Paper clip part 1

           Going home should be happy for people, but not for Urip. There was no sweet welcome when he returned from school, his parents used to come home at ten
o'clock at night. If they are overtime they just returned from work at midnight.

           Even because his parents go to work when he was still asleep and came home when he was asleep, Urip has a hard time to remembering and almost forgot faces
of his parents. His parents forced Urip to become a bank employee just like the two of them. But he has his own ambition, he wants to be an architect.

           Drawing landscapes and living creatures in realistic detail, he is not capable of doing it, but he believes that his ability to draw building perspective, structure,
construction, and environment is quite capable.

           Many things made him aspire to become an architect. Starting from it is a
work that builds the country, his services are remembered by time, and he is very
happy to draw from various points of view. But in addition to perspective in
architecture that he studied, he learned perspective in terms of life as well.

           It was so heavy to convince his parents, arduous to express his wishes, very
difficult to escape from the shackles that had held him all this time.

          Indeed that Urip's parents have strict supervision, he is not allowed to come home late at night, eat carelessly, dress carelessly, leave the house carelessly, make
friends carelessly, and make his own choices carelessly.

           Then why doesn't Urip said his wishes or complaints? because he knows
speaking will only hurt himself. It's like a wound in a voice cords that keeps talking
instead of getting better, it just gets worse. What do you have to make you want to
oppose the sky?, that's the principle, but rather than being called a principle, it
seems more appropriate to be called a pessimist.

           However that was in the past, ever since his parents getting promoted and got busier, three of them rarely talked to each other. talk? even Urip felt awkward even
just to greet his parents.

           As usual, he woke up from his sleep in the morning and was greeted with a
plate of fried rice along with the house keys on the dining room table. Tuesday is the day when batik uniforms must be worn, It is just from going to school until ready to going home from school today, there is no incident that triggers his delusions. Arda participates in extracurricular football activities every Tuesday, Thursday, and
Saturday. Usually he waits for his friend to finish his training while drawing but that day he felt quite tiring to waiting for someone just to go home together. But this is
what makes a day from bland to empty.

*batik is Indonesia traditional dyeing technique that applied to whole cloth*

           Since today is meaningless, Urip thinks hard about what he can do, all he can
think of is going home. When he was about to walk out of school, he found
Mrs. Asna who was checking students score in teacher's room.

I wanted to greet her but will it bother her? it's just a greeting, it's fine... maybe.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Asna I-"

"Urip come here, I wants to talk something" Mrs. Asna interrupt.

I knew it was my mistake to greet Mrs. Asna, I shouldn't have bothered her.

"Urip your grades are good, keep going up" Mrs. Asna's fingertips continued to
move from top to bottom on student grade recap sheet.

"Then why you look so sluggish and always look gloomy," continued Mrs. Asna.

"Everybody is different, Urip is some of this kind of person, Ee… what can I do?" he scratching back of his head that doesn't actually itch.

*In Indonesia using name as first person subject mean in order to sound polite but
also if you do that to your executive or boss you would sound childish, often did by
girl to sound cute. Usually people who did this related to region and culture*

           This is my chose, what's wrong with choosing something out of ordinary. I'm
already here, maybe I can do something.

"Mrs, is there anything I can help you with?" asked Urip who was standing
awkwardly.

"Sure if Urip wants to help, just average all score and write it down here"
Mrs. Asna gave several sheets of paper that had been clamped by paper clips.

           In teacher's room feel peaceful that filled with dozens of tables and chairs,
only sound of sheets of paper could be heard. Desks were strewn with piles of file
sheets and student assignments. There also table with smooth surface without any
items on it.

"Urip, your highest score in subject is indonesian literature, what are you going to do after your graduate" suddenly Mrs. Asna asked which indicated her work was almost done.

"I want to take architecture faculty or geodesy faculty Mrs," replied Urip which
almost finished as well.

“Do you not interested in literature study?”

"I like to developing this country rather than learning languange"

"It may be true that architects can developre our country but language can
change something much bigger, as the proverb says 'language is soul of the
nation'"

I don't understand isn't it something that has no direct relation. 

*language is soul of the nation = national identity/reflection*

"Hmm... at least why didn't Urip take part in essay competition at district
level?" continued Mrs. Asna suggesting.

"Competition? Even if I participated, I'm confused what to write" But real reason Urip didn't take part in competition was because he thought won either not, it's
same thing.

"Hmm... perhaps if you want to participate, you can asking for advise from
Nati"

"She always won in essay competition even now she take part at distric level,
she also often came to asking for advise from me"

Even thousand advise from you will never moved me even for a bit. something that have nothing to do with me, i will refuse all of it.

"Nati should have come here to show her writings now but where is she now?"

"Nati? who?" asked Urip.

"Urip, you don't know her? even though she is in same year as you, her achievements are also quite famous at this school” said Mrs. Asna to clarify that student she was talking about.

"Thanks Mrs for your advise, i will leaving now"

"Ah... right, Mrs here the paper clips" Urip doesn't want to linger in teacher's room anymore, he feels he has wasted enough time.

"Thank you too for helping me"

"Just throw away, I don't need that anymore"

           Urip put that paperclips in his pocket to put in trash can. But he forgot about it and went straight to using public transportation.

          Dusk has come, Urip who was riding public transportation, immediately asked driver to stop. He handed over two sheets of Kapitan Pattimura (20 Cent) to driver.
He wanted to enjoy the sunset in that park. It's already comfortable to be in that
park during the day, even more in the afternoon, thats what he thought.

          His eyes were stunned when he saw the same school girl, with the same hair,
carrying the same sheets of paper, in the same place as the day he enjoyed the
afternoon in the same park bench. What made him stupefied was that girl seemed
to be looking for something anxiously filling her face.

           How can I enjoy my afternoon when there are school girl who are here and
there in front of me. No, I could have done it but when you think about it it seems
unethical.

Urip walked up to her.

“Blown again by wind? although today wind is not strong”

The schoolgirl gasped in surprise when Urip asked her from behind.

"It's not like that, I was looking for my sheet of paper from yesterday"

Wonder filled his mind

from yesterday? Didn't I help collect it, is there anything left behind? 

"Yesterday when I checked back at home it turned out that fourteen sheets
were missing, so I tried to find them again here after school"

           Urip's brain is working, his mind is trying to put data together from events that he has passed so that he can conclude. Sheets of writing, students who searching
her paper after school hours, some missing sheets. Is that? maybe?

"Na-" voice that came out of Urip's lips was cut off, something was blocking his
throat making him stop.

“Na-... Na-... Natch, Looks like your papers are still around here, I'll help you
look for them” What did I just said, I almost brought up something unnecessary and troublesome.

"I will searching behind" Urip immediately turned his body. He walked to big main
trash can at corner of park. If it's really Nati then I will feel very guilty. Most
important thing is that I have to find her papers in this pile of useless things,
fortunately local government haven't pulled this trash out.

           He muddling the garbage, smell is not a problem, moist is not a problem,
flying mosquitoes are not a problem either. The problem was only in his head,
his mind was branching like a thread unraveling into several pieces.

           He only found 3 sheets that color were a little dull already. He decided to give up and return to her.

“Only got three sheets in the trash”

"You looked for it into that trash can, sorry for bothering you, Ah... we haven't introduce ourself"

"Oh right, my name is Urip suwung"

"My name is Na-"

"Nati" Urip spontaneously said it at the same time.

What have I done? Stupid me, like a person who walks on his own feet.

"Eh~" that school girl in front of him stuttered with her face now suddenly red. There was something strange about her expression, not only confusion, but I seemed to
see a happy look on her face as well.

           Exactly as Urip expected he shouldn't have to explain everything if he didn't
intentionally pronounce her name.

"I want to apologize for trouble you, actually before I came here I helped
Mrs. Asna check student scores and she said there should be a student who
showed her written work and her name is Nati"

"And from after school you searched for missing paper here until now, and
from there I realized you are Nati" I shouldn't have to explain this long if I didn't
said that one word.

"Then why are you apologizing?" Nati's face had returned from being red, now she tilted her head in confused and look a little disappointed.

"If only yesterday I didn't help you, surely this wouldn't have happened, when I help you, you left in a hurry"

The school girl in front of him looked confused with an innocent face while pensive.

"If at that time I didn't help you, you would have collected your papers more
carefully without uneasy feeling"

“So I will take responsibility” so is all help good? And it's my fault, it turns out that
something good is uncertainly rewarded with a good thing.

"It's not your fault that some of my writings were lost, if only I hadn't left at
that time, it wouldn't have been like this"

She start talking after listening to Urip a long sentence.

"Let's start from the beginning. My name is Nati Drasthi, nice to meet you" her sweet smile made Urip feel at ease about trivial matters that he took seriously even
though it made him awkward. 

           Two of them decided to stop looking for the rest of missing papers and rest on park bench where they first met.

"From earlier I only found one sheet, so there are only ten left" She sighed in
disappointment, her breath so soft, softer than whispering wind.

"Yup... what else I can, I will rewrite it even though it's no longer in sequence" While checking her writing, Nati opened each sheet with her finger.

"Urip you can go home first thanks for your help"

"It's okay I've been here to enjoy evening atmosphere in this park" Somehow
this afternoon feels very comfortable and mellow does the afternoon in this park
always feel like this?

           While Nati writing to complete her essay, Urip was silent without thinking,
daydreaming? no, urip is not daydreaming, daydreaming is thinking about
something, while he just stares blankly.

Slowly falling leaves probably equaled number of seconds he spent with her.

"I'm done, Urip I'm going home first" Nati got up and walked home but immediately Urip calling her.

"Wait! This is for you to keep your essay neat, it won't be enough for one clip so just divide it into three parts"

She stretched out her hands right under Urip's fist

*He give her 3 paperclip from his pocket*

"Thank you, see you later" that was closing word between their meeting.