C6 S06:Ninety-Nine vs One

I bow slightly to the people who pass in front of me when they're also bowing to me. Crossing my arms before shifting my gaze towards the principal and the counselor. Both were being investigated by one of the police officers.

I stared at the back of the cop's head.

'He must be Asher's father.'

My eyes glanced at the clock on the wall. It's already 6 p.m.

'Ariel would question my lateness when I'm supposed to get home earlier. I guess my job ends here. And the rest, they can solve it by themselves.'

I looked at the mother-son on the waiting seat for the last time.

Mrs. Damian didn't stop nagging while wrapping her scarf around Asher's neck. The boy's face flushed red, trying to stop his mother.

Watching them made me wonder what was going through their minds. Wondering if those types of behavior can be considered as normal. A father protecting and a mother scolding but still caring for their children. The opposite of me.

Without turning back again, I walked outside the police station. The cold air hit me full force while looking at the night sky. The clouds were scattered all over the place with no stars visible in between. A clear contrast from the city lights.

I felt empty. Like a part of me is dead. It also feels like there's a heavy weight resting on my shoulders and no matter how much I try to lift it, there's no sign of getting off. This feeling keeps coming up every single day. It's as if I have no idea what I'm doing anymore.

Looking at the sky above, I tried taking the deepest breath I could muster. Breathing slowly until I feel the tension in my chest dissipate.

"Hey..."

A familiar voice called from behind, broke me from my deep thoughts. I turned around only to see Asher holding two steaming drinks while his eyes trying to avoid mine. It seems like he no longer dislikes me. Instead, his eyes were filled with a mix of embarrassment, guilt and regret.

'I guess I had to stay for a while.'

He walked towards me.

"Here..."

He handed me a hot chocolate.

"Thanks."

The two of us stood in silence for a moment.

"Safiyya."

He blinked in confusion.

"Huh?"

"You always said 'hey' so just call me Safiyya."

"Ah sure. Sorry I did that. I'll try not to do it again."

His cheeks reddened once more. He cleared his throat.

"I mean, I'm sorry for everything. I shouldn't have done that to you. Because of me, I've gotten you involved. You heard what the principal said, 'I'm a troublemaker'."

I raised my eyebrows.

"I'm sure you have your own reason for starting the fights."

He let out a sigh. Still looking at the ground.

"When I was little, I was told to respect people, especially adults. It doesn't sound like such a bad thing when you say it out loud but when someone does something wrong especially disrespecting people I look up to, it makes my blood boil and that's why I started fighting. You can say that I have anger issues."

Asher paused for a bit before speaking again.

"I'm not proud of it though... I wish I could control my temper a bit better and stop causing problems, but I can't and... It's frustrating."

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I can understand your frustration."

I took a sip from my cup before continuing.

"You're a bit similar to my father."

He turned his gaze towards me.

"Really? How so?"

"He's much worse than you because he beat his own wife."

For a while, Asher stayed silent.

"What happened to both of them now?"

I stared up ahead.

"They died."

Silence fell upon our conversation once more. Asher kept on sipping his drink before letting out an exhale.

"I heard you're in first grade."

I spoke as the tension slowly began to settle.

"Hmm? Oh yes. I just started high school this year. How about you?"

"I'm already in my third grade."

Asher looked surprised.

"Wait! How old are you again?"

"I'm seventeen."

"What? You're two years older than me... Are you serious?"

He mumbled under his breath while staring at the floor with disbelief.

"Why are you so shocked?"

I gave him a questioning glance. His ears were turning red again.

"It's just unexpected. I thought we were the same age. No wonder I rarely see you at school. But why do you ask?"

"It's a bit surprising to see a first grader wearing so many earrings."

"Huh? Oh this."

He touched his earlobe.

"I'm a big fan of piercings. Looks cool right? I purposely got the same black colors but if you look closer, the design is different. This right here, was the first piercing I got and this…"

He starts flexing his ear on me.

I pushed him a bit using my index finger.

"Sorry to break it to you but I should probably leave. My younger siblings are waiting."

He gasped with wide open eyes.

"You have siblings?!"

"Yeah, twelve-year-old sister and nine-year-old brother."

"Woah... your youngest brother is the same age as my little sister."

"Well then, goodbye-"

"Wait!"

When I turned around, Asher held out his right hand to me.

"I know you already know my name, but it's not wrong to introduce ourselves again. I'm Asher Damian."

After a couple seconds of staring, I finally shook his hand.

"Safiyya Hamarsya. But this won't make us friends so don't get high hopes."

"Well, yes but no. We're not friends but we're not completely strangers. We were never strangers to begin with, since we're in the same school. So, I think, we're close enough that we can count as friends, right?"

He smiled while saying this. It made his black eyes crinkle into little crescents.

I gaze at his bright smile before answering.

"I guess."

~ ~ ~ ~

The next day, when I arrived at school, I saw Asher standing in front of the school gate, fixing his ear pod. Sometimes he'd look up, watching the students entering the school as if searching for someone.

When his eyes landed on mine, his smile widened, and he waved at me. He almost bumped into another student who he apologized to before rushing towards me.

"What are you doing?"

I asked after he ran to my side.

"I was waiting for you."

He gives an honest answer while walking alongside me.

"Are you going to keep following me when your class is on the other side of the building?"

"Erm... Actually, I have something to give you."

I narrowed my brows.

"What is it?"

"It's actually... kind of embarrassing..."

He said, rubbing the back of his head while looking down.

"Um... well... it's really nothing but my mother told me to give you this."

Asher pulled something out from inside his backpack, handing it over to me.

Confusion flashed across my expression before I opened the Tupperware to find a colorful tartlet neatly arranged inside. The smell of fresh baked goods instantly filled the air.

"Did she bake these?"

I asked while giving him a curious gaze.

"Yeah, since she didn't know what you like so she made various flavors of them. Here, take it. It's a treat for you."

"Thanks..."

He noticed I was staring at him.

"What?"

"To tell the truth, I'm not good with sweets and I'm not confident I can finish these. So later, if you want some, you can come meet me in the courtyard during break time, okay?"

"Huh? O-Okay."

Asher stood still as he watched his Senior leaving for her first class. He stared into space until the bell rang signaling the start of school. Once he regained his composure, a smile unconsciously crept onto his face.

'If I approached her seriously, would I get the chance to know her better...?'

~ ~ ~ ~

'I did say I wanted to get a chance to know her better but...'

"Can you wait here for a moment?"

I turned to Asher on the side, who went stiff out of sudden.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah! Sure! Take your time! Don't mind me! Hahaha!"

He forced an awkward laugh, scratching the back of his head.

I looked at him in disbelief.

'Does he dislike the idea of meeting with them?'

But when I saw the bright pink color covering his cheeks, I could only conclude that it had nothing to do with that. It really is odd how he always blushes whenever we're having a conversation.

Asher watched Safiyya as she went inside the entrance door before, he screamed into his hands, trying to calm himself down.

'I never thought I would come over to her house this early! Oh great... Just perfect now I need to be even more nervous than I already am. Why do I feel like I'm going to meet with my future sibling-in-laws? Wait! That's too early, Asher Damian! Get yourself together! You just met her!'

After a short moment, Asher collected himself, taking one last breath and looking up when the front door opened from inside.

Once I saw him standing in front of me, I raised my eyebrows.

"You can come in."

"Ah... Yes! Thank you very much."

He stuttered slightly as he walked inside. His eyes caught Ariel standing at the entrance, beside me. He smiled softly watching Nash peeking at him while hiding behind Ariel.

Last night, I already told them earlier about Asher because I need to make sure they are ready to meet with someone they didn't know yet. Another reason is because of Ariel. She has social anxiety especially when meeting with new people due to past accidents.

I could feel her trembling hand gripping my jacket. Her face was pale, tears forming in the corner of her eyes which I immediately wiped away.

"You can do this."

She needs to practice meeting with other people and the very first person I could think of is Asher. So far, it's been only me and Nash who she felt comfortable around. If she gets to talk with anyone other than both of us, I can finally send her to school although she's five years late.

Ariel took a deep breath, nodding. Her grip on my jacket loosens until finally letting go.

Asher crouched down slightly so his eyes were almost level with Ariel and Nash, who had been watching him curiously ever since he entered our house. His gaze met mine and I can see his smile widening.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you two. You can call me Asher."

Nash looked at him with wide eyes for a few seconds before jumping from his place behind Ariel and ran into Asher's arms.

"Asher!"

He yelled, wrapping his hands tightly around Asher's neck.

Asher chuckled in surprise and held him tight.

"Well, hello there little buddy."

The young boy giggled, hugging Asher even tighter.

Nash's reaction is not like what I expected. A child with ADHD like Nash makes him a little shy. It takes some time and patience to get him to speak with strangers but eventually he opens up a little bit. It was hard to persuade him so, after I coaxed him about his favorite food, he finally agreed to meet Asher.

Asher gave Nash a gentle pat on the back and Nash slowly released his hug. He then turned towards Ariel who stood there looking at him nervously.

"Hi! You are...Aria, right?"

Ariel blinked a few times.

"My name is Ariel. Not Aria."

Asher went pale.

'Great Asher! Because of your stupid nervousness, now you just messed yourself up!'

Seeing the guy in front of her start to sweat, Ariel let out a small giggle making Asher snap back to reality.

"I'm sorry for my forgetful memories. As an apology, can you help make this together with me?"

He took out the contents from inside the plastic bag that was hanging on his shoulder and showed the Carbonara and Pasta packets.

This time, Ariel visibly relaxed and smiled lightly.

"Sure."

Asher smiled and turned to look at me.

'I did it, Safiyya!'

I nodded silently at him, showing my approval of his efforts.

Nash clapped his hands happily, excited to eat his and Ariel's favorite Spaghetti. Asher laughed a bit and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Alright, let's prepare the food, shall we?"

The three of them went into the kitchen while I decided to stay behind and watch them. While watching them I noticed that Ariel's smile grew wider with each minute. Unconsciously, it made me smile too. And I just realized that I missed seeing her bright smile, despite living together for nine years.

~ ~ ~ ~

Asher couldn't stop smiling while watching Nash styling Safiyya's long brown hair. When he was done, he sat in front of his big sister and started playing with the strands of hair on her short bangs.

Safiyya could only sit at the couch, letting the youngest child play with her hair. She wasn't complaining though, and it looks like she loved having all her little brother's attention as she watched Nash with a fond look.

"How long have you been friends with Safiyya?"

Asher almost flinched when hearing Ariel asking him a question out of nowhere. He glanced to his side. Seeing a smile appeared on her face, meaning that she's slowly accepting Asher as someone she's close with.

"Err... not too long. We've only been friends for five days."

Ariel stared at him for a second. The smile on her face slowly became softer while her eyes were filled with emotion. After a while, she nodded her head.

"Safiyya has always been worried about me and Nash. She's been working hard all these years by applying for part-time jobs to get some money while busy studying at school. She's doing her best to look out for us. Her only family."

Then Ariel looked down. Her voice was barely audible.

"Safiyya always came home late and hid herself in the corner. I just started to know that she was fighting by herself every night. I guess I wanted to give her some space because I believe I'm still not mature enough. But now that I think about it, I should've talked to her more. Should've been stronger, helped her through those difficult times."

She paused, taking a deep breath.

"I wish I could change but I can't. And I feel like everything I did was nothing. Nothing compared to what she went through. It makes me wonder how much more I'd done if I had been stronger or braver instead of hiding away from the world. Yet in the end, I'm the one who left her alone."

Asher shook his head trying to reassure her.

"It's okay. No matter how you see it, Safiyya is strong. Stronger than we know. I have really admired her since the day she helped me. But there's one thing I'm curious about. The way she treated my mother was different during their first meeting."

"What kind of person is your mother?"

"She's a very soft-hearted woman, and loves to take care of other people even if they're just strangers. I bet; she must've treated Safiyya like her own daughter."

Ariel chuckled.

"Maybe that's why Safiyya is putting her guard down around your mother."

"What do you mean?"

He asked with furrowed brows.

"You can say that Safiyya is a simple-minded girl who doesn't want to admit she cares for others. She puts one percent trust in the people who show kindness to her, even if it's just a small act. In return, she put the remaining ninety-nine in herself trying to protect them, even if it meant doing things that might hurt others. And maybe you think she's being harsh, but the fact remains that Safiyya cares for everyone except herself."

Ariel sighed softly before a sad smile appeared on her lips.

"What we see is only the surface. She tried to show her smile a few times but the pain she hides is beyond what we imagine."

She glanced at him.

"Asher, will you promise that you will take care of Safiyya for us? She has no one else and it scares me to imagine her being all alone in this world without anyone by her side."

Asher frowned, staring straight at her eyes which were pleading.

"I promise. I will never leave Safiyya..."

'... Even if Safiyya doesn't want it. And even if I have to die.'