My 8F Memories

MAY ; Unpaid Clown

Friday, May 23

After last Saturday's chaos with Fahmi, Agus, and Yogi, the trend of daily mischief has only grown stronger. It's like a routine now—every single day, I find myself in the middle of yet another commotion involving the three of them. And guess who's always outnumbered? Me.

There was even one day when they pushed me too far. I ended up crying—not because I couldn't handle them, but because they caught me on an emotional day. Instead of feeling bad or leaving me alone, they kept teasing me. No sympathy at all.

But I'll admit, my mood bounced back the next day. I'm not one to hold grudges, especially when I know they're just being their annoying, immature selves. So, as frustrating as they can be, I forgave them.

Today, class went as usual. When break time arrived, I stayed behind in the classroom, sitting quietly with a book in my hands. I wasn't reading it—just staring at it while daydreaming. My arms were folded across my chest, and my mind wandered aimlessly.

And then, the peace was shattered.

Yogi, Agus, and Fahmi strolled into the classroom like they owned the place. Each of them took a position around me as if I were some kind of prey. Yogi sat down on the bench to my left, Agus leaned on the table, and Fahmi rested his arms on the space between my bench and the one next to it.

"Nonim, lend me some money," Yogi said abruptly.

"What for?" I asked, suspicious.

He hesitated, clearly not expecting me to ask for a reason. After a long pause, he finally mumbled, "To make photocopies of the exam grid."

I narrowed my eyes. The Class Promotion Exam was coming up, and many teachers had given us grids to study from. However, there was only one copy for each subject, so we had to photocopy them ourselves. Still, something about Yogi's tone made me doubt his intentions. Was the money really for photocopies? Or was it for snacks or some other nonsense?

"Don't have any," I said flatly.

"Come on, just a thousand. I don't even have money for the fare to go home," he pleaded, trying a different tactic.

"I don't have any either. Go ask Fahmi or Agus," I suggested, not budging.

"I don't have any money," Agus said with a shrug.

Meanwhile, Fahmi conveniently slipped out of the classroom. He clearly didn't want to be roped into the conversation. Typical Fahmi.

"Well, I don't have any money either," I repeated.

"How can the class treasurer not have money?" Agus said, starting to get annoyed.

"Maybe it's because certain people—like you—never paid their dues! The money was gone by the first semester!" I shot back.

Agus rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath. Meanwhile, Yogi tried a different approach. "Please, Nonim. Just a thousand," he begged, his tone softer this time.

"If you want my help, try asking politely," I said, folding my arms.

Yogi seemed to take my suggestion seriously. After a moment of hesitation, he carefully said, "Siya, could you lend me a thousand? You're good."

The attempt was so awkward that even Agus started laughing.

"What's that supposed to mean? What's so good about it?" I teased, grinning.

Agus decided to give it a try, but his effort was even worse. "Si...buahahaha!" He burst out laughing before he could even finish.

"Don't laugh!" I said, trying not to laugh myself.