"Craak..! Craang..!"
The sound of breaking plates came from the kitchen, where the plate and glass rack stood. I paused in my meal and chewed the rice in my mouth.
"Wow! What happened in the kitchen? It doesn't seem like the plate was broken, but rather from being thrown?" I muttered to myself.
I was still at the dining table not far from the kitchen, curious, as the only one in the kitchen was Aunt Asih, the maid from my uncle's luxurious home.
"She's so nice, she can eat and drink for free in this house! Does she think life in the city is easy!" I heard a woman's voice grumble, and it wasn't Aunt Asih's, but Aunt Dewi's.
I had intended to stand up and go to the kitchen to see what was happening, but suddenly decided against it. My appetite had suddenly disappeared, and I finished lunch, then went out to the porch and sat on one of the chairs there. "I have a bad feeling. Aunt Dewi's anger just now definitely wasn't directed at B Asih, because I was the only one eating lunch," I muttered to myself as I stared blankly out at the yard.
I felt increasingly uncomfortable sitting on the terrace for so long that I decided to go to my upstairs room. Once there, I lay down on the bed, hoping the discomfort would go away.
But after lying down for a while and even closing my eyes, the uneasy feeling still crept into my heart, so I decided to sit up on my bed.
"I'm sure Aunt Dewi's anger was directed at me. Since I've been living here, Aunt Dewi has often shown a sarcastic attitude when we pass each other or sit together in this house," I muttered to myself in my room.
"But why does Auntie Dewi only show that attitude when Uncle Ramlan isn't home? Or is Auntie Dewi really afraid of Uncle, so she displays that cynical attitude whenever Uncle Ramlan isn't around? Ah, what should I do about Auntie Dewi's attitude towards me?" My head was spinning, thinking about Auntie Dewi's angry outburst in the kitchen earlier, until I lay down again, hoping to close my eyes and calm my thoughts.
The next day after school, as usual, after changing into my school uniform in my room, I went straight downstairs and headed to the dining room for lunch. Before sitting down on one of the chairs around the dining room, I took a moment to look around the room and into the kitchen.
After I lost sight of the figure I'd been searching for, I sat down and opened the menu on the table.
"Oh my gosh!"
I was shocked when I saw on the dining table only a plate of rice mixed with crust that had been kneaded so much that the rice and crust could no longer be separated, and then near the plate was a small plate of chili sauce without any side dishes.
I really wanted to go to Mrs. Asih, whom I had seen earlier in the back room, to ask why there was only a plate of rice mixed with crust and a small plate of chili sauce without any side dishes, but I decided against it because I didn't want to make the situation worse.
So I sat and stared at the plate of rice mixed with crust and a small piece of chili sauce. Since my stomach had been hungry for a while, I finally ate. When I had eaten a few mouthfuls of the rice mixed with crust, suddenly my heart felt sad and my eyes filled with tears.
"This is the first time I've eaten rice crust with a bit of this chili sauce. Despite all the hardships of living with my parents in the village, I've never experienced anything like this. Even without side dishes and only eating chili sauce and boiled vegetables, the rice was never mixed with crust like this," I muttered, chewing the rice crust to quench my hunger and stop eating.
I finished lunch when the hunger began to subside. I then stood up and decided to go straight upstairs to my room.
As I was almost at the stairs, I suddenly ran into Mrs. Asih.
"Ryan," Mrs. Asih greeted me.
"Yes, ma'am, what's wrong?" I asked.
"You were asked to meet the lady outside on the right side of the house," Mrs. Asih replied.
"Okay, ma'am, I'll go there now," I said. Although I felt uneasy, I mustered up the courage to meet Aunt Dewi at the side of the house Mrs. Asih had mentioned. There, I saw Aunt Dewi standing with her hands on her hips, looking out at the gutter on the right side, across from the fence of the luxurious house.
"What's wrong, Auntie?" I said as I stood next to Aunt Dewi.
"You're so easy! You go to school and get pocket money! You eat after school and then lie down in your room!" Aunt Dewi exclaimed sharply. I just lowered my head at her words.
"Nothing in this city is free! Everyone has to work hard to earn money for food! Well, since your uncle gave you pocket money this morning, now you have to repay him by cleaning the gutter along this yard!" Aunt Dewi said with a sharp, hateful glare.
"Okay, Auntie, I'll clean this gutter right now," I said, pointing to the gutter Auntie Dewi was referring to. Then I looked for tools like a hoe in the shed behind the mansion.
"You're so shameless! You're living in this house for free! You're giving me snacks again!" Auntie Dewi grumbled as she stepped into the house. I could clearly hear her grumbling loudly.
"Bruuuuuk...!"
As I was about to step into the shed, I was startled to hear a sound coming from inside...