Chapter 3 The Murderer's Son

The gates of Harapan Muda High School stood tall before me.

I took a deep breath before stepping inside.

Everything about me was new.

A new uniform.

New shoes.

A new school.

A new city.

But none of it felt exciting.

All I could feel was fear.

Beside me, Yuli walked toward the junior high school building, which shared the same campus.

She stopped for a moment and looked at me.

"Big Brother..."

I forced a small smile.

"I'll be fine."

"You should go."

She nodded quietly before disappearing into the crowd of students.

I watched until I couldn't see her anymore.

Only then did I walk toward the teachers' office.

"Come in."

A middle-aged woman greeted me with a warm smile.

"You must be Yudha."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"I'm Mrs. Rina, your homeroom teacher."

She handed me my class schedule before leading me down a long hallway.

"Don't worry," she said kindly.

"I'm sure you'll make friends soon."

I smiled politely.

"I hope so."

The classroom door slid open.

The conversations inside immediately faded.

More than thirty pairs of eyes turned toward me.

Mrs. Rina stepped inside first.

"Good morning, everyone."

"We have a new classmate joining us today."

She looked at me.

"Please introduce yourself."

I swallowed nervously.

"My name is Yudha."

"It's nice to meet you all."

For a moment, the classroom remained silent.

Then several students clapped politely.

Mrs. Rina smiled.

"There's an empty seat next to Andre."

I walked toward the back of the classroom.

A cheerful-looking boy moved his chair slightly to give me space.

"Hi."

"I'm Andre."

"I'm Yudha."

"Nice to meet you."

His smile looked genuine.

Since moving to Bandung, he was the first person who had spoken to me as if I were just another ordinary student.

For the first time in days...

I allowed myself to believe that maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all.

The morning classes passed quietly.

I listened to the lessons, answered when the teachers called on me, and kept mostly to myself.

When the lunch bell finally rang, the classroom quickly became noisy.

Groups of students gathered around their desks, chatting about everything from homework to social media.

One conversation nearby caught my attention.

"Did you guys see that news everyone's talking about?"

"The surgeon?"

"Yeah."

"It was all over Instagram last night."

"My mom wouldn't stop talking about it."

"They even showed it on TV."

"I heard the whole country knows about it now."

"That's so scary."

I lowered my head and opened my lunch box.

I didn't want to hear another word.

A boy suddenly glanced in my direction.

"Hey..."

"The new kid."

Several students looked over.

He grinned mischievously.

"What's your dad's job?"

I hesitated.

"..."

"What?"

"Too embarrassed to answer?"

A few of his friends laughed.

"Maybe he's a doctor."

"Yeah," another boy joked.

"What if he's related to that famous surgeon?"

More laughter filled the classroom.

I kept staring at my lunch.

My hands slowly tightened beneath the desk.

The boy noticed.

"Oh..."

"Look."

"He's getting angry."

"Come on."

"It was just a joke."

The laughter grew louder.

Something inside me snapped.

I stood up so quickly that my chair crashed onto the floor.

Bang!

The entire classroom fell silent.

Every pair of eyes was fixed on me.

I looked straight at the boy.

"Enough."

Only one word.

But the smile disappeared from his face.

No one laughed anymore.

At that exact moment, Mrs. Rina walked back into the classroom.

She looked around in confusion.

"What happened here?"

Nobody answered.

I quietly picked up my chair and sat back down.

The room remained unusually silent as the afternoon lesson began.

Across the classroom, one student had been watching everything.

Her name was Lita.

She had long black hair tied neatly behind her shoulders.

Her desk was covered with carefully organized notebooks filled with colourful notes.

Unlike everyone else...

She hadn't laughed.

She hadn't whispered.

She hadn't looked at me with suspicion.

She simply watched.

Not with fear.

Not with pity.

But with quiet curiosity.

As if she was trying to understand someone everyone else had already judged.

Andre leaned slightly toward me.

"Are you okay?"

I nodded.

"I'm fine."

The words came out automatically.

The truth was...

I wasn't fine at all.

I had come to Bandung hoping I could leave my past behind.

But after only one day...

I realized that some shadows could follow a person anywhere.

And somehow...

I had the feeling this was only the beginning.

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