LIVING ROOM - 7:47 PM
Snip! Snip! Snip!
The scissors blade cut through the cardboard with a steady rhythm. On the corner of the table, music flowed softly from the DAP, just a fence to keep the silence away.
I sat cross-legged, surrounding myself with pieces of cardboard and a glue bottle whose cap was already open. My focus was only on one thing: finishing this photo frame craft in my hands.
Cut this part. Apply glue. Okay, the chocolate wrapper is also ready.
Creak.
The sofa behind me sank. Gerry landed there, spreading a mysterious aura that made the back of my neck tingle.
"What?" I snapped without turning around.
"I haven't said anything yet," he replied lightly, still with a tone that implied a smirk.
I glanced at him briefly before looking away again. "Because whenever you're around, my life is never peaceful!"
Gerry ignored my protest. Crossing his legs, he pulled his phone from his jeans pocket and twirled the object casually between his fingers.
"I'm just sitting here. Going to call someone." He chuckled softly. "I'll put it on speaker. Make things more interesting."
Beep... Beep...
The dial tone bounced off the living room walls. Then, a slightly husky voice answered from the other end.
"Hello? Who's this?"
My hand froze. The scissors in my fingers were stuck mid-cardboard. Th-that voice. A voice I hadn't heard in a week. Nico!
I turned my head very slowly, trying to glimpse Gerry from the corner of my eye, but... Ugh! He was already staring at me first, biting his lower lip, his shoulders shaking as he tried to hold back the laughter already at the tip of his tongue.
D-damn!
Reflexively, I looked away and pretended to poke the cardboard with the tip of the scissors.
"Yo. It's me, Gerry," he said casually, as if innocent after dropping an atomic bomb into my peaceful moment.
"Oh! Why are you only contacting me now? I thought I gave you the wrong number."
"I was choosing the right moment, Nic. Anyway, how are you doing over there? Or should I change the question? How's your method of legally skipping school? Ke ke ke."
A low chuckle came from the other end of the line. "Haha. I call it tactics. A well-prepared plan."
Gerry glanced at me, his eyes glinting mischievously. "Yeah, yeah. A well-prepared plan. Just like that red-black DAP, right? Very calculated."
"Oh. Your little sister told you?" Nico's voice sounded a bit deeper.
"Something like that. Every time she looks at that thing, she can't stop smiling to the point where her body melts into the sofa."
Snip! Snip! Snip!
My scissors cut into the remaining paper more aggressively, deliberately creating noise to drown out their conversation.
What the heck, Gerry?! Big mouth!
"I can imagine that. Must be cute, melting on the sofa, huh? Hahaha."
Silence for a moment. The atmosphere in the room suddenly changed.
"Nico?" Gerry's tone suddenly turned serious.
"Yeah?"
While applying glue to the paper with rhythmic motions, I perked up my ears. Trying to catch every word they said.
"You realize she's eavesdropping on our conversation right now, don't you?" Gerry grinned and poked my shoulder.
Deviiil! Gerry, you devil!
"Of course, that's our goal: to annoy her. Ke ke ke."
I crushed the cardboard in my hand until it was destroyed. If only you were here, Nico, your head would be crushed like this! Crunch! Crunch!
"Nic, looks like she can't stand it anymore and wants to grab my phone to say hi to you. Should I give it to her?"
Reflexively, my movement stopped. I cleared my throat softly, trying to adjust my vocal cords to sound gentle when I speak-
"Please don't give it to her. Let her suffer a little longer. Ke ke ke."
W-WHAAAT?! Ahem. Su-suffer? Fufufu, so confident. Sorry, but I'm busy finishing this frame!
"Gerry? What's she doing right now?"
Wh-why did the room temperature suddenly get so hot? I fanned my hands toward my face and neck, which were starting to flood with sweat.
"She's making a photo frame," Gerry leaned forward, peeking at my work on the table.
"A photo frame?"
"Yeah. Someone gave her special chocolate. She couldn't bear to throw away the wrapper, so she made it into a butterfly origami." Gerry poked my shoulder again.
"Now she's making a cardboard frame to put the butterfly in. Looks like she wants to display it in her room. Very dedicated, you know."
Ah, no wonder it felt so hot! Turns out the AC was off. Not because I got caught keeping the chocolate wrapper he gave me. No, not at all.
"Chocolate?"
"Yeah. From the inter-class volleyball champion."
"Is that so?" Nico paused for a moment. "I didn't expect that chocolate to be so valuable to her. I'm flattered."
Then his voice came through again. "Gerry, tell her to practice singing. That DAP won't work if its owner has a terrible voice."
"Uh oh! In that case, she can't use it anymore!"
I grabbed the crushed cardboard from earlier and threw it as hard as I could at Gerry.
Thump!
My throw hit his chest squarely. I didn't even bother turning to check my aim, but the sound of the impact was satisfying enough. Take that!
Gerry just chuckled, as if my throw was just a gentle pat of affection. He picked up the crumpled paper from his lap casually, then-
Thump!
In return, the object landed right on top of my head.
"Hmmph!" I let out a muffled growl, my shoulders rising and falling with frustration. My eyes bulged as I stared at the small table in front of me, wanting so badly to hit it with a sofa cushion.
Suddenly, silence crept in again. I peeked from the corner of my eye, wondering why the two of them had suddenly gone quiet.
"I'm joking," Nico's voice softened, almost a deep whisper. "I gave her that DAP because I remembered how soft her voice was when she sang."
Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heart pounded against my ribs. Why? Why do you have to say that in front of Gerry? Now I'm the one who's embarrassed!
Gerry shuddered playfully. "Ah... why are you being so cringey all of a sudden, Nic?"
"Please keep it a secret. I have a reputation to maintain."
"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."
Silence crept back in. I pretended to be very busy with the glue bottle, which was actually almost empty.
"Gerry?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I say something to her?"
Gerry's hand movement stopped. He looked at me, then slowly pointed the phone toward me. His gaze changed, no longer mocking, but meaningful.
"Go ahead. She's listening."
The room suddenly went silent. Then, his soft voice emerged, so close it was as if he was standing right beside me.
"Hey... I'll be back on Monday."
Tut... tut... tut...
Gerry stared at his suddenly dark phone screen. "Well, it disconnected," he murmured casually while shaking his phone.
"Not me, not Nico. Looks like my phone signal couldn't handle the weight of your longing for each other."
I didn't answer. My fingers trembled as I applied the last bit of glue to the butterfly origami made from the chocolate wrapper. I pressed it gently, right in the center of the frame, making sure every corner was perfectly attached. Finally finished. It looks good.
(Butterfly origami made from a chocolate wrapper illustration link image below).
I rested my head against the sofa, clutching the frame tightly. My breath came in short gasps, my chest heaving unevenly.
"Are you okay, Kirana?" Gerry asked gently.
"Gerry... you're the most cruel brother in existence, you know that!" My voice was muffled behind the frame I held tightly.
Gerry laughed. A laugh that was genuine, warm, and annoying all at the same time.
"Alright. It's late, get some rest." His hand ruffled my hair gently rather than stroking it.
I nodded silently.
Monday? That's tomorrow. Why does the thought of tomorrow morning's school hallway feel so thrilling?
*
[GERRY'S BEDROOM - 8:22 PM]
Gerry lay on his bed, one hand supporting his head while the other held his phone, its light illuminating his face in the dark room. A message from Nico blinked on the screen. Beep!
Gerry read it slowly. His forehead furrowed for a moment before a small smile finally appeared.
"Geez," he murmured to the silence of the room. "I already suspected this."
He tilted his body, letting his phone lie idle on the bedsheet.
His eyes accidentally fell on the dimly lit wall in the corner of the room. There, a black basketball jersey with a bold golden number 9 hung neatly. He stared at it longer than usual.
Until one long sigh, and slowly his eyes grew heavy, surrendering to the drowsiness that finally came for him.
[KIRANA'S BEDROOM]
Kirana was frozen. In her head, "Hey... I'll be back on Monday" from Nico's voice echoed. Over and over.
She stayed still, her face flushed red.
"Aaargh! The sound keeps looping!" She buried her face into her pillow, kicking her legs wildly against the mattress.
"Stop it. Stop it. STOP IT!"
But she didn't mean it. Not even a little...
Butterfly Origami
https://www.image2url.com/r2/default/images/1777466128417-b3ffbc66-3238-4326-8484-d9779de7ee89.png