Monday mornings always felt cursed.
The classroom was unbearably hot despite every window being wide open. Sunlight spilled through the gaps in the curtains, mixing with the smell of sweat, paper, and perfume.
The air conditioner had died days ago. Yet somehow, tuition fees kept going up every semester.
"College is expensive as hell, but the facilities look like this," Kriss muttered while fanning himself with a notebook.
Around him, students looked half-dead. Some leaned against their desks. Others stared blankly at the projector screen while pretending to listen.
At the seat beside him, Zeyn had been staring out the window for the past few minutes.
"Hey-hey…" Kriss nudged his arm lightly, "…What're you even looking at?"
Zeyn finally blinked, as if returning from somewhere far away, but before he could answer, a voice from the front interrupted them.
"So… that concludes our group presentation. We'll now open the Q&A session."
A few lazy claps echoed through the room.
Andre stood near the projector with a tired smile plastered on his face. The presentation itself had gone surprisingly smoothly.
No technical issues. No forgotten slides. Just a standard discussion about the Spirit of 3G: Gold, Glory, and Gospel during the colonial era.
"All right," Andre said. "Three questions only."
The room fell silent. Nobody moved. Until suddenly,
"If you don't mind," Kriss said while standing up, "I'd like to ask something."
Andre looked relieved someone was participating at all. "Please, go ahead."
"My name is Kriss Howard." He paused briefly. "Why do history books in our education system talk about colonialism like it's something we should be proud of?"
The room instantly stirred.
"…Huh?" Andre frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I mean," Kriss continued calmly, "most countries treat colonization like national trauma. Some barely even want to discuss it anymore. But here? We keep romanticizing it."
A few students started laughing.
"What the hell is this guy talking about?"
"Bro's making his own material now."
But Kriss ignored them. He kept looking straight at Andre.
"If being colonized was humiliating, why are we taught to admire the era so much? Why does every discussion always circle back to how 'important' it was instead of how damaging it was?"
Andre opened his mouth… then closed it again. For the first time since the presentation started, he actually looked nervous.
"Is… is that kind of question allowed, Sir?" Andre asked awkwardly.
At the front of the room, the professor adjusted his glasses before nodding casually.
"Of course. A discussion becomes more interesting when the topic expands beyond the slides."
"…Ah."
Andre forced a smile. That wasn't the answer he was hoping for.
He glanced at Kriss again, still unable to understand where the question had even come from. Their presentation was about colonial voyages and the Spirit of 3G.
A few more students asked ordinary questions afterward, mostly simple ones that could be answered straight from the presentation slides. Andre handled them smoothly.
But eventually, only one question remained.
Andre swallowed. He looked down at his notes "So… The last question is from Kriss, who asked… why we seem proud of being colonized."
Everyone waited.
Andre's lips parted slightly, but no words came out. Seconds passed. The silence became painful.
From beside the window, even the sound of the spinning ceiling fan suddenly felt loud.
Meanwhile, Zeyn finally lifted his head. Something caught his attention. His red eyes narrowed slightly.
Around Andre's body, a faint reddish haze had begun to appear.
Frustration, embarrassment, irritation. The emotions were leaking out without the man realizing it.
"So?" the professor asked calmly. "Can the presenter answer the question?"
"U-Umm… well…" Andre looked cornered.
"All right then. Let's open the discussion to the class instead." He smiled faintly. "Anyone who can answer will receive extra points."
The moment those words fell, a girl suddenly stood up beside Andre.
"My name is Raffaella Rosa." Her voice was calm. "May I answer the question?"
The entire classroom turned toward her.
Andre blinked in surprise. "Raffa… are you sure?"
"It's okay," she replied softly. "I think I understand what he means."
Something twisted inside his chest after hearing that. Relief, humiliation, and jealousy. All mixed together.
"In the preamble of the 1945 Constitution," Raffaella began, "it is stated that colonialism must be abolished because it goes against humanity and justice."
"Yes," Kriss replied immediately. "Everyone already knows that part."
The class stirred slightly again.
"Then maybe the purpose of learning colonial history isn't to glorify it." She looked directly at him. "Maybe it exists so future generations remember what should never happen again."
Kriss rested his chin on his hand. "So instead of seeing colonization as humiliation, we reinterpret it as a reminder?"
"Exactly." Raffaella nodded. "That's why history still matters even when it's painful to remember. We study it so the same thing won't happen again."
"Hm…"
Kriss leaned back slightly in his chair. For the first time since this discussion started, a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Then wouldn't it be simpler," he asked, "if history only focused on our side?"
Raffaella blinked. "Our side?"
"I mean the struggle itself. The heroes. The resistance. Their sacrifices." His gaze shifted toward the presentation slide behind them. "Why do we also need to understand the colonizers' point of view? Their slogans. Their motivations. Their Spirit of 3G."
The classroom grew quiet again.
Andre's forehead twitched slightly. This blond bastard still wasn't done. And every new question sounded even more troublesome than the last.
A student near the front row raised his hand.
"I have an answer for that."
Damian, the class president stood up calmly.
For some reason, seeing another person step in only made Andre feel even more humiliated.
"My name is Damian," he introduced himself before continuing. "Understanding imperialism also helps us recognize how something that sounds noble can become dangerous when taken too far."
Kriss tilted his head slightly.
"Noble?" he repeated. "Wasn't that just their excuse from the beginning?" He pointed lazily toward the slide. "Gold. Glory. Gospel. They wrapped exploitation in pretty slogans, but the goal was still the same. Wealth. Power. Resources."
"True," Damian admitted easily. "But like Raffaella said earlier, history isn't only about condemning the past." His arms folded across his chest. "Sometimes it's about recognizing patterns."
"Patterns?"
"Even today, governments can still use idealistic slogans to justify harmful policies." His expression turned more serious. "Not colonialism in the literal sense, maybe. But the structure can feel similar."
Several students began paying closer attention.
"For example?" Kriss asked again.
"Hm…" Damian thought for a moment. "Policies that claim to help society, but slowly pressure the people instead. Excessive control. Economic exploitation. Abuse of authority disguised as national interest."
He paused briefly.
"If we understand the logic behind colonialism, then we can criticize similar behavior in modern times. Including from our own country."
The room became noticeably quieter after that.
"Because sometimes, people aren't conquered by foreign nations anymore." Damian exhaled softly. "Sometimes they're crushed by the greed of their own government."
"I see…"
Kriss nodded slowly. This time, his expression genuinely softened.
"Well, that actually makes sense." He leaned back again. "Thank you for the answer."
The atmosphere finally loosened. At the front, the lecturer smiled faintly.
"Good." He gave a small clap. "That's the kind of discussion I want to see in a university classroom."
A few students followed with applause.
"Since all questions have been answered, I think we'll end today's session here." The professor adjusted his glasses. "Miss Raffaella and Damian have already represented my thoughts quite well, so I don't think I need to complicate things further."
More applause filled the room. But despite that, Andre still looked irritated. While everyone else seemed relieved the discussion ended smoothly, he could still feel the lingering sting in his chest.
Not because the answers were wrong. Not even because the discussion failed. But because the moment he froze earlier… everyone saw it.
"Well then, Mr. Andre," the professor said while glancing at the clock, "I think we can end the discussion here."
Andre straightened himself almost immediately, as if finally being released from pressure.
"…Right." He stepped forward again, forcing a professional smile back onto his face. "That concludes our group presentation. Thank you for everyone's participation today."
A short round of applause followed soon after.
Just like that, the exhausting midday lecture finally came to an end.
Chairs scraped against the floor almost simultaneously as students hurried to pack their belongings. The classroom, which had felt tense and suffocating moments ago, slowly returned to its usual noisy atmosphere.
Some students immediately complained about the heat. Others laughed while continuing the debate from earlier.
"Kriss was definitely trying to start a war."
"No, but honestly, the discussion got interesting halfway through."
"At least it woke me up."
Near the windows, warm wind drifted through the classroom curtains.
Zeyn quietly placed his notebook into his bag. But even as the tension faded from the room, something still bothered him.
His gaze shifted toward the front of the class.
Andre was talking with several classmates now, pretending everything was normal. Yet faint traces of reddish aura still lingered around him. Not as strong as before, but not gone either.
Zeyn narrowed his eyes slightly.
Negative emotions usually faded quickly once people calmed down.
This one didn't.
For some reason… It felt like something unpleasant was about to happen.
* * * *