REMEMBRANCE | an ejen ali fanfiction

01 | One Chance

Without Ali, nothing felt the same anymore, did it? Alicia would stay as the prefect of her class, chiding students out for misbehaving, continuing to be the most prudent child in the school, praised by teachers for her outstanding performance and maybe even get to befriend Ali properly. Maybe he didn't remember, but Alicia had worked with him for some time now, and she knew him better than before. He deserved that bit of kindness from her, after all he's done.

This morning, before class even started, Alicia was already sitting on her seat, waiting for the rest of her class to arrive. Her fingers were clenched tightly on her textbooks, and she daren't let go.

Maybe his memories were set back to when I was a total prick, she thought. She recalled the times how horribly she'd treated him: pinning the worst punishments for him because of the stupidest mistakes. Alicia was wrong to underestimate anyone, and now she had to change.

She waited. As time passed, her classmates began to fill up the class one by one. Some arrived with their friends, some came alone, but there was no sight of the underdeveloped boy. He's late, he always is. She shouldn't have expected much from him.

Ali's best friend Viktor shuffled to his seat, though he appeared to be lost in his own head. He shuffled to his seat and never spoke a word to anyone, which was considered normal, but it was the unfocused expression he wore that surprised Alicia.

There was a bad feeling stirring in her stomach now. She just couldn't pinpoint her exact emotions, but her body urged her to run outside, and search for Ali herself.

The bell rang, and their teacher arrived. Alicia called for the class to salute, but there was still no sign of Ali. MATA was known for not leaving traces, but if they kept Ali in captivity for more than one day, it would raise suspicion. Especially after Ali attacked agent Bobby in a mall, and the video went viral around the internet. They were still trying to pinpoint his exact identity, but no one had any luck.

She'd begged her father to tell her about Ali's fate, but her father wouldn't budge. General Rama was stubborn, but he was always soft when it came to his daughter. However, this was the one time that he withheld information from her.

"Come on, Ali," she muttered, opening her science textbook when the teacher instructed them.

The lecture went on as usual, but Alicia couldn't hear anything the teacher was saying. Her mind was spinning, thinking of endings that could happen to Ali. Would he be targeted? Were the news of his termination leaked? She didn't know; MATA was more mysterious than she applauded them for.

The recess bell rang, and there was no sign of the black-haired boy.

* * *

Bakar didn't come to school today, either. Alicia noticed this when she saw the brooms laying by the shed's wall, untouched and unused. She asked Viktor regarding Ali's whereabouts, but he was just as oblivious as she was.

"Maybe he's just sick, after all. Or maybe his dad didn't let him out the house because of that attack directed towards the president," Viktor guessed, taking another bite from his nuggets.

Alicia frowned, sitting down across him. "Isn't the fugitive arrested already?"

Viktor shrugged, turning to his tablet. "Yeah, but his dad's been detained once because of Vikram. I don't think he's going to do anything soon before the project to improve the outlanders' lives is settled."

He had a point. Ali's father was one of the founding fathers of Cyberaya, after all. But him being detained? She hadn't heard of that, not even from MATA.

"Alright." Alicia stood up. "Thanks for your time."

She sighed, and decided to patrol the gardens for any litterers. She whipped up her tablet and took a deep breath, giving herself the final choice to visit him after school. She could call Bakar to ask about his address.

Just as she was about to leave the canteen, a messy mop of hair caught her eye. She turned towards its direction, and she saw a short, black-haired student enter the library, carrying a bag that's fashioned red and blue. The only person Alicia knew that would sport those certain colors in public was that stupid Ali.

Why would he go to the library? Did he still remember MATA? Did the memory-wipe not work? Was MATA blackmailing him—

Her legs moved before her mind reacted. She held her tablet in one hand and began to chase after the boy in impulse, but as soon as she reached the doors, her mind snapped awake and she stuttered to a halt.

No, Ali wasn't headed towards the entrance to MATA. He was standing at the counter, hands crossed behind him as his body swayed back and forth, humming a toneless tune.

Through her loud breaths, Ali turned to her and noticed that she was here. His face immediately scrunched up in disgust at the sight of her, with the action of snorting loudly and turning away instantly.

"Here are your papers," the lady at the receptionist said, passing over a file with several documents. She then leaned over the counter and squinted at him: "Aren't you that noisy boy who shouted at the library every day?"

"Nope!" Ali took the papers, shrugging. He lowered his bag and unzipped it, shoving the file of documents into his bag. Thanks to his clumsy posture, Alicia could see the words printed on the front of the file clearly: Schooling Transfer Form. Ali was transferring.

"You're leaving?" Alicia blurted.

Ali zipped his bag and tossed it over his shoulder, glaring daggers at her. "Why'd you care? Now you'll have to find someone to pick on," he chortled, walking past her and out of the library. Without turning, he threw up his hand and offered her a peace sign. "Adios!"

He walked into the canteen and accosted Viktor, who judging by his body movement, appeared to be just as surprised as Alicia was. They hugged and gave each other a fistbump, and Ali left the canteen and out of the school.

No, Alicia thought wildly. I have to make things right between us! She needed to at least apologize to him for everything she's inflicted upon him. He deserved an apology.

Her legs picked up, ignoring the surprised shouts of the teachers and running past students. She ran past the garden and the school blocks and the security stations, but all she could see was a black car driving away, and Ali's silhouette inside.

She had one more chance, and she had to make it count.