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I sighing deep for many times already. My mind is as blank as my stare on the books in front of me. One book showing so many problems I need to solve, deadlines tomorrow morning, but I don't understand a single thing about this topic of physics. Well, there are a lot of topics in physics that I don't understand, and this one is the worst. In all honesty, I swear I don't like this subject a little bit. I hate it.
Anger filling up, I throw my book annoyingly hard on the table to release my emotions. It makes loud bang sound in this empty class room, unexpectedly followed by a gasp of shock coming from someone other than me. I turn my head to the door and found Chan standing there with a hand on his chest, clearly startled by my random violent act to the book.
"What happened?" He asked as he walk inside. The basketball club just finished their practice, apparently. He's still in basketball uniform, although with not much sweat anymore. He must be showered without changing his practice uniform.
I hissed in annoyance, not because of him, of course. "Nothing." I replied to him unfriendly. Well, we're just become classmate this senior year, I was a basketball team manager once, for one year, but me and him are not that close. All of our interactions are limited to when we met on the basketball court, my memories of him only filled with his sweaty appearance with sharp and focus expressions on his face as he concentrated to winning the match. He's the type who not bother anything else once he focusing on something. That's why, in the basketball hall (whether it's a match or just practicing), he rarely start unnecessary discussion. Only spoke about the technical stuff and strategies related to basketball. And after a whole year seeing him like that, we're still not that close.
In contradiction of my last sentence, he choose to walk through the alley beside me so that he can peak on what I've been working on right now. "Ah, the physics homework. I'm not finish it yet, as well." He continue walking to his destination, his locker at the back of the class, while casually offering to finish it together.
"I don't understand anything."
"Let's solve it together, then." I hear many sound at the back as he open the locker and organize his stuff. "Don't turn around, I'm going to change." He mumbled.
Strangely, I automatically turn around my head to the back, "Yah, why you change here instead of..." I gasp then turn my head back to my original position, looking at the whiteboard at the front of the class. I saw his naked back, oh my.
"I said don't turn around." He said very casually like it's nothing. Of course it's nothing for athlete like him, he used to have girls looking at him changing clothes on court.
Wait.
I used to saw that, too. I was a manager of the team, and witnessed them changing clothes often in between games, why do I have to act like I never saw it? My eyebrows furrowed in stupidity.
A couple of sounds here and there again before he finally sit on the chair right beside me, books on the table then he open it, peaking at mine to see the page. I don't smell anything strong from him other than a familiar scent of soap. I smell this a lot last year.
"First question. The distance between two bodies become 6 times more than the original distance. The force becomes?" He then mumbles about the formula of gravitation, the force, the mass, and the distance, while scribbling the empty space between the question and the multiple answers, leaving me stunned. "B."
He answer it just like that?
He glance at me who still frozen at my place without doing anything to my book. "The answer is B."
"Ho... how...?" I pouted my lips, feeling small instantly.
Then he's saying the formula of Newton's laws to me. But I just looking at him in confusion that make him rolling his eyes, "Seriously?"
I almost cry, "I don't understand, I really don't understand anything about this subject. I hate this!" I said hopeless.
"Listen." Then he explains it from the very start. From the definition and it's formula and the component in details. "G is the gravitational constant, there's a way to measured it, but now just remember it's always be 9.8."
"There's a question to how to get the G."
"Really?!"
"Last question."
"Damn, it's a lot of work." He touch his neck upon this distress question. "Okay, one question at a time." Then he continue his explanations, but because I'm so bad with official terms, he caught my confusions, and repeat his explanations with easier sentences possible. He even give examples to make me understand it better.
And that's how we solve the questions one by one. Actually, most of the questions are just repetition of the questions before, just with different objections. And along solving this problems too, I realized that it just like puzzling the formulas here and there once I understand the meaning behind every questions.
"Why do they need to make it complicated, like if they just want us to calculate the F, then just ask it directly instead of giving hints?" I'm complaining.
"But you get it now. Try to solve the next question alone."
I read the question and got confused still. I need him to translate it to each components in the formula to be able to decide which formula I should use to solve it. So far, he's kind enough to guide me for that.
Time flies when we finally solved everything. The sun just setting down so he offers to take me home by his motorbike. That offer makes me realized that we're not that close, though. But he helped me with the homework and now offering a ride. Our relation so far was just a manager and team member for this school's basketball club, and it was happened a year ago when we were not yet a classmate. Now that we become classmates until graduation, guess there's possibility for us to get close?
That question answered by itself as we're doing physics homeworks more often after his practice. In fact, we do it every weeks. I was the one who asked him for help one day, because I couldn't understand anything again about the new topic, but after that, we just naturally sitting by each other after his practice to solve the problems. If we have no homework, he still kind enough to reviews my understanding about current concept we learn in class.
I don't know why he's being like that, but I'm grateful. And everytime we finish our afternoon study until the sun gone, he always offered me a ride. My mom become familiar with him because of that, I kind of worry if this is right. One day, she even asking Chan to have dinner first at our house. That's honestly kind of weird, fortunately he rejected it politely, said that his mom probably cooked him a dinner, too.
"I never thought you'd be good at study." I said honestly after we finish another homework.
"I just like solving problems, not study. Thankfully, I'm a fast learner and pretty good at memorizing."
"That must be nice." I said envious.
"Why you quit being our manager?" Oh, so we're chilling now, noticing that sun has not set yet this time.
"Tired. I never thought it'd be that tiring, it starting to messed up my focus. You know, if not being your manager alone I have a hard time studying, imagine how struggling everything for me to keep up last year. It's just... tiring. I'm not a fast learner, and don't have superior memorizing skill like you."
He let a soft laugh, "But you good with words. I read your poems, and some articles... on the bulletin board."
I nod with smiley face, "You did?"
"I read the one about picking up habits. That's kinda... eye opening for an athlete."
"Does it help?"
He nods, "I guess... one way and another."
I'm smiling wider, feeling proud on myself.
"You likes compliment, your eyes twinkling." He's staring at me and said it just like that, and still holding his stare even after I stop smiling. "So, there's no chance for you to come back to the team?"
"Nope."
"The current manager still awkward with everything."
"She's learning, give her some times." I'm starting to put my books inside my bag, "Also, as my gratitude that you taught me every weeks, I'm gonna grant one wish. Is there anything you want? Something to eat? Or something you need?"
"Come back to the team." He giggling.
"Anything beside that~" I glance at him for a second.
He's humming while thinking, "Then... be my girlfriend."
I'm pausing my movement to look at him.
"You said anything beside come back to the team." We're staring.
"Do you even like me that way?"
"Well, you're not bad."
I smirks, "Are you kidding me?"
"Let's try?" His dimples showing as he smiles, "You said anything. I want you to try to be my girlfriend. You're kinda cute."
Is he for real? I never thinking of him that way.
"There are surely many girls who willingly want to try to be your girlfriend."
"But I choose you."
"Why?"
"I told you, you're kinda cute." He throw me his last smile before getting up then put his backpack on one shoulder. "Today's our first day. Next time your mom invites me for dinner, I will join."
I chuckled in awe. Did I just get myself a boyfriend, then?
I get up and run to walk with him, "You planned this from the start?"
He laughs, "What do you mean? Of course not."
"Then, you just suddenly want me to be your girlfriend?"
"Not suddenly, too. As we're spending time together, I found you look cute sometimes." We're walking side by side in the hallway passing empty classes. "You remember about the gravity? The first topic I taught you? Guess I just got attracted."
"Just like that?"
"You know the strangest thing about gravity? Even scientist still has no fixed explanations about it, how can you expect me to explain this? It all just theories." He glance at me, "My theory is I got attracted, gravitating towards you...?"
"Wow." I blinking my eyes, "That sounds very cringe." I scrunched my face.
He laughs, "That's my best explanation to this."
"So, your theory about your attraction to me is?"
"I found you cute sometimes. My theory is... it's probably your cuteness."
"That's... the lamest theory I've ever heard."
"I'm not scientist."
"You want to be an athlete."
"Correct. You already knew me so well."
We arrives at the parking lot, there's only few motorbikes parked, and his always parked at the same spot. Maybe he's right, I already knew him well.
"It's a waste for your brain."
"It's important to do things that we love."
I nod, "Agree." I just about to take the helmet from his hand, but he put it on my head himself. This is the first time, so I questioning his act through my lifting eyebrow.
"Since we're a couple now..." He answered my silent question with smiles at me showing his dimples. There's something about him smiling... but then he turn to get on the bike, ready to ride me back home.
And why I didn't correcting him about us being a couple? We're really a couple now? Officially? Well, I'm wondering about it all the way home on his motorbike, and decided to just follow his lead on this.
He take the helmet off me with smile never leave his face.
"Guess you're not bad as boyfriend, either. I feel like I don't have hands." I said softly, staring at him.
"Want me to pick you up tomorrow morning?"
"No!" I replied to him fast, "I mean..."
But he nod his head, "Slowly. Got it." Smiling for the last time then he say again, "See you tomorrow." before leaving me alone with mixed feelings.
Well...
I have boyfriend now.
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