The Hourglass 2 EXTRA: Justin Jessica 1

When Jessica was just several years old her mom registered me in a playgroup, at first when she just arrived, she cried a lot and always be isolated, alone, and sad… but then she made a new friend, he is a very good friend to her.

After a few days at the playgroup Jessica saw that there is a boy that's bullied but because she is scared of the bigger boys and other girls, so Jessica didn't help him. For some reason that she didn't know to even this day, she decided to watch him and she watched him trying to fight back but the bullies have number advantage so the boy was still beaten and laughed by the children surrounding him while the children shouted something that Jessica couldn't heard. Then when the bully finished with him , Jessica still watched him, she watched him clean the classroom, pick any trash on his way, she watched him reported the bullies to the teacher and the teacher sighed while telling something to the boy while patting his shoulder but the boy became angry he seem to trying to explain something but the teacher just walked away while moving his head left and right with an exasperated expression while muttering something , of course Jessica didn't hear anything they spoke about only some shout.

Jessica watched the boy sat alone on the kindergarten and closing his eyes then he nodded to himself several more time. That time perhaps she felt he is similar to me, a loner or perhaps she pity him or perhaps she was just curious but she already forgot about the detail about that day.

Jessica walked toward him slowly, it seem the boy realized it and he glared at her, Jessica filched before braving herself to step forward. Finally, she reached the boy and she sat next to him stiffly, the boy just watched with his eyes as if trying to see through her soul itself.

Jessica calmed herself down by taking a deep breath as her mama teaches her. After calming herself down she smiled toward the boy and then she said.

"Hello."

The boy nodded and replied with his childish voice "Hello too."

"Umm… can I… can I ask you something?" Jessica said while fidgeting around.

"Yeah ask me anything" the boy suddenly just relaxed himself and laid himself on the grass while closing his eyes.

"Why… are bullied by other…?" Jessica said while she gazed at the boy laying on the grass.

"Oh, yeah you are the new kid so you don't know, well I was bullied because other people didn't believe me and they called me crazy." The boy opened his eyes for a moment before closing it again and continued to lie there with his eyes closed.

"Did all other people really didn't believe you?" Jessica said while her pose relaxed and she casually sat there.

"Well there is some that lied to me, there is some that took me to a doctor and scolded me for lying, there is some that outright didn't believe me." The boy nonchalantly said as if he was used to telling this.

"How did you know that?" Jessica said.

"I just know that they lied." The boy smiled a little.

"Then what did you tell them?" Jessica gradually forgot her fear of the boy and her fear of talking to someone else.

"I told them every that every time I closed my eyes I can see a hourglass with beautiful golden sand that flowed slowly while glowing in an never ending darkness, I even can see some number that increase by itself beside it" the boy just laid there just like before but if you looked closely how his eyelids pressed itself more and how his finger dig a little into the dirt.

"Wow, that's an amazing ability you have, so how come the number can increase." Jessica said while starring at the boy while completely relaxing herself against him.

"What! You believed me" the boy suddenly opened his eyes and hold Jessica's shoulder.

"Ye..yeah." Jessica answered while stuttering.

"You really believed me!" the boy said while suddenly hugging Jessica.

Jessica blushed but she just stayed still letting the boy hugged her. Finally, the boy let her go and showed her his brilliant smile.

"My name is Michael Febrianto Li, you can call me Michael, what's your name?" the boy, no… Michael said while dusting his clothes.

"My name is Justin Jessica, you can call me Jessica" Jessica answered while doing the same thing.

"Will you be my friend, Jessica!" The boy looked nervous while stretching his hand out.

"Re…really you want to be my friends." Jessica looked disbelievingly.

"Yeah" Michael smiled, showing his teeth that have some gaps on it.

"Yes, I really want to be your friend" Jessica said this while holding Michael's hand with both of her hands.

Then they sat down again while they chatted with a smile on their face and sometimes a laughter can be heard from there.

Not far away a teacher is watching this and he sigh a relief before smiling while thinking 'initially I am just afraid that kid will beat someone again, after all his background is a big one although it's weird that they juts let this little one getting bullied but unexpectedly the outcome is the bullied kid and the newcomer loner kid make friends, it's the best situation' the teacher then left the place.

When it was time for the parents to take back their children, it was supposed to be the happiest part of the kindergarten but now to Michael and Jessica who just became friend it was a little sad they even said goodbye toward each other in front of their parents, their parents of course happy to see this.

At their home, Michael and Jessica excitedly told their parents about their new friends, that night just before they sleep they had a thought "" I hope tomorrow will come faster, I want to see him/her and talk a lot with him/her"" then the kids fell asleep with a smile on their face.

That's how a friendship between an introvert girl that didn't even went out from her house if her mom didn't force her into a pretty, popular girl in her school and a bullied boy who has no one that believed him to a handsome love struck teenager.

Chapter end