“Anytime, star boy.”
He then looked from me to the suit hanging neatly in front of him, the one Mum had made for me. His was navy, mine was jet black. His eyes lingered on me. “Are you sure you don’t want to come?”
I shook my head and reached for the suit. “Yes.Have fun.”
He shot me a questioning look. “Why did you put so much emphasis on those words?”
Shrugging, I stepped out of Mum’s closet. “Because sometimes you confuse the wordfunwith something else.”
I caught his infuriating smirk in the mirror’s reflection before I left altogether. “Talk to yourself,” he muttered, smug as ever.
Mum tugged his ear. “Zeraiah, I meant it. Behave yourself.”
Zeraiah gave her a dry laugh. “Don’t worry, Mum, I’m always a polite andwell-behaved boy.”
I shook my head and walked further out of our parents’ room. I got into the lift, descended to the third floor, and made my way to my room. I grabbed a few tote bags I’d prepared since this morning and made my way towards the door. But as I was about to leave, Mum appeared.
“Hey, honey, is Biba alright?” she asked, her face full of worry as she leaned against the doorway behind her.
I gave a faint shake. “She’s not. She won’t come out of her room.”
She nodded, sadness softening her features. “Poor baby. She was so excited about this.”
“I know,” I agreed. “She really loved the dress you made her, Mum.”
Mum smiled, but her worry lingered. She walked up to me and handed me another tote bag. I looked at her, puzzled, waiting for an explanation. “Chocolate,” she said. “Tell Biba this is the new cocoa powder Grandma Morag brought back from Switzerland. Tell her this one’s a thousand times better.”She gave me a slight smile and brushed my cheek. “Cheer her up, will you?”
I returned her smile. “Don’t worry, Mum.”
“My sweet boy,” she said again, softer this time. “You both are so precious.”
« -- * -- »
A few minutes later, I stood outside Sophie’s room. My knocking had gone unanswered.
“Sophie?” I called again, unable to hold back my worry. “Sorry, but if you don’t answer in the next ten seconds, I’m opening the door, alright?”
She was alone in the house tonight. Well, not entirely alone; Mbak Mayang was with her. Her parents were in Jogja because her mother had a performance, and Tsabinu was in another city for a competition. Mbak Mayang had told me that Sophie had taken her medicine and was probably asleep, but I didn’t buy it. She wasn’t sleeping. She was crying.
Still no answer. I raised my voice. “Sophie? I’m coming in, okay?”
When I stepped inside, the pink glow of her room was swallowed by darkness, leaving only the faint, ethereal light spilling from the star stickers on the ceiling. I glanced around, my chest tightening until I spotted her. She curled up on the bed in her long pink jumper and shorts, her face buried deep into a pillow, and her shoulders shaking.
I walked over and sat down at the edge of her bed. “Hey… Are you okay?”
Sophie sniffled, her breath catching between sobs, and she shook her head.
“Can I do something about it?”
Another shake. “It only happens once, and I can’t even go.”
I leaned closer. “You know, you don’t have to go to a prom to dance.”
“Still, Zioh,” she replied, barely audible.
I let out a shallow breath. “Prom isn’t just at school. In the future, we might be able to attend a much better dance party than this one.”
She stayed quiet for a long moment, and the only sound was her soft sobbing.
