After returning from the old house, Alzena still imagined her fear while she was there.
"Where did you come from?" Ida asked when she saw Alzena coming home.
"Just finished a dare at the old house near the school," Alzena replied, placing her small bag on the table.
Ida was silent upon hearing Alzena's answer; her vision suddenly blurred, and her tears slowly fell.
"Mom, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"
"Did... didn't Mom like me going to that old house?" Alzena asked.
"Listen to your mother, never go there again," Ida pleaded, trying to avert her gaze when Alzena looked at her. She went to her room to calm herself down. 'I don't know what Ida was thinking, but it certainly made Alzena confused.
The day was already dark; beautiful stars were scattered across the sky, accompanying the moon, which continued to shine brightly on the dark night.
Alzena slowly drifted into a beautiful dream.
The next morning
Alzena stretched out her arms; she rubbed her eyes; with a slightly dizzy head, she immediately took a bath.
After getting ready, Alzena hurried to the dining table. Ida was preparing breakfast; her eyes looked puffy.
"Mom, are you okay?" Alzena asked, touching her mother's forehead; anxiety was evident on her face.
"Mom's fine."
"Come on, eat breakfast quickly, then leave," Ida said.
"Okay, Mom."
After breakfast, Alzena said goodbye to Ida.
Upon arriving at school
Several groups blocked Alzena's way; screams kept piercing the air; several people tried to calm the woman down; the necklace was getting smaller.
Alzena ignored the group; she continued walking towards the classroom.
Inside the classroom, it looked empty; there was no one inside; only the sound of the clock could be heard.
Alzena reached into her bag; in this quietness, Alzena preferred reading books.
Dila guided Hia to rest in the classroom. Unlike usual, Hia didn't bother or order Alzena around; she sat limply; occasionally, Hia touched her sore neck.
Alzena, seeing Hia sitting limply, immediately approached her. Although Hia often hurt her feelings, she still remembered that Hia was her friend.
"What's wrong, Hia?" Alzena asked; her gaze immediately shifted to Hia's neck; her neck showed a circular mark.
"What's wrong with your neck?"
Hia ignored Alzena's question; the pain in her neck made it difficult for Hia to speak.
"Hey! You don't see Hia is sick; don't ask so much; even if you ask a thousand times, you won't get an answer," Dila interrupted.
Alzena then returned to her seat; she felt so hurt when she heard Dila's words.
The bell rang; all the students would enter their respective classrooms; no one dared to be outside the classroom.
As usual, all the students would greet their teacher before studying.
"Good morning, Mr. Jiemi!"
"Good morning, everyone."
Jiemi pulled out a drawer; he was looking for a book.
"What are you looking for, sir?" Nanda asked.
"The class attendance register, who has it?"
"Here, sir," Nanda said, handing the register to Jiemi.
After taking attendance, Jiemi immediately explained today's lesson, then gave assignments to his students.
"This assignment is due next Tuesday, so don't be absent; everyone must be present," Jiemi said as he put away some of his books, then left the classroom.
All the students stood when Yuli entered their classroom.
"Okay, children, I want to let you know that after break time, we will have a guest, so I hope you won't be noisy," Yuli said.
The lesson continued; all the students observed their teacher as she explained a lesson.
"Any questions?" Yuli asked.
A student raised his hand and asked a question.
"So there are several factors contributing to the increase in the birth rate, for example, an increase in the marriage rate, marriage at a young age, the desire to have a boy/girl," Yuli explained.
"Do you understand?"
"Yes, Ma'am," they replied in unison.
Yuli gave a few notes to the students; she was happy because the students in this class were well-behaved.
The break bell had rung; all the students rushed out of their classrooms.
Hia and Dila approached Alzena, who was leaning against the wall; her gaze was straight ahead; even when Hia and Dila called her, she didn't turn around at all.
"Al."
"Um," Alzena replied.
"What's wrong with you?" Dila asked.
"Nothing," Alzena replied.
"There must be something; maybe you're hungry, oh, poor thing," Dila teased.
Hearing Dila's teasing, Alzena was silent; she felt offended by Dila's teasing; then she was about to stand up; Dila held Alzena's hand.
"Angry?"
"We're not like that," Hia said, then took two lunch boxes and removed the necklace around her neck; although the necklace was a little tight, she managed to remove it.
"Here, choose one of these lunch boxes, and take this necklace," Hia said, offering the lunch boxes.
Alzena took the necklace and put it on, then chose one of the lunch boxes in front of her.
Alzena enjoyed the lunch box heartily; Hia and Dila were surprised to see Alzena's usual expression.
"Shh... Dila, why isn't she surprised?" Hia whispered.
"I don't know; she should be surprised because I put a frog in both lunch boxes," Dila explained, whispering in Hia's ear.
"Hey, why are you guys just eating?" Alzena said.
"But there's only one lunch box left; it's okay to eat it," Dila said, her face slightly flushed.
"No, it's okay; I can share," Alzena said, then offered the remaining rice to Dila.
Dila took the lunch box hesitantly, "It's okay, right? Al is just normal," Dila said to herself, then took the lunch box.
To Dila's surprise, her eyes widened when she saw a frog jumping out of the lunch box.
"Aaaaaaaa!...."
"Ugh!"
The frog kept jumping towards Dila; Dila used Hia as a shield; immediately ran away from the frog.
Alzena looked at Dila with a puzzled expression, especially when Dila opened the lunch box and a frog came out; Alzena felt something was strange.
"Tring... Tring"
Break time was over; all the students immediately went back to their classrooms.
As Yuli had said, several cars were parked in front of the office.
"Maybe it's the teacher's family," a woman said as she passed the office.
Alzena glanced towards the door; she was waiting for her favorite teacher; he was liked by many students because of his fun teaching style.
"Assalamualaikum!"
Marzuki looked at all the chairs, trying to make sure all the students were inside; he furrowed his brow when he saw two empty seats.
"Where are Hia and Dila?" Marzuki asked.
"I don't know, sir."
"Don't they know, it's already—" Before Marzuki finished speaking, the two girls stood in front of him, lowering their gazes.
"Where have you been?!" Marzuki asked; his eyes stared sharply at the two girls.
There was no answer from either of them; they kept staring at the floor.
"Because you're late, I'll give you punishment; clean the whole school!" Marzuki ordered.
"No........"
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