Uti glanced at Novan, who was sitting beside her, busy and focused on driving the car, his eyes fixed on the front. The silence had been going on for a while, making Uti feel uncomfortable several times. With this atmosphere, it felt very awkward. It was strange, even though Novan usually talks a lot, it could be said that the boy was a bit chatty, and that's what Uti caught when Novan was with him. But this time there seemed to be something different, and Uti doesn't know what it was. The boy seemed to be thinking and hiding something that Uti didn't know for sure.
Repeatedly, Uti moved restlessly, sitting quite uncomfortably, since the girl had been stealing long looks at Novan.
Why wasn't he talking to her? What was Novan thinking about? What was going on inside his skull? Really, Uti had no idea. She was not psychic.
Instead of staying silent like this, Uti would have preferred Novan to keep talking, engaging him in conversation, nudging him, whatever it was, as long as there was no silence like this. Uti was well aware that she didn't like this at all.
Even now, the awkwardness was getting worse. Was Novan thinking about Uti's evil words a moment ago?
So many questions were now lodged in Uti's mind. Novan was still busy driving his car, traveling at a moderate speed, and Uti didn't even know where he was going. Uti knew that this time the two of them were going to look for materials and tools for their joint assignment, but for the purpose of knowing which store to buy at, she was completely blind to it.
Unable to bear the silence, Uti began to speak up, her body leaning slightly toward Novan.
"Hey, are you still mad at me?" Uti asked bluntly.
The question was so sudden, so sudden that it surprised Novan, so fast that Novan immediately blinked his eyes. Now, Novan was fully back in the body's consciousness.
"What?" Novan's eyes blinked, the boy was loading up a bit until the words that came out of his lips made Uti sigh deeply. Although it was slow and didn't last long, Novan had time to look at Uti.
"About what happened at home, when I was angry with you, do you still think about that?" Uti repeated her question, somewhat longer and weightier, so that Novan could more clearly grasp it. Uti's gaze fell on Novan more calmly and carefully.
Novan now fully understanding, the boy chuckled softly, then shook his head. "Why are you suddenly talking about that? It's not like we decided not to remember the past, right?"
"Yes, I know. But why are you silent? I'm thinking-"
"I'm silent, but that doesn't mean my mind is going in that direction, right?" Novan was now smiling.
Uti closed her eyes for a moment, as she let out a long sigh. "But why are you silent? It's not like you usually do it, and that's why I think it's weird, you know? Do you realize that?"
"So, I'd rather talk to you, keep talking, and I'll be noisy. Is that what you want, Ti?" asked Novan, glancing back at Uti.
"It's better than being trapped in this crazy silence."
"I thought you would be annoyed, you don't like me being noisy. That's why I chose to be quiet—to give you peace and comfort. But I guess I was wrong, wasn't I?"
"Big mistake, you're too quiet. It actually makes me uncomfortable. Okay, I feel awkward. You should invite me to talk, whatever it is, the important thing is that I don't want silence. Honestly, it really makes me not okay."
"Okay, I'll put on some music, okay?"
Uti nodded lightly, then Novan started the music, and Uti felt better about it. The music flowed quietly after that.
"Which store is the one you want to go to?"
"There is one, but it's still quite far. But don't worry, I'll speed up a bit."
"Don't speed too much, I'm scared," Uti said, expressing her disapproval.
"No, you take it easy. I thought Marcell was the one who brought Weeby while speeding, he's bad." Novan chuckled softly. "Did you know that?"
"I know, Weeby also told me."
"Hmm, what do you think of their relationship?"
"Why did you suddenly ask that?"
"I don't know either," Novan replied, shrugging his shoulders. "There's no particular reason for me to ask you about this."
Even so, Uti spoke up once the words had been organized in her brain. "I think it's normal, it's like dating; they like each other anyway. So why not? They're compatible." Uti answered honestly.
"I see." Novan nodded in understanding.
"What do you think?"
"If you say they are suitable, they are, but my position here is more like not expecting it." A soft laugh erupted from Novan's lips.
"Why is that?"
Novan's gaze shifted from the road ahead to Uti's face, who was looking at him seriously, waiting for an answer.
"Because they used to fight a lot, they used to argue a lot, and even trivial problems were exaggerated by both of them. And now? Damn, they're dating!"
"About that, I don't want to comment much. There's a fine line between hate and love."
"Hm."
"There it is." Uti snapped her fingers.
"So, don't hate me too much, okay? You'll fall in love with me too, you'll be fascinated by me." Novan blinked his eyes. It completely succeeded in making Uti immediately widen her eyes.
"What are you talking about? It's not clear!"
Novan just chuckled at Uti's response. "I'm just joking. Don't take it too seriously."
Uti was now silent, not replying again. Then she remembered a question that was lodged in her head, but Uti swallowed it whole, reluctant to ask, afraid Novan would take offense. Uti would also have to endure her own embarrassment if Novan ignored her.
"We'll be there soon."
"Where?"
"Just ahead."
"Okay."
Novan then sped up a bit until the car was parked in the courtyard of a shop that wasn't too big, but seemed to be quite busy.
Uti poked her head out a little, so that she could get a better view. "That's the place."
"Yes, let's get out."
Novan unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car, followed by Uti a split second later. The two were now standing side by side.
"Want me to hold your hand?"
"Why do you have to do that?" Uti rolled her eyes.
"Just in case you want to."
"You really like being vague like this, don't you?" Uti pouted as she shook her head in disbelief, then began to swing her legs away from Novan to enter a shop.
Novan laughed softly, and for a moment he was silent as he watched Uti's retreating back. Then, Novan followed, both of his hands sinking into his pants pockets.
Both of them had now entered the shop.
"From the looks of it, there seem to be a lot of things to buy here," Uti said.
"Sure, let's look for ice cream sticks."
"How about dividing the tasks?" suggested Uti. "Take the items that you think you'll need."
"Does that mean split up?"
"Yes, to make it faster."
"Yeah, but I wanted to find it with you, together."
"No jokes, it's time to get serious. Let's get started!" Uti had already stepped away from Novan.
Novan followed Uti's lead. As the minutes passed, Novan had gathered enough items that he seemed to need. Then, he looked for Uti, who was fortunately young.
"Why did you take the hard cardboard? I already took it," Uti grumbled when she saw what Novan had brought.
"Well, I saw the color paint in your hand, why did you take it? I already took it first." It was Novan who interjected, making Uti roll her eyes lazily.
Then they both sorted the items, returning them in case there were similar or less important items. Not many, like Novan or Uti, took the same thing.
"There's no need to buy this glue gun, I have it at home."
"Oh, okay, I'll put it back where it belongs. If the contents are there, right?"
"I don't have any at home, just take a packet."
"Most of it."
"No problem, rather than less, right? I can make it into stock at home too."
Uti then chose not to argue anymore, and the girl nodded her head, then, after that, the two teenagers made a payment transaction, then they left and returned home.
"Why didn't you want me to pay just now? This is a joint project, we should contribute, not just use your money."
"Never mind about that, let's go home. Let's do it quickly." Novan walked first to his parked car. Uti followed a few steps behind him. Uti grumbled irritably, stomping her foot on the ground several times.
It was eleven o'clock in the afternoon when Novan and Uti decided to start working on the assignment.
"Damn, I forgot something." Novan, who was looking for references on the internet about the assignment he was going to make, suddenly snapped.
Uti frowned while looking at Novan, her eyes narrowed slightly, and at the same time, her hand movement that was about to cut the cardboard paper stopped.
"What did you forget?"
"I forgot to stop by for a snack."
"I thought there was something you forgot to buy." Uti was already nervous just now. It would take some time for that to happen.
"Should I buy it first?"
"No need, it's not that important either. You'd better sit down and focus on finishing this assignment so that it gets done quickly. Got it?"
"But-"
"There's no buts anymore, already, why buy snacks? We want to work on our assignment, not have a picnic while enjoying the serenity of the lake water!" Uti glared at Novan.
There was nothing Novan could do, so he pouted. "That's fine if that's what you want, but how could I just serve you brownies and ice milk?"
"And I don't mind that at all." Uti shook her head.
"Then I'll treat you sometime?"
"Hm." Uti didn't respond because she was focused on her own work. Then she started looking at Novan. "Novan, I think you should cut the plywood you bought earlier, it's quite big in my opinion."
"Cut it in half?"
"No, it's too small. Actually, it's a manageable size—not really big, but not too small either. So, you understand what I'm talking about, right?"
"I understand what you mean."
"Good."
"I'll do it now, then sand it smooth, okay?"
"Good idea." Uti smiled and held up her thumb. "After that, you can paint the plywood, and I want to make the frame of the house."
"Paint it right away? Don't you want us to paste the house onto the plywood first, then paint it?"
"No, Van, the pasting business should be at the end, after everything is finished and colored, then we can arrange it."
"Okay, I'll do it now. But wait a minute, will the paint dry?"
"It should be dry by the afternoon, while it's hot outside."
"Okay, I'll do it." Novan followed Uti's lead and started working.
After that, Novan and Uti began to get busy with their respective tasks. Until their work was in full swing, everything was painted nicely; they were just waiting for it to dry, and now it was time for them to rest.
"I'm really thirsty." Novan grabbed a glass and filled it with milk from the teapot. Then he looked at Uti, who was cleaning up the things that were scattered on the floor.
"There's no need to clean up, let's do it later, I'll do it."
"It's okay, it's just a little bit. I'm uncomfortable looking at it anyway," Uti said.
Novan let Uti do what she wanted. Novan started to down his drink. Then, Novan filled the other glass and handed it to Uti.
"Here, drink first. You must be thirsty, right?"
"With some awkwardness, Uti accepted Novan's gift. Then she flashed a faint smile. "Okay, thank you." Uti was still thinking about Novan's sudden thoughtfulness.
"Sit down first. While we're waiting for the paint to dry, let's chat. Take a break."
"Yes."
"Thank you, I really appreciate it."
"Why is that?" Uti looked straight at Novan.
"For being my group partner." Novan smiled, a smile that looked sincere and earnest.
"Yeah, I'm fine with that. You're doing well anyway. Being in a group with you isn't too bad." Uti replied softly.
Novan wasn't that bad after all.
It was true, Novan was still something Uti could rely on.
"After this, are you going straight home, Ti?"
"Yes, what else do you want to do?"
Novan understood. He tried to keep Uti talking, because the girl didn't like too much silence. Novan should have known this.
"Take it easy, I promise I'll give you a present later. I'll treat you, what do you want?"
"I don't need that."
"But I want, because you've been a good groupmate, competent, intelligent, anyway, I'm satisfied with the results."
"This is a joint task with you—not only me, but you are also equally useful and competent too. And you don't need to give me any gifts, I don't need that."
Novan let out a long breath. He knew what Uti meant. "Alright, want to watch a movie first? While waiting for the paint to dry outside, it might still take a while. Do you want to?"
"Watch a movie? What movie?"
"We'll choose later."
"That's fine."
"Alright, I'll go get my laptop from the room first, okay?"
I thought it would be fun too, instead of continuing to chat, which could potentially run out of topics. Watching a movie would not be a bad alternative either. Novan and Uti would both focus on what they were watching.
"Uti" Novan, who had moved four steps away, now turned around to face Uti again.
"What's wrong?"
"Do you want to cook samyang noodles and eggs? Let's watch it well."
"I think that's a good idea."
Novan's eyes lit up. "Okay, do you agree?"
Uti nodded, making Novan very happy. "I'll ask for half-cooked eggs, I like them."
"Yes, princess."
Novan slightly bowed his body, like a devoted bodyguard. Novan's actions were completely out of Uti's mind, allowing her to open her mouth.
"Novan, what are you doing?"
Novan didn't care, instead, he laughed broadly, snickering as he disappeared from Uti's sight. Uti shook her head, but somehow her lips curled into a smile.
The boy didn't seem too bad either, not like what Uti had envisioned.