The weather can be friendly sometimes and not so friendly at others. Sometimes the air is cold, or it becomes hot. Sometimes it's cloudy, sometimes it's not. That's the weather in Surabaya lately. The rainy weather is just unpredictable. Maybe it's competing with Bandung, the city of rain. If so, then Surabaya is the city I love!! (That makes no sense!)
Alright, enough with the rambling. This time, rain fell during lunchtime break. The kids were happy and excited to brave the rain to go to the canteen and enjoy it. I just chose to sleep rather than get soaked. There's no point in practicing music either. If the lights go out, everything's ruined if struck by lightning.
Usually, if it rains during break time, the break lasts 1½ hours longer than usual. The time feels very long when it rains. Many people like rain, and some hate it. I'm one of those who like both. Sometimes I like the rain, and sometimes I hate it.
I like to hear the friendly and pleasant sound of rain, like normal rain. And what I hate the most is the wild rain that blows very strongly and suddenly causes power outages. Especially at night. I get really annoyed with heavy rain more than light rain.
During the break, I slept quite soundly. I even felt something cold and wet on my face. Oh, turns out the rain came in through the window!! Damn it!! No wonder my face felt so wet and weird.
"Damn it!! How could the rain get in here!?" I was annoyed. "Hey, Frank. Aren't you getting ready for tomorrow's outbond?" "Huh? Outbond? Tomorrow?" "Yeah!! Tomorrow, you idiot!!"
I also forgot that tomorrow was an outbond event in Terawas. That was my worst memory of Terawas, the first time, back in 7th grade during the MOS (Student Orientation Period) event. Overseas, they don't even have events like that. Just a welcoming ceremony and one day of MOS, followed by introductions and seat assignments. Anyway, what's the point of hazing? It's useless! We're not a military school!
It's true that outbond is for us to get to know nature. The kids thought outbond meant staying in dorms and sleeping on beds. But it turned out we'd be staying in joglo (traditional Javanese open pavilions) and sleeping on rocks, more like an animal cage than a soldier's room. So, we had to buy sleeping bags. Moreover, many people said I snore. Well, the kids snore even louder.
"Outbond, huh... A terrifying event...." "Doshitano? Franky." Haruna appeared behind me. "A... Ah, nothing. Nothing at all." "I heard there's an outbond tomorrow. Hontoka (Really)?" "Yeah. It's like military training outbond." "Hmm... sounds interesting."
Interesting!? An outbond like military training is considered interesting?! My head started to hurt hearing Haruna's words. I felt like fainting just hearing Haruna say something like that.
Finally, the dismissal bell rang. I immediately collapsed and fainted on my bed from sheer exhaustion. And then Husky came and lay on my head again. I was almost able to sleep soundly, but Husky disturbed my sleep. Such a self-centered dog.
All preparations for the Outbond were done. From clothes, sleeping bag, sleeping gear. And the items brought by the school (which I thought were just unnecessary things) were all brought. Actually, I was the most reluctant to join the outbond. Most of the events were useless games. At least something challenging and extreme would be more exciting, like Fear Factor.
The three-day outbond event was filled with activities that were completely irrelevant to me. I prefer the night "jurid" (a kind of spiritual or reflective walk) and cross-country activities over those meaningless games. For night "jurid," I prefer to be at the very back of the line rather than the leader. I get completely lost in the dark. That's why I prefer to be at the very back. For cross-country, I like it even more—walking and looking at mountains and forests. I feel peaceful seeing it.
The outbond finally began; we gathered at school at exactly 7:00 AM, then departed at 9:25 AM. The journey from Surabaya to Kenjeran was quite long. Haruna didn't come this time because she had a high fever. The atmosphere inside the bus was very cramped. Understandably, it was a very, very cramped school bus, just like a city bus. I almost couldn't sit comfortably because the bus was too narrow. I almost threw up because of the uncomfortable seat plus the very steep, winding roads.
Finally, at 1:26 PM, we arrived in Terawas. The forest was still the same as usual. Students from other branches also joined. The sky was getting cloudy, and the weather was cold. And the place that disgusted me, the Joglo. The boys' and girls' joglos were separated. The girls' joglo was upstairs, while the boys' was downstairs, near the forest. The organizing committee was next to the boys' joglo.
I almost hated the games. Right after arriving from Terawas, there was immediately a game that really annoyed me. The game was a cheer competition. Bah! I was reluctant to follow the cheer movements. Then it was followed by a game that made me even more annoyed: water volleyball. Oh no! This is the game I hate the most, getting all wet! Why always all those damn games!?
Fortunately, this time it was a break after going through those obnoxious and irritating games. I took a plate and fork. The food on the first day was truly terrible and made me want to openly throw up so I could go back to Surabaya. The first day's lunch was whole chicken soup with bones. And it didn't even taste good.
"I'm starting to hate it here; I want night 'jurid' to start quickly," Regan next to me said. "Me too, Gen, I also want night 'jurid' to start quickly," I agreed.
It was 2:35 PM. Luckily, this time it wasn't those annoying games again. This time, the event was about plants in the forest. Science and Social Studies classes were combined. When it's like this, I feel more comfortable and relaxed. It's truly heaven for me compared to participating in those games.
Then at 3:12, it changed to Indonesian class. This time, the event was making a drama for the bonfire event on the second day. Some made Romeo and Juliet, Maling Kutang (The Panty Thief - that's really the title), and several other unclear dramas. Including my own group.
"Hey, what kind of drama should we make?" "How about The Fast and the Furious?" "Your bald head! Can't you be a little more serious?!" "Hey, I still have hair, I'm not bald yet!" "How about Freddy vs. Jason? Or Kuntilanak?" I offered an idea. "Hey, don't tell horror stories." "Let it be, the later it gets, the scarier it gets, the more exciting!!" I laughed like a devil.
So, even making a drama got this chaotic. The drama involved kidnapping Miss Universe. There were crazy people. And blah blah blah, well, it was completely ruined. Finally, the title was decided. The title was famous and proud: BATTLE COCKROACH MAN!!
The story is truly insane; the main character arrives bravely. After being defeated by his arch-nemesis, he's immediately knocked out. Suddenly, he's attacked by a swarm of flying cockroaches. And then he transforms into a weird and disgusting superhero! BATTLE COCKROACH MAN!! (His style mimics a masked hero). He will face one enemy, which is cockroach spray, "Bokep!!" (Is that name really okay?).
Then some kids became extras, enemy henchmen, and other unimportant people. I even ended up being the boss's henchman. The main character was Robin. The enemy was played by Andreas. The others also became extras.
Finally, it was 4 PM. All the kids went to shower. Most of the boys were lazy to shower. What else can you do? The bathrooms don't even have doors, just stone walls. There are lots of frogs and leeches there. It would be super embarrassing if the girls saw the boys naked like that. OH NOOO!!! I AM NOT A PORN STAR!! I REFUSE TO SHOWER LIKE THAT!!! ABSOLUTELY NOT!!
At 6:12 PM, it was finally dinner time. Since it was very dark from the boys' joglo to the eating area, you had to bring a flashlight if you went to eat. The side dish was a very strange soup, red like blood. After I tasted it, it turned out to be red soup. There was very little meat. Lots of rice.
"Franky, where's Haruna?" Wenny asked. "Ah, she has a high fever, so she couldn't come." "What a shame, I thought it would be fun if Haruna was here." "Yeah... you're right...." "But, finally I get to be with Franky too." "Heh!?" I was surprised. "No!! It's nothing!!" Wenny blushed even more.
After dinner, the event continued at 8:23 PM. This time, the event was about various safety measures when helping injured or unconscious people during this night "jurid." The instructor also brought his dummy. When he was about to demonstrate, someone asked.
"Sir!! Is that dummy male or female?!"
THUD! That was truly a weird and bizarre question. I was thinking about how he could survive his injuries. But he had time to ask about the dummy. It was 9:00 PM. Finally, the event I had been waiting for began: Night "Jurid."
Before starting, this time, rules were given for the night "jurid." The moon was shining very brightly tonight. So no flashlight was needed for the "jurid" journey. Finally, all the students went down to the eating area. The students lined up according to their respective groups. My group consisted of Willy, Halim, Wenny, Pricila, Orin, and me. Three boys and three girls.
My group was the tenth group, which meant a pretty long wait. What I did was sleep while sitting. I had experienced how long it takes to depart. Waiting for the faraway groups to go first, then other groups followed. I just kept sleeping.
Finally, at 10:57 PM, my group started walking. I walked at the back of the line. At least it was better than leading the way. The sky was still bright, and suddenly it started to drizzle. Luckily, I had brought my favorite jacket.
The first post was in sight. It turned out the distance between the entrance and the post was close. This time, we were told to sing a party song vs. a metal song. The boys nodded, and the girls shook their heads (What a pointless password). After doing that crazy movement, we were told to walk slowly and ask permission to pass. And... (Jreng! Jreng! Jreng!!)
"HWAAAAAAA!!!" A group of baboons appeared. "KYAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" The girls screamed.
The girls' screams were actually much louder than the boys'. My ears almost went deaf because Wenny screamed so loudly. She could probably rival a lion's roar.
"Now you guys take turns hiding before the next group comes."
Finally, the previous group left for the next post. And my group became the ghosts. When the other group appeared, this time they were told to do the "goyang dombret" dance. Then the revenge began. A giant ghost appeared, startling them. That was me, of course.
This time, my group went to the next post. The next post was in an empty field. Seeing that, my mind immediately recalled my past again. I remembered when that girl and I used to play together on a mountain hill. The air was so fresh. The city view was also visible from across.
After passing the second post, this time we took a path into the forest. The path was quite friendly. Suddenly, it started to rain, even though the journey to the next post was quite close. Suddenly, Wenny twisted her ankle.
"Wenny, are you okay?!" "I'm fine. Just a sprain." "Don't be stupid, even if it's sprained. We can't stop here." "Frank, carry her." "He? Boku wa? (Me?)" "Yes, who else but you, idiot!!" "Uhh... okay then." "Ah, I'm fine, really," Wenny pretended to be healed. "Don't force it, just get on," I prepared to carry her.
This time, my journey lagged a bit behind the kids in front of me. I was still carrying Wenny, whose ankle was still sprained. I also heard Wenny's heartbeat quite loudly in my ear.
"Franky, am I heavy?" "No, you're light. How's your leg?" "It's a little better." "We should wait until the next post, then you can rest there." "Are you cold?" "A little, because of the rain." "In that case, I'll warm you up." "Hee!?"
Suddenly, Wenny hugged me tighter. My back felt very hot, and suddenly my heart pounded fast because Wenny hugged me (or was it because of her "mountains"? ARGH!). I had just felt this feeling for the first time. A feeling that truly made my body's rhythm abnormal. It was very, very... Auuuga~~~. FULL NITRO!!
Is this the feeling of that person? Is this also what "warmth" means? I still don't understand this feeling. My body no longer felt cold. All I felt was a burning passion when Wenny hugged me.
"Ikuze!! Ikuze!! (Let's go!! Let's go!!) The third post will be visible soon!!" I sped up. "Woah!! Wait for us!!" Willy held me back. "Wait where!? At a cafe!?" "Wait for us, you idiot."
We all arrived at the third post. This time, our group was told to rest because of the rain and Wenny's sprained ankle. The rain had quite soaked all our jackets. The air became super, duper cold. But luckily, this third post was in an empty shelter. Only four more posts to go.
Finally, after passing all the posts, we successfully returned to our respective joglos. Wenny's leg had healed by the time we reached the fourth post. When we got back to the main area, the rain had also stopped. I was utterly exhausted, with no energy left. My eyes were barely running on two watts. Before I returned to my joglo, Wenny called me.
"Um, Franky." "Hm, what is it?" "Um... thanks." "Ah, it's nothing. It's fine. Go to sleep." "U... Um, thanks, Frank."
Wenny went to her joglo with a radiant smile. As for me, I returned to my joglo with the guys. As soon as I arrived at my joglo, I felt something was missing, besides my bag and other unnecessary items the school made us bring. After a few minutes, I finally realized it. MY SLEEPING BAG IS GONE!!!
Ario called me; it turned out Kevin was using my sleeping bag. I could only be silent for a moment. Then I started forcibly waking up the sleeping bag thief, savagely. Finally, I got my sleeping bag back and couldn't sleep soundly. I ended up sleeping with Erwin. Even though he's small, it was still cramped, boy. But oh well, it's only two more nights in Terawas. Let's just enjoy it as best we can, and also, I STILL HATE THE GAMES!!