As soon as the social science class ended, I approached Laras, still seated at her desk beside Shakira. The distance was short, yet I could see from the side of my eyes several classmates glanced at me. Or perhaps I was being too self-conscious.

“Laras,” I called her name.

She looked at me, still in her seat. So I showed her the hair clip she requested. Both she and her deskmate looked at my palm.

“Oh, right. Thank you.”

A thought crossed my mind before I gave it to her. ‘Should this hairclip be complementary? It should be free, right?’

“Two thousand Rupiah.” I blurted.

‘Yep, there’s nothing without cost in this world.’ I muttered in my heart.

Despite being fully aware of my reputation, I still dared to make money out of this. She might get me wrong, but I don’t think just giving her a hairclip will do anything to the situation I was in.

“Huh? This isn’t free of charge?” She asked.

I felt a bit complicated by her question. Not having the slightest idea how to respond, I said, “Uh... I mean, I did spend some effort making this, so...”

For a split second her expression turned a bit sour before it formed into a smile. “It’s only that much, right? Can’t you just make it free?” She said, puppy-eyed.

“Well, it is possible, but I might not be able to buy the materials if I were to make another one for you in the future,” I argued.

Her smile disappeared in an instant, and she no longer hesitated to show me her irritation. “Tch. So stingy.” She said while giving me the amount I charged.

“Thank you for your payment,” I said while assuring myself that it is better this way.

Laras was observing the hair clip for a while before tidying up her bangs with it. Shakira, who was looking at her for a while, said, “Wow, it looks good on you!”

“You think so?” Laras asked for confirmation while moving her head, showing Shakira every angle possible.

“Yes, it is!” Shakira answered, emphasizing her compliment. She then turned to me, and said, “Uril, can you make one for me, too?”

“Eh? Ah, sure.” I replied in shock from her sudden request, then returned to my seat.

Indah, who was seated in front of me, shot me a question. “You seem happy. How did it go?”

“Hm? I gave her the requested hair clip, she paid me, and then Shakira gave me a new request.” I gave her my answer.

Indah stared at me before opening her mouth again to ask me, “Wait. So you were selling it to her?”

“Uh-huh,” I said nonchalantly.

Sasa, who was listening to our conversation, joined in by asking me, “But you gave it to us costless though?”

“Well, It was a friendly gesture,” I said.

Both Indah and Sasa looked at each other, seemingly dissatisfied by my reason. And then, Indah said, “Okay...”

‘Is there anything wrong?’ I questioned myself.

 

****

 

“Uriiiiiil!” A shriek was heard from my behind while I was about to leave the school for the day. I looked behind and saw a girl running toward me. Installed on her headscarf, was a hairclip I made. I believe I saw her in the handicraft club, but I didn’t remember her name.

“May I help you?” I asked.

The girl fanned her face with her hand. When she finally caught her breath, she asked me, “Er, sorry for being too sudden, but... do you still have your hair clips?”

“Yes, I still have them,” I said.

“Um...” She muttered, almost unrecognizable.

I was waiting for her to say something, but the girl before me seemed troubled to say what she had in mind. So I proactively offered, “Perhaps you want another hair clip?”

She clapped her hand in front of me, bowed apologetically, and said, “Yes, sorry.”

“Oh, no, no. It’s alright. Which design do you want, um, senior...?” I asked while leaving the last part silent.

“Ayunda.” She said, completing my question. And then, while stroking her headscarf, she added, “Er, I have no particular request on design... But, can I have three?”

“Yeah, I have that much,” I told her.

She once again clapped her hand, and apologized, “Sorry. I promise to learn to make them at the next club meeting.”

‘She’s apologizing a lot.’ I mumbled inwardly. Then, I waved my hand at her and we parted ways.

Indah and I walked a bit of a distance from the school towards the busway station. Midway, she said to me, “That’s a good start to make an impression.”

“Yeah, I do hope so.”

 

****

 

Ever since then, I get requests to make hair clips every day. What started from Laras’ lone request grew into four hair clips, and then it turned into seven, and now I got so many requests that I can’t finish making hair clips alone in one day.

Many things changed because of that. One by one, the girls in my class started to wear the hair clips I made. At some point, my classmates started to call me the hairclip guy.

Additionally, my regular schedule started to change. From morning until three in the afternoon, I would be at school. And then at home, I would do my homework, and when it was done, I’d move on to making hair clips until late at night.

My productivity rose, as I effectively use every moment I have to make hair clips.

And then, suddenly, I felt a light smack at the back of my head. Startled by it, I immediately straightened up my pose. 

“Go wash your face.” Said Ms. Atika, with a textbook in her hand. My mind was still blank, so I obediently followed her command without question and went toward the restroom.

As soon as the water from the sink hits the skin, my brain finally loads. ‘I even make hair clips in my dream. What a nightmare.’ I mumbled in my mind.

I returned to class immediately, and I followed my studies just like I normally would. Except now I have the same panda eyes as my deskmate, Kevin.

“You looked terrible,” Indah commented on my appearance.

“Oh, yeah, I feel terrible.”

And then, when it was about time for lunch, I got called by the counseling teacher, Mrs. Jannah, to her room.

When I walked into the counseling room, A faint smell of lavender wafted into my nose. Mrs. Jannah, who was within my line of sight when I opened the door, was sitting on an armchair.

“Hi, Uril.” She greeted me with a voice that matched her aging appearance.

“Hello, Ma’am,” I replied to her greeting with a slight bow.

“Have a seat, please.” She said, pointing to the other sofa diagonal from her.

She looked deeply into my eyes with a smile, and asked, “How do you find this school?”

I thought for a bit, and answered with a pace that matched her speech, “I’m still adjusting, but so far...” I stopped midway, reminded of my obstacle in this school, the rumor. “It’s good.” I lied to her, in consideration of not adding to her concern.

She smiled at me, and said, “I see.”

Mrs. Jannah shifted her gaze at the table between us for a bit before asking me, “But your eyes seem to be restless.”

I grew a bit panicked by her observation. “Oh, this? I just had a lack of sleep lately.” I gave her an excuse.

“Exactly.” She said and paused for a bit. Then she continued, “I heard some complaints from a few teachers seeing you dozing off during lectures.”

I stayed silent, listening to her.

“Would you tell me what happened?” She asked in a way that made me touched.

My mind wandered for a bit, trying to search for the right words, before I said, “Um, I spent the night making hair clips, and selling them to some of the students.”

“I see. What a great thing you did.” She said, praising me. Then she added, “However, you’re also here to study, and we’re concerned about it.”

“That certainly is true, Ma’am.”

“Can I ask you to balance it a bit?” She requested.

I went into silence once more, thinking about the fate of the requested hair clips I haven’t fulfilled yet.

Mrs. Jannah asked me again as if she was listening to my inner thoughts all along,  “Do you have anyone to help you make hair clips? Maybe you can seek assistance from them.”

Her question reminded me of senior Ayunda from the handicraft club when she requested a hair clip. “You’re right, ma’am. I will try to reach out to them.”

Upon hearing my answer, Mrs. Jannah smiled. “Attaboy.”

“Thank you, Ma’am,” I said my gratitude.

She then gestured her hand towards the door, and I left the room. 

It surprised me when I saw Indah sitting on the bench outside, so I asked her, “You’re not eating your lunch?”

“I’m waiting for you because usually, we have lunch together.” She said, then stood up from sitting. “You didn’t take long. How is it?” She continued.

“Erm, yeah, There wasn’t much going on inside. I guess I have to make a bit of an adjustment.” I answered. 

“I see.” She said.

We went into silence as we returned to our classroom, until she told me, “You know, usually students perceive going into the counseling room as a bad thing.”

I was confused by the information she told me, so I said, “Huh? That’s weird.”

“I know, right? I wouldn’t have known that if only someone didn’t tell me about it. So, like, they think you got into trouble.” She said.

I was completely mind-blown that just the fact I entered a certain place in school can add fuel to my reputation. I told Indah, “What a crappy thing to happen.”

Indah lightly patted my shoulder, and said, “Don’t let it get to your head. You can count on me, remember?”

I had imagined that I returned to square one, but it seems to be not the case. Pretty much there hasn’t been any downgrade in my communication with my classmates. At least that was what I believed since I keep getting requests to make hair clips. I guess it won’t take long for the rumor to disappear.