Chapter 2 : Chapter of My Life

For several days, we were in the city of Malang for the group vocal competition, but there was no progress in our relationship. We enjoyed each other's company, but we didn't feel like anything was moving forward. However, we were content knowing that we cared for each other. After the competition process was over, we returned to our hometown and resumed our usual routines, preparing for the next competition with our regular rehearsals.

In our daily lives, we always kept each other updated about where we were and what we were doing. Sometimes, he would visit me at my dorm. His classes often lasted until 6 in the evening, and then he would come to see me, and we would chat for about an hour before he headed back home. I had a friend in the vocal group, let's call her Lupita. We were in the same batch, but I was majoring in psychology while she was studying chemical engineering. I admired her because she seemed so confident and smart. As for me, I felt like the plain, unattractive duckling with a height of 168 cm, which was above average for people around me, and a weight that was heavier than Lupita's. That's why I often felt like no one could possibly like me other than Peter, my boyfriend. Lupita was around 163 cm tall and weighed about 40 kg.

One day, after my last class, when it was time for rehearsal, my boyfriend said he had to pick up Lupita. I asked why, as her dorm was roughly the same distance from campus as mine, and we could easily walk there in just 10-15 minutes. But Peter explained that it was a special case because Lupita's ex-boyfriend was constantly harassing her, making her afraid to leave her house. How could this be? However, being naive at the time, I allowed Peter to pick her up.

Peter didn't come from a wealthy family; his father was a choir teacher at a high school, and his mother was an ordinary classroom teacher. As in many other countries, teachers' salaries were not high, often even insufficient. So, Peter had a simple motorbike. They both arrived quite late, and our rehearsal had already begun. It was getting dark, around 9 in the evening, and the road conditions outside the campus were quite scary. But I felt reassured because Peter was with Lupita. However, Peter said, "Darling, you know Lupita's current situation, and you can go home by yourself, right? It would be worrying if we let Lupita go home alone because her ex might be waiting for her outside her dorm and could do something dangerous, right?" I thought innocently and agreed that, yes, Peter should escort Lupita safely to her dorm; there was no need to worry about me. And so, we parted ways in the motorcycle parking area, and I went home alone.