Reach for the Sky: Because You’re Young

”You saw that, didn you? ”

”Yeah, I saw that. ”

”I never thought it would be like this again. The senior did that again, sacrificing others for his sake. Its unbelievable. ”

Talks about that in class 2-E, Rakas class, began to be discussed by students. They talked to each other about what had happened, the police arrested a student from this school for ”murder ”. They talked about it with each other, without exception. Raka was talking about it in his mind.

What was that? I thought the police would arrest me.

On the one hand, he is afraid because his identity is threatened. He thought the cops wanted to arrest him, which they weren . He was grateful that it wasn directed at him even though in the end, he was afraid that his identity would be exposed and would not allow him to have a peaceful life.

”I have to be careful from now on. I don want my peaceful life to end like that. ”

He also had to be careful. He didn expect that he would just end up like that. Not because he was afraid of what happened earlier, but because he was afraid that his identity would be exposed. To be honest, he didn want to have anything to do with the police anymore—he had enough of them. For this reason, Raka must be careful, because the police can come to his school at any time.

”But the most important thing now, who was the man who made fun of me earlier? Why is he so brave to do that to me? Bang, whats the bang? Hes very pretentious. ”

Raka still clearly remembers that persons face. He was face-to-face with Raka for a long time and even had time to practice shooting a gun at his head using his right hand. It was meant to make fun of Raka, so Raka held that grudge against that person.

”When I see him, maybe Ill say hi to him. Um, maybe get to know him and warn him not to do that to me again. Yeah, maybe like that. I won hit him. ”

He was talking to himself, but his words were loud enough for others to hear. The person beside him had heard Raka speak from earlier.

”You are okay? Who do you want to hit? ” The person asked.

”Oh… No, its nothing. Im fine. Its just, Im wondering whether my neighbors wall deserves to be hit or not. ”

Thats a ridiculous answer. The girl beside him began to think Raka was a strange guy.

”You
e quite strange, aren you. What are you doing with your neighbors wall? Do you have a grudge against it? ”

”W-Well, it seems so. You know, feelings of resentment don just point to people, but things and things as well. ”

”You are right. By the way, Im Lia—Lia Hitagi. I forgot to meet you earlier—yeah, maybe because I was too busy with this class. Hehehe. ”

Raka turned his head, making sure that the girl had introduced herself to him.

He looked at the shoulder-length short pink hair girl for a long time, not expecting that the girl introduced herself to him.

”I- ”

”You
e Pradana, aren you? ”

”Raka—Im Raka Pradana. ”

”Do you prefer to be called Raka? ”

”Yeah. ”

”Okay, Raka. You can also call me Lia, just like the others. ”

”Lia… quite a short name. Its very easy to remember. ”

Before they knew it, the class bell had rung, and Prillia came in to guide them and tell them what had just happened.

”I have bad news for you. Your senior, whose name is Fajri, has just been arrested by the police. He murdered a drug dealer. The murder took place last night, just as you were asleep in the dream world. For those of you, who are involved in problems or conflicts out there, I hope you rarely do that. Call me if you have a problem because I am your homeroom teacher. Understand!? ”

”Understood, Miss Prillia. ”

Prillia took a deep breath after feeling relieved her students understood.

This cannot be tolerated. I can let my students get into such trouble. I have to take good care of them. I don want them to be failures. They go to school here to be successful, not to be delinquents like their seniors before. I must not let their generation be corrupted, just like my generation in this school.

Prillia thought like that. She must not allow her students to become bad humans. She wants her students to be successful by walking on the right path. She loves her students, its like she thinks they are her family. Therefore, she made up her mind not to let her students be like that.

”Turn to page thirty now! ”

”Okay. ”

***

When they came home, other students traveled together, some went to karaoke, some went to their respective clubs, some went back to their dorms together. Meanwhile, Raka was left behind, no one invited him to do activities after school. Even though he was acquainted with Lia, Lia still thinks Raka is just a classmate, not someone who should be invited to play with.

Lia has business with her friends. She doesn have time to be together or take Raka anywhere, whether its going back to the dorm together or playing in the city center. Raka still has no friends, maybe thats what happened to him.

”What can I do, independently is better than together. ”

When he came out of his class, once again, he saw a girl walking around surrounded by many boys who wanted to lick her shoes.

”Ugh… ”

Raka was surprised, he met them again. He didn want to follow the trend, because it was disgusting for him. He didn want to lick the long black-haired girls shoes, even though she was really pretty and pleasing to the eye.

”The girls shoes must be made of chocolate. Its disgusting. ”

Before Raka ”really left from there ”, he was stopped with a sound.

”You over there, wait! ”

When he turned to the source of the voice, he knew that it was the girl who had called him.

”I? ”

”Yes, you. Come here! ”

Seriously, I must have been told to lick his shoes.

Raka could not help but have to surrender, approached the girl.

”What? If you call me to lick your shoes, Ill refuse—yeah, even if they
e chocolate. ”

”No, my shoes are ordinary. You
e wearing school shoes too, aren you? Wait, why am I even talking about that? ”

As the girl spoke, Rakas eyes fell on the boys who were crawling, trying to reach for the girls shoes to lick.

”Too bad for them, they look like office slaves—like to lick their boss. ”

After Raka said that, his eyes shifted, from the beautiful legs wrapped in black stockings to the pretty face of the girl.

”So what? ” Raka asked.

”You
e the new student from class E, right? ”

”Yeah. ”

”Oh, I see. Its my first time seeing you. Im just warning you, you be careful—don get involved in the problems of these students. ”

”Okay. ”

Raka answered so simply, making the girl annoyed with him.

”Is that all your answer? Don you want to thank me for warning you? ”

”Oh… thanks… umm… ”

”Clara, my name is Clara Anisa. ”

”Thank you, Clara Anisa. ”

”Just call Clara. ”

”Thank you, Clara. ”

”Well, good. Then now… ”

Clara turned her gaze to the three boys who were about to lick their shoes. And suddenly, she stomped on the heads of the three boys hard.

”Stop it now, you bastard! Its over, you guys aren that guys slave anymore since the bell rang. So stop licking my shoes! ”

Raka don know why Clara was angry. She suddenly got angry, and it made Raka confused about what happened.

”I know you guys are useless slaves, but at the very least, you don follow what that person tells you to do. I don want my feet to be dirty because of your saliva. Understand!? ”

After Clara had spoken harshly enough, they complied and began to move away from Clara.

”What happened to them? ”

Raka asked that because he was confused.

”Ah. The story is quite long. Ill explain later. How about I explain on the way? ”

”Okay. ”

Raka agreed to that. He agreed spontaneously, or perhaps out of curiosity about what had happened to them just now.

They walked together, changed their shoes, and left the school.

Feeling compelled to speak, Clara opened her mouth.

”I hate this, hate this so much. ”

”What is it? ”

”I don understand why that person keeps insisting on getting me. Ive rejected the guy several times, but he keeps on targeting me and even getting his slaves to lick me. Isn that outrageous? I mean, they
e human too, right? So why do they seem inferior to that person, and why would they want to be made to do that? ”

”Who is it? ”

”He is my senior who has been after me since 1 year ago. Ive rejected him several times, but he keeps forcing me to be his girlfriend. I don want to have a boyfriend, but he insisted on telling me to be his girlfriend. I know that Im cute and pretty, but its not like this is the right way to get to me. ”

”…Is that so? ”

”He ordered people to guard me as if I belonged to him. And now, hes telling the three boys to lick my shoes every school hour. I hate this. I want to learn, not be a bad girl. I hate this popularity of myself. ”

Clara, a cute and pretty girl who has always been in the top position in school, has stated that she hates her cute and pretty self. She resented that she had put the three boys down, licking her shoes only on orders from the senior, which Clara always denied.

Clara wanted to do something about it, but she was at a loss for what to do. She neither could nor had the control to do much. She has a limit to what she can do. She could only endure and continue to survive the senior.

Clara is not comfortable with the conditions she experienced at school. Only when the doorbell rings can she enjoy her time. At school, she would always be followed by the seniors the slaves ordered. Even now, the slaves were doing obscene things, constantly licking Claras shoes.

”I think you should just tell the truth. You told him that you weren comfortable with all this, ” Raka said.

”Yes, I already said that, but that person keeps doing this and that to have me. I wonder whether that person still has a brain or not. Is he a human or a boss? ”

To be honest, Raka didn know what to do. He didn even know what had happened to the school herself, and he felt that something was wrong with all of this. He couldn help Clara, because he had just entered the school environment in search of peace.

”Looks like you had a tough day. ”

”Yeah, thats how it is. Im sick of all of this. ”

”What if you make him hate you? Maybe that way, that person can get fed up and no longer target you. ”

”How to? ”

Raka gives good advice to Clara. Even so, Raka needed time to find a way to overcome this. It took him at least 30 seconds to answer Claras question.

After Raka thought for 30 seconds, he looked at Clara and opened his mouth.

”How about you be my girlfriend? ”

”Eh? ”