Kao heret bakul yang berisi tin-tin cat ke dalam Lennox Clubhouse. Menuju Movie club given operating room. The room is a MESS. Aku ingat lagi, berhari-hari aku sakit belakang. Mengecat, angkut sampah lame, meja and kerusi buruk keluar dari bilik tu.
We have to do it sendiri since sekolah tak bagi kami upah orang luar. No strangers allowed into the academy. Even family pon kadang-kadang di inspect, security ketat. Since sekolah nie semua the richest and the royal.. security memang over lah kan. Konon takut ade kes culik.
Arghhhh.. berat nye benda alah nie. Kao berhenti sekejap dikaki tangga, urut-urut tapak tangan yang mula pucat. Suddenly someone wearing black-grey school tracksuit datang dari belakang angkat the whole bucket of the paints. The boy naek tangga, berhenti.. pusing toleh. It's Jayden.
Kao: Errr.. senior, berat tu. -dalam hati terloncat-loncat gembira, its Jayden Xu!!
Jayden: Alah, sikit je nie.. Come.. -beaming handsomely.
Dari belakang kedengaran sekumpulan lelaki berjalan.. Kao toleh curious. It's the whole KillJoy with Valerie yang berjalan tepi Luke, gembira nampak cik kak.
Luke: Hey Kao. Just let Jayden shows off some muscles ok. -tergelak
Kao: -blushing, senyum kambing
Marcus: Hek eee leeeehhh, aku pon leh angkat tu -garu perut sambil kunyah dry squid, naik tangga berebut nak angkat bakul cat dari tangan Jayden =__=. The random ridiculous Marcus.
Kelihatan Jason Lee di belakang Luke tersenyum melihat gelagat Jayden dan Marcus yang macam Tom and Jerry diatas tangga. Berdiri diam.. I can't believe my eyes, us..able to see Jason again. Kao, please control your feelings.
Yes, nie prominent memory aku... lepas dapat bilik operasi Movie Club tu, KillJoy datang tolong kami cat bilik and renovate the whole room. Being with them is what I miss the most. Funny seniors.
Valerie: They volunteered to help us with the room. -senyum meleret.
Kao: I see... Thanks guys! - angkat tangan dua belah, thumbsup.
Luke: No sweat.. since Valerie is my dearest little distant cousin. Dah macam adik sendiri.
(Luke Rockerfeller, distant relatives of Valerie Winterfrost sebelah ibu.. who's originally a Rocekerfeller too but then lepas kawen dengan ayah Valerie, the Arthur Winterfrost, ditukar surname ikut husband)
Luke naik tangga meleraikan cute bickering of Jayden and Marcus. Lastly, Luke yang angkat bakul berat tu sendiri diekori Jason dari belakang. Oh I miss their back profiles... they are just perfect.
Hahahaha.. ok Kao stop it!. Stop admiring them. You did it a lot back then. They are now younger then you. 24 and 15. Big No No. KillJoy and Valerie continue the walk to the room leaving Kao yang perlahan-lahan mengikut langkah mereka dari belakang. I hope you are ready.. Jason is here Kay.
{Karyn Lee Faraday P.O.V}
Kay terpisat-pisat tenyeh mata. Mana diorang ni. Lama dah tunggu ni. Tadi cakap jumpa kat club house. Kay check phone. This kids.. Nak sambung tido leh tak?
Eh??
Terus pergi operation room? Cakap nak jumpa dekat common room. Ah diorang ni cakap belit-belit. Ini menghabiskan tenaga aku yang sedia adanya terhad ni.
Kay capai hand held mirror. Oh great. Now my eyes are all puffy. Kay mengeluh. Having to walk around this humongous landscape is annoying. Sekejap jumpa dekat tree house la. Nanti nak patah balik pergi club house la. Club house pulak punya la besar, nak cari operation room pun belit-belit. Ni japgi kena masuk kelas balik. Mak aih jauhnya.
Mengeluh pun Kay angkat bontot jugak last-last. Bawak beg dengan malas. Check mesej di phone. "Level 2 end of corridor - Kao"
Kay mengangkat kaki, langkah malas-malas. Ah, tangga lagi ke. No wonder I was so kerempeng back then. Kay hentak hentak kaki while stepping on the stairs. Di tangga kedua Kay nyaris nak tergelincir bila nampak this one guy..
Errr.. Senior Marcus?
What the heck is he doing here? At the stairs? With a bird? What the fuck? Kay tunduk hormat. This weird senior of mine is a lost cause. Kay tengok rambut Marcus yang dah berkaler. Haritu kaler lain. Nak tanya ke? Tapi macam malas je nak tanya.
Marcus: You seems taller.. -malas- and puffier.. -gosok-gosok burung dibahu.
Kay spontan sentuh eye bag. Ergh.. this is why I hate napping at school. Kay sengih awkward. What the heck am I supposed to say to this alien in human form?
Jason: Marc, get back to work please. -past tuala lap cermin dari atas.
Kay dongak. That majestic senior of mine. Muka Jason macam terpancar-pancar. His beauty is unworldly. At least to me. Kay senyum. Marc dongak tengok Jason kat sebelah.
Jason: And please return that taxidermied bird to where it belongs -jeling atas bahu Marcus
Marcus juihkan bibir. Eyh? that's not an alive bird? Ohmygod, what the hell is wrong with Senior Marcus? Can you be any weirder?
Marcus: Baru nak bonding-bonding dengan Johny ni.
The heck? He even gave a name to that poor bird. Marcus bangun, patting the taxidemied bird on his shoulder. Sewel ke apa la senior aku sorang. So unpredictable. So random. Kay pandang Jason yang still berdiri di puncak tangga.
Jason: You're late.. -lembut, totally a different tone
Kay: Senior, sorry about that. I was waiting at the common room just now and fell asleep.
Jason: It's ok as long as you are here. Come. Let me show you the operation room.
Jason masukkan tangan ke poket. Kay turut je belakang Jason. Kay tunduk sepanjang jalan. Heart pounding like a nail. Kay, be strong. Look in front of you. Jason is here. Cherish the moment. Kay almost choked up of emotion while staring at the back of his head. Senior, do you know how much I missed you, all these years?
Marcus: You are short -dari belakang
Eh datang balik hantu ni. Kay toleh. Marcus gigit sotong kering. Uhh baunya. Tak paham aku apa yang bestnya dengan sotong kering tu.
Jason: Marc, stop teasing her -tak toleh, jalan terus je
Marcus: But I'm not teasing her. It's true. See..
Marcus tarik badan Kay, rapat ke dada. What in the world. Jason toleh tengok. Marcus peluk bahu Kay yang dah blushing sebab terkejut. Kay terpinga. Senior Marcus is hugging me. Is he really that clueless? I can feel his 6 pax tummy on my back.
Marcus hayun-hayun tangan kat level kepala Kay. Baru dekat dada. Pendek. Muka Jason berubah. Jason tarik tangan Kay.
Jason: It's not funny Marc. Go back to the room. And loose the fake dye spray on your hair.
Marcus: Chh.. -stinking smirk
Marcus melayang-layang (as in jalan huyung hayang) ke kelab. Kay rasa macam nak terkeluar jantung. That kid is super ridiculous. Jap, senior Jason is holding my hand. Jason perasan.
Jason: Sorry about Marc -lepaskan tangan- He's a bit.. 'Special'-senyum
That smile. Kay balas senyum. Angguk. You are the special one, senior. Kay terus follow Jason macam tadi. Senyap.. Sunyi.. But she enjoy the walk. No voice, no conversation, just the sound of their foot steps. Kay senyum. It's true that I spend my years following him from behind, being happy in his shadow. She felt that familiar coziness. A sense of security. That is what Senior Jason means to me. A protector. A brother I never have.
Langkah terhenti di satu pintu mahogany. Jason tolak pintu. Shining from behind are these beautiful people. The Killjoys, Kao and Valerie all beaming at her (except Marcus who is so engrossed with his dried squid).
Jason: Welcome to Movie Club...
