2. SINTIA IN A SMALL TIME

 

Metro Lampung, that's where I grew up and was pampered by my parents. A small town that is very agricultural, the rice fields spread out green like a carpet and is a small town that has just developed as a center of trade and education.

Beautiful city, away from the hustle and bustle and bustle like other big cities I've ever visited. That's where I lived with a really harmonious and happy family with my mom and dad. My childhood was filled with beautiful, colorful joys like any other normal child. My name is Sintia, I am the only daughter of Mr. Juniar and Sofia's mother, for them I am the pride and child they have spoiled the most since childhood. I am a quiet, sweet, funny and spoiled child who has various extra-curricular activities besides school and for sure I really like to hang out and make friends with friends. Like today I just entered Metro Lampung 2 Junior High School.

 

Metro, as I said earlier, is a beautiful small city, known as a city of education and quite large rice fields, everyone who visits will definitely be made at home and happy. Every day I go to school delivered by my mother and father like during Elementary School or Kindergarten, we always have morning activities together. Hopefully, today I make lots of friends, at least it should be as exciting as yesterday's Elementary School. Oh yes, what a coincidence, there were three friends from my elementary school who went to the same junior high school as me, they were Yuanita, Safitri and Chandra.

 

At least I won't be lonely today. And still feel the same friends and I know. This morning is really busy, because this morning is my first day to enter junior high school, oh my heart is happy.

"Sintia, come on, son, hurry up and come. Daddy is ready to go to the office."

"Yes, soon Dad, Sintia is doing pigtails again, it's complicated Dad, OSPEK (the first day of school introduction) has to do two pigtails right and left every day."

"Ouch, you are Sin. Where's the comb and hair tie let Daddy help now!"

"This is Dad, the height must be the same, not one-sided."

"From kindergarten, Daddy with your pigtails, don't be a fuss!"

"Hehehehe, ready boss."

Almost every day, if you want to go to school my dad always brushes my hair, as he always said since elementary school, while mom, besides getting ready for school, teaches her students, of course she's busy in the kitchen preparing our breakfast, mom is not as good at cooking like my daddy, but she's always trying to learn to cook, and daddy really appreciates his hard work even though he is still dad who always cooks all menus in his spare time and holidays, mom always calls him daddy is our family chef. After finishing tying my hair, we had breakfast together, by chance, today my mom made fried rice and half-cooked beef eye eggs, my favorite. At 6:30 p.m., my father started heating up his car, his favorite old sedan, dark green with his favorite Holden brand. Even though it's an old sedan, don't be doubted for the speed you drive on the road, an experienced driver who usually walks between Jakarta and Bandung, yes that's our hometown. Mom and I got ready, locked all the doors of the house and we went to school and worked together immediately.

 

The trip to my new school is quite long and takes about 30 minutes, the name of the area is Kampus Metro, it's funny. Maybe it's because there are a lot of schools around, from Kindergarten to colleges and many government offices that have been centered there for a long time. You could say, my school is still in the same area as my father's office and the junior high school where my mother teaches.

 

Mom teaches at Public Junior High School 4, while I go to Junior Secondary School 2, and dad is at the office of the Ministry of Education and Culture, which only takes 5 minutes, it's a distance of my dad's office, my school and mom's school, isn't it very close? Wow, whether it's good or not, which of course will be in the spotlight because all of my mom and dad's friends will recognize me. Back when I was in Kindergarten, I also went to school at this location, Metro Lampung Campus, to be precise PGRI Metro Kindergarten. There are many stories and sweet memories there.

There were some friends when I was little, there were Vina, Evi, Alek and Agung. It's been six years ago that we last met. Will we meet again later? The five of us during Kindergarten had a lot of memories, we studied together at one table, played, sang and what is certain is that I used to cry a lot when my mom and dad lived to go to independent school. Oops, shame. And the moment that I remember the most is when I fell from the slide in Kindergarten, it can be said that it was very painful, because it was quite high and reminisced in my memory.

On the trip, my dad and I always spent our spare time listening to our each other's favorite songs, daddy and mom hobbies nostalgic music and Golden Memories, meanwhile I like pop-Rocks songs, which are synonymous with big new kids. And just three days ago I bought a new Stinky cassette, I really like the band with trending songs like the song "Could it be (Mungkinkah)."

Daddy is a very fun person, he is not at all old-fashioned, mom is the same, only mom is more quiet and busier than daddy, besides teaching mom to open a convection business, so I am more familiar and spoiled with daddy every day. Because daddy is always there for me all the time.

 "Come on, get ready, don't miss your OSPEK and school equipment, okay? Then if you meet your new mom's teacher friends, don't forget to say hello."

"Yes Mom, (well, this is the one who is actually a bit heavy. CCTV is scattered everywhere in my heart muttering).

"Sin, it's up to your school, let's get ready!"

"Yes Dad, Sintia is leaving, Mom and Dad." (Hurry, hurry until they forget to kiss their hands).

"Sin, don't eat ice snacks and spicy food, Ok?"

"Yes Daddy ok"

I was so clumsy, it was getting busy, I walked into the school fence. Several teachers and principals have lined up in front of my school fence.

"Year 1 kid?" Greet from a teacher to me.

"Yes sir."

"Gather in the room over there, son, that's what Mr. Yanto is standing and pointing to a room that is right in the middle of the school field.

"Yes sir, thank you."

I also walked towards the classroom that was pointed by the teacher earlier. I was invited to come in and choose a chair by Mr. Yanto, it seems that Mr. Yanto doesn't really recognize me, maybe he was overlooking me, thank goodness if that was the case, I wouldn't be awkward at school. In addition to my mother's friends, Mr. Yanto is also my mother's and father's college friend every evening, they continue to study for S-1 again, for conditions for promotion, salary and teacher certification.

It seems that many new friends have come to class, but my three friends haven't yet arrived at school, it's terrible, I hope they're not late, tomorrow I'll invite them to go together with me. I chose to sit in the front seat, so that it will be clear when I listen to the explanation from the teacher or the teacher. Understandably, my eyes are not as good as my friends, I should have used glasses but I was lazy to buy and wear them.

Five minutes later the class started to get busy, it was natural that the clock had shown at 07.25 in the morning. 5 minutes later we would enter and start OSPEK, OSPEK oh OSPEK, sometimes I was curious even though a little scared, they said they were often done if they were new students by teachers or seniors, I hope they don't do it.

Not long ago, a new friend approached my chair.

"Hi, can you sit here"

"Oh yes please."

"My name is Ervina, Ervina Sari"

"Hi I'm Sintia, Sintia Budiyanti."

Vina and I chatted, it seemed that she was quite dominant, fussy and exclaimed, she didn't seem awkward to chat with me even though she just met, and from a distance it seemed Fitri, Nita and Chandra who had just come and chose a seat, we just smiled at each other and just flirt, think of it as an exercise to make new friends in class and school. Let us adapt today and make new friends with each other first.

Vina and I then got other friends named Darzuli, Aris, and Khairul. Because these two days we are still in OSPEK class, we are free to enter and sit in any class. The day after tomorrow we will be given the actual class. Hopefully it's still together with them so that it can be fun to be together, but it won't be possible.

The lessons we received were only about extracurricular activities such as scouting, Palang Merah  Indonesia (Indonesia Committee Of The Red Cross) dance ethics and the arts, the aim was only to choose extra-curricular activities, and what activities we would choose later as additional classes and talent interests.

It seems that I am interested in scouting and dancing. Likewise my friends. But the consequence is that next month we are obliged to attend the Saturday and Sunday Camp. Okay, who's afraid, it's curious that in my whole life I've never slept in an open field, when we were in elementary school at camp, we only slept in class together because of unexpected rain.

Teng .... Teng ..... Teng ....

The school bell rings, it's time for us to come home from school. Me, Fitri, Nita and Chandra gathered at the school grounds immediately. We went home together, our first experience of taking public transportation without parental supervision, we would take two different public transportation times. From school to terminal, then from terminal to house each one way home. I came down before Nita, Nita's house was the farthest out of the four of us. Meanwhile Fitri and Chandra came down together earlier because their houses were close to one another. We chatted all the way about the fun at school today. The first day we went to school with new friends we met.

Oops, tired today, it's better if I lie down first while waiting for mom and dad to come home from their respective offices, maybe it could be that if they come home at noon they go straight to college. I don't forget to turn on my favorite tape recorder in the room, I hug a large sized duck doll. Who else is my friend in the house besides this doll? And music as a filler for my day, if I had a brother or sister, maybe my days would be very exciting.

In the afternoon

Tin .... tin ... tin

Daddy's car horn sounded. I hurried to open the garage door. Mom and daddy got out of the car and rushed into the house. It seems that they are very tired of activities all day for sure.

 

"Sin, how's school?"

"Exclaimed Mom, tomorrow we have to bring beef eye egg food with the yolk right in the middle and long bean vegetables 3 cm long without exception."

"Ha ... ha ... ha ... nonsense your teacher."

Daddy teased me casually, without caring my annoyance with the strange assignment from my teacher and my seniors.

"Yeah Daddy! Oh, Daddy is bad at Sintia"

"Well, later you will buy the long beans at Ms. Sri's shop, then you will cut them according to the size requested.

"Yes Mom, be fine"

Really, is it true that tomorrow it will be checked by the teacher or the students of the Student Council (Student Organization) who are in charge of OSPEK, I muttered to myself. While chopping long beans with a ruler in my hand, it was certainly complicated but I couldn't help but have to do it. Three centimeters should be flat without exception, crazy.