Marathon 02 – Amanda

== Bab 1 ==

 

Rie setuju untuk ikut Lina jalan-jalan ke Jepang. Sehingga yang Lina perlu lakukan sekarang adalah bersiap-siap saja. Banyak sekali yang perlu disiapkan, membuat Lina jadi sangat sibuk. Belum lagi Lina tetap harus mengerjakan pekerjaan rumahnya, tidak ada kelonggaran meskipun Lina hendak pergi ke luar negeri.

Berkali-kali Ibunya bertanya, “Lina! Piring sudah dicuci belum??”, “Linaa! Bereskan kamarmu!”, “Lina! Bantu Ibu di sini dong!”, “Lina! Itu jangan lupa dicuci!”, “LINAAA!”. Dan semakin pusinglah kepala Lina. Tapi sebenarnya Lina juga salah. Lina sudah tahu akan berangkat tanggal 3 Desember.

Dan Lina baru mulai beberes dari tanggal 1 Desember! Tentunya dia akan repot, karena hanya tinggal 2 hari lagi sebelum pergi. Dan ada banyak sekali barang yang perlu di bawa. Aslinya pengumuman pemenang itu sudah dari bulan lalu yaitu November. Lina malas-malasan dan lupa soal beberes pakaian dan barang-barang yang perlu di bawa!

Beda dengan Rie, saat Lina bertanya, “Kamu sudah selesai beres-beres belum?”.
Rie menjawab, di hari Lina memberitahunya untuk ikut, pada saat sampai di rumah dia langsung membereskan yang perlu di bawa seperti pakaian-pakaian, peralatan-peralatan, dan beberapa barang-barang lainnya.

 

== 00 == 00 ==

 

3 Desember – Rumah Lina (06:00 A.M.)

Akhirnya Lina selesai beberes, kamar sudah rapi, piring sudah dicuci, dan yang paling penting … tas sudah siap! Lina tinggal mandi, menaruh tas di bagasi, menjemput Rie, lalu mereka bisa pergi ke bandara! Nanti di bandara mereka hanya perlu menunggu orang lain yang juga menang hadiah utama, karena pemenangnya tidak hanya Lina seorang.

“Linaa! Cepat mandi lalu angkat tasmu itu ke dalam bagasi! Sekarang sudah jam enam!” teriak Ibunya dari bawah tangga.
“Iya, Buu!” jawab Lina, dia terburu-buru keluar dari kamarnya dan masuk ke kamar mandi. Lina mandi secepat kilat, karena dia takut terlambat.

DRAAK BRAK BRUK

Lina membuat suara berisik sepanjang dia turun tangga. Lina terburu-buru karena sudah jam 6 lewat 30 menit dan Lina masih mengangkati tas-tasnya ke dalam mobil, Lina juga belum sarapan. Lina keluar, tas-tasnya dia bawa ketika itu Ibunya memanggil dari dalam rumah. “Lina! Kalau sudah selesai menaruh tas cepat sarapan dulu!”.

“Baik Buuu!” jawab Lina. Dengan segera, Lina menaruh semua tasnya yang sudah di turunkan dari kamarnya itu masuk ke dalam bagasi, lalu bergegas masuk kembali ke dalam untuk sarapan bersama. Ayah Lina sedang pergi keluar, jadi Lina hanya makan bereempat dengan Ibunya beserta dua adik kecil kembarnya.

Di meja, Ibunya sudah menyiapkan nasi goreng sebagai sarapan mereka.
“Lina, nanti di sana hati-hati ya! Jangan pergi keluar sendiri saat di sana!”. “Patuhi peraturan yang di beritahu oleh pemandu acara! Jangan cerewet! Jangan … … bla bla bla,” kata Ibunya panjang lebar.

“Iya, Bu … Lina akan patuhi peraturannya,” jawab Lina pendek, yang aslinya senang ada yang mengkhawatirkan dirinya di rumah. Jujur, Lina memang agak dramatis dan lebay, dia suka baca buku genre drama. Rie pun berteman dengan Lina karena mereka berdua sama-sama suka baca buku drama itu.

Setelah Lina selesai sarapan. Lina pamit pada Ibunya lalu naik ke mobil.
“Kita langsung ke bandara?” tanya sopirnya.
“Eh, kita ke rumah Rie dulu baru ke bandara pak,” jawab Lina.
“Baik mbak Lina,” kata Pak sopir yang sedetik kemudian menyalakan mobilnya.

“Duuh, kan sudah Lina bilang. Jangan panggil Lina dengan panggilan “mbak” dong! Lina malu habisnya,” gerutu Lina pada Pak sopir.
“Looh, kalau gitu mbak Lina maunya dipanggil apa?” tanya Pak sopir bingung.
“Panggil Lina aja Pak,” jawab Lina.

Tak lama kemudian mereka sampai di rumah Rie.
Lina keluar lalu mengetuk pintu rumah. “ASSALAMUALAIKUUUM! RIEEEEE!” teriak Lina dari depan pintu. Pintu terbuka, ternyata yang membukakan adalah Ibu Rie.
“Waalaikumsalam. Sebentar ya, Rie sedang di kamarnya. Ibu panggilkan dulu,” katanya.

Ibu Rie mempersilahkan Lina untuk masuk, dan menyuruhnya duduk. Lalu dia pergi untuk memanggil Rie. “Riee! Lina sudah datang niih! Buruan turun!!” teriak Ibu Rie dari bawah tangga. Sayup-sayup terdengar Rie yang balas memanggil, “Eeeh? Sudah datang?!” lalu terdengar suara barang-barang jatuh, dan pintu terbuka.

Rie turun dari tangga, sambil membawa tas-tasnya yang berat dan banyak. Lina memanggil sopirnya untuk membantu menaruh tasnya ke dalam bagasi. “Kamu bawa tas banyak banget,” celetuk Lina.
“Biarin, daripada nanti beli-beli lagi di sana. Aku soalnya ngga bawa duit banyak,” jawab Rie sambil memberikan tasnya pada Pak sopir.

Beberapa menit mereka habiskan untuk memindahkan tas-tas Rie. Akhirnya semua tas selesai diangkat, Rie pun pamit pada orangtuanya. Sama seperti Lina, orangtua Rie juga memberikan banyak sekali pesan. Rie agak sedikit malu diperlakukan orangtuanya seperti itu di depan temannya.

“Aku berangkat ya, Bu! Assalamualaikuum!” ucap Rie dari jendela mobil.
“Walaikumsalam, hati-hati ya di sana! Inget pesan Ibu!!” teriak Ibu Rie sambil melambaikan tangannya.
Rie balas melambaikan tangan, lalu masuk dan menutup jendela.

== 00 == 00 ==

Mobil sudah berjalan selama kira-kira 30 menit, dalam waktu hanya 30 menit Lina sudah ketiduran. “Dasar, Lina diem sebentar aja langsung ketiduran,” gerutu Rie pelan.
Rie kebingungan hendak apa, HP-nya ngga ada internet. Kuotanya sudah habis, jadi Rie ngga bisa main game seru yang ada di HP-nya.

Tidak lama setelah melewati rest area, tiba-tiba Lina terbangun.

“Aduh, pengen pipis nih!” kata Lina.

“Yah, telat kamu Lina, rest areanya sudah lewat. Tahan aja bisa ngga? Kan sebentar lagi udah mau sampai bandara,” kata Rie setengah panik.

Lina langsung pucat dan joget-joget. “Aduuh gimana ya, udah kebelet niiih!”

Akhirnya Rie mengajak Lina mengobrol dan mengalihkan perhatiannya supaya tidak kebelet. Tak lama mereka sampai di bandara. Mereka menurunkan barang dari mobil dan bergegas ke toilet.

“Hahh akhirnya , lega deh udah pipis,” kata Lina. Rie yang menunggu barang hanya cengar-cengir. Dia berdiri di samping konter untuk cas hp.

“Mumpung gratis aku ngecas hp dulu ya,” kata Rie. “Eh udah ada kabar dari panitia belom?”

“Bentar, aku cek dulu,” gumam Lina. Dia mengubek-ubek tasnya lalu mengambil hp dan membuka pesan.

“Wah, ini ada pemandu kita yaitu Kak Yani, dia menunggu di depan Starbucks. Yuk, kita ke sana!”

Rie dan Lina lalu menuju tempat pertemuan. Di situ sudah ada seorang anak perempuan usia kuliahan yang menunggu, berikut dua orang anak perempuan seusia Lina.

“Hei, kamu Lina dan Rie ya?” panggil kakak itu. “Aku Kak Yani, sini yuk, kenalan dulu sama teman-teman yang lain yang juga memenangkan undian ini.”

“Halo, aku Teru,” sapa anak perempuan berbaju pink dengan rok bunga-bunga.

“Hai, aku Willy,” kata anak di sebelahnya yang memakai baju cardigan coklat dan ransel merah.

“Aku Lina,” kata Lina. Rie juga memperkenalkan diri.

“Ayuk, kita check in dan masuk ke boarding room, sebentar lagi pesawatnya berangkat nih,” ajak Kak Yani.

Mereka mengangguk dan berangkat bersama.

 

=== ooo ===

Marathon-05 Farih

                                                                   Rujak Kweni                                 

asalamualaikum teman teman!

Hari ini aku ingin menceritakan pengalamanku saat membuat rujak kweni

Teman-teman tahu tidak kalau rujak kweni itu berasal dari Medan,  ada juga yang mengatakan  dari       aceh. Teman teman pernah membuat rujak kweni tidak?

Saat aku mencoba rasanya ternyata rasanya asam manis.

Saat aku menyiapkan buah-buahan, memotong buah melon dan  nanas ternyata sangat sulit.

Bahan bahan .

3 buah kweni.

 Buah buahan seperti nanas, jambu air, apapun yang teman-teman suka.

 Gula merah, garam, cabe, air asam Jawa.

Cara membuat

siapkan 3 buah kweni yang sudah dikupas lalu blender bersama gula merah, asam jawa dan asam Jawa. Karena aku tidak suka pedas, aku tidak memakai cabe.

potong potong buah, aku memakai melon dan nanas.

Terakhir campur kweni yang sudah diblender dengan potongan buah.

marathon-05 Aqil

Aku dengan semangat berkata ‘’keliling indonesia, Yah!’’ ‘’Nah!perjalanan pertama Aqil mulai dari Lhokseumawe ya?’’kata kakek.’’Lhokseumawe itu dimana kek?’’tanyaku penasaran.kakek pun menjawab ‘’Nih kakek jelasin. Lhoksumawe itu adalah tempat dimana berdirinya kerajaaan islam pertama di indonesia yang bernama samudera pasai yang terletak dikabupaten aceh utara.Kakek Udah pernah kesana sama nenek. Disana ada banyak bangunan yang bersejarah panjang.Dan juga barang barang bernilai sejarah tinggi!’’.

Lhoksumawe

Ketika aku sampai di Lhoksumawe, aku menghirup napas dalam-dalamdan menghembuskannya pelan berulang-ulang.Saking asyiknya menghirup udara segar,aku jadi tidak sadar kalau aku sudah tertinggal.

’’Aqiil!jangan berhenti! Ayo jalan lagi.’’kakek memanggilku yang sudah sedikit tertinggal.Aku pun berlari sebelum benar benar tertinggal.Ayahmenggeleng gelengkan kepalanya melihatku terburu buru.’’Wahanak Ayah suka sekali menghirup udara sampai nggak tahu kalau sudah tertinggal’’.’’Sekarang kita sudah sampai didepan bekas peninggalan kerajaaan samudera pasai.disini ada banyak barang antik! ‘’kata nenek.’’Aku mau satu barang antik aja boleh gak, nek?’’tanyaku sambil bergurau.’’gak bisa, Qil. Karena barang antik itu disimpan didalam museum’’jawab Ayah juga sambil bergurau.’’kita masuk yuk!’’ajak kakek.

Setelah kami membayar tiket masuk museum ,kami masuk dan melihat lihat.Aku fokus melihat penjelasan bagaimana islam bisa masuk di Indonesia melalui Aceh.ditemukannya ayat kursi di nissan makam ratu Nahrasiah membuktikan bahwa islam sudah masuk ke Indonesia.Aku jadi ingat tentang bagaimana islam masuk ke indonesia selain karena ayat kursi dimakam ratu Nahrasiah.Islam juga masuk ke Indonesia melalui para pedagang dari kapal arab yang mendakwahkan islam dari selat malaka.

’’Ayah,aku lapar nih!’’kataku sambil  memegang perut tanda lapar.’’sebentar.ayah panggil kakek dan nenek. Nanti kita makan mie Aceh kesukaanmu.Ayah juga sudah kangen kopi Aceh kesukaan Ayah.

PRINCESS LITA

Suatu hari princes Lita pergi ke kebun. “Wah sayurnya banyak”

Lalu ia mulai memetik sayur-sayur itu. “Wah banyak”

Lalu ia memetik sampai lelah. Lalu ia pulang.

Ia lalu menyimpan keranjang.

Lalu ia mandi. Lalu membantu menyiapkan makanan.

Ia lalu membaca doa.

Lalu ia makan. Katanya.

“Alhamdulillah enak”

Marathon 05 -Tiara

Chapter 8: The Fallen and the Knocked Out

Peter

                “PETER!!!”

I didn’t scream, I stayed silent in shook. I never thought that my own twin would do. It felt like slow motion, my eyes were half open, I couldn’t see Marjorie’s face but I could hear her scream, a sound that rings in my ears loudly and repeatedly.

Far gripped me, I know I wouldn’t die on impact, but the playground roof is still high above the ground and if I fall on something sharp my head will crack open.

“GOT CHA’!!”

I gasp as I feel hands around me, catching me before I could fall to the ground. Things dull and blurred, I look directly ahead, not looking at anything, I couldn’t, it’s all blurry.

“Pe….. Pete… Peter!!” I snap as the world suddenly sharpens and now I can see Cycil above me and I can feel the floor below me.

But there’s no pain, no blood and no glass shards.

‘Glass shard? Why would there be glass shards? I’m in a playground’ I thought as I sat up. I can feel my hands shake a little, I can hear Cycil’s laboured breathing, someone is climbing up or down I don’t know, I can hear a bird, cars, squirrels. Everything seems to be sharper, clearer.

‘Is this what Cycil always feels?’ I thought realizing my senses are sharper than usual.

“Is he alright?”

“He is fine Marjorie, just a little shaken up that’s all”

I nod along, that’s the traitor and this must be Cycil beside me. I can hear wheels rolling across the ground, a bike?

“Ah Mercy, yeah this is Marjorie and this is Peter… He is fine, just a little shaken up… That’d be lovely”

. . . . . . . . . .

                 I blank out after that. I know that I was put in a car by Cycil, I know that Cycil sat beside me in the car and I know we drove for a very long time before we stopped at a Mc Donald’s, ate drove again and we got out.

All the while Cycil keeps trying to make me talk. I didn’t, there is a part of me that doesn’t want to say it out loud.

When we got out Cycil had lead me by my hand along with Marjorie, we sat together, with Cycil being a wall hat divides me and Marjorie. I blanked out as Cycil talked with someone inside the house.

The house is a cluttered mess that feels homely, a warm feeling to it, I can smell cookies and tea. I could hear dogs and beards. I blanked out, until a wrinkly hand offered me a cookie.

I look up to see an old women in a wheel chair, wearing knitted hat and cardigan

“Go on then, a cookie a day keeps the sadness away. Eat it up now, you’ll feel better” she said smiling softly, like how Old Man Rogers. I accepted it and starts nibbling.

I glance side-ways at Marjorie, I can see her nibbling on her thumb, something she does when she is nervous.

“Anyway. Thanks for welcoming us Mercy, I appreciate it” I can hear Cycil says. But I keep my eyes on my twin, watching her as she look down, her hair messy again with a few leafs stuck in them.

“No problem Cycil, just happy to help. Any friends of Roggy is a friend of mine. What are you doing here anyway? You haven’t told me yet”

“Oh we’re on a road trip really, just thought we should…”

I stopped paying attention to Cycil as I narrow my eyes at Marjorie. She flinches back before pressing herself into Cycil’s side.

“Have you looked around town yet? The Cemetery maybe? There is a cemetery 14 minutes away that has the remaining of a mafia boss here” I look away from Marjorie to pay attention to the Old Woman.

“A mafia boss?” I ask.

“Ah finaly he talks. Yes a Mafia boss, Al Capone. One of the leaders of The Outfits. The most popular mafia boss in Chicago.

“I used to visit his grave all the time. People would leave cigarette packs there and coins and hats. A whole lot of presents for a dead mafia boss” The Woman says laughing.

I chuckle a little. Before turning to Cycil

“What time is it?” I ask. Cycil looks at me before looking around.

“It’s almost three. Huh time flies by. I think we should get going Mercy” Cycil says signalling both me and Marjorie to stand up.

“I’ll have Matty drive you. A shame you can’t stay longer. But tell Roggy I say thank you” The Old Woman says as she leads us out. A man is there, with blond hair and blue eyes, he helped us in and then were off.

It feels weird not having Arthur drive.

“I want the both of you to tell me how and why you fell Peter. Later alright?” Cycil says. I nod, that’ll be a fun conversation.

“So you guys are from Waterloo?” The driver says uncertainly. Cycil smiles and nods, they started talking after that. I tune it out and started thinking, if Marjorie wants to leave me behind then fine, I can live without her.

. . . . . . . . . .

        I sigh as we made it back to the bank. Searched around for the van and found it in an odd position, using two parking spaces instead of one. Arthur would never do that.

“Hey Cycil why is the van like that?” Marjorie asks pointing to the van. I nod along, confused as to what to do.

Cycil looks at the van and stops beside us, looing as confused as we are.

“Something is not right and I want you both to stay behind me” Cycil says as he walks to the van first.

I kept to his side, not going near Marjorie at all. As we close walk closer to the van the way it parked is like the way Francis parks.

“Cycil it looks like Francis parked the van” I told him relaxing. Cycil nods before walking closer and opening the van door. He pokies his head in before screaming.

“WHAT HAPPENED TO ARTHUR??!!” He screams as he rushes in, I followed behind quickly joined by Marjorie.

I stare at Arthur’s unconscious body on the bed, he looks beaten and bruised with a black eye.

“Sorry Cycil. I did the best I can but I don’t know first aid.”

I look at Francis to see him in the same state, but he doesn’t have a black eye.

“Oh, Franny. Twins go sit somewhere while I run to get some ice, Francis keep an eye on them and don’t move. I’ll be right back” Cycil yells as he runs out the van, leaving us three with Arthur.

Francis rubs the back of his neck as he sits down on the sofa. I ignore them as I crawl to the passenger seat.

“You’re not mad at me are you?”

I ignore Marjorie as she asks, leaning towards me.

“Fine then be that way. I’m sleeping with Arthur” she says sassily as she walks away. I roll my eyes at her, curling up into a ball on the chairs.

Francis crouches behind me and leans to whisper in my ear

“Forget it!” I snap. He rises his hands in surrender, leaving me alone. I sigh as I lean my head against the window, falling asleep instantly.

. . . . . . . . . .

                “NO NONONONONONO!!! WE CAN’T GO NOW!! NOONONONONONO CYCIL STOP!!”

I shook awake as I hear Marjorie scream. I look back to see her screaming and kicking on the bed, being held down by Francis who is arguing with Cycil.

Cycil drove the silent van along a dark road, making me uneasy. Cycil notices me and smiles.

“She’s have a flash back I think. Francis is trying his best but can you help out?” He asks.

I look away, not meeting his eyes and not looking at Marjorie, trying to ignore Marjorie’s screaming. Cycil stares at me shook before he sighs and drives on.

“I was planning to go to Toledo, but I can’t put your sister through that so I’m going to a small city called Fort Wayne. Try going back to sleep, she won’t quiet down I assure you. Unless you help out” Cycil says.

I ignore him and curl up trying to sleep.

“Huh, the boy can actually do it” I hear Cycil say

“Cycil! I can’t hold her and you know I’m not the hugging or cuddling type!!” Francis yells over the screaming and crying. We pulled aside and they switched position.

Marjorie quiets slowly, soon she’s only crying and not screaming. I can feel Francis’s eyes on me the entire night. But I ignore it.

“The kid can actually resist against his bonds. He isn’t as weak as I thought”

“Francis he isn’t weak just because he values his relationship with someone”

“Sure Cycil, sure”

Marathon 05 – Tiara

Chapter 7: The Oz Park and Old Man Rogers’s Friend’s Kid

Peter

                “There goes Francis and Arthur” I say as I watch the van drive away from the bank. Cycil looks out to the parking lot angrily.

He grumbles before sighing.

“Twins wait here I’m not going to be long, alright?” Cycil says as he leads us to a corner. I sit beside Marjorie on the long metal chair, looking around.

The building is old, I can see spider webs and stains on the walls. The floor is a loud colour of green that’s hurting my eyes.

I watch as Cycil walk across the building, going to the counter and filling in papers. This is dull. Marjorie giggles beside me before showing me a statue of the tin man from The Wizard of Oz. I stare at it before sighing.

So that’s her main goal, to take a photo of the tin man. I shoot her a look before nodding. Yeah I want to meet the tin man too.

Soon Cycil walks back holding a receipt and counting under his breath. I glance at Marjorie before nodding.

“Okay kids, it’s just us now. What do you want to do?” Cycil asks putting the receipt into the many pockets of his bag. I smirk as Marjorie shoves our phone into Cycil’s face, making him flinch back. The phone isn’t just hers, I helped pay for so it’s also mine, but she’s the one that always.

Cyci plucks the phone from Marjorie’s hand, swiping up and down. I look to the side to meet Marjorie’s gaze, Cycil won’t say no. It’s only an hour walk.

Cycil chuckles before handing the phone back to Marjorie.

“Okay. An hours walk from here to there, let’s go” Cycil says turning around. I laugh as I stand up, running to catch up him. Marjorie appears beside me and wink, a sign she has a plan up her sleeve. I wonder what.

. . . . . . . . . .

                “There it is! Run twins!!” Cycil says running ahead of us, laughing madly. I grin as me and Marjorie runs to catch up. I laugh as we pass Cycil. We kept running around, breathing in fresh air.

We didn’t stop until I trip on a branch and fell, grabbing Marjorie’s skirt and dragging her with me.

Marjorie shrieks as she falls down, flailing her arms around, hitting a pile of leafs. I fell on top of a root, scrapping my arms. I can hear Cycil laughing from behind us.

Marjorie lifts her head to look at me, glaring daggers at me. I narrow my eyes at her and stuck my tongue out. My twin’s face turn from anger to shook, she narrows her eyes and whispers to me.

“You dare?”

“I dare” I responded, meeting her gaze. We stare at each other until Cycil came and crouch down between us.

“Let’s see Ladies and Gentleman who will win? The older reckless brother, who skips school three times a week or the devil in disguise little sister, with her beautiful yet deadly ghostly pale face?” Cycil narrates.

I didn’t crack, Francis does this all the time when I’m trying to be serious and Mephisto has a habit of narrating his life out loud at random.

Marjorie snorts, her shoulders shaking as she ducks her head down. I can hear her giggling happily. I smirk looking at Cycil, who is looking at Marjorie chuckling.

He turns to me as I mouthed “I win.”

“I’m not a devil in disguise” She tells us as she crawls into a more comfortable sitting position. I look at Cycil, shooting him a face that says “Is she serious.” Cycil laughs but shrugs it off as he stands up.

“Come on, let’s go find the statue, I particularly want to find the Tin Man” Cycil says dusting his jeans. I nod standing up after him. I look up at the sun, it’s high up in the sky, so it’s probably 12.

Marjorie’s laugh died down as she stand up, dusting her skirt. She grabs my hand before turning around, searching for something.

“Where’s the Tin Man at?” I ask.

Cycil hums as he looks around.

“Well I can see Dorothy over there, together with Toto, a playground at the back too I think. But I don’t see the Tin Man” Cycil says looking disappointed. Suddenly Cycil smiles and nods. Something I never got used to, he looks at me then at Marjorie.

“Why don’t you two go scout out the playground while I search for the Tin Man? I’ll call you when I find him” I tell them, Cycil looks at me sceptically. I shake my head as he led the way to the playground.

“Just look at the playground and you’ll change your mind, trust me” Cyci calls back, I look o Marjorie and nods. We both hurried to catch up to him, as we got closer Cycil runs.

I grin as I run faster, Marjorie following but keeping me at a distance. Cycil laughs as he jumps over a bench before collapsing back into it.

I hop over and sat beside him, out of breath. Marjorie sat on Cycil’s other side, out of breath and laughing, her red barrette is off her head, making me have a clear view of her messy hair.

I can see Dorothy’s statue, with Toto on the bottom of it and a huge playground behind them.

“So you guys wanna stay here or not? Because this looks like one cool park” Cycil comments as he gestures to the playground behind Dorothy’s statue. I nod furiously before dashing out of the chair to the playground.

I can’t hear Marjorie behind me, but I ignore it, she’ll come by later. I hurry to climb up the railing. The playground is empty I’m the only kid here.

I cackle loudly climbing onto the cone shaped playground roof. I had to climb up the railing and hoist myself up. I stand on top of the roof, pushing down leaves and stray toys.

I look around seeing Marjorie run to me, her barrette in place and hair smooth again. I can see Cycil starting to walk away, looking around searching for something.

Once Marjorie got near I signal her to climb up, it took her a few minutes before managing to hoist herself up. She looks at me and then to the park.

“We can’t see that far off. I prefer the abandoned mall” Marjorie comments sitting on the edge of the roof, legs dangling off. I follow her, nodding along. If you climb up the abandoned mal you can see for miles around.

“What were you talking about with Cycil?” I ask

“Making sure he doesn’t leave us here for too long. I told him 20 minutes before we go looking for him” She says grinning. I roll my eyes. She is always paranoid that everyone will leave her and she can’t contact them again, but I’m a bit scared of that too.

“Do you think we could live here? This is pretty nice” Marjorie suggests, legs swinging. I shrug.

I hate it when she talks like this, I don’t see the reason why we would want to move cities. What’s so wrong with Waterloo?

Marjorie pulls out our phone and shows me a graphic of Chicago’s… report card?

“Public Schools A+, Crime& Safety B, Housing A, Good for Families A+, Diversity B, Cost of Living B-, Health & Fitness A+, Outdoor Activities A” She quotes. I look at her strangely. What is this for?

“Don’t you see? We could live here, together we can ask for a foster family here and then we’ll move… and… the-the schools he-“she stutters at the end.

“Okay, okay hold up” I say holding my right hand up, signalling her to stop and holding my head with the other.

She wants to leave Waterloo? To live here? Four hours away?

Marjorie had always talked about how she would move or asked to be put into a foster family but I never thought she would do it.

“Are- are you serious?” I ask. She nods without hesitation, I shake my head laughing a little.

“You stupid or something? We can’t move, what about Cycil and the others?” I ask

“I thought about it and we can just video call” She counter.

“What about all the other kids in the orphanage? The little ones that can’t have a phone?”

“Then we don’t talk to them, their young anyways they can just talk to us when we talk to the older kids”

I shook my head and make some random movement with my hands. We can’t leave, we’ll be abandoning the others then.

“Come on Pete this city has good schooling and in a city as big as this there is bound to be at least one Foster home” she says voice light with hope.

“And what if you end up in the other side of the country? What then?!” I ask her getting mad. This is the stupidest thing that I have ever heard.

“Then at least I tried!” She says sternly getting defensive. I knew it she doesn’t have a plan, she just wants to leave us behind.

“You don’t even know where you’d end up. You’re going to leave me behind for no reason then!”

How could she?! Leaving me behind like this!

“What do you mean I’m leaving you behind?! You’re coming with me!!”

“I don’t want to go!!!” I yell at her standing up, Marjorie follows but slips a little and fell back down, gripping the roof. She looks up at me glaring.

“You’re going to abandon your little sister?!! You’re leaving me behind?!”

“I’m not going anywhere you’re the one that’s leaving”

“I’m leaving so we can get a better life than a dump of a place like that”

“Well you ever thought that I don’t want to leave?” I scream at her narrowing my eyes. Marjorie suddenly grows one foot, two and suddenly she is taller than me, standing just a bit above me and pushes me off the roof.

I close my eyes hearing her scream as I fell.

“PETER!!”

Marathon 03 – Ahya

Chapter 3
Makan malam

“jadi bu…. nyam nyam.. aku tertabrak pohon … nyam nyam… 3 kali berturut turut” kata Carlos sambil mengunyah makanan favoritnya. Ibu hanya dengan senyum manisnya.
Carlos melanjutkan ceritanya “trus…. nyam nyam.. aku ke guild lalu…. Nyam nyam..” lalu obrolan itu terus berlanjut,

sampai 22 menit kemudian “Carlos” kata ibu sambil memegang tangan Carlos. Carlos menjawab dengan muka kebingungan “ke.. kenapa bu?”. “ibu khawatir, kamu pergi mengelilingi negara ini, dunia itu keras nak” Jawab ibu dengan muka khawatir

“Ibu.. aku sudah dewasa sekarang.. nyam” kata Carlos berusaha meyakinkan, “kau masih 14 Carlos” kata ibu sedikit risih. “Lagipula ibu macam apa yang membiarkan anaknya pergi mengelilingi negara sendirian?” kata ibu, Lalu Carlos menjawab “semua ibunya protagonis di kucingmon”

“Huft…. Kau memang keras kepala ya “ kata ibu sambil mengambil piring-piring Kotor, “aku memang keras kepala but” jawab Carlos sambil memutar badannya untuk melihat ibu yang sedang menyuci piring.
“Yasudah, sikat Gigi dulu baru tidur” kata ibu sambil mengeringkan cucian piring. “Baik” kata Carlos sambil berlari ke kamar Mandi . (dasar Anak keras kepala) kata ibu sambil berbisik dengan senyum manisnya (kira- Kira kapan ayah pulang? Aku ingin ikut menyelidiki Batu itu juga)