he do that?" a third asked, frowning in confusion.
"Forget it. I'm too exhausted to care," sighed another, already turning to leave.
Meanwhile, Havi gripped the wheel with white-knuckled determination, his foot pressing down hard on the accelerator.
The speedometer climbed steadily 70, 80, 90 km/h. And still, the car surged forward.
"Havi!" Yono's voice rose in terror. "I don't know where you learned to drive, but slow down! What are you?! The next Michael Schumacher?!"
"Havi, please! What if we hit someone? What if we crash?!" Diana cried, her face deathly pale, hands clutching the seatbelt in a white-fingered grip.
"Enough! Just trust me!" Havi barked, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, oblivious to the growing panic in the car.
The speedometer climbed higher, 100… 110… 120 km/h. The engine roared as the afternoon sun blazed overhead, casting sharp shadows on the asphalt.
The air shimmered with heat, distorting the roadside scenery into a blur of colour and movement.
"HAVI, SLOW DOWN!!!" Yono's voice cracked with sheer panic, his hands gripping the seat in front of him.
Diana sat rigid in the passenger seat, her face drained of colour, "You're insane! We're going to crash... we're going to..."
"Trust me!" Havi snapped, his knuckles tightening around the wheel.
The car hurtled forward, weaving through the midday traffic with reckless precision.
Motorbikes honked and swerved out of their way, pedestrians froze in terror, and shop owners along the roadside stared in disbelief as the vehicle tore past.
Then... An old man stepped onto the street.
He carried a sack slung over his shoulder, his pace slow, unaware of the speeding car charging straight towards him.
"HAVI!"
The simultaneous scream from Yono and Diana cut through the chaos.
Havi reacted in an instant.
With a sharp twist of the wheel, the car skidded sideways, tyres screeching against the sun-scorched road.
The old man stumbled back just in time, his sack spilling onto the pavement as a shower of onions rolled in every direction.
His furious shouts were lost beneath the roar of the engine.
"You almost killed someone!" Yono's voice was shrill with panic.
"He shouldn't have been in the middle of the road!" Havi retorted, eyes locked ahead.
But the danger wasn't over.
A row of small roadside shops loomed ahead, rickety wooden stalls cluttered with fresh fruit, fried snacks, and plastic containers filled with iced drinks.
Vendors stood behind their counters, lazily fanning themselves in the afternoon heat, unaware of the vehicle speeding towards them.
"The stalls!" Diana shrieked, hands bracing against the dashboard.
Havi swore under his breath. Another split-second decision.
He yanked the wheel to the right. The car narrowly missed a stall selling fried bananas, sending a stack of plastic chairs toppling over.
A basket of oranges went flying, bouncing across the road like marbles, and a vendor barely managed to dive out of the way, his tray of iced tea crashing onto the pavement.
Angry shouts erupted behind them, "Oi! You reckless maniac!"
"Go race in a circuit, not on public roads!"
Havi gritted his teeth, forcing the car back under control, "We're fine. Everything's fine."
"Fine?!" Yono's voice cracked.
"We just destroyed half a street! I think I've lost ten years of my life. Diana, did you pee yourself? Because I think I did!"
Diana, pale as a sheet, was too stunned to speak.
Havi smirked, finally easing the car into a steady rhythm, "Told you to trust me."
Diana exhaled slowly, far too slowly. Then, with a deathly calm voice, she turned to him.
"Havi…"
"Yeah?"
"Pull. Over. Right. Now!"
Diana's voice was shrill with panic, her fingers clutching the edges of her seat as though it might anchor her to safety.
Yono, equally pale, let out a strangled gasp, "Mate, you're going to kill us! Pull over right now!"
But Havi shook his head, his gaze fixed unblinking on the road ahea, "No! We're almost there!" His voice was hoarse, frantic. The weight of time pressed down on him like an iron fist.
A sharp turn loomed ahead. An other street vendor's stall, stacked high with fruit and bottled drinks, stood precariously close to the bend.
Havi's heart lurched as a man, balancing a tray of steaming noodles, stepped blindly into the road.
"Havi, watch out!" Diana screamed.
With a sharp yank of the wheel, Havi swerved violently to the right, the tyres screeching in protest.
The car skimmed past the vendor's stall by mere inches, sending plastic crates tumbling onto the pavement.
The startled vendor flailed, barely managing to stay upright as his tray of food clattered to the ground.
A chorus of shouts erupted behind them, "Bloody hell! Are you insane?!" You could've killed someone!"
Diana's breaths came in ragged gasps, "Havi, please! This is madness!"
Yono, gripping the headrest in front of him, let out a breathless laugh, half terror, half disbelief.
"Forget Michael Schumacher, mate. Even he wouldn't pull a stunt like that."
But Havi was deaf to their pleas. His chest rose and fell in rapid succession, his pulse a wild, erratic beat against his ribs.
'Just a little further… Just a little more…'
His foot pressed harder against the accelerator. The city centre of Telaga was just beyond the next turn.
And he would not be too late.