Sri Angkasa High School, Written big in the middle of the building. Indicate the name of the institution. Inside, in one of the classrooms, there's a teenager who sits next to windows; lost in thought while holding his chin, he stares out the window. Watch the bird flying all over the sky. Suddenly, a voice comes from the front.
"Sayda! What are you daydreaming about by the window? Focus here in the front while I'm still teaching."
Sayda snapped out of his trance, startled. Apparently, the teacher who was teaching reprimanded him because he did not pay attention to the lesson. Sayda then turned toward his teacher.
"Sorry."
He apologised insincerely with an innocent face. Showing no interest in learning at all. Making his classmates think he wasn't serious about apologising.
"That's all? Apologise properly, you schmuck!"
A voice comes from one of the classmates, and then in a second, a voice, one by one, comes to denigrate him. Suddenly, the class becomes clamorous.
"Yeah, do it seriously, you damn it."
"Someone teach him how to say sorry in a formal way; that boy is stupid."
TUK ! TUK! The teacher knocking on the board makes a sign to stop the crowd. In an instant, commotions become silence. All the students are facing forward. Sayda sighed a little, continue to holding his chin. Showing indifference to the words thrown at him.
"Alright, let's stop here before it gets out of control. There's no need to dwell on it, at least he apologized."
The teacher took back the marker from his desk. Continue his lesson.
"Alright, let's continue...as i said earlier...."
Sayda turned his face back out the window, show his indifference to learning at all.
***
Sayda, the name given by his mother while his mother was watching the eclipse. Sayda doesn't have many friends and rarely socialises with others. Maybe he was an introvert? He also often daydreams in class for no apparent reason. His daily life follows the same routine every day. Wake up, have breakfast, get ready for school and repeat the same thing on the next day. Such a boring life, but...
There's one thing Sayda loved to do even though it was something he repeated every day. Play a game. It doesn't matter what game it is; as long as it can be played, he will surely enjoy it. His mother always scolded him for playing games and always said, "Just wait until you play a game so much that you end up inside one; then you'll regret it." But Sayda ignores it because, according to him, that's the way mothers tease their children to stop playing games.
Into the game? It really doesn't make sense.
***
KRING! KRING !
The bell rang, indicating the end of school. Then, the teacher spoke.
"Alright class, the lessons end here. We will continue the lesson next week. I hope you guys are doing the homework I gave to you during this two-day holiday."
"Alright, teacher."
All students said in unison, except for Sayda. With a bare face that neither smiles nor shows any emotion. His teacher was the first to leave, with students lining up behind, in droves, wanting to leave the class. He was the last person who left the class. Sayda then, close the classroom door. Srkk, The sound of the key being inserted into its place. He then brushed off his hands acted as if his work was done, being the last one to leave the classroom.
***
One of the reasons why Sayda does not have a large number of friends is due to his mentality, which is that he rarely interacts with other people and instead enjoys spending time by himself. However, he only had one friend with whom he spoke frequently. "His name was..."
***
Sayda, who was walking, suddenly heard the sound of footsteps running behind him. Tuk, tuk, tuk, and bumm. One guy appeared next to Sayda while grabbing Sayda's neck with his arm.
"Hey, Sayda! phew!"
He was gasping for breath, tired of running. With a smile, he continued to speak.
"I thought you were already at the bicycle park, I'm searching for you all over the place."
"Oh Zayyan"
Sayda then smiled a little, changing from the previous one as if he had no emotions.
"Yea, let's go back together."
***
Indeed, he is Sayda's sole companion and goes by Zayyan. Like Sayda, he enjoys playing video games as a hobby. Every time they talk, a game is the topic of conversation.
***
"Sayda, do you remember the game you talked about? How's the progression now?"
"Ahh, that game, Battle Shadow Force? I'm already at level 100."
Zayyan then turned to Sayda with a startled expression.
"What, really? You levelled up so fast."
"Yea, but something is bothering me."
They both strode past the school area, heading to the bicycle park.
"What is it?"
Zayyan asked with a tone of curiosity.
"I still can't beat the boss by myself."
A soft burst of laughter slipped out from Zayyan's lips —Pfft—he then smiled broadly.
"Really? I thought you were the king of the game."
Sayda Lifted his index finger to his cheek, his expression thoughtful as though something was brewing in his mind.
"How about you come over to my place after school, and we can take down that boss together?"
"Hmm, Ahh.. I don't know about that, because I need to help my father the entire day. But don't worry, tomorrow definitely I'm going to help you. How about that, huh?"
"Oh, really?"
Sayda's eyes sank to the ground, and his hold on the handle relaxed. He muttered under his breath, barely audible.
"Yeah, well, what can be done, right? If that's the case, see you tomorrow."
"You too."
Zayyan then got on his bike and pedalled away, leaving Sayda alone at the bike park. As soon as he reached the intersection, Zayyan raised his hand and waved at Sayda. Instantly, Sayda waved back, watching as Zayyan gradually disappeared from his sight. As well as Sayda getting on his bike, pedalling away from the school grounds.
On his way home, Sayda spoke to himself while riding his bike.
He just remembered that he had finished all the video games, except for this one. The new game he bought was already a month ago. Maybe this is the right time to buy a new one while waiting for Zayyan tomorrow.
"What genre should I buy, huh? Story? Fantasy? Adventure?"
Sayda can't seem to think while riding a bicycle.
"No need to be dizzy, I'd better choose when I'm in the store later."
Upon reaching the town, rows of shops were lined up on both sides of the street. Sayda turned his face left and right looking for a video game store. Suddenly, he saw a sign that said a video game store was ahead. He immediately stopped his bicycle and parked it at the designated bicycle parking area nearby. Continued to walk following the sign he saw earlier.
All of a sudden, while he was walking, a girl accidentally collided with him, causing the items she had been carrying in her arm to fall to the ground. The woman was dressed like an office worker. She immediately apologised and bent down to pick up his belongings that fell on the ground. Sayda saw the woman bent down in front of him, stared with a look of disdain and said in a condescending tone.
"Next time, watching where you're going.... Ma'am."
And he continued walking away, leaving the woman behind without helping or apologising.
***
Sayda despises saying the word 'sorry'. Even if he had to say it, he would do so in a disingenuous tone and without genuinely meaning it. To him, the word 'sorry' just serves to demonstrate that we are wrong and have degraded himself. And he really dislike that.
***
The woman glanced at him with a hint of annoyance as she saw Sayda abruptly depart.
"What's wrong with that boy? Period."
She groaned, then ignored him as she continued to gather her belongings. Sayda continued walking towards the store he was heading to. But when he arrived in front of the shop, it was closed. Sayda felt disappointed as the entire trip seemed useless.
"Are you kidding me?"
He then brought his face closer to the mirror, trying to look inside. But all he saw was only darkness."
"Tch, pointless."
He then left feeling a bit disappointed. In the process of returning to his bicycle, he noticed an elderly woman carrying a cart full of groceries in front of him. However, he chose to disregard her and proceeded to pass by the elderly woman. He then hopped on his bicycle and rode home.
***
Even though the fact that he has a short fuse notwithstanding, Sayda has good emotional regulation skills and doesn't hold grudges for too long. His wrath or emotional state is only temporary and never lasts.
***
Sayda rode his bicycle away from the town. The wind gently stroked against Sayda's face. He was enjoying the wind, but when he approached a bend...
"Meoww!"
A cat running fast toward him. He jolted, panic setting in as he pressed both brakes hard.
TIIIKKK! And DUMMM!
Sayda crashed into a trash can. He falls directly onto the heap of debris that is thrown and dispersed across the road.
"Ouch! Stupid cat, huh!"
He got up while groaning and quickly checked the condition of his bicycle.
"Phew, luckily my bicycle isn't damaged."
He then looked around; trash was scattered everywhere.
"Heh, now I have to pick up all this trash."
Sayda grumbles softly.
"Maybe this is a punishment because I wasn't paying attention in class earlier. Bad luck."
Reluctantly, Sayda began picking up the trash one by one and putting it into the bin. After a few minutes, only one piece of trash remained on the ground.
"Fuhh...one more and...done."
After that, he wiped his forehead as if brushing off sweat. He then walked a few steps forward, and suddenly noticed that there was still another thing left on the ground. He then bent down and picked it up. It was like an old container full of dust. Sayda blew it.
"Fushhh"
And it turns out...
"This...CD game?"
He inspected the game CD closely. The disc's front features a clear title. He then reads it, one by one.
"Into...The...Game?"