“Din, Dina, catch!”

The ball left my hands a little too fast, a little too far.

“Rio, don’t throw it there—it’s muddy!” Dina shouted.

Too late.

The ball landed right on the wet side of the court, where puddles still reflected the fading afternoon light.

“Ah, Rio! You jerk!” Aryo had already sprinted ahead without thinking. His shoes splashed straight into the mud, brown water flicking up onto his pants. “Of all places, you had to throw it there? Now I’m filthy!”

I held back a grin. “No one told you to run first.”

“What, just let the ball sit there?” Aryo lifted it up. It was now covered in streaks of mud. “Look at this!”

“Come on, Aryo, don’t be like that,” Teguh said, walking over with a smirk. “When else do we get a moment like this?”

“What moment? This is a disaster,” Aryo muttered, but he stayed where he was anyway.

Ranti’s voice cut in from behind.

“Hey, hey—everyone, stay right there! Let me take a picture!”

We all turned.

She had already pulled her phone out, eyes lighting up like she had just discovered something important.

“You’re crazy,” Aryo said. “You want to take a picture like this? I’m covered in mud.”

“That’s exactly why it’s good!” Ranti stepped closer, studying us. “Look at this—natural expressions, evening light… this is aesthetic.”

“Aesthetic? This is just mud everywhere,” Aryo shot back.

I chuckled.

“Come on, Aryo, don’t be like that,” Teguh said, patting his shoulder. “For once, we actually look alive.”

“So I’ve been dead this whole time?” Aryo glared, but then he laughed anyway.

Without realizing it, we all moved closer to Ranti.

I ended up standing in the middle. I didn’t plan it—it just always happened that way.

“I’m standing next to Rio,” Dina said, sliding into place beside me. “So people think I’m his girlfriend.”

“I mean, you are,” I said casually.

“No way,” she shot back, though she didn’t move away.

“Then I’ll take that spot,” Ranti added, stepping to my other side.

“Hey, why is everyone going to Rio again?” Teguh protested. “Am I not handsome enough?”

We all looked at him.

A brief silence.

“Nope,” we answered in unison.

“Oi!” Teguh burst out laughing.

I just shook my head, smiling.

I’d heard things like that before.

Since tenth grade, people kept saying I was “different.” Not because I was the smartest or the loudest—but because my face was… easy to remember.

Sometimes it was nice.

Sometimes it wasn’t.

Click.

Ranti took the picture.

We hadn’t even moved when—

Thud!

A ball from the next court flew straight into my head.

“Ow—!” I grabbed the side of my head.

“Sorry!” someone shouted from afar.

I raised a hand. “Yeah, it’s fine!”

“That’s what you get for being too handsome,” Aryo said. “Easy target.”

“Just say you’re jealous,” I replied.

“Alright, alright,” Ranti laughed. “That actually made it better—perfect candid.”

“Send it! Send it!”

We crowded around her immediately.

“Me first!”

“Don’t crop it!”

“Hurry!”

Everyone pulled out their phones.

I took mine out too—an old one, slightly cracked at the corner. Still worked, that’s all that mattered.

“Rio,” Dina said suddenly, her voice softer.

I turned. “Yeah?”

She looked at me for a second, then smiled.

“You’re this good-looking… what’s your Instagram?”

I paused.

“I don’t have one.”

“What?” Teguh jumped in instantly. “Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

“Man, you’re so outdated,” he said, shaking his head. “Everyone has one. You’re the only one who doesn’t.”

Aryo laughed. “That’s actually rare. Guys like you are usually the most active.”

I shrugged. “What for?”

“What for, he says,” Dina repeated. “To exist, obviously.”

“Sounds exhausting,” I replied.

Ranti suddenly sat down at the edge of the court, narrowing her eyes.

“I have an idea,” she said.

I immediately frowned. “Don’t.”

“Give me your phone.”

“Ranti—”

“Relax. Just a second.”

Her fingers moved quickly across the screen.

“Name?”

“Ranti—”

“Shh.”

A few seconds later, she grinned.

“Done.”

She held my phone up.

A brand new Instagram account stared back at me.

Profile picture: the photo we just took.

Username—simple, clean.

I sighed. “You guys…”

“Trust me,” Ranti said. “This is an investment.”

“In what?”

“Your popularity.”

Ding.

First notification.

Ranti started following you.

Then—

Dina started following you.

Teguh started following you.

Aryo started following you.

Before ten seconds passed—

Another notification.

And another.

I frowned.

“Who’s that?”

Dina leaned closer, eyes widening. “Oh—that’s from the class next door.”

“This one’s a junior,” Ranti added.

More notifications kept coming in.

Faster.

“Whoa…” Teguh muttered. “This is insane.”

I stared at the screen.

Some names were unfamiliar.

But some… weren’t.

I recognized their faces.

From hallways.

From the cafeteria.

From morning assemblies.

They started following.

Then liking.

That one photo—

was already getting attention.

“Crazy…” Aryo said. “It’s only been five minutes.”

Dina smiled. “Told you.”

“This is because of me,” Teguh said.

“In your dreams,” we replied.

More notifications.

And then—

messages.

I opened one.

“Hi :)”

Another:

“Is that you in the middle?”

“Which class are you in?”

“You’re cute.”

I locked my phone.

“Too much,” I muttered.

“This is just the beginning,” Ranti said.

I looked at the screen again.

The follower count kept climbing.

All within minutes.

I hadn’t done anything.

Just one photo.

And it wasn’t even a good one.

Just mud. Chaos. Us.

“Rio,” Dina said softly.

“Yeah?”

“You should’ve made this a long time ago.”

I didn’t answer.

My eyes stayed on the screen.

Another notification appeared.

And another.

Something about it felt…

strange.

Not because of how many.

But because—

it was happening too fast.

That night, I sat in my room.

Dim lights.

The fan spinning slowly.

I opened Instagram again.

Followers: 43.

I let out a small breath.

“In just a few hours…”

More messages.

Some unopened.

Some already read.

All the same.

Greetings.

Questions.

Smiley faces.

I closed the app.

Placed my phone on the table.

Stared at the ceiling.

I wasn’t used to this.

Usually…

my life was simple.

School.

Play.

Go home.

Now…

something had changed.

Small.

But noticeable.

I picked up my phone again.

Just to check.

The notifications were still coming.

Slowly.

Endlessly.

I stared at the number.

Then gave a faint smile.

“So noisy,” I murmured.

I didn’t know—

that this…

was only the beginning.

And something far beyond just “attention”—

had already started moving toward me.

Quietly.

Without a face.

Without a name.

And without me realizing it.

The school cafeteria was louder than usual during lunch break.

Metal spoons clinked against bowls, laughter burst from different corners, and the warm smell of meatball soup mixed with the humid air left behind by yesterday’s rain.

I sat on a long bench, staring at a bowl of bakso in front of me. Steam curled upward, briefly blurring my vision before disappearing.

“Now that Rio has Instagram,” Dina said casually, stirring her soup, “we should take more photos, right?”

She smiled at me.

It looked effortless. Natural.

Like it meant nothing.

But to me… it never really meant nothing.

I paused for a split second, then looked down at my bowl as if I hadn’t noticed.

“Ugh,” Aryo cut in. “I’ve had Instagram for ages. But none of you ever want to take pictures with me.”

“That’s because you’re not aesthetic,” Teguh said without even looking at him.

“Shut up,” Aryo muttered, though he was already laughing.

I smiled along, but my mind lingered on what Dina had said.

Take more photos.

For some reason… it felt different now.

“Dina, don’t talk too much. Your soup’s going to splash,” I said, trying to sound casual.

She glanced at me and chuckled. “You’re so dramatic.”

I laughed too—but mostly to hide something.

The truth was…

I liked Dina.

Not in a big, obvious way. Not something I needed to confess.

Just… quietly.

At our school, relationships weren’t really a thing. People didn’t date much. At most, they liked each other in silence, or teased it without ever saying it out loud.

Everyone was too busy thinking about grades, exams, the future.

Feelings like this?

They stayed where they were.

And I was fine with that.

As long as nothing changed.

Ranti, who had been quiet this whole time, suddenly raised her phone.

“Hey—”

“Don’t move,” she said.

Her expression shifted instantly—focused, sharp, like she had already framed the shot in her head.

“Selfie.”

We instinctively leaned closer.

Aryo was still holding his spoon mid-air.

Teguh nudged me slightly.

Dina moved closer.

Too close.

Click.

The photo was taken.

“Again,” Ranti said.

Click.

And again.

A few seconds later, she lowered her phone.

“Done. I’ll send it.”

I nodded.

My hand reached for my phone beside the bowl. I was about to open WhatsApp, just to check if the photo had been sent.

Before the screen even lit up—

“Hey, let me see!”

Teguh grabbed my phone.

“Hey—”

“Hahaha!” He laughed loudly. “Rio just got Instagram yesterday and he already has… two hundred nine followers?”

I frowned. “What?”

Aryo leaned in. “Seriously?”

“Look!” Teguh turned the screen toward us.

The number was there.

I paused.

“That’s fast,” Dina said quietly.

This time, she didn’t sound like she was joking.

Teguh kept laughing. “At this rate, you’ll hit a thousand tomorrow.”

“Give it back,” I said.

But before he could—

Ranti had already taken it from him.

“Oh wow…” she murmured, her eyes lighting up. “This is actually really good.”

“Ranti—”

“I’m adding more photos, okay?”

She had already opened my gallery.

I exhaled.

Fine.

Honestly, I didn’t really care.

From the beginning, I hadn’t even wanted the account. Ranti had made it, and she clearly knew what she was doing.

As long as nothing bad happened…

it was easier to just let her handle it.

I went back to my food, finishing the soup that had already started to cool.

Every now and then, I glanced at Dina.

She was standing next to Ranti now, looking at my phone.

Focused.

Smiling slightly.

And somehow…

that was enough.

The bell rang.

We returned to class.

Footsteps echoed through the hallways, blending with conversations that slowly faded as everyone entered their rooms.

Everything felt normal.

Like any other day.

And maybe it was.

That night, I lay on my bed.

The lights were off, leaving only the faint glow from my phone.

I opened Instagram.

Not because I needed to.

Just… out of curiosity.

Or maybe because of earlier.

The screen loaded.

And I stopped.

532 followers.

I blinked.

“Five hundred…?”

It had only been a day.

My thumb moved slowly as I opened the follower list.

Most of them…

I recognized.

Students from school.

Juniors.

Seniors.

Faces I had seen in hallways, in the cafeteria, during assemblies.

People I had never actually spoken to.

But there were others too.

Names I didn’t recognize.

Accounts without profile pictures.

Or ones that felt… too generic.

I closed the list.

Opened my profile.

More photos had been added.

Of course.

Ranti had been busy.

She picked images from my gallery—some I barely remembered taking.

A few from the basketball court.

Some from class.

Even a couple of candid shots.

The comments kept coming.

“So handsome 😭”

“What class are you in?”

“Follow back pls”

“Why are you only showing up now?”

Likes kept increasing.

Endlessly.

I stared at the screen.

It felt strange.

I wasn’t exactly invisible before.

But this…

was different.

Too fast.

Too much.

I tapped into my profile again.

And then—

I paused.

My bio.

I read it slowly.

My full name.

My school name.

And—

my phone number.

My eyebrows furrowed.

“What…?”

Why would Ranti put that there?

My thumb hovered over the screen.

I thought about deleting it.

But—

I didn’t really know how to edit it.

And for some reason…

I didn’t do anything.

“Maybe this is normal,” I muttered.

I didn’t understand how this worked anyway.

Maybe this was just how people did things.

I exhaled softly and closed the app.

Placed my phone beside me.

The ceiling above me faded into the dark.

Quiet.

Still.

Normal.

Ping.

A notification.

My eyes opened.

The screen lit up.

I reached for it.

A message.

From an unknown number.

I stared at it for a few seconds.

Then opened it.

“This is Rio, right?”

I froze.

My heartbeat picked up slightly.

I didn’t reply.

Just stared at the screen.

A second message came in.

“I saw you on Instagram.”

My fingers felt colder.

I slowly sat up.

My eyes didn’t leave the screen.

The number—

had no name.

No profile picture.

Just digits.

I swallowed.

Slowly.

And for the first time since that account was created—

I realized…

maybe not all of that attention…

was harmless.

Some of it…

might actually be getting closer.

Ever since Ranti made my Instagram account, I had a new habit.

Every time someone liked or commented on my posts, I would open their profile.

At first, it was just curiosity.

I just wanted to know—who was looking, who was paying attention.

But slowly…

it became something else.

I started noticing details.

Profile pictures.

Follower counts.

The way they posed in photos.

The way they wrote captions.

And without realizing it, I began to tell the difference—

who was just passing by,

and who was actually interested.

My WhatsApp wasn’t quiet anymore either.

Numbers I didn’t save started showing up.

Sometimes classmates.

Sometimes juniors.

Even seniors I had only seen in the hallway.

Some called.

Some texted.

Most of them—

I didn’t reply.

I just read.

Then left them there.

Strangely, it never even crossed my mind to remove my phone number from my profile.

It was right there.

Open.

For anyone to see.

And yet…

I left it.

Like it wasn’t a problem.

Or maybe—

I didn’t really want it to disappear.

Of course…

I wasn’t handling all of this alone.

Ranti was the busiest one out of all of us.

“Come on, Rio! Don’t waste that face!” she shouted from the side of the court. “Stand there—no, not like that! Relax! Try again!”

I stood there, half annoyed, half amused.

She already had her phone up.

Click.

“This one’s good!”

Click.

“This one’s better!”

“Ranti…” Teguh shook his head, tossing a bottle toward her. “It’s Rio’s account, but you’re the most excited one.”

“Hey! What was that for?” she snapped, immediately chasing him across the court.

The atmosphere turned chaotic.

Aryo laughed.

Teguh ran.

Ranti chased him without mercy.

I stayed where I was.

Watching.

Without thinking, my eyes shifted toward Dina.

She was watching them too.

Smiling.

Relaxed.

Like she was enjoying everything.

And somehow…

that was enough for me.

Aryo suddenly stepped closer.

“You like her,” he whispered, grinning.

I turned quickly. “No.”

“Sure?”

I smiled faintly. “No.”

He nodded.

“Good,” he said.

His tone felt… off.

Almost relieved.

I didn’t respond.

Just looked back at the court.

Took a slow breath.

There was no way I was going to say yes.

After school, Aryo and I walked together toward the minibus stop.

The sky had started to shift.

Orange blending into gray.

The air felt cooler.

We walked side by side.

Quiet.

Until—

“I’ve liked Dina for a long time.”

His voice was low.

Almost careful.

I stopped for a second.

Looked at him.

He didn’t look back.

His eyes stayed forward.

“Seriously?” I asked.

He nodded.

“So…” he continued, still quiet, “you’re good-looking. You can get any girl.”

I stayed silent.

“Just find someone else,” he said. “Have some mercy. I’m already average-looking. Don’t take the only one in my radar.”

I didn’t answer right away.

His words weren’t light.

There was something underneath them.

I exhaled slowly.

“Relax, Yo,” I said finally. “Girls aren’t my focus right now.”

He glanced at me.

“School is,” I added.

A brief silence.

Then—

“Good. Good,” he said with a goofy smile.

I smiled back.

But inside…

it wasn’t that simple.

That night, I sat at my desk.

Books open.

Lamp on.

The room was quiet.

I tried to focus.

Reading.

Writing.

Memorizing.

Buzz.

My phone vibrated.

I glanced at it.

A notification appeared on the screen.

Instagram.

I sighed.

Didn’t open it.

I lowered the volume and went back to studying.

A few minutes later—

it buzzed again.

And again.

It started to get annoying.

But I ignored it.

Tried to stay focused.

Tried.

Time passed.

I didn’t know how long.

Until finally—

I gave in.

For no clear reason…

just a small sense of curiosity.

I picked up my phone.

Opened Instagram.

Notifications everywhere.

I tapped on one of the photos Ranti had uploaded earlier.

The comments had piled up.

I read them one by one.

“So handsome ”

“What class are you in?”

“Follow back please!”

I smiled faintly.

Then I started opening profiles.

One by one.

My new habit.

Pointless.

But somehow… interesting.

Some were normal.

Some…

not bad.

I kept scrolling.

Until—

my finger stopped.

One comment.

Short.

“Handsome.”

I stared at it for a moment.

Then opened the profile.

A girl.

Around my age.

She was…

beautiful.

Not overly styled.

Just clean.

Simple.

Her photos were neat.

Not many.

But enough.

She was following me too.

I stayed on her profile a little longer than I should have.

Then—

I tapped.

Follow back.

A few seconds passed.

I was still looking at her profile.

And somehow…

my hand didn’t stop there.

My thumb moved.

I opened one of her photos.

Paused.

Then typed.

Slowly.

“Beautiful.”

I stared at the word for a second.

Making sure.

Then—

sent it.

That was it.

Simple.

Nothing strange.

I placed my phone on the table.

Leaned back in my chair.

Took a slow breath.

This was normal.

Just a comment.

Just a reply.

Something small.

Something harmless.

Ping.

A notification.

Fast.

I picked up my phone again.

Instinctively.

She replied.

“Thank you :)”

I smiled.

Without realizing it.

It felt… easy.

Light.

Like none of this really mattered.

I opened my profile again.

Watched the numbers rise.

Likes increasing.

Comments stacking.

Messages coming in.

I didn’t reply to all of them.

Just some.

The ones I chose.

The ones worth it.

The ones that kept things…

interesting.

I leaned back again.

Staring at the screen.

For the first time—

I wasn’t just being seen.

I was enjoying…

what it felt like to see back.

Outside my room, the night went on as usual.

Quiet.

Still.

Nothing had changed.

But inside the small screen in my hand—

something else was moving.

Growing louder.

Closer.

And without realizing it—

I had already stepped deeper into it.

Little by little.

Without hesitation.

Without thinking.

And maybe…

without a way back.