I hate my birthday

            "Hey, wake up. Time to take a bath now, Andy. Your Dad is waiting."

            "Alright, Mom."

            Gosh, if I could, I just want to stay at home and not go to school. Today is my birthday, and school is not the place I want to go now.

            I always do something crazy to my birthday friends. I remember what I did to my friend Agus. He wears thick glasses. And when he had his birthday, I told him that I had a special gift for him. In one condition, he had to close his eyes and took off his glasses. I hid his glasses and replaced with another glasses. I gave him a black-pitch painted glasess. And when he wore the glasses, he could not see anything.

            And how about my other friend Wili? I did something that he will never forget. He always bragged that he is the relative of famous sinetron star, Nikita Wili. He said that their names are the same and that's a proof that he is so closed to Nikita Wili. I'm sure it was just a lie. Nikita Wili is so beautiful. And my friend, Wili, is so far from good looking.

            So on his birthday, I asked Emak Siti to wear a special T Shirt. I gave her a t-shirt with a note "Happy Birthday Wili". Emak Siti sells food in our cafetaria. And I asked her to sit nicely in the cafetaria.

            Later I sneaked to the teacher's room. It was quiet because all the teachers were teaching. I approached a mike that is used to make announcement. I grabbed the mike, and announce, "To Wili Kuncoro, student of Grade VA to go to cafetaria because your famous relative Nikita Wili is waiting for your birthday."

            And that made the whole school in great chaos! Everybody went to the cafetaria. They did not find the beautiful Nikita Wili, instead they found an old woman wearing pink t-shirt with a note "Happy Birthday Wili".

            I just I could not remember other crazy things I did to my friends. Today is my birthday. And I'm sure my friends will do 'something' to me.  What if the whole students get together and plan something super crazy for me? Oh no! Gosh, I hate my birthday!

            I have no choice. Dad is waiting for me. I join his car and go to school. When I arrive, I rush to my class. Before I sit down, I check the desk and the chair. Hmm, they are safe. Later Ms. Rahma comes to the classroom. It's a habit that teachers who teach in the morning will check the birthday's list on the wall. She checks and later she sits down. "Hey, it's my birthday, Ma'am. why don't you say something?" But of course I just say that to myself.

            And after the school is over in the afternoon. Noone comes to me and congratulates me.  Hey, what's happening here? Do they forget my birthday? Impossible, the list is on the wall! How come they ignore my birthday? That hurts...

            "Hey Andy, let's play futsal," said Dendy.

            "Hmm, okay. Why not."

            "You go first, I'll catch you up later," said Dendy

            I go to futsal room. It's dark. And when I turn on the lights, suddenly...

            "Surprise! Happy birthday Andy!"

            All my friends are there and singing "Happy Birthday" song. And I just could not hold my emotion.

            "Happy birthday, Andy. Well you must think that we forget your birthday, right? said Ms. Rahma.

            "Yes, Ma'am. And honestly, I'm so sad. I don't know what to say now, previously I was so scared to go to school. I was so worried that my friends will do crazy things to me.

            "Well, that's what your friends feel when they have their birthdays. They are so worried that you will do something bad to them. Now you get the lesson, right?" asked Ms. Rahma wisely.

            "Yes, Ma'am. I got the lesson. I promise that I will not do something bad to my friends anymore."

                

Mom, where are you?

It is January 26, 2002. Haikal is ready. He is going camping at Cibubur. He will go with his Boy Scout team. He feels so happy. This is his first experience leaving Jakarta.

Mom is preparing breakfast for the whole family.

“So, you will be back on January 28?” asks Mom.

“Yes, Mom,” Haikal answers.

Dad enters the dining room and sits down.

“Haikal, remember, no matter where you are, don’t forget to say your prayers.”

“Okay, Dad, I won’t forget. I promise,” says Haikal.

Dinda, Haikal’s little sister, looks at her brother.

“Mas Haikal, you must come home soon, okay? Bring me something.”

“Don’t worry, Din. I will bring you something special,” Haikal promises.

Then Mom says, “Okay, everybody, let’s have breakfast now. Haikal has to go soon.”

After he finishes his breakfast, Haikal gets up from his chair. He kisses his parents’ hands and says goodbye. Then, he hurries to school. His friends are waiting for him. They will spend two nights in Cibubur. There are five groups of boys and Pak Usman, the mathematics teacher, is the leader of Haikal’s group.

It rains on the way to the camping site, but the boys do not care. They sing a lot of songs. They are all very happy. When they arrive at the camping grounds, they immediately set their tents.

It rains the whole day. It still rains the next day. The camping area is wet. They all have to stay inside the tents. Luckily, they have set their tents on higher ground. The tents are dry inside. The boys play games and sing songs inside their tents.

Suddenly Pak Haryono, the head master, comes to the camping area. He talks to all the leaders seriously. Then he talks to the boys.

“Boys, we have to go home now. The rain has caused a big flood in Jakarta.”

The boys look panicked! They are worried about their homes and their families.

“We will go home now,” says Pak Usman. “Disassemble your tents and get your things ready!”

After a few hours, they arrive back at school. Haikal runs home. He wants to meet his family. He is very worried. Before he reaches his house, a man calls his name.

“Haikal! What are you doing here?” It was Bang Ujang, his neighbor.

“I want to go home, Bang,” answers Haikal.

“Don’t you know what happened? Our neighborhood is flooded!” explains Bang Ujang. “All the houses are under water! Everybody has left. You cannot go home, it’s too dangerous!”

“But I have to meet my family, Bang! Where are they?” asks Haikal. He almost cries.

“Your family is safe. They are staying in the kelurahan now,” Bang Ujang tells him.

“Thanks, Bang. I will go there now.” Haikal runs faster. He is still worried. Are they safe? How about Dinda? She cannot swim. Haikal is crying.

At the kelurahan, he sees many people. They are all refugees from the flood.

Haikal calls out, “Mom! Dad! Dinda! Where are you?”

Nobody answers. The refugees are all busy with their own families.

“Mom, where are you? Mom!” Haikal begins to cry. He feels alone. He is afraid.

“Haikal, we’re here,” a familiar voice says.

It is Mom! Haikal runs towards her and Mom hugs him warmly.

He cries, “Mom, I’m so scared!”

“It’s okay, son. We’re safe now.” Dad comes and hugs him, too.

Dinda wipes Haikal’s tears and says, “Don’t cry, Mas. If you cry, I will also cry.”

Haikal asks his mother, “What happened mom?”

“It’s a natural disaster, son. We cannot do anything. We have to be patient,” Mom says.

Haikal whispers his prayer, “Thank you God. My family is safe.” M. Ali Akbar

Glossary: say prayers = sembahyang; set = mendirikan/memasang; flood = banjir; disassemble = membongkar; refugees = pengungsi; natural disaster = bencana alam.

The Package

            “C’mon Mike. Let’s do it!”

“I don’t know…… what if somebody sees us?”

“Sees us? Are you kidding? It’s two o’clock in the morning. Everybody is sleeping.”

Mike and James slowly open the headmaster’s door.

“It’s locked!” Mike tries to open the door.

“Sure it’s locked! Hey, why don’t you open the top drawer?” James points to a cupboard next to the door. “I have seen Ms. Jenny put the key there.” Ms. Jenny is Ms. Bram’s secretary. Mr. Bram is the headmaster.

James slowly inserts the key and unlocks it. “Got it! C’mon Mike…”

They slowly enter Mr. Bram’s office.

“Gosh… it’s creepy. James, turn on your flashlight. It’s too dark here.”

“You are such a coward, Mike. If we turn on the flashlight, someone will see us.”

“But you said no one will see us, James,” he almost screams.

“Be quiet, you idiot! You will wake up the whole school. No one will see us if we keep the room dark. But if you turn on the flashlight, you might attract someone.”

Slowly they approach the headmaster’s desk. The moonlight that goes through the ventilation really helps them see the condition in the room.

“Take out the package now….”

Mike quietly opens his backpack and takes out the package. As he puts the package on the desk, they hear someone walking outside the room.

“Jammmmeeess…… I’m scared…...” Mikes whispers and grasps James T’shirt tightly.

“Sssshhhh…. Be quiet. It’s only Mr. Jono. He is checking around.”

Mr. Jono is the school security guard.

Not long after that, Mr. Jono leaves the area. Mike and James wait for a couple of minutes to make sure that he won’t go back. Then, slowly they lock the door, put the key back into the drawer and go back to their tents in the schoolyard. All of their friends are still sleeping.

Mike and James and other students of SD Merah Putih are joining the Boy Scout program. They are camping in the schoolyard. It’s one of their regular programs.

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It’s Monday morning. Everybody in SD Merah Putih joins the flag raising ceremony. Mr. Bram, the headmaster, leads the ceremony. He is about to give speech.

“Good morning everybody. I’m not going to speech as always. I want to talk about something else. Something happened in my office. I don’t know when. Someone or some people put something in my desk, a package.”

Everybody is surprised. They are talking to one another trying to guess who did that and what is inside the package.

“Be quiet, everybody. Who ever did that, I have to thank him or her or them. Why? It’s because the package is actually a birthday gift. Today is my birthday and I got the best present in my whole life. It’s not about what the gift is but the intention to give me a gift that makes me touched. There is no name in the package, so I cannot thank him or her personally….”

As Mr. Bram gives his speech, Mike and James are smiling to each other. They are so happy that their mission is successful. They are so happy because they are able to give their beloved headmaster a gift.