The Boy In The Picture
"Where's Kevin?" Melisa whispered. She hadn't seen Kevin since this morning.
“There, she's on your left, two seats from the back.” Heriet said. Melisa raised her head, looking for Kevin's figure that Heriet was pointing at.
“Hey, Kevin...!” She said greeting Kevin while waving her hand.
“Hey Lisa? How are you?" Kevin aksed. But instead of Kevin, Melisa was fixated on the figure sitting behind Kevin. The mysterious Jack Louis, she still didn't expect to be in the same class as him. There was a feeling that couldn't be expressed when she saw him.
"What's wrong?" Heriet asked.
“No, nothing.”
“You saw Jack, right? Surely you still don't expect to be in the same class as him, right?"
“Yeah, but I feel strange.”
"Why is it strange?"
“I don't know, when I saw him I suddenly felt a little scared. His figure seemed to show me something indirectly."
"Maybe that's just your feeling, if it was the first time you met him, everyone would definitely feel that he was strange and scary. But over time you will also get used to it like the others."
“Yeah, I hope so.”
"Damn old man!" Kevin shouted, he was the laughing stock of the class because his hair was tied with a pink ribbon.
“Hahaha…fool, I told you not to fight. Experience the consequences for yourself!” Heriet said while laughing out loud.
“The devil Thomas, he's old and still acts like a child, I'm always the target." Kevin continued to swear while trying to untie the ribbon in his meager hair.
"Never mind Kevin, after all you were the one who disturbed him first. But it's so funny, you're just like a clown." Said Melissa.
"He is indeed a clown, a circus clown who was fired, and continues to apply to become a lecturer at this university. It's too bad that this campus wants to accept him as a lecturer."
"Hey Kevin, you're stupid, aren't you? It's your brain that needs to be repaired before judging other people. You're the stupid one." Said Heriet.
“Hey, why are you defending that clown? Oh I know, you have a crush on that old clown, right?”
"Don't just talk nonsense, I don't like your attitude of often blaming other people for your own stupidity."
"Oh yes? Do you want to lecture me? Oh how great are you?"
“Hey guys, stop it already! Why are you guys fighting? Never mind, just forget about this incident, it's better if you come to my house. I brought souvenirs from New York for you two.”
"Gift? New York?” Kevin and Heriet said simultaneously.
"Yeah, come on to my house!"
The three of them walked towards the car park, where Melisa's car was parked with the other students' cars.
"Wow...cool, you're really great, is this your car or Max's car?"
"Of course my car, my dad gave it to me for my birthday a year ago."
“Your dad is really cool!”
When they got home, Melisa, Kevin and Heriet immediately received a very friendly welcome from Melisa's mother who was baking cakes in the kitchen.
"I am home!"
"Welcome, sweet heart?"
“Mom, this is Kevin and Heriet. You still remember them, right?"
"Of course I remember them, how are you two?"
"We're fine, Mrs Smith! Thank you for letting us come!"
"Don't talk like that, you two are Melisa's friends. Of course you can come at any time."
"Mom, I will take them to my bedroom."
"Okay, I'll bring cake and tea later!"
"Thank you, mom."
"Thank you, Mrs Smith? Sorry to bother you?"
"No problem!"
Melisa opened the door to her room on the second floor. It had been years since she last invited Kevin and Heriet to play in her bedroom. The nostalgic atmosphere was starting to feel.
"Your bedroom hasn't changed much, has it?" Heriet said while looking at the photo frames displayed on the wall.
"My parents just renovated this room a little so it wouldn't be too childish." Melisa said as she took out two paper handbags from the cupboard and gave them to Kevin and Heriet.
"What's this?"
"This is the souvenir I said earlier!" She said. With a happy face, Heriet took out the gift he got.
"Watches and wallets? Oh my God, Melisa, I know these brands are quite expensive. You shouldn't have to waste your money on souvenirs for me, let alone Kevin!" Heriet said in a mocking tone so that Kevin felt insulted.
"Cool, I didn't expect you to still remember my obsession with dogs and wolves." Kevin chirped when he saw the gifts he got, namely a watch and a necklace with a toy necklace with a wolf's head pattern.
"I just remembered that you really like dogs, especially ones that look like wolves. So I thought you might like the necklace."
"Of course I like it, thank you so much, I'll keep it!'
"I would be happier if you would wear it, Kevin!"
"Hahaha...of course, I will use it. Oh yeah, I didn't see Max? Where is he?" Kevin asked.
“He works at a car repair shop and comes home before nightfall!” Said Melissa. Meanwhile, Heriet looked at the photos displayed in this room one by one. Most of them are photos from their childhood.
"It turns out you still have photos of us from when we were in elementary school, huh? Haha...so cute!" Heriet said, laughing amusedly when she saw a photo framed on the wall of the room.
"That's a photo of us at the fourth grade sports festival, only that photo contains all the photos of our former class friends. The other photos only contain a few close friends!"
“Hey look, it's Jack Louis!” Heriet said while pointing to a child in the photo.
"Which one?" Melisa asked.
“The one standing next to you, his face is very pale, isn't it? Absolutely no expression!” Said Kevin.
"I didn't know it was him standing next to me, because I don't really remember his face when I was little."
"He became quiet like this because of the tragic incident that happened to his family. As far as I remember, he was a cheerful child. When I was in first grade at elementary school, my mom and I came to his house, at that time he was still laughing while playing the piano at his house," said Heriet.
"Now, he has changed drastically like a walking statue," said Kevin in a mocking tone.
“But after all these years the trauma still hasn't healed? He should be able to return to a normal life little by little.”
"I don't know, I think what happened to him was too terrible for him to forget, even if it meant it would take him the rest of his life."
Melisa looked closely at the photo in her hand, for some reason her gaze and thoughts couldn't leave Jack Louis. Not because she was interested to him, but there was something about the young man that was difficult to explain, there was something different about him. He seemed not to be a creature of this world.