Jakarta, 2005. On the basketball court in the Pondok Gading housing complex, three young men sat outside the court, two of them still sweating to the point their shirts were soaked. Meanwhile, the other four remained. One of them attempted a basket, but unfortunately, his shot was blocked by a taller man already in front of the basket. His teammate received the ball, and a two-pointer was made.
Five minutes ago, Ryan had given up because he felt his ankle was sprained, followed by Leon, who was no longer able to continue. Ryan took a sip of water from a stainless steel thermos tumbler he had brought from home, his tired breathing now steady. The young man now watched the four other young men playing basketball on the court, one of whom was his older brother, Anton.
Besides Ryan and Leon, Iqbal had been watching his friends play basketball without him. Understandably, Iqbal didn't like basketball, preferring martial arts to it.
A few minutes passed, and Ryan's slightly sore foot was massaged as best he could without removing his shoes. Ryan's gaze then shifted to the figure of a teenage girl in a private junior high school uniform. The girl was walking on the sidewalk beside the basketball court, despite the chain-link fence blocking Ryan's path, but he still watched her. It wasn't until Leon's shout right next to his ear that Ryan snapped out of it.
"Shoot, idiot!" the skinny, skinny young man yelled at his own team, who couldn't score. Ryan looked back at his older brother. Anton had the ball again, dribbled it down the court, and passed it to Marcell. Unfortunately, his shooting trick was intercepted. Gery took possession of the ball, and Anton had already read his passing technique. Gery dribbled low. Anton easily captured Gery's technique, snatching it with one swing of his hand and throwing it to the floor. Marcell, his teammate, received it, and the shot was made.
"Aah, idiot!" Leon cried again, deploring his teammate's poor play.
Ryan hadn't forgotten the teenage girl who was slowly moving away. The teenage girl, his next-door neighbor, had moved into the house that had been vacant for two years just a few months. She was accompanied by her parents and a large truck carrying the contents of their previous home.
The game was still intense, as if no one could easily release the ball from their strong fingers, capable of supporting the weight and movement of the ball. They used dribbling techniques, powerful shots, and maximal passing.
Gery dribbled and dribbled the ball low, a technique Anton had already memorized, and successfully snatched it.
"Aah, idiot!" Leon shouted, criticizing his two teammates on the basketball court.
The game was still intense, as if no one could easily release the ball from their strong fingers, capable of supporting the weight and movement of the ball. They used dribbling techniques, powerful shots, and maximal passing.
"Throw it straight up, man!" Iqbal exclaimed.
"That idiot is so greedy, he doesn't want to throw the ball!" Leon shouted beside Ryan.
"Throw it to Gery, Jay!" Iqbal shouted, impatient to see Jay's play.
Ryan watched his older brother, Anton, who hadn't yet tired from playing the previous hour and a half.
The basketball court and children's playground next to it were facilities provided by the housing developer. An effort to provide comfort for its residents. There was also a swimming pool, but for now, Ryan was following Anton's wishes to spend the afternoon on the basketball court competing with the other children.
The figure of a bespectacled teenage girl with a backpack slung over her back and wearing a private school uniform wasn't the only one Ryan noticed; his friends on the basketball court were also aware of it. Every time she passed, Ryan would stare at her until she disappeared.
This time, Leon elbowed Iqbal, signaling that Ryan's eyes wouldn't blink as he watched the new kid pass by.
"She's still underage, Ry! "You can't look at a cute kid, huh?"
Iqbal just smiled at Ryan because Leon always had that attitude.
The broad-shouldered man didn't reply to his friend's comment and let the afternoon pass by.
One afternoon, Frans finished washing his car and saw Ryan sitting in front of the house relaxing with the comic book, meaning his son was just going to be lazy.
"Aren't you going to wash your bike, J?" Frans wiped his car with a chamois cloth. "What's wrong?" Ryan stopped flipping through his comic book.
"Go wash your bike, the tires are covered in dirt," Frans said, not wanting to see Ryan's dirty BMX bike lying abandoned under the mango tree growing in Frans Patuli's yard.
"Ooh," Ryan replied easily.
"Don't just ooh."
Frans grabbed the hose that was still under the faucet and threw it near the BMX bike. "Wash it!"
"Later, Dad!"
"Wash it!" Frans said firmly, something Ryan couldn't argue with. "What's so hard about washing your bike this late in the afternoon? You'll get wet, you can take a shower at the same time." Frans added, seeing Ryan already enjoying the water, just like he had five minutes ago. Ryan trudged through the parking area, which could fit two cars, grabbing a container for a brush and soap that his dad had recently used. Then he turned on the tap and directed the hose at the tires of his BMX bike, which were covered in dried dirt.
Not long after, Mr. Jeffry, our next-door neighbor, had just returned from buying his regular newspaper. Every time his gate opened or closed, it squeaked, making a metallic sound.
"What other newspaper are you buying, Jeff?" Frans asked, seeing his next-door neighbor return from his morning paper purchases.
"Yes, Mr. Frans," he replied, smiling kindly.
"Don't you subscribe to local and national newspapers every morning, Jeff?"
"Yeah, just looking for another newspaper."
"Ooh," Mr. Frans nodded in understanding. "Information really needs to be accessed frequently. Even though I have a TV, I prefer reading newspapers, magazines, and websites. Nowadays, people read more news online, Jeff."
"Yes, Mr. Frans. But I get tired easily from long periods in front of a monitor."
"Oh, is that so?" Mr. Frans had just found out.
"What other newspaper do you buy?" Frans, curious about the thick newspaper Jeffry was carrying, stopped and approached the wall of their house.
"The Tempo newspaper. I want to know more details about NASA's successful landing on Mars."
"Ooh, America is still ambitious about exploring Mars. Did it really reach Mars, Jeff? Or, It's like the first moon landing!, its fake. not proven"
"Well, that's why I was curious. There was no news in the local newspapers or Kompas. I m going inside, Mr. Frans."
"Yes, Jeff, go ahead," Frans invited his next-door neighbor into the house.
Mr. Jeffry's daughter suddenly opened the door, about to leave.
"Where are you going, Mel?" her father asked, passing Amelia at the door.
"I want want to top up your internet data, Dad?"
"Need some money?" Dad asked before Amelia left
"More please" from the way she asked, she was quite spoiled as a daughter, of course her father would give it to her. She was the only child in the family.
Ryan could hear the conversation of his next-door neighbors. The girl's voice was very soft, as she spoke briefly with her father.
"Hey, Amel, are you going out?" Frans greeted him, seeing Amelia leave the house.
"Yes, Uncle."
"Where are you going?"
"To the phone credit counter, Uncle."
"Oh, be careful," Frans said kindly, and Ameli left, leaving her father to lock the gate from the inside. Amelia gave a thin smile to her next door neighbor out of respect and politeness.
Ryan, who had finally finished washing his bike, hurriedly tidied up his equipment. Ryan finished washing his bike but thought it had been too long since Amelia bought the internet data. There was a feeling of worry why the girl, if he remembered, often took so long to come back. Even though the distance from here to leave the complex and go to the credit counter should have been back home, did the hadith go somewhere else, was she safe on the road, did she go somewhere first. Ryan became curious and immediately changed his slightly wet clothes without taking a shower first. He quickly left the house. His father, who saw him change without changing his pants, was surprised. Ryan got back on his BMX bike, which hadn't yet dried.
"Where are you going, Ry?" Frans asked, puzzled by his son's behavior, who had immediately run off with his BMX bike.
"I just wanted to see that girl." Ryan thought as he continued to ride his BMX bike through one housing complex after another until he finally reached a main road.
Ryan stopped pedaling when he saw Amelia on the other side of the road, already on her way home. The girl knew Ryan was there. Ryan's heart was beating fast, not only because she had finished riding her bike, but because she saw the figure he had hoped for there, standing about to cross the street. "Should I just turn back? She is fine" Ryan thought, feeling incredibly stupid right now, aimless and aimless.
Cars were still passing by, and Ryan had no intention of crossing, just watching the girl from a distance. Several people did the same as Amelia, crossing the zebra crossing when the cars were starting to clear and slowing down when the crossing area was busy. Amelia simply passed Ryan when she arrived. She didn't greet him it was obvious Ryan was there, they even briefly exchanged glances, but that was all. Ryan remained silent for the rest of the day, while Amelia continued her walk. Only when Amelia was a little further away did Ryan catch up. He kept his distance from her on his bike. Amelia had seen the guy next door several times at every opportunity, and luckily, she met him this afternoon, so she felt safe walking home alone.
However, she was still new to the area. Sometimes she met people on the road, especially when she had to pass through a place where many boys gathered. Amelia had to take a detour. Ryan was surprised, why did Amleia have to go through a road that would definitely be further. Ryan then realized that Amelia didn't want to go through a road where many people would gather. If it was the basketball court, she had no choice but to go through it because it was the only way to the housing complex. Amelia had to take detour and look for a quiet road, even though she was bit scared because she was unfamiliar, but if she had passed by often, she would only meet friendly homeowners, and even then it was rare. Amelia avoided meeting many people, especially young men who were gathering.
Ryan understood thats why Amelia often took so long to return home if she went somewhere like shopping buy internet credit, Ryan watched her Quietly from afar.
*********************
It was a typical afternoon, the sunlight was no longer as bright as it had been this afternoon, and it was now more subdued. And, this was the time when Amelia, a simple girl in a private school uniform with a chocolate- colored plaid skirt, was returning home from school. Sure enough, the sound of metal squeaking indicated someone was opening her neighbor's gate.
Aaah, why was the neighbor's gate always so noisy? Every time it creaked, Ryan became curious. And from his bedroom window, he could see someone sneaking around, or rather, peeking.
His two pairs of eyes were like eagles, as if it had become a habit or something that made his do something he shouldn't have done, but did anyway, stare silently through the glass of her bedroom window. Amelia's face was sometimes pale, and what made Ryan curious was what the teenager's voice sounded like, whether it was as small as her thick, full lips.
The young woman with square glasses, who had arrived with her parents from the start, had a beautiful face but was quiet, very quiet. She seemed grumpy behind her glasses frame even though she had never spoken to because they never greeted each other. Then Ryan covered the curtains of his room. " Why is she grumpy? Even though her mother is really nice. Even though I didn't do anything, she was like that cynical, her gaze was like someone who didn't like her. Did I do something wrong?" Ryan's mind was spinning on that problem alone at his study table.
Amelia felt someone watching her. The shoulder-length haired girl tilted her head towards Ryan's tightly closed bedroom window as usual. From a distance, she stood staring at her neighbor's window on the second floor, as usual, the bedroom window was always covered with a curtain, nothing was wrong there. However, if you look again, it seems the curtain is slowly moving, as if there is someone behind it.
"Oh No!" Ryan thought as he quickly moved away from the curtain of his window. His heart was pounding in fear of being caught. His body froze, his blood flow seemed to stop, he couldn't believe he would be caught. "Oh no" Ryan repeated the word for a few seconds, he didn't dare to move or breathe, he froze, waiting for his brain to thaw from the freeze. After a long time of freezing, he convinced himself that he had waited long enough for the right time to dare to see if the situation was safe. He opened the curtain slowly, very slowly and thankfully Amelia was no longer there, she was nowhere to be found, she must have entered her house, hopefully she didn't know what had just happened, that a pair of eyes had been watching her.
"Damn!" Ryan cursed. "I hope she didn't see me earlier" Ryan's mind