"Kal, Kala."
Sakala snapped out of his daydream. Yoan's voice broke the silence in the study room, accompanied by a wave of a hand in front of his face.
"H-huh? What is it, Yon?" Kala replied, a bit flustered. His eyes, which had been staring blankly at the book, now shifted toward Yoan and Yoga, who sat across from him.
Yoan leaned back, arms crossed over his chest, one eyebrow raised. "I should be the one asking you. You've been quiet, staring at that book for ages. Meanwhile, Yoga and I finished the assignment ages ago."
"Yeah, maybe you're in love with that book," joked Yoga, elbowing Yoan, earning a small laugh.
Kala quickly shook his head. "Of course not."
Yoan leaned in, teasing. "If he loved books that much, Mr. Baldy wouldn't keep calling him out for failing grades," he said, followed by a loud laugh.
"Shut up," Kala grunted, tossing a pencil at Yoan, who dodged it with ease.
Yoga glanced at his watch and sighed. "It's already nine, man. We should bounce. We're done with the assignment anyway, and my brain's starting to fry."
Yoan started gathering his books, then looked at Kala, who was still flipping through his notes. "We're done, but I don't know about our dear Kala here. Looks like he's still working on it."
Kala slowly closed his notebook, brushing off the dust on the cover. "Chill, I'm good."
"You hear that? He says he's good," mocked Yoga with a grin. "Bet he'll still end up taking remedials tomorrow."
Kala clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Damn, stop jinxing me."
They all laughed, the mood light again. Once the table was tidied up, Yoan and Yoga said their goodbyes. Kala saw them off to the front gate, waving as they disappeared around the corner.
Once they were gone, Kala returned inside. His steps up the stairs were slow, each creak echoing through the now quiet house. When he reached his room, he shut the door tightly and walked toward the desk in the corner.
"I think I dropped by Yoga's dad's electronics shop last week," he muttered to himself, half-thinking aloud.
His hands rummaged through the drawer, searching between stacks of books and stationery. He stopped when he found a small black box tucked in the corner. A smile spread across his face as he opened the lid.
"There it is," he whispered, pulling out a small pen-shaped device with a red indicator light on top.
A voice recorder pen.
Kala gripped it tightly, eyes gleaming with purpose. "Looks like this is all I need for tomorrow," he murmured, a mysterious smile tugging at his lips.