A Song For You

𝑶𝑵𝑬.

"Yes, sir!"

With that, Mr Yong exited the classroom, leaving behind a wave of buzzing conversations among the students. Fighting off a yawn, Rory observed her classmates with a casual glance.

Among them, Collin Jau, the new student transfer who just arrived a few days ago, caught her eyes as he rose from his seat, clutching a small notebook in his hands. Rory arched an eyebrow, curiosity piqued.

Skipping the seventh period again, Collin?

His figure swiftly disappeared through the classroom door at the back and a surge of determination compelled her to follow suit. Rory hurriedly made her way out of the classroom, scanning the empty hallways for any of Collin. A glimpse of his figure turning towards the staircase leading to the rooftop caught her attention and Rory quickened her pace to keep up with him.

Panting slightly, Rory finally reached the rooftop, the strong sunlight made her arm fly to cover her eyes. After her eyes were adjusted to the light, she scanned the panoramic view in search of Collin.

"Oi!"

Startled by a voice behind her, Rory spun around, her surprise melting into a frown.

"You scared me!" Rory exclaimed, her irritation softened by Collin's sheepish grin and apologetic gaze.

"Sorry, thought it was the prefect,"

With a slow nod, Rory appraised Collin, her gaze narrowing with curiosity.

"Why do you always skip the seventh period?" she asked, shooting him a sidelong glance.

Collin settled onto a rickety chair tucked in a corner of the rooftop, patting the empty seat beside him. Rory complied, easing into the seat.

"The city can be overwhelming. I miss the countryside," Collin confessed, a wistful tug at the corners of his lips. "There's a lot of you in the class too. Back in my village, there's like only four of us in a class,"

Rory's memory jolted back to the first day of Collin's arrival when he had mentioned his rural background in between his introductions.

"You're Kayan, right?" she asked, mischief dancing across her face, before smoothly adding, "*Nun dengah ika'?"

A gleam ignited in Collin's eyes at the familiar words tumbling from Rory's lips.

"**Anei, Kayan ika' do? Sayu kah, sayu!" he replied, bubbling with excitement. "I didn't know you knew Kayan!"

Relaxing back into her seat, Rory quipped, "Well, I am Kayan. Both my parents are, but don't get too excited. I don't speak much Kayan at home, so those are pretty much the only words I know."

"Surely, you're kidding," Collin said in disbelief.

"I swear on my grandma's name," Rory chuckled.

Silence draped over them until Collin broke it again.

"How about I teach you some words?" he offered, and Rory glanced at him with eager anticipation.

"Really? That would be great actually!"

"Let's start with something simple," Collin suggested, and Rory nodded with palpable enthusiasm.

"***Akui nyalam ika'." Collin enunciated the phrase slowly, each word delivered with a touch that made Rory's heart flutter.

The words were familiar to her, yet she hesitated to fully grasp their meaning, not just yet.

"What does that mean?" Rory whispered as if the very air around them might carry her words away, though they were alone on the rooftop.

"I like you," Collin stated plainly, catching Rory off guard.

"What?" Rory sputtered as she blinked her eyes in confusion at Collin.

A mischievous glint flickered in Collin's eyes as he rose from his chair and strolled to the metal chain link fence encircling the rooftop, leaning against it casually.

"It means, 'I like you'." he clarified, unable to suppress a smile as he noticed the tips of Rory's ears turning a deep shade of crimson. He found it endearing.

And cute.

"Oh," was all Rory could manage.

"It's Rosemary, right?" Collin inquired, drawing her gaze back to him as she attempted to cool the embarrassment flooding her cheeks.

"Yeah, my name's Rosemary," Rory affirmed. "But you can call me, Rory,"

"Rory?" Collin repeated, another smile blossoming across his face. "That's cute."

A blush bloomed across Rory's cheeks in response.

*****

* How are you?

** I'm fine, fine!

*** I like you