When he opened his eyes after waking up from his sleep, right when his alarm clock rang so loudly, Novan carried a faint smile because he realized that today he didn't need to go to school because it was a red date. Not only that, but today he was also going to spend a lot of time with Uti doing group work. The promise was today, and Novan hoped that there would be no more delays since the assignment had to be submitted immediately.
Besides, wouldn't it be good to do the assignment faster? Let's get things done quickly so we don't have to think about them anymore.
After turning off his alarm clock in one push, Novan stretched his muscles for a moment on his bed, before finally getting up to sit down.
First of all, Novan picked up the glass of mineral water that he had placed on the table next to his large bed last night. Novan always prepared this. His throat was often dry at night and waking up like this.
The boy in nightclothes then pulled back the curtains on the window. Instantly, Novan's room was bathed in the dazzling orange light of the morning sun. Novan even narrowed his eyes, before suddenly sneezing three times.
It was still quite early, six in the morning and thirty-five minutes, and Novan hurried to the bathroom to relieve himself and pee, something he didn't miss in the morning!
Of course, Novan would wash his face at the same time. A few minutes later, Novan came out of the bathroom located in his room. Novan already felt refreshed. He wanted to take a shower, but it would be better if he took it later, when he was about to meet Uti, so that he would look fresher and more handsome.
Novan looked at his bed, which was quite messy, the blanket had not been folded, there were pillows that were out of place, and the bolster had moved to the floor.
Clucking his tongue, Novan picked up the fallen bolster pillow. The boy then began to make his bed, for some reason, Novan wanted to tidy it up, even though in fact this activity was very rare for him to do. Novan admitted that. Maybe this was because he was still in a good mood.
After that, Novan took his cell phone, which he had charged the night before. However, something caught Novan's attention and made him blink.
"What?" The boy checked the charging cable, which was not connected to the socket. Realizing that his phone could not be turned on, Novan then chuckled in annoyance.
"Why did I forget to plug in this charger anyway?" Novan let out a long sigh. This was indeed his careless mistake, but Novan was still annoyed. It was so painful.
But what else could he do? If he wanted to scream until his neck hurt, if he wanted to do somersaults, if he wanted to beat up street thugs, it wouldn't necessarily make his phone battery charge one hundred percent.
It's annoying indeed. When this happens, the only thing Novan can do is surrender and re-plug the correct data cable, so as not to make a similar mistake.
Just a few moments ago he was happy, but suddenly he was so annoyed because of the uncharged phone last night. It's just annoying!
At the same time, Novan found that the door to his room was being knocked from outside. Novan could immediately tell that it must be his father. Who else would it be if it wasn't Jonas? The only people living in this big house were Novan and his father.
Having nothing else to do, Novan got up, walked over to the door, grabbed the knob, then turned it and pulled the door inward. The door was now fully open. There was Jonas, who smiled brightly when he saw his son's face.
Novan was not surprised because he already knew that it must be his father who came this time. The boy smiled slightly too.
"Oh, you're awake, Van, I thought you weren't."
"I've been up for a while, I was going to come out, but you knocked on the door first." Novan replied that the boy was still in his nightclothes. "Or do you have something to talk to me about?" he added. Perhaps that was Jonas' purpose in meeting him this morning. This was something he rarely did.
"Yes, there is." Jonas answered briefly.
"What is it, Dad?"
"Come on, you come with me first." Jonas pulled Novan's hand out of his room. After that, Novan was led down the stairs.
Novan, who was confused about where his father was taking him, looked at Jonas with a puzzled and probing look. "Where are we going?"
His father replied quietly, "We'll be there in a minute."
Both of them were now in the kitchen area. Jonas had brought him here. Novan returned his gaze to his father's face, which was no longer young.
"You sit down first."
Novan obeyed, pulling a chair back and landing his butt on it. After that, Novan saw two plates of fried rice with eggs on them, as well as two glasses filled with water.
Novan's eyes widened, of course he was shocked by the dishes that were served in front of him.
"Did you cook?" asked Novan, amazed and unable to believe that his father could wrestle in the kitchen. Novan looked at his father's smiling face.
"Yes, I tried to cook fried rice and an omelet."
Jonas' answer left Novan completely speechless. Oh one more thing, Novan just realized that his father was still wearing a white apron. Why didn't Novan realize that? If he had looked carefully from the beginning, when his father stood in front of his room, he would have guessed that his father had just cooked.
"Can you cook?" Novan asked.
Before answering that question, Jonas circled the table and pulled out a chair next to his son. Jonas wanted to sit close to Novan.
"Honestly, I'm not very good at cooking. I was just trying to make it by relying on recipes on the internet." An overly honest answer from Jonas' lips.
Still, Novan was impressed with his father's efforts. Whatever his father cooked, Novan would definitely appreciate it. Looking at the fried rice and omelette that were served, the results were not too bad. Novan even inhaled the delicious aroma of his father's cooking.
"Why are you trying to cook?"
"Especially for you."
Novan chuckled softly. "You don't have to bother like this."
"No problem, I really want to. Besides, I have a lot of free time today. So, I don't mind at all." Jonas' words sounded casual.
"This is very unexpected, do you know that?"
"Yes, I'm still confused with myself about why I want to cook like this." A soft chuckle escaped Jonas' lips. "But Novan, I like it. I'm learning. Besides, you must eat out a lot, right?"
"Yes, because I can't cook. Usually, i eats breakfast at the cafeteria, sometimes during breaks too. At night we usually order online," Novan said honestly.
"This time, you try my cooking."
Novan couldn't wait to taste his father's cooking. Novan still couldn't believe it.
"So I am being used as a guinea pig, huh?"
Jonas laughed at his son's words, and Novan laughed too. "Yes, you could say that. Don't you want to be my guinea pig?"
"For you, I will." Novan then pulled a plate towards him. After that, the boy began to feed his mouth with a spoon of his father's fried rice.
The taste wasn't too bad. For a beginner, it was still pretty good. Novan could even swallow it. Wow, it tastes pretty good. Novan was able to finish his father's fried rice.
"How does it taste, Novan? Is it good? Or is there something missing?"
Novan smiled and looked at his father. Wow, he was really amazed by this middle-aged man sitting next to him. He could see that Jonas was looking at him seriously, waiting for him to say something.
Then, Novan nodded. He swallowed his fried rice first before answering, "It tastes pretty good, honestly, it's not too bad. I'm proud of you, Dar."
"Novan, are you serious? You're not just saying that to appease me, are you? It's not just that you don't want me to be hurt, is it? You better tell me the truth, I don't mind at all. What's your honest opinion?"
"Well, why would I lie to you?" The boy chuckled, then returned to feeding his mouth with fried rice. "It's good, just a little bit salty. But it doesn't matter because it's still edible. I can even finish this. I'm serious, I wouldn't lie to you."
Novan's words obviously drew the happiest smile from Jonas. He patted his son's shoulder lightly. "Do you know how I feel right now? Happy and unexpected at the same time. I a pretty good cook too, aren't you?" Novan doesn't know how many times he heard the soft chuckle in the kitchen.
"If so, you eat too."
"Yes, I'm eating too. I thought you wouldn't like it." Jonas pulled out his other plate and started eating.
"It's really good."
"What do you think of the omelet?"
"The eggs are normal, just like usual. Nothing strange. I guess, I don't mind you cooking."
Chewing his food, Jonas nodded. "I'm happy to hear that."
"Thank you, Dad."
"Yes, you're welcome. The recipes from the internet are also useful. Maybe next time I'll try other dishes."
"So I will be ready to be the guinea pig again, right?"
"If you don't mind."
"I'm sure I will. But you won't be here for long, right? When will you go to work again?" asked Novan.
"Let's not talk about that. After this, you take a shower and get ready, I want to take you somewhere."
"Where?"
"I'll tell you later."
"Okay, I just take a shower first, then do this."
A few minutes later, the fried rice on Novan's plate was gone. Novan was actually very full when there was only a quarter left because the portion was so large. But because he didn't want to make his father's work go to waste, he decided to eat it all. And fortunately, his stomach could still accommodate the food.
After that, Novan excused himself to take his morning shower. He didn't know where Jonas was taking him, so he asked him later. Half an hour later, Novan was waiting for his father in his car.
The car horn had been pressed, indicating that Novan had to hurry. The boy went down the stairs while running a little, then, when he was outside the house, Novan locked the door, then approached his father's car.
Novan got into the car and sat quietly. The boy then looked at his father with a smile. "I'm ready, I'm sorry it took so long."
"Ah, it didn't take long. We're not in a hurry anyway, so take it easy."
Novan nodded his head quickly. "So yeah, where are we going? Where do you want to take me?"
"You'll find out when we arrive. I guarantee you won't regret it."
Novan frowned, trying to absorb his father's words. The boy wondered to himself, perhaps guessing and finding the answer himself. However, no matter how hard Novan tried to think, the results were very futile. Novan couldn't find the answer.
"Can't you tell me now?" Novan had given up on guessing, he couldn't, and even if he could, it wasn't certain that his guess would be correct.
Jonas was already running the car, the man just threw Novan a mysterious smile, which made the boy even more curious. But it was okay. Maybe his father wanted to give him a surprise, so Novan chose not to ask anymore questions. Just leave it at that.
Unlike Novan, who was currently in a car with his father to go somewhere, Uti, who was in her room again, could only sigh heavily and grumble repeatedly.
"What does he want?" Uti chuckled softly, for the umpteenth time. She tossed her cell phone onto her bed. "Why is his number suddenly inactive like this? Isn't today's group work actually happening?"
This early in the morning, Uti was already annoyed. She didn't know how many times she had tried to contact Novan. Her messages went unanswered. Wait, let alone expecting a reply, he didn't even read it. It's still a gray tick. Uti tried to contact him by phone, but it was useless.
When it came to this, Uti regretted herself. Why, on that day when she was appointed by Mr. Hockey, didn't she just say that it was better to choose her own group? If so, Uti could have chosen Weeby. Maybe Marcell, or whoever she thought was reliable. Unlike this, the answer she chose backfired on herself.
"Is Novan still sleeping or what? If the task is not done today, when will it be? Just postpone the feeling. At this rate, there might not be enough time."
Uti let out another long sigh, and the girl exhaled harshly. Her eyes closed for a few seconds. Uti tried to think, maybe she could find a way out.
"Should I just go to Novan's house?" Uti chuckled softly, then got up from her bed and blinked. Not a bad idea either. Uti then smiled. "Yes, I'll meet Novan at his house, maybe he's still sleeping."
Then a moment later, Uti realized something that made her let out another long breath. "But I don't know where Novan lives. He hasn't told me either."
There was one way out, Uti could try it. "Unless I ask Weeby, she'll know."
Pacing back and forth in her room, Uti searched for Weeby's contact information. Then her fingers stopped. "But what if Weeby doesn't know? He'll have to ask Marcell first, and that takes time. I'd rather call Marcell directly at this point."
Uti finally chose to switch to calling Marcell, and fortunately, the ringtone connected immediately. With high hopes, Uti waited for Marcell to pick up the phone. The girl stood beside the window, staring outside while waiting for Marcell's voice to appear.
"Uti."
Instead of Marcell's voice, Uti was surprised by Omar, who was currently standing in the doorway of her room.