章節 15: Bookstore
"Are you serious about buying all the books, Vani?" asked Mai. They were at the bookstore this afternoon after class, buying some college books and Ivani was about to buy them all.
"Ya, ya, the list has been given, if you don't buy it, how do you learn it," said Ivani while browsing through the books she wanted to buy.
Mai swallowed. Do you know how much one accounting book costs, it can be a hundred thousand more because it is in English? Translated books are cheaper but still above fifty thousand rupiahs. Imagine if there were 10 books, maybe one million more just for books. Mai feels bad for her parents even though her father can afford to buy them all. Since childhood, Mai was taught to live simply, she never bought anything worth millions, even hundreds of thousands were rare.
"Riven said, some can be found in the library, we can photocopy the problem because not all chapters are discussed. It's a shame," said Mai by giving advice, after all, the book is thick and heavy. Can't imagine having to carry those thick books on the bus every day.
"Riven?" Ivani said by looking at Mai with a strange expression. Mai nodded as if confirming her words. Her fingers were busy trying to figure out which book to prioritize to buy.
"When did you meet Riven? You seem so familiar, that you've already called him by name," whispered Ivani.
"Ah, no, I was on campus chatting with Thomas. And Riven join in the conversation." Said Mai.
Ivani nodded in understanding.
"Are you done yet?" Said Nica by approaching them. She already had three books in her hand.
"It's okay, just go to the cashier," said Ivani.
"You want to buy all of them?" Said Nica by staring in amazement at the books that Ivani brought.
"No, not all," Ivani said.
They walked to the cashier to pay, ignoring Mai who was distracted by other things. Her eyes lit up as she skipped past the comics and novels, forgetting her two best friends and easily stepping into her favorite part.
-----
"The Vinland Saga comic has been published, I want to buy this too, ah," said Mai without guilt when following Ivani and Nica, who had spent 10 minutes looking for her whereabouts.
"Something has made me curious from the beginning. You have a phobia of blood, why do you like reading these comics, and you also like watching horror movies," Nica asked.
"Yes, because it's fun!" said Mai briefly.
"Is that all right?" asked Nica again, who had her feet aligned beside Mai who was queuing in front of the cashier, while Ivani was standing not far from them.
"It's just a story, so it doesn't matter," said Mai easily. Nica also frowned, still not understanding, while Ivani smiled crookedly.
"Actually, at first I was afraid. I thought it was a way for me to recover from the trauma but it didn't work, I was still scared when I saw the real thing..." Mai said with a shudder.
"But I still like... Horror, thriller, action, historical stories, make me curious." She said again excitedly.
"Ooookaay," said Nica finally.
"I'm weird huh?" Mai said she looked worried.
"No... No... you're interesting," said Nica with a smile.
"Mai, we are your friends, no matter what you look like, we will still be friends. We will help you, support you, always beside you," said Ivani who had patted Mai's shoulder.
Mai smiled broadly. The first time they met these two friends five years ago, they never thought she was strange. Of course, at first, they thought Mai was just afraid of seeing blood, they understand, everyone has the fear right. Gradually the two of them and also their two male friends knew that Mai was 'sick', her nightmares, her panic attacks, the pills she still had to take sometimes didn't keep them away. Unlike his other classmates, the four of them were always there for her, taking care of her, bothering her if her attack suddenly came. Sometimes Mai feels like it's a bother but they say they don't mind because they love her. Remembering that made Mai's eyes slightly teary. She was grateful.
"Thank you, I promise I will try my best to recover," she said excitedly.
"Somehow I have a good feeling this time." Said Mai again. The two girls nearby smiled back.
"Good then... Cheer up," said Nica as she raised her right hand into a fist.
"Come on, let's go home, it's late," said Nica as soon as Mai finished paying for the books she bought. Ivani and Mai nodded.
-----
The three girls exited the bookstore and walked towards the parking lot but suddenly Ivani stopped her steps.
"I think I need to go to an ATM, there's no cash," she said.
"Later when we meet the convenience store on the street," Nica said, she couldn't wait to go home.
"There's a mini-market next door," Mai said while pointing at the mini-market right next to this bookstore. Ivani also glanced in the direction that Mai pointed.
"Yes, I've been there for a while, you guys go to the car first," Ivani said while handing over her car keys.
"I don't want to... Come along," said Mai when Ivani was about to leave.
"I want to buy ice cream," she said with a smile.
"Base...!" Nica said while ruffling Mai's hair which immediately made Mai pout.
"Well, let's just accompany Ivani," Nica said by directly holding Mai's hand like an adult holding a small child and being treated like a child did not protest at all.
-----
Mai looks difficult with the tote bag on her shoulder. Her bag felt heavy because she also put the book she just bought there, moreover, her right hand was also holding an ice cream. Ivani had already spoken to her because she immediately opened and ate her ice cream on the spot. After all, she wanted to eat ice cream. She should have just used a backpack or sling bag, she purposely used a tote bag to make her look more feminine and mature. but it's annoying. Suddenly someone nudged her and before she knew it her bag had changed hands.
"Thieve... Thief!!" cried Mai.
Ivani and Nica, who were busy chatting, turned their heads. Ivani shouted as well and Nica immediately acted, chasing the thief who was running very fast. Mai and Ivani followed behind her.
The thief kept running and Nica behind chased him. For a moment the man looked at the girl who was chasing him until he didn't see anyone who had just gotten out of his car walking towards him. And finally, they collided, the man had fallen but immediately stood up and ran again. The person who hit him did not fall but was still surprised, shook his head while grimacing holding his shoulder which had been hit quite hard.
"Thief... Catch him!!" Nica shouted for help towards the man who had just been hit by the thief.
The man stared at Nica confusedly for a few seconds but then he turned around and chased after the thief, tugging at the man's shirt. and made him fall. The man lowered his head to take the loot from the thief but a strong kick stopped him.
Nica grimaced when she saw her helper fall just as the kick hit her stomach. It must be hurt. The tomboyish girl was just about to help when the boy stood up quickly and so on. wrestle with the thief. Nica just stared at the fight in front of her. An unbalanced fight as it was clear the helper had the upper hand. The thief was no match for him.
Cool. The girl's mind was amazed when she realized that the man who helped her was a karateka just like her. Just as the thief was subdued, two security guards ran over. Nica snorted in annoyance. Where are they when needed?
"Thanks," said Nica to the stranger who had just helped her.
"You're welcome," said the man then picked up a pink tote bag that was sitting on the asphalt and gave it to Nica.
"Here's your bag." Said the man.
"Oh no, that's my friend's bag but thank you," said Nica again as she received the bag and she could finally see clearly who the person who had helped her was. He was a tall man wearing dark blue jeans, a red t-shirt, and a black hoodie jacket. His hair that started to belong with bangs that hung on the right side of his forehead was reddish-brown. Nica turned to his face and gasped at the friendly smile and shady gaze of his pair of brown eyes.
Foreigner? Ouch... This man is very handsome and he is good at fighting, she screamed only in her heart.
"Nica...you run fast, I'm tired of chasing you...!" Said Ivani, her voice brought back Nica's awareness of the charm of the man in front of her.
Nica turned to Ivani and Mai who were half running towards her breathlessly.
"Well... you are...," said the man when he saw Ivani and Mai.
"Eh... Aa... Aaron." Mai said, she looked surprised while Ivani immediately froze.
Damn, why meet here. Her face must be oily, sweaty after running, ah, I'm so embarrassed, Ivani thought.
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awisantoni
awisantoni Thanks for reading. If you haven't yet please leave a review. I would love to hear from you. Let me know what you guys think. Feel free to point out any mistakes I made. I hope you guys have a wonderful day :)
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