Aster

"My Bro, how can you give me this too much tasks? You are an idiot," Cherry blurted as she pursed her lips.

That tiny girl with long dangling hair was Cherry Alexandra, the younger sister of Langit Danendra Adyaksa, both a young professor in the unversity where his sister attended and a famous writer. The man with dimple and the height 180 with clean bright skin and pink lips just silently accepted her anger.

Cherry was standing at the middle of the door grumbling, she thought Langit was too much in giving the tasks. While Langit who received the scolding took no action, he would rather stare at the monitor than Cherry who thought him as a heartless lecturer.

"You are listening to me, are you?" Cherry came in and got closer to her brother with her annoyed expression.

“Hmmmmm…,” Langit said without taking his eyes off her.

“I am not going to do this tasks!" Cherry grumbled without further ado.

Cherry prefer watching movies to reading novels so that was why when her brother gave her task to analyze the novel, Cherry felt like she was the only one who should struggle to refuse this when her classmates felt the same but nothing they could do.

“Cherry, stop it, don't bother me. You better come out then do your work that I gave."

“But…,” Cherry replied with tearful face, she wish her brother gave her a little leniency.

“No bergaining Cherry. You attend Indonesian Literature, you should try to love reading literary works, your study is going to come an end very soon, it will lead you to your final work, right? It's time for you to squeez your ego than doing whatever you want."

Cherry got lannoyed, her intention to speak out in order to gain leniency ended with the wide talk of her brother.

“But─”

“That's not individual work Cherry, you can do it with your partner." Langit did not give Cherry chance to continue her talk.

“My classmates have been already with their partner, why should be me my self who is no partner, I don't want it."

“If you can't solve this little problem, how can you deal with the more complex one?"

“No one wants and expects the problem.”

“I've done, get away from my room."

“My Bro…”

“Cher…”

Cherry snorted, stepped her feet leaving the room, nothing she got from those conversation but her brother long wide speech.

“I thought having brother as lecturer is so nice and brings many advantages, lighten up assignments and so on. It's clear why my senior claimed that my brother is annoying, I proved it, he is." Cherry grumbled herself while stepped her feet leaving her brother room.

The 28 years old man could still hear his sister twaddle from his room, he only smiled faintly, It was common for him to hear any form of criticism and advice from the students. Langit never took it personal, He took everything so slightly.

***

The sound of a cell phone ringing filled a quite wide room with pink paint and ornaments, the owner was falling asleep behind her blanket, the clock pointed at 01.00 a.m.

“Bastard, who she is, bother my tight sleeping,” gurgled the owner while grabed her cell phone, searched for the flat object that had been ringing earlier.

“Green Elira Natusha, are you sleeping?” asked the voice calling.

Green really wanted to curse the caller, she lookod at the name on phone screen written there “Cherry Blossom.” Exactly, only that woman dared to make a phone call at this early time.

With hoarse voice, Green answered Cherry question. "Don't you have a watch, Cher?"

“Haha sorry, my watch doesn't work anymore, Green.” Cherry answered the question with a soft chuckle.

“Hurry up, you have only five minutes, I'm sleepy.”

“Wait, I forget what I am going to say.”

"I'm hanging up now, I swear you're not that important, call me in the early hours and you don't know what to say!"

From her voice tone, anyone would know if Green was upset, and anyone would be upset too if she had Cherry like friend.

“Wait, Green! I just remember what I want to say.”

“Hmmm...what it is?” Asked green lazily.

“Want you marry my brother?”

“Cherry!! I'm not kidding, I'll hang up now.”

Green hears Cherry is laughing loudly, with her eyes half closed, Green waits patiently until cherry tells the purpose of calling her this late.

“Green, have you had partner for novel analysis work?”

Green did not answer right away, remembering which task Cherry was talking about. Her memory was focused on the duty of a young lecturer who was always the center of female college attention. “Ahhhh, that duty,” Green replied leisurely.

“How about doing it with me?”

“Oke.”

“Yeayyy, thank you Green, it's relief now. Okay, just continue your sleeping, bye.” Cherry shouted happily then unilaterally ended up the call.

After the call ended, Green took her phone checking w******p notification, and she waited until 1:15 a.m for someone to write back, but it was nothing.

The taste of feeling heavy sleepy suddenly went away. Green left the mattress and toom a glass of mineral water, her mind and heart were along with Altair Ardiya Arkana—her man. Since this early morning Alta has not answered her calls and replied her texts, it has been almost a week since he disappeared and has not heard from him.

Communication is the most important thing in relationships, especially with this fucking long distance relationship Green and Alta did. He is learning in different town.

Green suggested to always think possitively and believe in Alta, the man who had given his time to accompany her in ups and downs phase until now. "Tomorrow Alta will definitely let me know it. Yeah, sure, " murmured Green trying to convince herself.

Green tied her long hair randomly, clean white skin, thin lips with curl eyelashes and proportionate both height and weight centainly describe that Green Elira Natusha is a beautiful woman waiting for word from her beloved. Her eyes was glued to the phone on the table, hoping Alta will contact her immediately.

She stared at the clock and realized it has already 02.00 a.m. Green tapped her index finger at the table. Her mind and heart were in disalignment, her heart wanted to contact Alta, but she was afraid if it would disturb him, while her mind asked her to do so. For the first time in her life, Green disobeyes her heart, with her anxiety feeling she might choose to call Alta, Worried of something awful might happen to her boyfriend.

Green took her cell phone and tried to call Alta, until five times was still unanswerable, only a ringing sign filled her phone screen. Her heart was churned out, and it was uncommon for Alta to do that. Normally, the guy would always have time to contact her, Green did not give up, she kept trying.

But nothing came to a result , Alta could not be reached. Green cried, could not hold back her tears. The sweet promise that Alta once wished to marry her next year dancing in her head, the warm treatment of his one month ago still vividly recorded in her memory.

“Al, you will not break the promise, will you? Next year you are going to marry me as you had promised, are you?"