A3: A Detainee was Picked Up by a Thug

About an hour or so later, I was standing in front of a man who looked like a thug with a slightly wrinkled face. The man smiled as brightly as the sky of Pangkalpinang after putting my suitcases in the trunk. Some people seemed surprised by us, as if they were watching a scene of a thug yelling at a poor girl.

Well, I am not a poor girl, by the way. Just… forget it.

“Gran!” I beckoned to the thug. “Why do you have to wear clothes like this?!”

My grandfather laughed. He guided me to get into the passenger seat, and then he himself got into the driver's seat and started the black Toyota Avanza.

“I'm still fifty-one years old, you know,” my grandfather said jokingly. “I am still not old!”

I scowled as he started to run his car. “You are still not old, huh? Seriously, Gran, you already know your age, and then you must understand the situation, are you not?”

My grandfather pretended to be hurt. “Hey! My face still looks young! You see, right? If you want, I can find you a new grandma. How do you think?”

“GRAN!”

Gran laughed loudly. “I'm just kidding, Bara!”

Secretly I smiled because he still called me by that name as before.

“Besides, I have a reason.” Gran turned the steering wheel as he turned the corner, and then briefly winked at me. “There's a D'Masiv concert tonight and I'm planning to watch them. Do you want to come?”

Well, it is indeed tantalizing.

“I am coming along. But, Gran, D'Masiv isn't a rock band or a very fierce boy band,” I said flatly. “What does that have to do with pop music with thug clothes?”

My grandfather laughed again. “There is nothing. I just want to, just because.”

I just rolled my eyes in disbelief. I yawned and decided to sleep. Gran said the trip from Pangkalpinang to Koba city took quite a long time. About an hour or so, or less; I don't know, again I don't really remember. The thing is, I am already in sleep.

When I finally woke up with sticky eyelids due to chin, we had arrived in front of a simple, one-story white house. The house has a small yard on each side, with several trees and wild plants that live freely on either side.

“So, welcome!” my grandfather smiled, then got out of the car.

Gran dragged my two suitcases into his house and I followed with feeling still sleepy. The inside of Gran's house is just as simple as it is. It is consists of one living room, two bedrooms, one family room and one kitchen. Bright red sofas hurt my eyes as we passed the living room to go to my bedroom.

A few seconds later, I just remembered that Gran likes red. That is why almost all of the tools and furniture are red. Even the frames that framed my photo as a child were red too!

“Why didn't Gran paint the house and the floor in red too?” I grumbled disgustedly to Gran's back as he passed the living room.

Gran turned around suddenly, startling me. “I still don't have enough free time, but I already bought red paint for the walls. I was worried because I ignored it for too long and the paint dried up. Should I just hire someone? Moreover, for the floor, I thought I would order red tiles too. What do you think?”

I snorted. I should not have said anything about the red.

Gran opened a door. “By the way, this is your room.”

I looked doubtfully. Fortunately, the red color does not rule my room. Looks like Gran knows that I prefer neutral colors like black or white.

“WOI, YADI! KELUER KA!” someone shouted.

Surprised, I turned to Gran who looked flat. It sounded that the sound came from the front of the house.

“MEN DAK KELUER, KUDOBRAK RUMAH IKAK!”

Without understands the meaning of the cry of a strange person outside, I stared nervously as Grandfather met him with galloping steps.