Haya and Aska Series, Feelings of a Beaten Foe

Like most friends, Haya and Aska also fights. Not a big kinda fight, just arguing. And it’s not about something important too. It’s always about something simple which can actually be solved if either is wise enough to just stop talking. And it happens at random moments too. The small fight could end in two ways. One, it would end with a final saying by Haya that would make Aska feel guilty.
Like one day at recess on the cafeteria, when Haya placed some sliced cucumber to Aska’s plate of satay without saying a word.
“I’m not eating it.” Aska replied like it is something rhetoric and placed it back to Haya’s fried rice.
“It helps you neutralized the carbon in the satay that could cause cancer.” He puts them back to his friend’s plate.
“What do you know about cancer?” Aska said while taking a large bite of the meat in a mocking way that Haya hates a lot.
Haya tsked. “Well YOU should know since you had cancer stick stuck in your mouth everyday.”
“HEY! YOU smoked too.”
“But I didn’t do it everyday like you do.” Now both of them had stop eating and began saying things to each other’s faces.
Edwin and Lingga who are sitting in front of them rolled their eyes. Here we go again, they thought. At a time like this, they could do nothing to stop these two. Because the last time they tried all they got is a single death glare from Haya, and a finger from Aska. So later, they know better than to interfere.
“So I would get cancer anyway, right? Cucumber or no cucumber.”
“I’m not saying that! It’s just a way to reduce the possibility.”
“But it would be useless cause I still smoke everyday, right?”
“So STOP SMOKING!”
“I WON’T, SO SHUT UP!”
Then they both stopped talking. But still stared at each other, each wanting to choke the other one.
Haya turned his head away first, returning to his plate of already cold fried rice. “Fine, I’m not the one who’s gonna get cancer anyway.” He said with a pout.
It took quite a moment, but the pout gave it away. Aska grumbled and stabbed the sliced cucumber with the wooden stick, “Tell me when you’re done being a critic. You could be my mom.” And pushed it to his mouth.
And that’s it.
Or, their argument could end in another way.
When Aska returns home from school, he’s surprised to find his best friend sitting on his bed, reading a magazine. And like an idiot he is, Aska looks around to make sure he entered the right home.
“What are you doing here? Why weren’t you at school today?” He asked Haya.
The other guy peeked from behind the magazine but didn’t say a thing.
“Are you sick? Why aren’t you at home?” Aska dropped his bag on the floor and walk to stand in front of his friend. Now that he have a good look at his friend’s face, he realized that Haya look slightly pale. Well, paler. He’s already pale like a choked sheep. Haya’s dark pupils, a contrast look to his skin, stared at him with a look of innocence. But Aska knew that look, and there is something behind it.
“Well, I was gonna go to school today. But after practicing at the pool I got pretty tired and decided to take a nap there.” He stops.
“And?”
“And..when I woke up, it was already 9 o’ clock so..”
“So?”
“So..I decided to skip school?” Haya tries to answer in a way that would make it sound tolerable.
“What? So why didn’t you just go home?”
“Because I don’t want my mom to know that I skipped school?” Aska hates it when Haya starts ending his answers with question mark because then he knew he’s trying to evade the real question.
Aska has lots of specialties. But patience is not one of them. “Haya, stop it! What’s the real reason you’re here?”
Haya looks like he was deciding whether he would gave out the truth, or see if he could make Aska forget it. But he knew Aska wouldn’t let it go.
“I’m not feeling very well.” His mouth curled down and he gave Aska a puppy eye look.
The latter drops his head and sigh and puts his palm in the other’s forehead. “What did you do this time?”
“I slept at 3 this morning.”
“And woke up again at 4?!” Aska almost shouted if he didn’t remember that he was supposed to be alone in his room right now.
Haya nodded.
“So how long were you here?
“I waited at the pool til 2 PM and then I took a bus here.”
“Have you eaten anything yet?”
“Only breakfast.”
“Which would only be a piece of bread and a glass of milk.” It’s not even a question, but Haya nodded anyway.
“Are you out of your mind?” Aska placed his hands on his waist and tried to get some logic behind all this.
“I don’t want to make my mom worry.”
“Of course she’ll worry. She has an idiot as a son.” Aska lift Haya by the arm and stand him up by the bed. He hold his skinny friend with one arm while the his other arm pulled the bed cover. Then he throws Haya back into the bed.
“Get some sleep. I’ll find you something to eat.” Aska snagged his cellphone from inside his bag.
Seeing this, Haya is alerted. “What are you doing?”
“I’m calling your mom. I’m guessing she doesn’t know you’re here.”
“No, wait! Don’t call her! I told you I don’t want her to be worried!”
“But she needs to know!”
“I didn’t call your mom when you ran away from home and stayed at my place!”
“That was different! I was angry at her that time and she wasn’t talking to me either!” Aska started to punch the numbers.
“But I gave you a favor that time! Pay me back!”
Aska jerked his head back. “Pay you back? We’re not in 5th grade! Since when you’re this selfish?”
“Since when you’re a snitch?”
“Did you not understand the situation here?!”
“I understand you want to make my mom worry,” He sneers. Why don’t you just give me the phone and I’ll call her myself. Let her drive all the way here by herself and pick me up.” Haya reached out his hand, again, with a signature pout plastered on his face.
Aska didn’t say a thing. He punched in some numbers in his cell and put the receiver on his ear. He waited until the dial tone stops and someone on the other end picked up the phone.
“Hi, yes, can I speak to Haya’s mom please? This is Aska,” Haya looks with a daring stare from across the room. “Hello, Ma’am? Yes, how are you? I’m fine. Err..I just want you to tell me that Haya’s here, at my house.” Aska turns away from Haya, trying not to look at him. “Yeah, I need him to help me with something for the test tomorrow. No, his phone battery died. He’s...in the bathroom right now.” He throws glances at Haya. He swears he saw Haya smiling behind him. “Okay, I’ll let you know when he comes back. Okay. U-huh. I will, Ma’am. Thanks a lot. Bye.” Aska hung up the phone and threw his cell on the bed.
“There. You satisfied?” He crossed his hand.
A weak smile from Haya, but Aska knows there’s more to it. “Now go to sleep. I’ll wake you up later for some food.” He pushed Haya’s shoulder and forced him to the bed. He then walked out of the room and leave his best friend to rest. Just an inch before the door is fully closed, he can hear a soft ‘Thank you’ from the latter. Aska just replied it with a snort.
This fight maybe different from the one they had at the cafeteria. But the argument is no different. But both times, or more exactly most of the times, no matter who’s the guilty one, Haya’s pout could always out win Aska’s words. And in the end, long after the argument ended, Aska would think why did he always end up losing. And as always, he brush it off with a smile. Because no matter how weird it sounds, losing to Haya gave him the most wonderful feeling he wouldn’t get anywhere else.