The next day, after the six of them woke up in the middle of the day, Indra, Diaz, and Alex went to take Diaz's car to the garage for repairs, accompanied by a tow truck. Meanwhile, Amanda, Nara, and Fani at the boarding house were wondering what to do today.
"Let's go to the mall in the north, you guys haven't been there, right?" Amanda asked.
"Sure, we can grab a bite there too," Nara replied.
"Okay, I agree," Fani added.
The three immediately got ready and called an online taxi to go to the mall, which was quite far from their boarding house. After the taxi arrived, Nara sat in the front, and Amanda, Shin, and Fani sat in the back.
"To the designated point, ma'am?" the driver asked.
"Yes, sir, please stick to the point," Amanda replied.
"Alright, (looking at Nara) Excuse me, ma'am, could you please put on your seat belt? There might be police ahead," the driver said.
"Oh... okay..." Nara replied, immediately putting on her seatbelt.
Hearing Nara's voice, the driver chuckled slightly, which offended Nara. "Shing!" A drawn mandau was at the driver's throat.
"Are you laughing at me?" Nara asked.
"I-I'm sorry, ma'am..." the driver stammered.
"Hey, Nar, why did you bring your mandau? Put it away..." Amanda said.
"Yeah, what if they don't let us into the mall?" Fani added.
"Yeah, yeah... hold on," Nara replied, unbuckling her seat belt and getting out of the car.
As soon as she got out, Nara disappeared and soon reappeared, getting back into the car without the mandau. Then she put her seat belt back on. She turned to look at the driver, who was stunned.
"Why are you staring at me, sir? Let's go..." Nara said.
"Y-yes, ma'am... sorry..." the driver replied.
The car immediately set off, driving out of the residential street where Amanda's boarding house was located. They quickly got onto the bypass and headed north. Inside the car,
"Nar, you're like a boy, so tomboyish," Amanda said.
"Well, this is just how I am, what else can I do?" Nara replied.
"It's not good, Nar, you might scare off potential partners," Fani replied.
"Ah, I'm relaxed about it..." Nara replied.
"Oh, right, I'll tell Indra first, my boarding house is locked. Move over, Shin," Amanda said, reaching for her smartphone.
Shin shifted, and "Creaaak," the car immediately swayed. The driver was puzzled and looked back using the rear view mirror.
"Don't worry, sir, it's nothing..." Nara replied in a cute voice.
"Y-yes..." the driver replied.
"Ding!" A reply message came into the smartphone. Indra replied "okay" to Amanda.
"Have you known Indra for a long time, Manda?" Fani asked.
"No, not really, just since yesterday," Amanda replied.
"If you're talking about seeing Indra, it's been since last year... even picking him up at the station, hehehe," Shin chimed in inside Amanda's head.
"Quiet, Shin..." Amanda replied.
"So, what did Shin say?" Nara asked, turning around.
"Nothing... it's none of your business," Amanda replied.
"Let me ask..." Fani said.
"NOOO!" Amanda immediately shouted, her face red.
"Yeah, yeah... no, besides, I can't hear even if I ask," Fani replied.
"You're such a tease, Fan. And here I was waiting... I've known Indra and Alex for quite a while, good gaming buddies, hehehe," Nara replied.
"But you've known me for a long time too, right?" Amanda countered.
"Yes, different games though. I've also known you, Diaz, and Fani for a long time," Nara replied.
"For me, the longest I've known is Diaz, then Amanda and Nara," Fani said.
"But Indra and Alex know Diaz, they say he's a burden, hehehe," Nara said.
"I don't know about that, maybe Diaz also played multiplayer online battle game," Amanda replied.
"Hehehe, all of them are strange people..." Fani replied.
"Yup... everyone, without exception," Nara replied, stretching her body in front.
"Ding!" A message came into Amanda's smartphone. She immediately picked it up and opened it. It turned out Indra was asking where they went because he, Alex, and Diaz wanted to follow, as Diaz's car wouldn't be fixed for another three or four days, and they couldn't wait at the garage. Amanda told Indra where they were going, and Indra replied "okay."
"They're coming to join us because the car won't be ready in a day," Amanda said.
"Wow... how are they coming?" Nara asked.
"Probably the same way we did. Diaz has a lot of money, hehehe," Fani replied.
"Yeah, that's true, but why is he living in a boarding house then? It's strange," Amanda replied.
"There's a story behind it. He's actually quite pitiful, but I won't tell it unless he gives permission," Fani said.
"Jeez... it's okay, come on," Nara replied.
"No, I don't want to. I feel uncomfortable," Fani replied.
"Yeah, don't. It's not good, Nar," Amanda replied.
"Yeah, yeah... I'm not that curious anyway, just a little bit," Nara replied.
"How about you? Do you know who took it yet?" Amanda asked.
"Not yet, relax. I don't have any clues at all, but one day I'll definitely find them," Nara replied.
"What are you guys talking about?" Fani asked.
"Can I tell her about you, Nar?" Amanda asked.
"Go ahead... I don't mind," Nara replied.
Amanda told the story of Nara coming to Jakarta to search for her mother's pendant, which was accidentally sold by someone in Jakarta, and Nara also confirmed her story. Fani nodded as she listened.
"I'll try to help later. I can look for things like that," Fani said.
"Really, Fan?" Nara asked, immediately turning to look at Fani.
"Yes, really..." Fani replied.
"Later at home, let's just walk around first, we're almost there," Amanda said.
The mall they were heading to was already across the street. The car was looking for a U-turn to enter the mall lobby. Once they arrived, the three, plus Shin, got out of the car and went inside.
"Whoaaah..." Nara and Fani exclaimed as they entered.
"Let's walk around," Amanda replied.
"This mall is cool. Let's eat first, I'm hungry," Nara said.
"Yes, agreed, I'm hungry too," Fani added.
"Alright, let's go straight to the food court," Amanda replied.
They immediately headed to the top floor where the food court was located. Upon arriving, the three dispersed to find the food they wanted to buy after exchanging their money for a card. Shin looked for an empty spot and sat there, as the mall was crowded due to it being a holiday. He shooed away anyone who tried to sit there. Soon after, Amanda arrived with food, followed by Fani and Nara. Amanda took out her smartphone and told Indra that they were in the food court. As they were getting ready to eat,
"Amanda?" a man sitting next to them with several other men asked.
Amanda, Nara, and Fani turned to see who called Amanda. It turned out to be a group of men sitting next to them, and Amanda recognized the one who called her.
"You're Erik, right?" Amanda asked.
"Yes, that's right, you still remember me..." Erik replied.
"So? What do you need?" Amanda asked curtly.
"Geez, still feisty. Just saying hi, we haven't met since graduation," Erik replied.
"Oh, I thought... alright, I'm going to eat now," Amanda replied.
"Yeah, enjoy your meal," Erik replied.
But three men eating with Erik stood up and immediately joined Amanda's table, where she was with Nara and Fani. They sat next to Amanda, Nara, and Fani.
"Wow, just the three of you here..." a man sitting next to Nara said.
"What do you want, sitting next to me?" Nara asked in a cute voice.
"Wow, your voice is beautiful, take off your mask," the man replied, reaching for Nara's mask.
"Don't be rude," Nara slapped his hand away.
"Whoa, sorry, sorry..." the man replied teasingly.
"Hey, what are you guys doing?!" Erik shouted.
"Quiet, Erik! You have such beautiful friends and you don't introduce them to us," a man sitting next to Fani said.
"Manda, sorry, okay?" Erik said.
"Tell them to leave, or my friends and I will get angry," Amanda said.
"Hey, you guys heard that, move it," Erik replied.
"But we're not trying anything bad with them, we just want to get acquainted. Right?" the man sitting next to Amanda asked.
"Ding!" A message came into Amanda's smartphone. Amanda's face smiled, and she turned and waved her hand. Shin also immediately flew up and waved. Indra, seeing this, immediately told Alex and Diaz. The three walked towards Amanda, Nara, and Fani's busy table.
"Oh, why is it so crowded?" Indra asked.
"No idea... they just sat down here," Amanda replied.
"Hoho, I see," Indra grinned.
"Who is he, Amanda?" Erik asked.
"My boyfriend, why?" Amanda asked.
"Huh!" Erik and Indra shouted in surprise simultaneously.
"And this is my boyfriend..." Nara said, standing up and putting her arm around Alex.
"Hehe, you're here..." Fani also stood up and linked arms with Diaz.
"Huh!" Alex and Diaz exclaimed.
"What's going on here..."
Indra's question stopped as he saw Shin signaling him while hovering that the men were bothering Amanda, Nara, and Fani. It turned out that not only Indra read the signal, Alex and Diaz also read it. The three immediately put on an act.
"Sorry I'm late, baby..." Indra nudged the man and sat next to Amanda.
"Late... hopeless," Amanda replied, pretending to sulk.
Alex and Diaz also immediately nudged the men sitting next to Nara and Fani, then sat in their places. Seeing Indra, Alex, and Diaz, whose handsomeness was above average, plus their good physiques, all those men, including Erik, felt intimidated and returned to their seats quietly.
"Okay... I'll go order food. What do you guys want? I'll order for you all," Indra asked Alex and Diaz.
"I'll look them myself, it's confusing with so many options," Alex replied.
"Same, I'll just walk around," Diaz added.
Finally, the three stood together, then turned to look at the men next to them who were still observing them. Immediately, their act continued.
"Just a moment, baby," the three said in unison to Amanda, Nara, and Fani, in a slightly loud voice so they could be heard.
After the three left, Amanda, Nara, and Fani's faces turned crimson, and they began fanning themselves because of the heat.
"Why did it get so hot?" Amanda asked.
"I know... is the food really spicy? But not really. It's so stuffy..." Nara added.
"Was Diaz being serious earlier?" Fani asked, holding her red cheeks.
"Please don't get ahead of yourself..." Amanda and Nara replied in unison, fanning their faces.
Meanwhile, Shin, hovering above the three, looked as if he was laughing heartily and with satisfaction.