Chapter 1 – The First Photo

“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.

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