Kate has actually harbored feelings for Jack for a long time. She has even harbored a crush on Jack since they were both students at a high school. Just like a romance, Kate who is still a teenage girl is stunned by Jack, a new student who looks quiet, but can give off a charisma that makes Kate curious. Jack is a boy with glasses and a 90s 'curtains hairstyle' who likes to wear sneakers, black and white flannel shirts and always rolls up his sleeves to his elbows.
Jack's face tapered to the chin like a badge shape gave a serious and cool impression, especially to Kate. At first Kate just admired Jack, like a number of other cool and famous guys in the school, but over time, the blonde girl became obsessed, and even extremely obsessed. She regularly started dreaming about how wonderful life would be if she were Jack's wife, taking turns cooking, bathing their cute and adorable kids, and even getting into the sweet little fights of a normal couple. That's how crazy Kate was about Jack.
One day, when the two of them, Kate and Jack, accidentally crossed paths on the school steps and the handsome, fresh-faced young man smiled at Kate, the girl's heart nearly gave out. It had been the most beautiful morning for Kate. She hoped that Jack would see her tonight, on the same steps, with the same fresh face, and with the same smile, even if it was only in a dream.
Unexpectedly, Kate and Jack were now in the same college. Kate is majoring in Business, while Jack is in Architecture. Jack has always loved drawing. Especially sketches. When they were still in school, he once drew the face of Cassandra, a girl who was in the first grade. Jack didn't know how jealous Kate was at that time. She indirectly liked to stalk Jack and Cassandra's activities. Kate herself didn't know what she was doing, but her little heart pushed her to do it. She became a spy for Jack and Cassandra. Sneaking behind a grove of berry trees, when Cassandra left something to Jack, when the boy was playing soccer at the school's foot ball field for extracurricular activities.
"....till some time later I found out that Cassandra and Jack are sisters...?"
"Cassandra is Jack's younger sister?"
"Exactly...!"
Now Kate and a woman were talking or gossiping in the corner of the hallway leading to the Fine Arts room on their campus. Most of the students had gone home since it was late afternoon.
"Oh God..., you know what...?"
"I almost came to Cassandra and told her that Jack was my target that time..."
"Ha-ha-ha," both girls laughed simultaneously.
"Oh my God, Lisa..., imagine if that had happened, how embarrassed I would have been..." Kate said.
Kate covered her own face as if she was embarrassed by something, then she seemed to be amused herself and shook her legs so that there was a jingling sound because the keychain stuck in her bag consisted of a combination of a number of small balls filled with objects that could make sounds when they collided with each other.
"Ho-ho-ho, I just found out that you haven't stopped trying to be Jack's girlfriend until today..." Lisa leered at Kate.
"...Are you kidding me...? Jack is the omnibus of all my dreams..." Kate sounded excited.
"Only Jack would be the father of my children..." Kate teased Lisa back with a wink.
"Ha-ha-ha," the two girls again laughed simultaneously. The entire 20-meter long hallway echoed with the sound of their chuckles that sounded almost ghostly.
"So, how did you know that Jack also studied here...?" asked Lisa. She sounded serious.
"...ah, that's an easy thing to find out my good friend Lisa..." Kate sounded smug.
"You know..., ever since I became an independent detective and started stalking Cassandra, I ended up becoming good friends with Cassandra, of course through my persuasive approach...." Kate explained then paused for a moment.
"Imagine..., I'm now at the doorstep of all the information about my future lover..." Kate's eyes leered proudly at Lisa.
"Wow, how lucky you are Mrs. Catherine Calvine Wilson..., husband of Mr. Jack Calvine Wilson..." Lisa said while bowing, like a curtsey or respectful pose of a noble to another noble.
"Oh, thank you again Miss Lisa Suzanne Montgomery," Kate returned the same respectful pose, bowing and kneeling slightly. The two of them then chuckled again.
"Oh..., so how is your mission to steal the heart of your idol progressing...?"
For some reason, Lisa made the atmosphere awkward.
"Well..., things are progressing..., on program..., I mean..., I even called Jack this afternoon..."
Kate trailed off.
"Wow, really...? Lisa sounded curious.
"....um...," Lisa furrowed her brow with a smile of disappointment.
"...we didn't talk about anything in particular. I just happened to call Jack that day to ask if Cassandra was coming to my house because his phone wasn't working...," Lisa ducked her head slightly with a smile that still looked disappointed, and two forefingers pressed together like a child who had just made a mistake.
"...oh, Kate dear..., come to Lisa...," Lisa spread her arms, welcoming her friend.
"Wait...," Kate thought she heard something like a walkie-talkie frequency link.
She quickly reached into her pants pocket.
As it turned out, since earlier, during her gossip with Lisa, Kate had accidentally called someone.
On Kate's phone screen, a very familiar name appeared. It was the number she had last contacted this afternoon.
"JACK!!!"
There was an instant silence.
Kate sebenarnya sudah lama memendam perasaan terhadap Jack. Ia bahkan telah menyimpan rasa suka terhadap Jack sejak mereka sama-sama menjadi murid di sebuah sekolah menengah atas. Persis seperti sebuah roman picisan, Kate yang masih gadis remaja terpana pada seorang Jack, murid baru yang terlihat pendiam, tetapi dapat mengeluarkan kharisma yang membuat Kate itu penasaran. Jack adalah bocah laki-laki dengan kacamata dan rambut ala anak 90-an 'curtains hairstyle' yang suka mengenakan sepatu kets dan kemeja flanel hitam putih serta selalu menggulung lengan bajunya sampai ke siku.
Wajah Jack yang meruncing ke dagu seperti bentuk lencana memberi kesan serius dan keren, terutama bagi Kate. Awalnya Kate hanya sekedar mengagumi Jack, layaknya sejumlah cowok keren dan tenar di sekolah tersebut, tetapi lama-kelamaan, gadis blonde itu menjadi terobsesi, dan bahkan amat sangat terobsesi. Ia secara teratur mulai memimpikan betapa indahnya jika hidup menjadi istrinya Jack nanti, menjadi sepasang suami istri yang secara bergantian memasak, memandikan anak-anak mereka yang lucu dan menggemaskan, bahkan dapat terlibat pertengkaran kecil namun manis sebagai pasangan pada umumnya. Begitulah Kate tergila-gila dengan Jack.
Suatu hari, ketika tanpa sengaja keduanya, Kate dan Jack, berpapasan di anak tangga sekolah dan pemuda tampan berwajah segar itu tersenyum kepada Kate, jantung gadis itu hampir saja copot. Hari itu telah menjadi pagi yang paling indah bagi Kate. Ia berharap Jack bisa bertemu dengannya nanti malam, di tangga yang sama, dengan wajah segar yang sama, dan dengan senyum yang sama, walaupun hanya di dalam mimpi.
Tanpa disangka-sangka, Kate dan Jack kini berada di kampus yang sama. Kate memilih jurusan Bisnis, sementara Jack arsitektur. Dari dulu Jack memang suka menggambar. Terutama sketsa. Sewaktu dulu mereka masih sekolah, ia pernah menggambar wajah Cassandra, anak perempuan yang berada di kelas satu. Jack tidak tahu betapa cemburunya Kate waktu itu. Ia secara tidak langsung suka menguntit aktivitas Jack dan Cassandra. Kate sendiri tidak tahu apa yang ia lakukan, tetapi hati kecilnya mendorong dia untuk melakukan itu. Dia menjadi mata-mata untuk Jack dan Cassandra. Mengendap-endap di balik rimbunan pohon berry, sewaktu Cassandra menitipkan sesuatu kepada Jack, kala anak laki-laki itu sedang bermain sepak bola di lapangan bola kaki sekolah untuk kegiatan ekstrakurikuler.
"....ternyata beberapa waktu kemudian aku baru tahu bahwa Cassandra dan Jack adalah sepasang saudara...?"
"Cassandra itu adik perempuan Jack?"
"Tepat sekali...!"
Kini Kate dan seorang perempuan sedang bercakap-cakap alias bergosip di sudut lorong menuju ruang Seni Rupa di kampus mereka. Saat itu para mahasiswa kebanyakan sudah pulang karena hari sudah sore.
"Oh Tuhan..., kau tahu tidak?"
"Aku hampir saja datang ke Cassandra dan mengatakan bahwa Jack adalah incaranku waktu itu..."
"Ha-ha-ha," kedua gadis itu tertawa secara bersamaan.
"Ya Tuhan, Lisa. Bayangkan kalau itu terjadi, betapa malunya aku..." ucap Kate.
Kate menutupi wajahnya sendiri seakan bersikap sedang malu oleh sesuatu, kemudian ia tampak gemas sendiri dan menggoyangkan kedua kakinya sehingga terdengar bunyi gemerincing karena gantungan kunci yang tersangkut di tasnya terdiri dari gabungan sejumlah bola-bola kecil berisi benda yang dapat mengeluarkan bunyi saat beradu satu sama lain.
"Ho-ho-ho, aku baru tahu ternyata sampai hari ini kau memang masih belum berhenti untuk berusaha untuk menjadi pacar Jack..." Lisa mengerlingkan mata kepada Kate.
"...apakah kau bercanda...? Jack adalah omnibus dari semua mimpi-mimpiku..." Kate terdengar bersemangat.
"Hanya Jack yang akan menjadi ayah dari anak-anakku..." Kate balik menggoda Lisa dengan kedipan matanya.
"Ha-ha-ha," kedua gadis itu lagi-lagi tertawa secara bersamaan. Seisi lorong sepanjang 20 meter menggema dengan suara cekikan mereka yang terdengar hampir seperti suara hantu.
"Lantas, dari mana kau tahu bahwa Jack juga kuliah di sini...?" tanya Lisa. Ia terdengar serius.
"...ah, itu hal yang gampang untuk diketahui wahai Lisa temanku yang baik..." Kate terdengar sombong.
"Kau tahu..., sejak aku menjadi detektif mandiri dan mulai menguntit Cassandra, aku akhirnya menjadi teman baik dengan Cassandra, tentu saja melalui pendekatanku yang persuasif...., ho-ho-ho..."Kate menjelaskan lalu berhenti sejenak.
"Bayangkan..., aku kini berada di depan pintu dari semua informasi tentang calon kekasihku..." mata Kate mengerling penuh bangga kepada Lisa.
"Wow, betapa beruntungnya dirimu, Nyonya Catherine Calvine Wilson..., suami dari Tuan Jack Calvine Wilson..." ujar Lisa sambil membungkuk, seperti sikap curtsey atau pose hormat seorang bangsawan kepada bangsawan lainnya.
"Oh, terima kasih kembali Nona Lisa Suzanne Montgomery," Kate balik memberi pose hormat yang sama, yakni membungkuk dan sedikit berlutut. Keduanya lalu kembali cekikan.
"Oh..., lantas bagaimana kini perkembangan dari misimu untuk mencuri hati pujaan hatimu itu...?"
Entah mengapa, Lisa membuat suasana menjadi kikuk.
"Ya..., semua sedang berjalan..., sesuai program..., maksudku..., aku bahkan menelpon Jack tadi siang..."
Kate jadi terbata-bata.
"Wow, benarkah...? Lisa terdengar penasaran.
"....um...," Lisa mengerutkan dahinya disertai senyum kekecewaan.
"...kami tidak bicara hal khusus. Aku kebetulan hari itu menelpon Jack untuk bertanya apakah Cassandra jadi datang ke rumahku karena teleponnya tidak aktif...," Lisa sedikit merunduk dengan senyum yang masih tampak kecewa, serta kedua telunjuk yang saling menempel satu sama lain seperti anak kecil yang baru saja melakukan kesalahan.
"... oh, Kate sayang..., sini datang ke Lisa...," Lisa melebarkan kedua tangannya, menyambut temannya.
"Tunggu...," Kate merasa mendengar sesuatu seperti sambungan frekuensi radio walkie-talkie.
Ia segera merogoh kantong celananya.
Ternyata, sejak tadi, sepanjang pergosipannya dengan Lisa, tanpa sengaja Kate telah menelpon seseorang.
Pada layar handphone Kate terpampang sebuah nama yang amat tidak asing. Itu adalah nomor yang terakhir dihubungi olehnya tadi siang.
“JACK!!!”
Suasana pun hening seketika.
Note: the original manuscript was written in Indonesian, translated into English using the DeepL application
