[fic049] Some Kind Of A Friend You Are

A week's off SOOO doesn't feel like a week's off T_T I don't like long duration of SPM. #Flashback edition!#

HAPPY READING!! :DD Aisyah's POV
     I cried in the library but only to get caught by Hairi, my childhood friend. "Are you going to tell me or you're going to keep crying like a kindergartener losing her candy?" He cupped my sorry face. I didn't say anything but only tried to save myself from crying in front of him, so I hanged my head low. He asked if there was a teacher in my class, I shook my head. But suddenly, he pulled my hand and start to head out of the library. He took my specs and gave it to me. I wore it and start to find my shoes on the rack. I put it on and Hairi continued to pull my hand.
I didn't know what he's doing and where he's heading to. I was strengthless to fight back, so I followed where ever his foot steps go.
He pulled me downstairs and continued walking. We walked pass a few classrooms and headed towards the school's canteen. "Sit here. I'll be right back." He said to me. So, I sat down on a seat, all alone in the canteen way before recess time, waiting for him to come back. It took him about five minutes until he came back with two iced teas in his hands.
"Let's go!" He said after giving me one of the beverages in plastic cups and pulled me towards somewhere again. This time, it was to the Bengkel KH block. One of the gates we open, so we both went upstairs, hand in hand, to the top of the floor. It was an empty floor with two humanless classrooms for art classes. Hairi let go of my hand for awhile and started rummaging his pockets for keys. He found the keys and unlocked one of the doors. "How did he get the keys for this class? For a new kid, he sure knows his ways." I thought alone.
"Come in." He told me. I walked in and saw many arts and crafts, carefully displayed in the glass cupboards, across the room. It was a bit dark, so Hairi quickly went over to the curtains near to the cupboards and pulled it away, securely tying the fabric in a roll.
"Here." Hairi pulled my hand and sat me on a high stool. He placed his watery beverage on a flat surface and went to a room behind me. He came out after a few minutes, with a medium sized blank canvas on an 'A' frame, a shallow basket full of brushes, water cup and tubes of oil paint. He was already in his art smock. He placed the items in front of me at a distance and started squirting paint on his wooden painting palette.
"What are you doing?" I asked him after keeping silent for so long, dumbfoundedly. "What do you think I'm doing? I'm painting of course." He smirked, looking busy trying to measure my face with the end of his brush from a distance. "But why suddenly?" I asked again, confused at his sudden action. "I'm trying to capture the moment." He said short. "You could have taken a picture with a camera." I said, sipping my iced tea. "I didn't bring one. Besides, this looks much MUCH cooler." He said, emphasizing the word 'much'. I chuckled at his remark. He glanced at me and said, "Keep doing that." "Doing what?" I raised a brow. "That. Smile." He blinked from afar and pointed at my face. A bit bashful at his comment, I looked at the ground and slowly look up, smiling. "That's more like it." He said while smiling and then continued painting.
     After about 20 minutes, he stopped for a drink. I also did the same. "You know, when I saw you cry earlier." He suddenly said and paused while picking up his brush. "I felt like hugging you." He said afterwards, hiding his face behind the painting canvas.
"Why?" I asked nonchalantly. He didn't answer after a few seconds. He was still painting. "I guess because it reminded me of the time when I hurt you in kindergarten." He answered silently and while still painting. "You hurt me in kindergarten?" I asked, a bit taken-aback, because I didn't remember. "Yeah, we were playing see-saw. While you were in the air, I suddenly left my seat and you fell to the ground, scraping your knees." He said, still stroking his brush confidently. "Why don't I remember this episode of my life?" I said, sighing a bit. "You don't remember? I'm pretty sure I showed you the pictures in the kindergarten album my mum gave me in Jeju." He said, tilting his head a bit. "I don't know. I don't remember things that well." I said, feeling embarrassed because I couldn't remember what happen during kindergarten. "Oh well, we can't remember every single thing in life, can we?" He paused. "Anyway, your knee was bleeding that day. I panicked." He said. "Why did you leave the seat anyway?" I asked him. "I don't know. I don't remember things that well." He mimicked what I just said, sticking his tongue out, teasing me.
     A few minutes later, he was already finishing his painting, signalling me, giving me permission to move around. I walked around the huge high ceiling room filled with drawing and paintings. I took a look in the glass cupboard. "So, this is where it went!" I said aloud when I saw something familiar in the cupboard. "What?" Said Hairi as he put up his finishing touches on the portrait he worked on.
"It's my first artwork in Form 1. I wondered where it went." I said after taking out the framed A3 sized paper from the glass cupboard and showed it to Hairi. It was a spy view of Izzat. A stencil work of mine that I worked on for a week, during my obsession period on Izzat.
"I'm glad it's not ruined." I commented as I dust off the tiny specks of dust on the frame. "I framed that one up." Hairi said silently behind his canvas.  "What?" I paused. "You? Where did you even find this?" I asked, shaking the frame a bit. "It was lying around in some ex-teacher's desk in that room." He pointed at the room he came out from the start. "I found it when I was tidying things up in here." He commented. "How did you get the permission to be in here anyway?" I asked. "Well, no one was going to use the room and Ustaz Solehin even suggested to empty the room for a files room for the student's data." He paused. "But then I said to give the room to me." He said. "And he just gave the keys to you?" I asked, chuckling a bit. "No. I said I'd take good care of it and maybe make it a new attraction for the officers from PPD to come and see." He said. So, I nodded. "I framed that picture you're holding because I thought the officers should see the beauty of simpleness and pure sincerity of the students of SMK BBST." He explained. "Uwaaahhh... You're good with words." I clapped in awe. "Thank you. Thank you." He bowed.
"So, how's you and Adlin doing? Doing good?" I asked, after loosing up a bit more. "We're doing great. Adlin had been painting with me as well. She painted that one on our first date together." He pointed at a landscape view from a high hill, a picturesque night view of a city. I walked to the painting he pointed. "Cool. You guys are so lucky. You guys can draw and paint. Huhu." I said, sounding sad. "Hey, hey. Who's the one who drew the picture I first framed my entire life?" He said, in akimbo position. "It was your first to frame a drawing? Get out!" I said sarcastically. "Yeah. The artiste must be pretty damn awesome to make me frame a stencil drawing." He scoffed. "Aaaww... I'm flattered." I nudged his elbow. "You're welcome." He smiled.
     I continued looking at the arts in the room and saw my other arts and crafts I did before I joined the music club. I glanced at Hairi, he was still busy painting. "Will he even finish the painting?" I thought and chuckled silently by myself.
"Aisyah." I heard Hairi calling my name. "Yeah?" I answered while looking at a file full of drawings I found. "Why did you cry earlier?" Hairi asked me. I didn't answer for some moment, thinking of what words should I use to explain my situation to him. "It's okay if you don't want to share your probs." Hairi said short. "No. It's just that. I dunno how to explain it to you." I said, scratching my neck. "Spill everything then. Don't worry, we have time." Hairi looked at me and smiled. I inhaled and exhaled dusty air. "Okay. Here I go." I thought. 
"Johan and I are arguing. It all started, when he......." I told him everything, while he was still painting. Hairi told me that everything might be a misunderstanding. He said maybe someone framed Johan and blackmailed him. Hairi was about to convince me to at least give Johan a chance to explain, but then I was reminded of that damn picture. I didn't tell Hairi about the kissing picture. I was afraid he'd beat Johan up or something. I don't know. I didn't have the courage to tell him about it.
"I don't know, Hairi. I'm afraid. I'm afraid to make a move. I'm afraid I'll get hurt." I said silently. "Then, don't be. Don't be afraid. It's all a part of life. We still have a lot to learn. Especially about feelings. Learn from mistakes, remember?" Hairi commented. I nodded and sighed aloud. "Aaaahhh I wished I never grow up. So, I don't have to go through all these." I wailed and flung my arms around like to make my problems go away.
"Haha. Don't grow up then. Be a crybaby. See if the world cares." Hairi continued stroking his brush. "Are you trying to cheer me up or make me feel worse?" I squinted my eyes at him, with hands on my waist, akimbo style. "Hey, I'm on the neutral side. Don't attack on me." He had his arms up on his side, with a brush in one of his hands.
     We went quiet for some while. I was busy playing with the lime seeds in the plastic cup that used to contained my iced tea until suddenly, "DONE!" Hairi shouted and threw his brush in the cup. I walked over and looked at the painting.
"Waaaahhhh... This is me? I'm so cute!" I said as I picked up the canvas from the 'A' frame. "Ehem. You WERE." Hairi scoffed. "HEY!" I smacked his shoulder. "Now we let this dry." Hairi took away the painting from me and put it on the 'A' frame. "Do you want to keep it later?" He asked me. "Keep a painting of me? My mom would think I'm self-absorbed to hang a picture of myself alone on a wall in my bedroom." I paused. "You keep it. Maybe you can put it on display when you have your own painting gallery later." I smiled to him. "Okay, crybaby. Make sure you come for the grand opening!" He winked. "Make sure you invite me first!" I said.
     We left the painting in the room to dry and went downstairs. It was already recess. I saw Izzat's group heading to the canteen. He didn't saw me. Hairi closed up the gate and stuffed the keys in his back pockets. "We better get our stuffs in the library." Hairi said.  "Yeah. I can't take my SPM if anything goes missing." I commented.  "Let's go." He ushered and off we went. To Be Continued.... :D next chapter ---> :DD Tweet